Episode 32: Managing the Ebbs and Flows of Creativity with Megan Fowler of Brown Parcel Press
Megan Fowler is the owner of Brown Parcel Press, a letterpress and design company that she started over a decade ago while in college. The company specializes in printing cards, calendars, and stationery using letterpress as their main medium, and has recently expanded to include notepads and linens.
Trusting Yourself
Megan emphasizes the importance of trusting oneself in the creative process. Despite attending art school, Megan was not initially confident as a graphic designer or business person. However, she had a breakthrough after hearing a quote from Ira Glass of This American Life, stating that "It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions." Megan explains that early on, she could envision what she wanted her work to look like, but was unable to execute it. Nevertheless, she kept at it, understanding that progress is not always immediate or perfect. She advises others to not let perfectionism or the fear of not being good enough hold them back, as it is important to allow oneself to make mistakes and learn from them. Megan's journey serves as a reminder that growth and improvement come with time and repetition, and the key is to trust oneself and keep moving forward.
Your Work Has Value
Megan believes that business is trading something of value for something of value, and she views creative work as having inherent value, regardless of its monetary worth. Megan acknowledges that everything you create may not always be profitable but she encourages us to adjust our expectations accordingly. Megan aims to protect her creative energy by detaching herself from her creations. Overall, Megan encourages creatives to find a balance between their passion for creativity and the need to make a living.
Megan created a helpful analogy of thinking of your business like nutrition. Just as you need meat and potatoes for sustenance, you need a tried and true product that generates a substantial portion of your income, has an established audience, and can be produced with certainty. For example, this could be a calendar. Next, you need to mix up your sides, which are products that show promise for growth, such as notepads or linens. Finally, make room for dessert, which are projects that scratch your creative itch but may not generate as much revenue. Collaborations can be a form of dessert, allowing you to play, experiment, and attract a new audience. Even if collaborations are not always profitable, they can still be a valuable way to have fun and create. By allowing yourself to play, you can continue to be playful and inventive in other spaces where you need to be creating at a high level to generate revenue.
Strategies to help Bring Creative Highs and Lows to Baseline
In order to keep the creative juices flowing and avoid the highs and lows that come with being a creative entrepreneur, collaboration and experimentation are key. It's important to have a creative passion outside of your main work that is not tied to sharing or making money.
When feeling down, it's important to remember that the highs will come again and to focus on coming out of the lows quicker. One way to build confidence is to only compare yourself to yourself and to look back on past achievements. This can help you see how far you've come and remind you of your capabilities. Similarly, when facing fears, it can be helpful to think of things you used to be afraid of but are no longer afraid of, to remind yourself that fears can be overcome.
Even if it means paying for it, being part of a community can be priceless for emotional well-being. Through shared experiences and support, progress in business can be made much faster than trying to go at it alone.The key to success in programs or mastermind groups is to put in the work and show up as your authentic self, mess and all. By taking the time to participate and engage with others, you'll reap the rewards and connect with like-minded individuals.
In order to deal with negative feelings and self-doubt, it's important to get curious about those emotions and identify their source. Feelings are triggered by thoughts, which are often influenced by objective circumstances. By breaking down the situation and examining it from different perspectives, it's possible to change the outcome of a situation. By approaching situations with curiosity and a willingness to examine the root cause of negative emotions, it's possible to turn things around and achieve better outcomes.
Move your body to help unblock your mind.
Consider making art with kids as a way to remind yourself to just start and let the creativity flow.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
There’s no one perfect creative you, but millions of good creative you’s or great creative you’s. Whatever your medium is there are so many possibilities available to you.
The ebs and flows and highs and lows we feel in our creativity are inherent in the creative journey.
Remember, that what you create inherently has value. It may not necessarily have monetary value, but it scratches a creative itch for you, then it has value. It’s important to adjust our expectations that not everything that we create will be profitable.
The metaphor of thinking of our creative businesses as a meal, was a perfect representation about playing with creativity in our approach to making products. Your business should have your tried and true product (your meat and potatoes), sides that are well received but may not be the star of the show, and dessert: the area that you can experiment, have collaborations, and play but not have to bank on it being successful.
Some tools to help flatten or ups and downs of creativity were:
-Allowing yourself to have another creative passion that is not tied to sharing at all.-Only compare yourself to yourself. Revisit past work to remind yourself how far you have come and also be reinspired by your past successes.
-Build community around you. Having community is priceless for your emotional well-being.
-Get curious about what you're feeling. Ask yourself, why is that feeling there? Usually that feeling is there because of a thought. Instead of just feeling the feeling and then stopping, be curious and work backwards with the result and action you want, which will then change your beliefs, and then your feelings about it.
-Move your body.-And lastly, if all else fails, go make art with kids.
Learn how to manufacture overseas with Rebecca Woolbright and Manufacture:Awesome. Hop on the waitlist today!
Megan Fowler is the creative director and owner of Brown Parcel Press, a letterpress & design studio in Sparta GA that focuses on simple design highlighting the natural beauty of the world around us. Megan received her degree in Printmaking and Book Arts from the University of Georgia in ’08. She refers to her relationship with letterpress as “love at first print” and focuses on creating work that celebrates connection: connection to each other and connection with the natural world.
Brown Parcel Press’ work has been featured in the New York Times and Garden & Gun, and they have collaborated with Jamie Lee Curtis, Ace & Jig, Molly Yeh of the Food Network, 3 Porch Farm, & Wild Season Florals for their book release, “Little Flower Recipe Book”.
When she's not printing or designing, she's geeking out over books with her daughters, walking her dogs, or generally feeling happy that muppets exist.
Visit her website at: www.brownparcelpress.com and follow on instagram.
