Have you ever thought about licensing your artwork? Well, today I'm talking with Bari J all about how she got started as a surface pattern designer and how she put herself out there to get her first fabric company to license. We chat about how to educate yourself about pattern design, her favorite products she's created, and all about her new book. We also dive into her process and how she finds inspiration for her collections.
About Bari J:
Bari J. is a lifestyle brand that spans many categories including wall art, fabric, home decor, stationery, cards, wall murals, wall paper, stencils and more.
I'm an artist. As a very visual person, I probably always was, but I didn't always create art. I was a fashionista sort in high school, and I was crazy for interior design. But I was busy singing and dancing and being an actress. I never ever thought I could make art. My mom was the artist. I was the actress. That was that.
I came to art in my early thirties as a way to express myself when my children were young. Out of college, I had worked in advertising. And though I started college as a theatre major I graduated college with a degree in Social Sciences and Women's Studies. Not really related to art, I'd say.
But when our now almost grown girls were little, I was always puttering around. I wanted our home to be different. I didn't want it to look like a page from a Pottery Barn catalog. I wanted it to look like us. And I also didn't want to dress from a catalog. At the time, I started making jewelry from found objects and then collage art as well.
Soon I was sewing handbags and created a small business under the name Bari J. selling luscious fabric bags... and the Curated Maximalist Style was born (though I didn't know that quite yet). After several years, I decided I needed my own fabric for the bags, and with a background in graphic design for advertising, I started teaching myself to design fabric. A year later, I licensed my first line of fabric. It was a "painterly" line called Full Bloom that most assumed I had painted by hand. But I hadn't. For years I continued to create art just in the computer... and then I took the leap. Paint. And I was hooked.
Now years later I know what was always true. I am an artist. And I am a painter.
Since then I have created 15 collections of fabric, art for wall paper, home decor, wall art, and much more.
The Curated Maximalist Style has become part of who I am and what I do.
Links:
Episode 45 - Angie Avard Turner, Lawyer of Prepd for Success on Protecting Your Intellectual Property, Contracts for Creatives, & Copyrighting Images
Website: https://barijdesigns.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barij/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/barij/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BariJdesigns/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9pNVddXV5GWCkXHl5ZvbhQ
To get 50% off your first year with Honeybook, go to positivelycreative.net/honeybook!
About The Positively Creative Podcast:
The Positively Creative Podcast was created by Dorothy Collier, artist of Dorothy Art, for creative entrepreneurs. When Dorothy started having a positive outlook on every aspect of her life, including her art career, the creativity and opportunities started overflowing! Join her as she chats with other small business owners, discussing the ins and outs of how to run a creative business and how they make it in their respective fields.
To learn more about The Positively Creative Podcast, visit our website or head over to our Patreon page! You can also find Dorothy on Instagram at @positivelycreativepodcast and @dorothyart!
S3 Episode 81 - PC Summit - Thomas Evans
S3 Episode 80 - PC Summit - The Hive Collective
079 - PC Summit - Rachael Boer Photography
78 - PC Summit - Sara Trail of Social Justice Sewing Academy
077 - Meg Sutton - Belle & Union Co. on the Wholesale Stationery Industry, Growing into Brick & Mortar, & Pivoting Your Design Aesthetic
076 - Dionne Woods of The Turquoise Iris on Furniture Artistry, Facebook Lives, & Being Vulnerable
075 - Kate Waldo & Co. of The Organized Influencer Academy on Systems and Tools for Streamlining
074 - Jennie Lou Tucker, Fine Artist on Live Event Painting
073 - Whitney Winkler Art on Painting for Festivals, Sharing Stories on Instagram, & Collaborating with Creatives
072 - Kimberly Sundt on Customer Experience, Vision Boards, & Bringing Value to your Customers
071 - Linda Steele, James Dukes, Edward Newby and Brad W. Moritz on Mentorships and Mastermind Groups
070 - Kat Popova, painter, founder of Create Magazine, & Art & Cocktails Podcast on Having Many Creative Endeavors, Building Community, & Giving Yourself Grace
069 - Amy Kinslow - Southern Fried Design Barn on Working with Wholesale Reps, Selling at Craft & Barn Markets, & Building a Product Line
068 - Jess Franks, Fine Artist on Layering Acrylic, Working with Minted, & Colorful Collections
067 - Kimberly Zukley, Fine Artist, on Expanding Upon Your Niche, Exploring Mediums, & Growing Organically
066 - Kristin Malone, Artist & Shop Owner of Home Malone on Brick & Mortar, Expanding Locations, & Customer Communication
S2 Ep 65 - Arrow at Overton, a One-Roof Creative District in the Heart of Memphis with CoFounders Abby Phillips & Dorothy Collier
064 - Amy Smith of The Joy Junkie on Standing Up for Yourself, How to Say No, & Build Effective Boundaries
063 - Sarah Hartley, Editor in Chief of Holl and Lane Magazine on Telling Your Story, Building Community on Vulnerability, & Being a Work from Home Mama
062 - Positively Creative Summit pt. 4 of 4 - Elizabeth Heiskell of The Debutante Farmer, The Today Show Contributor
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