We recently connected with Sleepy Shipman and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sleepy with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I have my family to thank for a lot of my work ethic, but it isn’t a cute wholesome story. Moreso one of struggle. I grew up the oldest of six kids (seven when I left for college), raised by an alcoholic, abusive step-dad and a troubled and abused mom. I had to step in to help raise my siblings when my parents weren’t present. I learned to care for those who needed care more than me and not bow at the workload of five kids that werent mine.
Being raised by an abuser means you just take things as they are, no push back, for fear of making things worse, so I learned how to be resilient and let things roll off of me. That was mental and emotional work, but I also learned physical work. From the age of 12/13 until I graduated high school, and sometimes even after that, I was the sole employee for my step-dad’s lawn care company. I learned how to edge, mow. and use a blower for parking lots. At 13, I wielded a weedeater better than most people twice my age and was doing full service lawncare, alone, at the very same high school I went to. It was odd seeing my classmates be normal students while I had to be whatever it was I was, and to listen to their comments about having seen me working on weekends. I did all this for the pay of “the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, and the food I put in my stomach.” I learned to push my body beyond its physical limits and as my muscles hardened, my mind did with them. When you learn to work for nothing, because that’s what’s what was happening when my basic needs were considered payment, nothing is needed to motivate you. I worked because I had to, now I work because it’s what I know but I get to do it with something I love.
When you’re raised that way, most things in this world don’t seem that hard, especially work. Especially when I’m earning something from it. Especially especially when I’m working for myself. Setbacks aren’t endings, they’re a chance to try something different. The formative years of my life were a setback, the things I do now for my business are doing something different. Doing something for me.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I use the general term “creator” to describe myself as there are a lot of different creative outlets I frequently use and others i have yet to use, but have made plans for. I paint, I sew, I build, I draw, I model, I craft, I write, I sing. I try not to limit myself because anything that involves creativity is something that I like to be a part of or try my hand at. Using the term creator also helps with the business aspect as well, as this is something that I’d like to see become profitable. If I referred to myself simply as a painter, people would only expect and request paintings from me, not knowing that I can also make them a sick cosplay or prop, or a cutesy box to put their jewelry in. I like to think of myself as a creative Swiss army man, if you will. The long term goal is to be able to make this a fully functioning business that I can make a living from. Less so from a desire to monetize what I do, and more so from the desire to be able to devote 100% of my time to doing it, instead of balancing it with a full time job, which is how I pay my bills. Right now, I work full time during the week and work full time (self employed) during the weekend. I’d love to be able to support myself solely with my art so I can dedicate all of my time to honing and spreading it.
My work is dreamy, escapist and surreal. From costuming to drawing, it’ll always have those things in common. I love the female form and nature, so those things are recurring themes for me as well. And I’m absolutely obsessed with capturing the vast endlessness of space.
I have a website that I operate and take orders from, but I also do in person markets and pop ups. I’m always looking for events to live paint or vend at and would like to get into traveling for such events more. I mainly make my profits from commissions or the sales of my original paintings, something I hope becomes more frequent over time. I thoroughly enjoy creating commissions and have really been itching to complete another mural.
I’ve recently starting leading creative hours, something I’m super excited about that has been in the works for some time. Id like to start offering those at different places, bars and community centers, etc. I would love to become a full time paint night host for people’s events and parties, it’s been on my list for a while. I’m available to be booked through my website or email. I help even non artists to feel like Van Gogh and Picasso. or so I hope lol.
The main part of my business is paintings and prints, available through my website. Prints are the easiest way to make my work more accessible to the public so they’re pretty popular, but I enjoy making stickers as well. and I tend to give those away a little too freely.
Everything I produce in my business is handmade by me and not outsourced. A) because it’s cheaper but B) because it feels good to know I was a part of the process from beginning to end. The love put there that way is different, to me. The quality of what I do is very important to me and I’m hoping to continue to improve as my business grows. Right now, I’m just trying to spread the word about my little sleepy art collective and hope that more commissions for murals and paintings follow.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three most impactful qualities for me in this journey have been resilience, resourcefulness, and respect. The triple Rs were unintentional. Resilience has allowed to me to keep my head up after a market with no sales that I paid to participate in, or after a nicely priced commission falls through, or after someone says I’m talented but my work isn’t their cup of tea. I have to remind myself almost daily that things are going to be okay and just because it didn’t work today, doesn’t mean it won’t tomorrow. That’s my biggest word of advice for people trying to create a name and space for themselves in this industry, especially early on. Not everyone will like or want to purchase your work, but you have to remember that your audience does exist, that you do have talent and that both those things will intersect and flourish when you’re ready and know your worth.
Resourcefulness has just been me finding ways to do things in the most efficient and cost effective way. Or finding avenues to get my work to more people. Something I noticed about the way I started out is I didn’t have a lot of help or guidance with many things. I had to figure out how to accomplish certain steps without having done the necessary steps that came before. One thing about me, though, I’mma always work it out. Even if it takes a minute. More advice? There’s always more than one way to achieve something. Don’t look at other people’s blueprint (unless it can work exactly the same for you), create your own. Build your own resources that are catered to your specific needs. And never forget how important a resource other people are, ESPECIALLY others in the same industry as you.
The respect is about respecting both myself and the people around me. Respecting myself by asking what for and expecting what I’m worth and accepting nothing less. I disrespected myself many times on this journey accepting less for a piece than what I asked for it because someone talked me down. Or feeling like I had to create specific things a specific way to cater to people who aren’t even my target audience. I still struggle with this one daily, but I actively work on it. Respect for others is ensuring that anyone who interacts with your business walks away feeling like you made a positive impact on them. The best way to get repeat costumers, collaborators, and first time buyers is to respect them in every interaction.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Running a business is incredibly overwhelming. Trying to be a known artist in the current time we live in (or I guess any time, really, if you ask Van Gogh) can also be incredibly overwhelming. When I find myself getting overwhelmed, feel myself attempting to push too hard or too strong towards a goal and reaching the brink of burn out, my first move is to remove myself from whatever is overwhelming me. To allow myself the space and time to come down, de-stress and re-evaluate. Sometimes, after taking that time, I return to the problem to see what about it was overwhelming me and what steps can be taken to remove that sensation. A lot of the time, I just take a nap. Sleepy isn’t just a name, it’s a lifestyle, and nothing can be overwhelming if you’re asleep.
In all seriousness, though, the best thing to do is to do something you love to unwind and re-center.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sleepygirlco.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sleepygirlcol
- Twitter: twitter.com/sleepygirlco
- Other: https://linktr.ee/SleepyGirl?fbclid=PAAaZtNs3mpL_FMHT2VNlTwcCL8ceQsZsXRwC5aGNMGMH2_88K5ifh4xx-J5o
Image Credits
El Dattio
