E58 - If You Want to License Your Art - Start Here
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Hello, my creative friend, welcome to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. Today I'm talking to you on a very, very cold Chicago winter day. It is minus 10 as I sit here all bundled up in my heaviest sweater. [00:01:00] And I've decided that today I am pulling back the curtain to share a little bit about my work as a licensed artist.
I have a feeling there are artists out there listening in who are thinking about licensing their work. Now, I love being a licensed artist, but the road to getting your art reviewed and accepted and put on products, that can be a difficult journey to map out. Getting my work licensed has been a real journey for me, but my friend, just like any trip.
If you chat with someone who is already driven the road you are planning to take, you can find out the best route and you can learn about any detours that happened and how to avoid them. And you can discover those secret shortcuts that can make the journey so [00:02:00] much quicker and easier and even more enjoyable.
Now, I love what I do and I know how hard it can be to get your work out there. And this is why I think it is important to share the bumps and the bruises and the scenic views of the journey that it takes to get your art licensed.
I believe by knowing what worked and didn't work for me, This is going to help you, if this is a trip you would like to take, it's going to help you find your way easier and faster than I did. I think it's important to realize all the aspects of a journey, to understand what it's going to take to get
to the [00:03:00] destination that you are dreaming about. Now, in order to have a successful trip, you need to know what to take with you. And when I say what to take with you, I mean, the creativity that you choose to create, you know, like artwork, music, poems, novels, whatever your creative treasure is that you want to share with the world.
You need to know how to organize all these things and pack what you've decided to take on your journey. Packing and organization is a vital key to having a successful journey that isn't going to leave you stranded somewhere on your route.
And speaking of routes, you need to know the route. you need to take to get to your destination. And your destination might be different from mine, but I have a feeling there will be a lot of [00:04:00] similarities that will be really helpful for you to figure out and map. It's also important to know the people that you might need to meet and become acquainted with as you travel to that final destination.
It's important to know how to stay fueled up to keep your energy and your confidence steady as you travel. The road is not always straight. There will be bumps and twists and turns that you're not expecting. There will be storms and missed opportunities.
as you travel. So having your energy and your confidence properly fueled and at the ready, that is going to keep you from becoming stranded somewhere on the side of the road, or
turning back on the dreams you have for your creative success, [00:05:00] now, once you have arrived at one of your stops or your final destination, the last thing you need to do, and this is the most important, is you need to be prepared to get out all those things you've packed.
And you need to be ready to actually share and show your treasures once you've arrived. So it is super important to know what to do what to pack, when to stop, who to see, and what to do once you arrive.
It seems like a lot, right? Well, it might, and it kind of is. And that is why I think chatting about this is worthy of our time today, my friend. So how in the heck do you get started with all the planning and the packing and the traveling and all the things? Well, here's the thing. First, I just want you to take a breath.
The first secret you need to know is
you just need to break down the whole trip into [00:06:00] manageable steps. and then simply concentrate on each step one at a time, because you know that you've mapped out how your overall trip is going to flow.
So right now. This one step is all you need to do right now. Concentrating on one step at a time will help you manage emotions, keep your confidence at the ready.
keep doubts at bay about yourself and your work because one step at a time helps you stay focused and keeps you from getting overwhelmed with the big picture. I think it also helps to hear stories of other people's trips.
And not only their success, but also where they ran off the road, where they got lost, all the things that makes a trip colorful and unforgettable. So let me share a little about my licensing story, and I'm pretty sure that you're going to be [00:07:00] able to think, huh, if Beth can do this.
So can I, I believe this for you. So lean in my friend. And if you know a creative who is dreaming about taking this same journey, share this episode with them. I became interested in licensing my art. Oh, so many years ago, back before there was online courses and social media that shared advice about how to find answers to questions about this journey to success in art licensing.
So I seriously wandered like a nomad from possibility to possibility. I sent my artwork to countless blind submissions and occasionally, every now and again, I received kind words that told me, Oh, your art's lovely, but hey, it would be a better fit in a different industry. Home decor told me to check out card publishing.
Card publishing told me to check out giftware. [00:08:00] Giftware told me to check out home decor. I kid you not, it seemed like a circle that was always pointing somewhere else. I also tried to meet people who lived near me in the Chicago area who might be able to provide the success with my illustrations that I was dreaming about.
And I clearly remember this one particular portfolio review. I had cold called a publisher who invited me to come to her office to show my portfolio. And I cannot tell you how excited I was about this going to an actual publisher, seeing them and meeting them face to face was part of my dream. So I prepared my portfolio.
I got all dressed up and I drove nearly an hour through Chicago rush hour traffic and arrived. With my heart pounding to meet this publisher in her office. The woman spent less than a [00:09:00] minute looking through my artwork. She closed my portfolio and she said, I don't see anything here I can use. Thanks for coming.
