"There are going to be times when you’re burnt out, exhausted, and wondering if it’s worth it, no matter how much you love your work" Marissa Huber

Marissa Huber is an artist, connector, and creative instigator for the Carve Out Time for Art community and co-author of “The Motherhood of Art”. She creates colorful art and patterns that capture moments of wonder, inspired by her own experiences. Her greatest joy (besides her kids) is connecting with kindred spirits over experience, a funny story, or shared dreams and feeling positively lit up. She lives in South Florida with her husband, two kids, and mom.

 Can you tell our readers about your background?

I grew up in a multicultural home with parents that taught us to value all people, encouraged our creativity and the moxie to question anything. I was close to my brother, and we spent much of childhood drawing, writing stories, and playing outside.

As I got older, I didn’t think I was good enough to be an artist and felt the need for a “practical” career. I studied interior design and started my career in that field, but something was missing. In 2005, my brother passed away and I turned to art to feel close to him. I became braver with my own dreams since I still had my chance, and focused my free time on my art. Over the years I improved and started selling work online. The biggest shift was when I became a mother in 2013. People had told me I’d have no time for anything, but I found I was more confident, efficient, and focused on the limited time I had. Becoming a mom was when I finally called myself an artist again. 

I’ve consistently worked full time in the interior design field, and also started an LLC for my own art and through Carve Out Time for Art with a partner, Heather Kirtland. As a side hustle, I’ve sold original art, licensed illustrations, and formed an online community of artists and co-authored “The Motherhood of Art” which is a beautiful interview book with 33 creative mothers from around the world. 

What inspired you to start your business?

In 2015 I was frustrated at how many messages new mothers received about what they would never have time to do again. I knew I felt better when I had something for myself, even if it was 15 minutes a day. I decided to interview 10 artist mothers I’d met online who were making things work their own way. My goal was to give women hope to counterbalance the negativity. This project resonated with others, and it gave me such fulfillment. I ended up interviewing a woman (Heather Kirtland – www.heatherkirland.com) who confessed her big dream was to write a book on this topic. I hadn’t told anyone but that was mine as well. We cautiously spoke on the phone and knew within minutes that we were supposed to do this together. We had no idea it would grow into the beautiful community that it is today. 

Where is your business based?

I live in South Florida and do my artwork and writing projects as a side gig from my home when I’m not working at my professional career as a Senior Occupancy Planner (think Tetris with office space and friendly hostage negation for space!). My creative partner lives outside of Baltimore, Maryland. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

In my own artwork, the first step was creating the work I wanted to make, and most importantly, sharing it with people so that they could see what I was doing. Early on, I found that saying yes to opportunities, especially when it was out of my comfort zone led to the biggest growth. Right before I had my first child, I had an opportunity to paint watercolors for an up and coming Interior Designer. I said yes and knew I would figure it out. Things went well, and we even finished additional work after my son was born (I had my mom in town helping and worked in 20-minute increments). That showed me how important it was as a new mother to still have something for myself, and how much I could get done in 20 minutes now that I had to use every single second of that time. No more procrastination out of fear, I got straight to work!

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

For me, Instagram has been a game-changer. In 2015 I started using it in a more focused way to promote my own artwork. It led to so much more though. I met people that were genuinely interested in my work, and I became a fan of what many of them were doing also. As I started not only sharing my own work but engaging with and celebrating the work of others publically, it led to many collaborations and cross-promotions over the years.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenges are time, energy, and being told no many times (although those badass rejections mean we are growing!).

Regarding time and energy, there are going to be times in your life with difficult circumstances. That could be a new child, helping a terminally ill parent, or a demanding professional job. I had all of those in 2018, and that year was intense but also beautiful. 

