Are you interested in wood burning or want to know where to find some beautiful pieces? Or are you looking for unique and stunning artwork and want to find someone that has quality pieces? EandB Baubles and Thing has these and so much more! Emily creates her own woodburning designs in anything from bees to dice spoons to fairies and mushrooms and so much more! You’ll find tiny potion bottles filled with stones and cozy lanterns that can be made to be spooky, dragon eggs, and stunning wood books as well as beautiful pen illustrations.

In the interview below, you’ll find what inspired Emily to get started with woodburning and creating artwork, encouragement for new artists and entrepreneurs as well lessons learned and who she would love to meet if she could. :)

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Woodburning and much much more with EandB Baubles and Thing

What gave you the idea/inspiration to start EandBBaublesandThing?

It was actually my partner that inspired me. For the longest time I just did pen art, which I still love but my work has grown so much more since meeting him. I went from only selling art prints to burning wood, working with resin, painting lanterns. We started working together so the shop became ours. I went from only doing obscure pen drawings to building an art business with depth and variety.

How did you get started in woodburning and creating artwork?

I am a completely self taught artist and have been drawing since I can remember. What really made me take art seriously though was a science class. I would have to draw diagrams of flowers and cells. I would be able to free hand perfect replicas of these artistic diagrams. I practiced more and more until I got good enough to create without a reference. After working for a local art center I picked up a wood burning tool and found that I loved the look of it and it was a very easy move from drawing.

How do you choose the materials you work with?

I love watching other people create art. It inspires me to try new things. I learned resin art from watching people work with it on youtube. I loved what they came up with so I decided to start playing with it myself and used the products they use in their work. I definitely have to do some experimenting myself to find good, sustainable material but I try to support other creators' content and use their suggestions.

How do you choose the designs you create – ie is there something that you take inspiration from when you start a design?

I don't really have just one answer honestly. Many times I will be listening to music and a design pops into my head. Other times I will be watching another artist create something, and it inspires me to create a piece in the same theme. Other times I sit down with one idea, make a mistake, and completely change everything I was planning to do. For a long time I would create scribblism art using only pens. I would make a lot of mistakes but it taught me that mistakes happen and that's ok. It's your ability to adapt that matters. Some of my favorite art pieces have started as mistakes.

What is your favorite design to create? Favorite material with?

My favorite design would probably be my Spellbook Boxes/Dice Tray. I get to combine my wood burning skill with resin work and painting to make something really special. I do custom trays for people and just being able to make something special for them fills me with joy. Oftentimes people have a vision for what they want but they don't know how to do it themselves. It makes me happy that I can do it for them.

What would you tell a new artist for encouragement?

I would tell a new artist to never give up and to roll with the mistakes. A lot of artists are perfectionists, and I used to be as well. It is the mistakes that make life so real though. It is the mistakes that make us human, and having that in our art just seems so much more genuine to me. There will be art critics out there who will tell you that your art isn't good enough. You will tell yourself that your art isn't good enough. So often have I thought to myself that nobody cares about my art, that so many other artists are better, that people would never like my art style. But I kept pushing myself and I never gave up. As of today I have made 77 sales, and I started my etsy less than 2 years ago. I am proud of that. If you keep pushing yourselves and if you keep working hard, you will find success.

What is something you are passionate about and why?

I am passionate about teaching and uplifting other artists. Like I mentioned before I am completely self taught. I took one art class in high school and not only did my teacher not teach me anything, but she favored the students who were naturally good at art. Instead of supporting her students and teaching them she told them their art wasn’t good enough and they needed to change it. I never took another class with her again. Constructive criticism is extremely helpful but nobody, especially a child, should be told that art they worked hard on and put hours into is not good enough.

If you had one (or several) things to share with a woman entrepreneur, what would it be? What would you encourage them about?

I would share that it's not a walk in the park. I have taken so many courses and researched for hours upon hours and I still don't know exactly what I am doing. It is a scary pool to jump into. My best advice is to just do it. There is no better time than now. You will figure things out by making mistakes. You will figure things out from other people helping you. But sitting there wondering, “is now the time?”  is just another day wasted. There will never be a good time to start your own business. I waited for years and I wish I hadn’t. So do it. Take the leap, because I promise there will be people out their to catch you.

What is a lesson learned for being a woman entrepreneur that you wish someone had told you when you first started?

I wish somebody would have told me you don't need to pay for marketing to be successful. I wish somebody would have told me that buying facebook ads and other automated marketing is pretty useless unless you have like $1000 to spend and know what you're doing.

I wish somebody would have told me how to price things and how to calculate shipping. As an artist, pricing things is hard and I made very little money on my first few sales because I both didn't know my worth, and also didn't know how to ship things cost effectively.

How has COVID changed or impacted your vision/strategy?

I honestly did not have much vision before COVID. I started my etsy about a month before COVID hit the US, so when it did I made sure I had as much supplies as possible so it could stay disinfected and I rolled with the punches. If anything it gave me more time to work. I knew at the very beginning that times were going to be hard, and they still are to a lesser extent. My vision has been evolving since I started my shop and it still is.

What is something that has helped you get through during this global pandemic? Something encouraging or positive?

Something that has honestly helped me has been TikTok. Every day I would look forward to making a video and sharing the process of my work. I have been a part of this incredibly positive community of artists who uplift and support me as well. It is something I would always look forward to and still look forward to.

Fun question – if you could meet one person in history or present, who would it be and why?

I would like to meet Tim Burton. I have always loved the dark and macabre and my pen art style has always fit well with his. I learned from him that it is ok to be weird and like things that other people don’t. He taught me that art doesn't have to be realistic or abstract or fine. Art is art and it can be weird.

What is your dream for EandBBaublesandThing to be (where do you see EandBBaublesandThing in 5+ years)?

My dream is to be a full time artist. I would love to start a clothing line with my art on it. I would love to have a few artists working for me, maybe even just somebody to do the shipping. I want to have enough inventory to be able to travel to Renaissance Faire and ComiCon. I have always been bad at long term goal setting, but I see myself running a successful business that brings me joy in 5 years and that's the most important thing to me.

Is there anything (message or topic) you would like to talk about that we did not ask about?

I would just tell other artists not to be afraid of who they are and the things they like. I have been an outcast my whole life and I never thought I could even be a successful artist. But I never gave up and I am proud of myself.

How can I and my readers help you with your dream for EandBBaublesandThing? ☺

Thank you for joining us on this interview with EandBBaublesandThings and thank you Emily for the interview opportunity. If you have a maker you recommend for a feature or want to share what you have from EandBBaublesandThings please email me or comment below. Have a wonderful day my friend!