Meet Shelbie Fredericks of Where The Willows Grow

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelbie Fredericks.

Shelbie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I never thought I would run a business, let alone my own business. I’m an artist. I don’t understand business or finances. But I’ve always wanted to do something with my art other than fill sketchbooks and post on Instagram.

In 2016, about 8 months after my son was born, I started searching for a new hobby. I used to wander around the city taking photographs, but with a child, that hobby started slipping away due to the difficulty of taking him out with me. That’s when I found hand lettering on Instagram! I always loved how pretty people could write and I decided that I wanted to be one of those people. I started out with digital lettering because of the convenience. We already had a computer I could use a stylus on so there was no need to go buy supplies.

A few months later, though, I convinced my wonderful husband that it was worth the investment of supplies to grow in my hobby! He’s always been supportive and jumped on board as long as I promised not to go crazy. So I started dabbling in all of it, and by February of 2017, I found my niche: watercolors. I. LOVE. WATERCOLORS!

In May 2017 I had the right people encouraging me to start a business. I had decided on a name months before: Where the Willows Grow. Why? Because my name, Shelbie, means a place where willows grow. Something about that really struck me as beautiful and I knew that was it! And thankfully no one was using that domain name. So I did it! I jumped head first into this small business thing and here I am!

I’m not sure where this business will take me, but I do know that I’m ready to find out!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been smooth, but I wouldn’t call it hard either, just different. Daily life is a whirlwind of taking care of my son, taking care of our home, running errands, working on orders or personal projects, and leading, alongside my husband, at the church we attend. My relationship with God, my marriage, my family, and our friends are extremely important to me. So, keeping my schedule organized is a struggle for me because I tend to be a scattered and spontaneous person.

But I definitely think the most difficult challenge is having confidence. It’s so easy to look at artists with a high amount of followers and a successful large business and compare myself to them. But in those moments I try to remind myself that my worth is not in the amount of followers I have, likes I get, or orders I receive. My worth is found in Christ, and that takes so much pressure off! And then I remind myself that my business is exactly where I want it to be right now. It’s small and that’s okay! Life is in a really busy season at the moment. Maybe one day it will grow into a medium or even large business, and that would be awesome!

Where The Willows Grow – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in watercolor hand lettering and galaxy paintings! I love lettering quotes that encourage people or make them laugh or smile. My hope is that when you order a print or see an Instagram post or read a blog post you find encouragement and laughter and that you leave a little happier than when you came.

Aside from galaxy paintings (which I could paint all day, every day if I had no other responsibilities) my favorite things to create are custom orders. I love bringing people’s ideas to life, it brings me so much joy knowing that they are getting exactly what they want as a print for their home or a gift for a friend.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success isn’t about the numbers, it’s about the feelings people get when they see my work. I hope someone sees my art and smiles or laughs. I hope that when someone reads something that I lettered or a caption on Instagram or a blog post that they are encouraged or it brightens their day.

I try to have a positive feel on my Instagram, shop, and website, if something doesn’t meet those criteria, then I tend not to post it. It’s a little bit hard to track a person’s feeling when so much of my work is not face to face, but every single order, or like, or comment, or message I receive makes me think I’m on the right track.

Pricing:

• Digital Downloads start at $8.00
• Original Paintings start at $10.00
• Custom Orders start at $10.00

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wherethewillowsgrow.com
• Phone: 7703109163
• Email: wherethewillowsgrow@gmail.com
• Instagram: @where.the.willows.grow
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/wherethewillowsgrow

Image Credit:
Steven Wallace Photo

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