New & Next: Find Out How This Awesome High School Teacher Is Making Art Her Business (Pun Intended)

 

 

 

 

 

Original artwork is always on the wish list of anyone trying to jazz up their home. However, it often stays on that list due to the outrageous cost associated with attaining artwork. .

Etsy is an amazing marketplace for unique and affordable handmade and vintage goods of all sorts. On the nights when I can’t sleep, I “virtually window shop” on the site. It is on one of these nights, when I came across the breathtaking work of Katie Romanic, owner of Fiber and Gloss.

Fiber and Gloss is an Etsy shop created by an incredibly talented high school teacher from Ohio. Being the small-business-lover that I am, I reached out to Katie for a full interview and am honored to share her story and incredible pieces with you.

 

FIBER AND GLOSS 

Owner: Katie Romanic

1.  Tell us a little about yourself and Fiber And Gloss.

I am a high school teacher and artist in the Cleveland, Ohio area, and I have lived in the Northeast Ohio area for the entirety of my life. I am also recently engaged to a wonderful soon to be med school student, so I’m now balancing teaching, my Etsy shop business, and planning a wedding! I wouldn’t have it any other way – I thrive best when I’m busy!

I’m actually a third generation teacher in my family, and I knew I wanted to be an art teacher one day when I was in kindergarten. Art has been the biggest part of my life for that same length of time. No matter what it is, I am always creating something, and this insatiable need to create has always been a part of me. I’ve never been able to just sit still and watch a movie – I just feel so unproductive and unfulfilled. My hands simply have to be doing something, and the best thing for them to do, in my opinion, is to create! When I was younger, I was always very particular about the tools and the paper I used to make my art. I had to have a certain brand of markers and the right thickness of paper, or I simply wouldn’t make a single thing. Once I tired of markers and pencils, I moved to fiber arts for a while. I remember teaching myself how to crochet from a poorly illustrated 1970s tutorial book when I was in middle school, and I haven’t stopped since. In high school, I became fascinated by upcycled art and paper art, and I created sculpture bowls and vases out of magazine paper. I never really found my biggest artistic love, acrylic painting, until I was in college.

I received my BA in Art Education from Kent State University in 2014, and I have just completed my second year of teaching. After way more applications and interviews than I ever thought it would take, I finally feel like I have my dream job, and I couldn’t be happier with where I am. As I began to realize I found professional happiness in my teaching career, I also realized that I wanted more for my own personal artistic endeavors. My Etsy Shop, Fiber and Gloss, showcases my own personal style with an emphasis on color, florals, and abstract works. I keep my prices on the low end because I believe quality, handmade goods should be affordable and accessible to all. I’ve often fallen in love with something someone else has made, but I don’t buy it because it is perhaps out of my budget at the time, so I walk away. It is my hope that no one ever feels that way with the items in my shop. I currently offer acrylic canvas paintings and crochet scarves, but I am working to expand my brand to include collage works and woven bracelets this summer.

 

2. What inspired you to turn your hobby into a business?

As an art teacher, I would watch my students day in and day out create their own works of art and continually discover new skills, techniques, and styles. I spent my days placing all of my artistic energy on their work, and the only “art” I really made were things I needed as examples for my students. I started to almost become envious of the creative drive and energy I saw in them every day, and that’s really when I knew I needed something more. I started to feel like a fraud for forcing students to do “work” I hadn’t done for myself in such a long time. I became glued to my computer screen as I researched artist websites, Etsy shops, and Pinterest for all the ideas and inspiration I could find. I decided to just go for it, so I bought a bunch of canvases, spent my entire winter break creating as much as I possibly could, and officially opened my Etsy shop the day after Christmas. Everyone always told me I needed to sell my art and crafts, but I never had any clear idea as to what I would sell or how I would do it. I’m not sure I’d have my Etsy shop right now if I didn’t have that push from my students. The motivation to get help paying for my student loans certainly didn’t hurt either!

Original Artwork by Katie Romanic of Fiber And Gloss

Photo Credit: Katie Romanic

3. What’s your creative process before starting a new piece?

When I made art for myself, I would labor for hours over one piece, determined to create something entirely flawless. Everything I made was in a photorealism style, every mark I made was very carefully planned, and I never embraced any sort of spontaneity with my art. I knew I could not continue working this way with my Etsy shop, especially since I can only work on my shop part time during the school year. I started to fall in love with abstract expressionism, bold marks, and unexpected colors. As soon as I tried out working in this way, just playing in the moment rather than planning out every detail, I never wanted to go back. Almost everything I make in my Etsy shop is the result of me just sitting down and deciding to paint. When it comes to inspiration, I keep a file on my computer filled with photographs I’d like to turn into abstract paintings, designs and patterns I find interesting, quotes, and even other paintings I enjoy. I always have my computer next to me so I can look at an image or two as a reference, and I usually spread out all over the floor in front of the TV to watch Netflix and paint. I’ve always been a multitasker, and I rarely just do one thing, so it’s no different when I am creating.