The conversation was done. No more discussion. No more advice, not even a kind word, just a motion towards the door. I was back in my car less than 10 minutes after I arrived. I actually think I
spent more time sobbing in my car than I did inside the publisher's building. So, I've heard a lot of no's. Some were kind,
Some not so kind like this particular woman who was rather abrupt with her negativity that was kind of like crashing into a brick wall. And so here's a bit of advice to keep in your heart at all times, my friend.
It can be hard to not believe. All the advice that comes your way, cause you're going to get a lot of [00:10:00] it, but I'm here to tell you no from someone who has the judgment to say yes or no. No, just really means not right now. Not today. This is where keeping your energy and your confidence fueled up on your journey is going to be incredibly important.
The no's, they are just a not so pleasant step along the way. They are not the destination. you're going to learn things from what the no's implied. You might decide to revise your work. You might decide to tweak your color palette. The no's build character,
They give you a story to tell later. And these rejections really in the long run are going to make you stronger about who you really are. The no's, they are not your [00:11:00] people. They might even be the wrong audience and they are definitely not the whole world. That no came from one person with one opinion and when you get a no, I want you to hop back into your creative car and hey, it's okay to sob a little, keep a tissue handy, but don't let that no define you.
Start up your engine and rev it up and head towards your next stop. Getting your first yes, well, it can be difficult. I'm not going to lie about that. Getting your first yes is difficult only because it can take time. And no one likes waiting, especially me. So I can totally see and I can feel where you might be in your journey today.
Waiting for that yes. Can be difficult. And this is [00:12:00] why create today is here for you. I love helping other creatives receive their first yes. And I am here to help you figure out what to creatively take with you, how to pack, how to organize, how to stay fueled and keep you confidently motoring to the successful creative destination that you are dreaming about.
So now let me tell you a story about my first two weeks of 2025. As soon as the holidays were over, I began carefully organizing my art portfolio. I packed clothes that I thought said, Ooh, she's an artist. And I carefully included a cute pair of shoes that I could walk literally miles in for days in a row.
And with geometric precision, I carefully tucked all of these things into my airline approved carry on bags. And I flew from Chicago to Atlanta for the [00:13:00] January gift show at America's Mart. America's Mart is a hub of crazy activity. It is housed in three super tall buildings that are linked together like a crazy hamster habit trail thing with tunnels and bridges, but it also has escalators and elevators. It is one of the largest collections of showrooms
in the world for wholesale products that are ready for buyers from boutiques to department stores, to online retailers and everything in between to come and choose. What will be the next trend to land on the store shelves for the world to purchase? And I spent this past week walking miles and miles each day, absorbing color, looking at beautiful illustrations and trending products and having inspirational conversations with creative directors and artist friends.
Chatting about creativity. It was amazing.[00:14:00] And again, this year I enjoyed the added thrill of having my illustrations on products in several showrooms.
my friend, this is an experience that never gets old.
seeing the work that you sketched or painted placed on product that is sitting beneath the sparkly lights in a showroom, waiting to be part of next year's gift giving or holiday decorations. that is simply an electric feeling and a surreal experience.
So the steps I took to go from a simple sketch of a little dog that became a collection of eight pups with owners who are walking their furry friends in a snowy holiday evening that were then showcased on products from plates and mugs and trays and tea towels and ornaments and stockings and snow globes and more.
Oh my gosh, it was so much fun. And if you want to see this particular collection called Wags to Wishes, [00:15:00] check out my Instagram or watch this episode on YouTube, and you'll be able to see some of this art that I enjoyed seeing in this showroom with my dogs and in other showrooms this year.
and now if you're ready, and I mean, really ready to learn how to move from a blind submission to, uh, here's a sketch I know you're going to like to a collaboration with a company to build a collection of products to see in a showroom. If you're ready to learn more about how to plan and map out your successful creative destination for your own licensing journey, stay tuned and make sure that you are on my email list by going to www.
bdi create. today. There's going to be wonderful things coming your way in February that will help you map your route to the [00:16:00] dream you have for your unique creativity. And I'm here to help you realize how to get started, how to enjoy the journey and how you can find success with your creative dreams. So go ahead and check out www.
bdi create. today and just get familiarized with all the goodness that
Create Today has for you, my creative friend. And then I want you to know I am here to help you realize how to get started, how to enjoy the journey, and how you can find success with your creative dreams. Now take a moment, my friend, look at Your creative ambition.
Where would you like your creativity to journey to? Does that look like, what does your [00:17:00] unique creative voice need to say? And then I want you to think about the people who need to hear and see. The creative message that you have to share. Is it time? Is it time to start packing for your creative journey?
Stay tuned for some travel plans in February, but in the meantime, stay creative, my friend.
