Episode 33: Leading With Inspiration with Sarah Rafferty of Atwater Designs
Sarah Rafferty, a cyanotype artist, started her business Atwater Designs in 2017. Cyanotype is the oldest photographic process where a solution is mixed from powder and painted onto paper, objects are placed over the paper to create shadows, and exposed with UV light. The paper is then washed to create a blue and white image. Sarah opens up about how she intentionally runs her business by being led with inspiration and her why.
The Connection of Your “Why” and Inspiration
Sarah believes that inspiration and her “why” are closely linked. Knowing one's "why" is imperative to succeed in their business. Without a strong sense of purpose, even the most mundane tasks like writing a newsletter or adding a product to a website can feel meaningless. Sarah suggests that being grounded in one's mission statement or what drives their business forward is essential for staying on track. As a creative, she acknowledges that it's easy to get carried away by new ideas and possibilities. However, she stresses that entrepreneurs have a responsibility to filter their ideas and focus on those that align with their purpose. Ultimately, she believes that inspiration is what connects entrepreneurs back to the foundation upon which they have built their businesses, and encourages others to find their own sources of inspiration.
Sarah has found that connecting with nature every day and leading her business from a place of inspiration grounds her. She has experienced days of doubt but staying connected to her purpose and leading with inspiration is what has kept her motivated.
Personal “Wintering”
Sarah talks about the ebb and flow of inspiration in her creative business and how seasonality plays a role in her creative process. She shares that she has an intense seasonality with her business as she needs sunshine to create cyanotypes, and in the winter, she takes a break from making art.
Sarah also talks about the book "Wintering" by Katherine May, which explores the idea of accepting the winter season as a natural part of the creative process. She talks about how this seasonality helps her to be okay with the lull of inspiration and not to push herself too hard when she's not feeling it. Instead, she steps away and does things she loves, like going to inspiring stores, museums, or gardens, which helps to fire things up. She emphasizes the need to be gentle with oneself and to allow for lulls in creativity. Different seasons can also represent different phases in our lives and perhaps we can give ourselves permission to not always be inspired.
The “Everydayness” of Walking
Sarah believes that getting out and walking every day can help ignite inspiration and creativity, even during moments of low energy or lack of enthusiasm. She explains that going out and experiencing the world without distractions can open our minds to new perspectives and ideas. Sarah encourages people to go for walks without their phones so they can fully appreciate the beauty around them. She compares the habit of walking to brushing our teeth, saying that it is a necessary routine maintenance to keep creativity and inspiration flowing. Sarah sees getting out in front of inspiration as a form of exercise, similar to getting up and working out. She believes that the reminder to prioritize inspiration every day helps her get through difficult moments.
Morning Routines and Keeping Promises to Yourself
Sarah says that her morning routine is the most helpful thing in running her business, as it makes her feel more awake, capable, and connected. Her morning routine consists of running, stretching, showering, eating oatmeal, drinking coffee, and going to her studio. She sets a boundary by putting her phone on airplane mode while she runs and listens to music, which allows her to feel in charge. Sarah recognizes that she doesn’t always do this perfectly, but she gives herself grace and avoids beating herself up over it.
Sarah lastly touches on an inspiring talk that Bonnie Christine discussed, which was the tendency for people to keep promises to others, but not to themselves. This hit Sarah hard as she realized how often she broke promises to herself, whether they were related to her business, personal health, or education. After this realization, Sarah has made a conscious effort to keep promises to herself, starting with her morning routine.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Connecting your inspiration to your why can keep you on track and drive your business forward.
Give yourself permission to not push yourself to create when you aren’t feeling creatively inspired, and perhaps think about how being inspired can look different from season to season.
Just like getting yourself to the gym, being intentional in your “everydayness” of leading with inspiration will help to be proactive and counter those feelings of being “uninspired” instead of being reactive later.
Running a creative business forces you to figure out what works for you, how you are going to show up, and how you plan out your day. It’s important to remember that as creatives our days aren’t going to look like a normal 9-5 job, and that’s ok.
Having a morning routine can set your day up for success. If you haven’t implemented one, consider what that might look like for you.
Make promises to yourself that are attainable, and start keeping those promises to yourself, because they are important and you are worthy of them.
Learn how to manufacture overseas with Rebecca Woolbright and Manufacture:Awesome. Hop on the waitlist today!
Sarah Rafferty is the founder of Atwater Designs, a cyanotype design studio where she produces original cyanotypes, fine art prints, paper goods, textiles and her newest venture: wallpaper! She spent the first 15 years of her professional career as a teacher and 8 of them teaching photography to high school girls outside of Philadelphia and finds working with students to be integral in her process. Sarah is also a mentor to artists and runs a Mastermind called Wonder where she weaves her career knowledge and expertise in with the art of running a small creative business. Sarah received a MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and received a BA in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography and Book Arts from Warren Wilson College near Asheville, North Carolina. She is consistently inspired by the natural world, be it her small back yard or adventures on mountain tops far away. Her exploration of nature is an ever-evolving attempt to dissect what is happening with the changing of the seasons and how they can relate to our inner worlds. Rafferty's work has been shown both nationally and internationally and she currently sells her cyanotype work all over the world. She currently lives in West Chester, PA with her husband, John, dog and cat.
Visit Sarah’s website at www.atwaterwaterdesigns.com and follow along on instagram.