During tough times, it helps to be realistic. Know yourself and be realistic with what works now, and identify what must be shelved or let go of. I needed work that could be picked up and put down at a moment’s notice. Digital art drawn on my iPad to later become designs for colorful pillows could be done while snuggling with my son on the sofa, or spending time with my Dad at the hospital while he was napping. I could also work on writing and come back to it at any time. Sometimes I just needed a nap and a break. You have to know what you need and reassess often. It helped me to balance out hard times by feeling like I was inching towards happy goals and cull the crankiness I get if I don’t create every so often. 

For “The Motherhood of Art” book, we went through three iterations, three rounds of rejections from traditional publishers, and decided to self-publish. There is nothing wrong with self-publishing, but we realized the book would be cost-prohibitive due to the 100+ gorgeous photos we wanted to include. We knew a traditional publisher would have the resources and graphic designers to realize our vision and make it affordable for our community. 

I decided to give traditional publishing one final try after seeing a small publisher that caught my attention. Fueled by sheer determination, coffee, and used to sleepless nights from a small baby, I stayed up all night and submitted a new proposal. I answered every question in their guidelines, and it didn’t feel difficult because our vision was so clear, we were writing it for a community we already love, and we know it’s needed in the world for creative mothers. The next day, we received an email asking, “Are you telling me that nobody has offered to publish this book yet?!” and we had a signed contract by the end of the week. Lesson learned, sometimes you just need to go for it, and coffee always helps. 

How do you stay focused?

Know your priorities, and when you have time to work, focus on those tasks, and don’t get sidelined by less critical busywork that doesn’t move you forward. Granted I’m not saying ignore email, but when you’re editing a manuscript for a deadline, focus on the priority and turn off email notifications or put an “Out of Office” message for that day as an example. Alternatively, if you can’t focus without checking your email, set a timer for 30 minutes, and then switch gears.

I also like to have a vision of the future or a specific goal so that I can frequently assess if I’m heading in the right direction. Then if making decisions, I know the right answer for that moment. An example would be, “Should I take that awesome Skillshare class to learn a new skill, or is it a shiny new distraction from a priority I’m avoiding?” 

Lastly, becoming a mom has given me Jedi like concentration to just knock something out and ignore the chaos and distractions! 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

At Carve Out Time for Art, we lead with generosity and in turn, have benefited from the generosity of others. We don’t see other similar businesses as competition, but collaborators and friends. To us, we’re all part of a larger community supporting creatives, and we all have a place to belong under this umbrella.    

We frequently collaborate, cross-promote, ask or share advice, brainstorm, and cheer each other on. When our book launched during the pandemic, other similar business owners and friends asked how they could spread the word, put us in their magazines and podcasts, and offered us their platforms and resources. We were so touched and grateful.

Perhaps we’ve been lucky, because our specific journey has been so organic, and we needed the help of others willing to share their stories with us. We’ve also stood out because we don’t try to do what everyone else is doing. Our brand is knocking down the façade, sharing the behind the scenes, and encouraging our community to make things work no matter what. We also love to laugh, often at ourselves which helps others not take themselves so seriously.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

For us, it was to find our people and create an environment where they feel welcome, safe, seen, heard, and loved! We value the trust of our community the most, and would never want to jeopardize that. Our community knows we genuinely care about them, and many of our best ideas came about by wanting to help them. We also often ask them for their feedback and ideas to make sure we’re not assuming what they need but are hitting the mark.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

There are going to be times when you’re burnt out, exhausted, and wondering if it’s worth it, no matter how much you love your work. It helps to take time early on and figure out why your business is so important to you, what will keep you motivated during tough times, and being realistic with your financial and life circumstance.

For me, I’m the sole earner for my family and our health insurance is through my corporate career. I’m not in a place to replace our income at this time, and if I did, it would carry huge risks for my family that I’m not willing to take. I also know I’d be miserable if I didn’t have my passion projects and side businesses. They provide purpose, fulfillment, and usually energize me. Having these as my side hustles helps me work towards bigger goals in a low-risk way. Not having to support my family on my businesses gives me the freedom to grow slowly and really do what I most want. This path isn’t right for everyone. Definitely figure out what you need based on your unique circumstances and preferences.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

Instagram is my favorite app, it’s like a virtual neighborhood with all my friends. I have been a fan of Joanna Goddard’s “Cup of Jo” blog since it started. She’s been a role model of sharing about her own life, struggles, joys, features women of all ages and backgrounds, and, and has created a beautiful community on the internet. If you want to feel better about the world, go look at the comments on Cup of Jo.

