Healthy + Well writer: Shruti Sathish
Photo courtesy of Erin Watton.
Could you tell us a little about your business?
The name of my business is e.xclusively. I started it the summer after my
freshman year. During my first semester of college, I took a printmaking class and spilled bright orange paint on the sleeve of my favorite sweatshirt. After trying every stain remover, I could not get this paint off of my sweatshirt. I decided to paint a design with stars over it in a last-ditch effort to salvage my sweatshirt. When I sent a picture of my sweatshirt to my friends, they loved it and wanted their sweatshirts painted the same way. Fast-forward to spring, I did not have anything on my resume and really wanted fashion experience. I decided to build my small business starting that summer in order to get experience in fashion, marketing, customer relations, and more. Now, I have over 930+ followers on my Instagram, designed my own website, and have painted over 100 pieces!
Can you please describe the art you create?
I mainly paint custom designs on denim and leather products. I use a combination of different acrylic paints, leather paints, and fabric mediums.
Some of Erin's recent works.
How often have you been creating products for your business during this time? Do you think you’ve been working more now that classes are online and social distancing is in place?
During this time, it has definitely been difficult to set out large periods of time to paint and do art. Online classes, family time, and general self-care take up the majority of my time at home. Simply because e.xclusively is a small business, I've definitely been doing less work on e.xclusively than usual. That being said, I still have a couple of orders I'm working on at the moment. It is so much fun to design and paint these pieces, and communicate with my clients through every step of the e.xclusively process.
How do you think doing work for your business/creating art has been helping you stay positive and cope with these times of online classes and social distancing?
My classes are all business school classes. They require a lot of focus and determination. Doing art definitely helps me relax and helps me cope with some new anxieties I've faced while at home. I would recommend that everyone do some sort of art project every day if they can to exercise different parts of their brain and stay calm.
Is there anything else you’ve been doing to pass time while quarantined?
I have been working out every day. I think it is so important to do something that is not on my phone or on my computer. Movement is what will keep us happy and healthy throughout this time!
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