 

4. As a woman business owner, what advise would you give to other women looking to turn their hobby or skill into a business? 

For as long as I’ve been creating anything, everyone in my life has continually told me that I need to be selling my creations. A huge part of me was always terrified to even try because I worried I was not good enough and I didn’t even know where to start. Every site or shop I saw was always so cohesive, and I felt like I couldn’t possibly come up with enough of my own original ideas to create a unique shop with a distinct style.

Now that I do have my own shop, I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing from time to time, but I’ve learned to embrace that feeling and just go with it. I’m learning so much as I go, and even though I may be far from perfect, I’m already leaps ahead of where I would be if I let that fear keep me from even trying. My biggest piece of advice would be to simply just go for it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have it all figured out in the beginning because you learn, adapt, and develop as you go. I’m a firm believer in the idea that you learn best by doing, and you’ll never get where you want to be if you don’t take those first, albeit terrifying, steps.

I may never work on my Etsy shop full time, mostly because I love teaching so much, but the business I have created so far with my Etsy shop significantly enhances both my personal life and my professional career in a multitude of ways. I get to spend my day teaching, which I love, and I come home to work on my Etsy shop, which I also love, and my personal happiness and overall well-being is so much better for having both in my life. Figure out what you love the most and make it work for you. When it’s something you really want, you can figure out how to make it work with your life, so never listen to anyone who says you can’t have it all.

Original Artwork by Katie Romanic of Fiber & Gloss

Photo Credit: Tiffany aka itsmeladyg

 

5. What money saving tips or tricks would you share with a new business owner?

I’m actually a big couponer and bargain hunter, so saving money in my business is also very important to me. With what I make and sell, there is sometimes a decently large materials cost associated with it. I have spent (and still do spend from time to time) hours researching the websites and stores that are trustworthy and offer the cheapest prices on the items I need. This definitely takes quite a bit of time, but as a pretty broke college grad paying the bills and student loans, penny pinching matters to me a lot. This usually means that I might order things from as many as five or six different websites at a time rather than getting everything from one place. When I do have a large order I need to make from any one place, I will usually purchase a gift card from the discounted gift card sites like cardcash, raise, or giftcardgranny. You can usually get e-gift cards emailed to you right after purchase, so it doesn’t require a lot of planning, and I’ve never had a problem using any of the gift cards I’ve purchased. When I started my shop, I also cleared a separate space in our spare bedroom and bought a nice shelving unit where I store and keep all of my inventory and shipping materials. Organization is definitely key to knowing what you have and what you need! If you can buy things in larger, bulk amounts, especially your shipping supplies, you will definitely save a lot of money!

 

 

6. What if/any special service does Fiber And Gloss offer?

 

There are a couple special services/offers that I can do with my Etsy shop. The first is just simply doing custom or commission orders, which have honestly been my absolute favorite to do! I truly love getting to work with people to help make the artistic visions they have for their space come true. The second service I can offer is one I never even thought about doing until a customer approached me with the request. With some of my smaller designs, I can create these in bulk for gifts for schools or companies. So far, I have had the pleasure of working with three different universities to create a design in bulk as gifts for their employees. This is also something I enjoy very much, so I would love to do more of it in the future.

 

7. Where can we find more information about Fiber And Gloss?

I’m working on setting up a blog, but for now, I really just have my Etsy shop, www.fiberandgloss.etsy.com, and I often post process and product photos on Instagram, @katieromanic.

 

Original Artwork by Katie Romanic of Fiber & Gloss

My 2 Cents:

I am a firm believer in shopping small. I appreciate the integrity and love that is put into each piece. There is a story behind the person and their work that gives their items life. This is a feeling that cannot be achieved when you purchase from large department stores.

This love can be seen and felt by Katie’s pieces. Each stroke and strip of paper is elegantly and intentionally laid. It’s amazing to see the incredible amount of detail that is offered at such an attainable price range. As Katie mentioned, Fiber and Gloss is committed to keeping art affordable. The entire body of work posted to Etsy (at the time this was published), ranges from $10 to $125. Custom and commissioned  pieces vary in price.

Katie’s story is so relatable to many entrepreneurs. A passion starts as a rumbling in your soul and develops into a vision that can be put into action. In addition, I for one can relate to her feeling of not know what exactly the next step is at all times, but knowing that it has to be ahead of her.

I would like to thank Katie for sharing her story and artwork with me. Please check out her Etsy store Fiber and Gloss and entire collection by clicking HERE. If you pick up one of her pieces, be sure to tag me on Instagram @itmeladyg. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking HERE so you don’t miss a live introduction to her pieces in the near future.

FTC DISCLOSURE: This post was sponsored in part by Fiber and Gloss. This in no way shape or form changes any opinions reflected in this post. For more information, please visit my Disclosure Page.