The History of Ginger & Twine Co.
Hi there, friend! Since this is my very first journal entry on here, let me introduce myself, and explain the roots of Ginger & Twine Co.
My name is Brianna. Or you can call me Bri. I’m a twenty-something creative living in Tennessee who has spent her whole life dabbling in a little bit everything, wanting to try her hand at nearly every art form that is out there.
In addition to this pull I have towards creativity, I’m also a natural born entrepreneur, attempting to sell just about everything I make to whoever is interested, starting way back when with my mom’s Facebook friends.
My first official “startup,” with a name and everything, was Bloomin’ Bows; I sold handmade hairbows for little girls for a brief season when I was about 11. I also remember taking a few crochet orders for family and friends in middle school. Then in the early years of high-school I began accepting commissions for personal, stylized portraits in colored pencil. Then later on, custom logos and small graphic design gigs. And off and on between the ages of 15 and 19, I shot professional portraits and photoshoots for families.
Clearly, I could not make up my mind. I knew from a very early age that my purpose in life was to be a mother and stay home with my children, and to run a small business from home using my creative talents to help support the family a bit on the side. I just had to figure out which creative talent…
While I was trying to make this decision over the course of my late teens, I kept feeling a tug to do something with my illustration skills, something that has been embedded in me from the moment I could hold a pencil. But I honestly wasn’t confident that my type of art was the type people wanted, and frankly, I had no idea how to sell it anyway.
I wasn’t thinking outside the box of the idea that “painters sell paintings,” and I wasn’t keen on the idea of exclusively selling original canvas art. Most of my artworks were comprised of random “doodles” and standalone subjects, such as a single flower. I usually wasn’t one to fill a canvas with a whole scene, with layers and backgrounds and the like, which is what I always saw painters selling. I guess that’s all that shoppers are interested in, I thought.
So I discarded the idea and moved on.
In late 2020 I settled on fiber art, and after collecting a small sum of cash from friends’ and families’ orders, I opened a special checking account, and then my Etsy shop in May 2021. Of the bestsellers, I primarily sold hanging crystal car charms, macrame wristlets, and macrame fingerlets, to name a few. A couple wall hangings here and there.
It went so much better than I ever expected. Before I knew it, I was getting between 15-30 orders a day. In some cases this may not seem like much, but due to the handmade nature of fiber art, it had me working overtime. In addition to making every single piece that sold by hand, I also needed to set aside time for launching new products, shooting and editing photos of said projects, and for content creation to market my brand on social media. Among other things.
I was so, so grateful for the success, but it was becoming incredibly unsustainable for me.
And I was still childless— imagine adding kids to the 12 hour work days!
It’s a priority of mine to be a present and active parent to my future children, and I could not see that happening if things continued the way they were.
So I needed a new plan.
Again, the pull to be an illustrator. But this time it was different.
This time, I had learned a thing or two about illustration. During the time I had spent immersing myself in the small biz side of social media, building a community and discovering fellow creative entrepreneurs, I was starting to realize something. There was, indeed, a place for my art.
Stickers. Greeting cards. Art prints. Notepads. Washi tape? Enamel pins. Digital elements.
And that was all I needed. It didn’t take much to convince me.
The idea behind this decision was that I could produce a single artwork whenever motherhood would allow me, and then sell copies of the art on decorative and stationery products, and as digital resources. This should allow me to grow my business without sacrificing too much of what it takes to be an attentive mother.
So I purchased an iPad as soon as I had saved up enough money from macrame sales, and right off the bat I designed and launched several sticker designs in mid-2022. And although I kept taking fiber art orders, I continued adding sticker designs to the shop for the remainder of the year.
Unfortunately there’s been quite the hiccup in my progress towards this change, as I decided to accept a different job in May 2023. I took the job after we bought our first house in February, as a way to make some reliable income since our cost of living had gone up.
