If You Draw It, They Will Come: Building a Creative Business for an Audience of One

Why I Stopped Chasing Trends and Started Designing for Joy

This week, I want to give you a peek behind the curtain of my business. It’s not about spreadsheets or marketing plans. It’s about a counterintuitive approach I’ve taken to creating art, an approach that starts with a simple audience: me.

So much of the advice for artists and designers today revolves around one thing: trends. We’re told to check Pinterest for what’s hot, to know the popular color palettes, to research what themes people are buying right now. I’ve heard this rule over and over, and I’ve even tried to follow it. But every time I’ve tried to create something just because I thought it would be popular, it has fallen flat. Maybe it looks fine, but it’s missing a spark. It just doesn’t feel like me.

So I decided to break the rule. My strategy is simple: I create things that I want to see in the world. I design for an audience of one. Because let’s face it, if you're not willing to proudly display your artwork on a wall, it's unlikely that anyone else will love it enough to buy it either.

My philosophy has become a bit like that line from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." To me, that means creating from the heart to make something so authentic it can’t be replicated. I truly believe that it doesn't matter how weird or niche your interests are; there are other people out there who are exactly your kind of weird. So I create for myself, building things that bring me joy and trusting that my people will find me.

And I’ll let you in on a secret: there is no greater feeling than making a sale to a complete stranger. I’m talking about someone you've never marketed to, who just stumbles upon your work and buys it simply because they love it. And on that note, I’d like to take this opportunity to give a huge shout-out to my unknown fan in Spain who recently bought a pair of socks featuring my ukulele pattern from my Redbubble shop. I see you & I appreciate you.

Now, I don't want to give you the wrong impression. As incredible as it is to find someone who loves your art enough to buy it, the reality is that designing for an 'audience of one' isn't exactly a shortcut to commercial success. To be perfectly honest, I am not (yet) wildly successful by any traditional metrics. In fact, my number one customer is, without a doubt, me.

And you know what? I absolutely LOVE every single purchase I’ve made. My home is filled with my art, and it brings me joy every single day. I have a shower curtain featuring my East Van Cross & Crows, an apron with my whimsical astronauts, and art on my walls that makes me smile.

The biggest lesson this journey has taught me is that the true reward is separate from the income. The joy, for me, comes from the doing—the meditative process of getting into a flow state where all that matters is the art taking shape under my hands. On days that I dedicate time to art, my mood is better, my stress is lower, and my happiness is greater.

I am still actively working toward building a business where my creative endeavors provide the bulk of my income, but the fact that it hasn't happened yet doesn't deter me. The joy is in the making. I'm going to keep creating for an audience of one, and trust that one day, if I let my weird light shine bright enough, the other weirdos will know where to find me.

If you’re starting your creative business or just feeling stuck my advice is this: Find artists that you admire. Look at what they post and listen to what they have to say about their process. And then, decide what parts of that advice make sense for you and what parts you want to discard because they just don't fit with your version of success.

You don’t need to follow every trend, or anyone else’s path.

Now I'd love to hear from you.

Who is an artist you admire, and what's one piece of their advice you’ve chosen to either follow or ignore?