In 2015 I read two books that made a huge impact and shifted my mindset and thinking on how I wanted to live my life, and how I needed to focus on what was most important instead of trying to do all of the things. These were “The Life-Changing Magic Art of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo and “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why? 

I love the Instagram scheduling and analytics app “Plann”( https://www.plannthat.com/) and the marketing tips they share on their website and newsletter. I became friends with the founder, Christy Lady Lawrence through Instagram in 2015, and admire her so much. She is a powerhouse, hysterical, kind, and one of the most determined people and hardest workers I know. It’s such a wonderful resource and I recommend it to everyone because I really believe in their product and find it so useful.

Who is your business role model? Why? 

Someone I admire is Danielle Krysa of The Jealous Curator (https://www.thejealouscurator.com/ .  She took her personal journey of an artist who stopped creating after traumatic art school experience and created a hugely important art blog as a new mom that ended up launching hundreds of people’s careers. She’s published many books encouraging others to move past creative blocks and has focused on sharing the stories of women artists.  I have most enjoyed seeing her return to her own art practice and truly embrace her art practice. She is humble, candid, and just one of the loveliest people. She gives us hope that we can do the same in our own lives. (I should mention that she also agreed to do the Introduction to our book which was a dream come true!) 

How do you balance work and life?

I don’t! Since my art and Carve Out Time for Art are side hustles for me right now in addition to my full-time career as the sole earner for my family, I call it a juggle but never a balance. In fact, my personal brand is about being authentic with this, and showing my own struggles and wins to encourage our community. 

What works for me is being self-aware, prioritizing, and trying to stay focused and present in what I’m doing. Not always though (I’m half playing Minecraft with a cranky 7-year-old as I answer this…) When I’m playing with my kids (most of the time), I try to really give them my full attention and engage 100%. If they’re getting that mom time and feel loved, and seen, that goes a long way. Then when I’m doing other work they can understand it. Of course, family always comes first, but if my boss needs something immediately that will take priority at that moment. My husband is a fine artist (www.mikeast.com) and we check in with each other to give ourselves the time we for art or just alone time if needed when parenting can get rough! Humor, being gentle with yourself and having a support system helps. 

I also try to find ways to make chores and boring parts of life more interesting. For instance, non-COVID I commute 10 hours per week. I turned that time into my personal care time to have conversations with art friends, record voice memos to myself to think through ideas and learn from audiobooks and podcasts. You can often shift something negative into positive with some incentives! 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Cooking and baking while watching Schitt’s Creek lately. Staying up late after everyone is asleep to work on a pattern design idea. Pool time and sunshine. Taking the occasional nap. Going for a walk and observing nature. Snuggling with my kiddos. Baked goods, ideally cake and brownies! 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

If you had asked me this several months ago, we had just returned from a high point presenting at Altitude Summit in Palm Springs and planning our US book tour, speaking with West Elm who offered to host our launch party, and getting ready to visit a University as visiting artists for a University. Now we are switching gears and going with the flow while adjusting to COVID, having conversations on social justice with our kids, and taking time to pause. I’m excited about ramping up my own pattern design to create pattern collections for licensing, and planning a future relaunch of our book later this year (since it came out right during COVID in April). 

How can our readers connect with you?

I’m super active on Instagram at my personal art account @marissahuber (www.instagram.com/marissahuber) and @CarveOutTimeForArt (www.instagram.com/carveouttimeforart). You can also find me on my website www.marissahuber.com or www.carveouttimeforart.com

Our book “The Motherhood of Art” can be found wherever books are sold!