But I did not touch Ginger & Twine the whole time I was there. I’ve seen some amazing small business owners that come home from their 9-5 and then clock in for their “5-9” filling orders. That’s amazing for them, I wish I had that kind of drive and energy but I simply do not!
So about a year later, I left that job, and after catching up on a few home improvement and gardening projects, I went back to running Ginger & Twine Co. full-time.
This transition from fiber art to illustration has been slow and difficult. For a while I have held onto my fiber art products because I know it’s what sells, it’s what my people know me for. At this point, I might even say it is harder to start offering completely different products than it is to just start a whole new business. But man, do I adore the “Ginger & Twine Co.” brand name, and I adore the community that I have built on my socials with it. So I picked the harder route. Plus, I thought, I’ve seen a handful of small businesses that sell macrame and stickers and all sorts of things. Maybe I could label myself as an online boutique?
| Side note— the origin of the “Ginger & Twine Co.” name was a play on my hair color and the fact that I worked with string. I contemplated changing the name but ultimately decided it didn’t matter all that much. I mean, does Crate & Barrel sell crates and barrels…? |
But I’ve realized that holding onto macrame has hindered me in achieving the vision I have for Ginger & Twine. I have had several artworks sitting around waiting to be put to use but instead I’ve spent my time on the fiber art side of things. So I after coming back from my other job, I decided to leave it behind for good. I still offer my macrame products for now, but when I run out of supplies, that’s the end of Ginger & Twine Co.’s fiber art era.
As if I didn’t have enough choices to make already, there was just one more teensy thing to clear up.
I had to niche down.
Like, I needed to pick a theme. A style. All the art business experts have pounded this into my head the past several months as I fill myself up with knowledge from small biz podcasts and YouTube videos.
Niche down, niche down, niche down.
I don’t mean to just give in to what everyone is telling me to do (sometimes a dangerous pitfall for artists) but I think they’re right. Especially when a business is involved. If I think about my favorite artists and their shops, the whole reason why they’re my favorite is because when I look at their shop, portfolio, or Instagram feed, I love all of it. And know I can count on them to always produce artworks I know I’m going to like, which has resulted in a new follower for them and sometimes, a full cart for me.
And I don’t mind niching down. I like things to be cohesive anyway, it’s easy on the eyes. It’s just that, this might take some thought… another tricky decision.
Just like how I like to try all sorts of arts and crafts, I also like to try all sorts of illustration styles. In fact, believe it or not, during my most active drawing phase ever when I was about 15, I drew an awful lot of anime and chibi characters. I have also tried realism. Portraits. Animals. Nature. Still life. Pencil sketches. Colored pencils. Copic markers. Acrylic, watercolor, oil paints, gouache (that’s the latest one). Digital art.
I decided not to worry too much about the medium but if I picked a theme, that should be good enough. Instead of just picking a theme and then creating future artworks to go with it, I tried to think about what all my past artworks had in common. Except maybe the anime phase. We won’t count that.
I like florals. Teapots and mugs. Plants. Little critters, like moths and hedgehogs. Sometimes I’ll draw something like a vintage bicycle with flowers in the basket. Or cozy little houses like cabins or cottages—
Cottagecore. Nearly everything I draw or paint fits quite nicely in the cottagecore niche.
Nailing this down has really helped me solidify the vision I have for Ginger & Twine Co., thankfully!
And so that brings us to where we currently stand in the history of my art business. I have so many ideas that I can’t wait to share with you, trying to work on them one at a time. In fact, just last night I submitted a proof request for my first ever sticker sheet! Here’s a hint to the theme: 🍂
This decision to build a little career in illustration is going to be an ongoing journey for me as I discover styles and techniques that speak to me most, so I decided to start this little journal on here and share with you along the way. I hope you’ll continue to follow along.
Well friend, I’m quite flattered that you made it all the way to the end of the story of Ginger & Twine. (or really, dare I say it, the beginning)
And thanks for bearing with me as we undergo this slow transition. I cannot wait to see what’s in store for Ginger & Twine Co. ♥