Here is a progress report on a new giraffe painting, current shot of the studio, custom cow painting in progress and our Halloween decorations so far. Enjoy!
Zoomed in on my little giraffe friend.
Cheers!
-EH
Month: October 2017
This is my old logo and business name, Happy Home Studios. I still love the name and the logo. I was Happy Home Studios for close to 5 years and it was hard to let go…at first.
After focusing more on painting/drawing and fine art prints, I realized my passion was in making art, not necessarily in crafty items. I still love making concrete planters and coasters and am still debating adding those back to the shop, but my inner “ness” is all about paint on canvas and ink on paper.
I think with Happy Home Studios I was trying to be what I was “supposed to be” as a brand. Although I did enjoy everything I made while working under the name HHS, something didn’t feel quite right. It felt like I was trying to fit myself into this box. A box constrained to home goods and home decor. Also, nothing was really BLOWING MY MIND as far as fulfilling my creativity. While I was making the tote bags and coasters, all I really wanted to do was draw and paint. Okay cool, so why not keep HHS as your biz name but switch to paintings/drawings primarily? Great question.
My name has endless opportunities, no matter my passion, my name comes with me, it follows me wherever I go. I’m proud of my name. I feel lucky to be a Hanigan. So to me, the change just made sense. I thought, if it’s that important to me, I should just make the switch. So I decided to go for it – make the 
transition and update the old website to guide people here, to my shiny new website. Right after I made the decision, I bought new business cards, made a sign and participated in my first local art show as “Emily Hanigan Art” and my oh my did it feel good!
It may sound like it was an easy peasey quick decision, but I hesitated for a quite awhile. My original hesitation to make the switch came from thinking, “But I’ve made a following with Happy Home Studios already! What if people don’t know I changed my name?!” Um, first off, I’m not necessarily raking in thousands and thousands of website views a day or anything…yet 😉 And I can guide people here with the wonderful power of social media. My business is still growing and I’m still learning. So I figured why not grow and learn doing something I’m 100% passionate about and with a business name easy to take with me anywhere.
Owning a website with my actual name makes me feel like the possibilities are endless. Stay tuned for more painting and drawing collections…hoping to do a “Seasonal Collection” down the road. 😀
What do you use for your business name? Your actual name or a different moniker? What made you decide one way or the other?
Cheers!
-EH
If you’d like to get super into all things related to my art or support my work financially, follow me on Instagram (my fave), subscribe to this blog and/or support me on Patreon.
pa·tron
noun
1) a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement of an artist, writer, museum, cause, charity, institution, special event, or the like:
a patron of the arts.
Patreon is a site to support artists, musicians, podcast creators and a variety of other wonderful creative pursuits. When I first came across the site, I read other artist’s profiles, read reviews and soaked up as much information about this whole idea of “Patreon.” Afterwards, I realized this is exactly the type of community I wanted to be part of. Artists supporting other artists, fans supporting their favorite musicians, visual artists, podcasts and so much more! A community of fans who become “Patrons” aka supporters, aka members, aka pledging their favorite artist(s) and helping them $1 at a time to develop and focus on their craft. Also, there are perks for those that do become a Patron! Depending on the tier, there are a variety of perks aka “Rewards” Patrons receive. I thought, wow, way cool! Where do I sign??
So I took the time and created my profile. I then stared at that glaring “0” number of patrons like I had already failed. WTF? Why do I think this way?! Then I thought, okay, obviously this isn’t going to just take off and go crazy over night. I know it’s not good to compare yourselves to other people, but I had tinges of OMG no way when looking at other artist’s pages who have hundreds and even thousands of patrons supporting their work. Okay first off, that’s incredible and I’m stoked for them. And 2nd, how the H did they do that?! Well, I don’t know just yet. But I’m going to continue posting on Patreon and pouring my heart into my art. I’m going to be as active as time allows and focus on being my true self as an artist and as a human. It’s time for me to stop overthinking all this and just do.
Here we go Patreon world! Thank you for having me.
If you’re comfortable donating and supporting my work, please take a look at the rewards I’ve created! Depending on the tier, you’ll either get monthly digital downloads, access to early coupons, more candid journal entries and all sorts of other goodies. Also you can simply donate and opt out for receiving any rewards. Whatever floats your boat! Take a look at my Patreon Page to see more.
Thank you in advance for your support and for even just reading this post. That too is showing support and you’re pretty cool for taking the time to stop by.
For those that haven’t seen my new profile photo, here it is! This is me posing as naturally, ahem, as humanly possible in my art studio. Did I put on a fresh shirt and earrings for this photo? Maaaaaaybe. Goodness, you should see some of the other photos I took. Eek! Perhaps I’ll post an outtake reel for Patrons at some point down the road.
Also, I wanted to mention that I’ll still be super active on this site as this is home base for me. I’m all about having other bases to help me out though. Er go, Patreon. 😀
Lastly, I’d like to send love and hugs to everyone in Las Vegas and those affected by the tragic shooting. If you’d like to donate to the Las Vegas Victim fund, you can do so here.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Cheers!
-EH
Become a Patron!