Monday Spotlight: elliebelly

Who is elliebelly? Where are you located?
I'm a 46 old mom of four, ranging in age from 16 to 4. We live in the deep south and both my husband of 19 years and I have legal backgrounds. So it came as a strange discovery in my thirties that I was craving something more -- and out of that I developed a real passion for art, especially altered art.


How did you come up with your business name?
Our third child and only daughter is named Eleanor, and her nickname has always been elliebelly. It was a natural name choice for my business.


When and why did you decide to start your own business?
elliebelly became a business in April 2001. I had been making cute little handpainted tee shirts for my kids and my friends kids for sometime. People were always asking me to donate items for charity auctions and I really loved doing it! Finally, I came to the realization that you can only make just so many tee's for your own kids, and that if I wanted to do all the designs that were running around inside of my head, I was going to have to find a way to sell them.


How did you get started?
My first site was a free iVillage site in April 2001. It didn't even have a shopping cart. In retrospect, I have no clue how I found the stamina to stay up all night for a week and get it all in place. And, I had the worst camera! I've never been a good photographer, but that camera was downright scary.

That fall, I hooked up with an incredibly gifted site designer. She seemed to "get" everything that I wanted by instinct. The site was done in a manner of days and I loved her graphics and the way it all worked together.


What motivates you to keep your business going?
I love making art. When life gets too stressful, I run down into my studio and play, even if it's just for a few moments. And, as my own interests change and I make new things, I really enjoy sharing them with people. Especially my journals have evolved over time. It is wonderful to handcraft something that you know is going to get thoroughly enjoyed on the other end!


Do you have a new product/design you are featuring on your website?
Let's see--as of sometime in early September 2006, the website will be all new. Where I formerly worked for the most part at a custom order shop, I reached the point where I hated making people wait four to five weeks to receive an order, so I decided to go to all in-stock.

This was also a very selfish decision on my part, as it meant I got to make whatever I wanted on a given day and offer it at elliebelly. My favorite new products are the altered vintage-style ledger journals. They have a soft focus and lots of wonderful images. The first one I made was something I was just doing for myself, but then I liked it so much I knew I was going to have to do more. Each one is completely individual and a one of a kind item.

I'm also incredibly excited about my newest offerings, hand-dyed yarns. I guess it was inevitable that as a dyer, I would want to offer handpainted yarns at some point. That point came when I stumbled across a supplier of luxe fiber yarns like cashmere and silk. The yarns have been a fabulous seller and impossible to keep in stock. In addition, I also have a small farm that supplies me with organic wool.


How do you juggle family and work at home?
This is always a struggle. The good thing about having an art-based business is that I make sure to keep art tools on hand in the studio to occupy my four year old. And my daughter has her own art supplies that she likes to pull out so we can work alongside each other. The big guys have been know to bring their homework down there too.

The worst problem is when my studio has five million projects going at once and you can barely walk across the floor without stepping on something. Then, I have to keep the little ones out and I hate that, because I like to work surrounded by them.

I also have a supremely supportive husband who knows that there are just some days where he has to pack up and take the kids to the zoo so I can get a little bit of uninterrupted art time.


What advice would you give to moms seeking to become a WAHM?
I would suggest that they not go into it for the money. Take something that you love, something you are passionate about, and go from there. You have to be interested and focused to make a WAHM business work.

The other suggestion I would have is that a WAHM businesswoman should network with other women as frequently as possible. It is amazing how supportive women who have "made it" are. I once wrote an article on fabric embossing for a friend's website. A woman with a big, well-known craft item business featured my story in one of her email newsletters. It was a huge boost for my business. I was stunned to be selected, but she told me she like to help out other women and this was one thing she was able to do very easily. so i guess I would say, network, and always help people along the way when you can.



Visit elliebelly at www.elliebelly.com
and her blog at http://joycevance.typepad.com


Stores (brick and mortar and/or online stores) that carry elliebelly products:
Although I have offered wholesale in the past (I even supplied a store in Japan!), I made a decision this year that I was happier with smaller, more individualized production, and have stopped offering items to retail stores. But, I do hope to place some of my artwork in galleries after the first of the year when I have time to catch my breath. And I would like to do more with hand-dyed yarns and possibly offer them to a few yarn stores as well.