Meet Emily Burpo | Artist & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Burpo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, how do you think about risk?
I definitely think that taking risks is an important part of growing as a person. Taking risks can be nerve racking, but that feeling is temporary. In my own experience, I took a huge risk to quit a job that was mentally and physically draining and toxic so I could focus on my personal art and business. At first it was extremely anxiety educing, since I had been working that retail job for almost five years and my business is still kind of new. Once I started to focus on my mental health, I was able to put so much more quality into products and art for my business. Without taking the risk of quitting that retail job to sell my art, I would still be exhausted mentally and physically, not putting as much effort into my business, and I think the quality of my artwork overall wouldn’t be where it is today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A majority of my art are illustrations of characters, be it fan art of other people’s work, or characters of my own creation. I’ve been illustrating characters for over ten years now, and I will say that the imaginary world I have created and drawn for people to see is definitely something I’m very proud of. I started off as just doing illustrations, and growing up I’ve had this dream of selling art prints at conventions, As I looked more and more into the idea of selling my art to the public, I was able to learn that more than prints can be sold. I could make stickers, button badges, and I’ve branched into enamel pins recently. I’m so proud to think that I can make art that people like and can have with them. I recently sold a trans pride sticker and received a review that using that sticker helped this person come out and that absolutely touched my heart.

Doing what I do isn’t a walk in the park however. As I mentioned I’ve been illustrating for over ten years, that alone was so much practice, but getting my art business off the ground wasn’t easy. I started social media late into the game, and I was very new to advertising my own products so I had little to no idea how to do it. Overcoming constantly changing algorithms, trying to overcome my own anxieties, and just talking about my work has been a struggle. I even had some “friends” who didn’t believe in my dreams and belittled me at work, and only when they saw a chance to take advantage and get free things from me is when they pretended to care. I learned that in my experience, you shouldn’t let your friends take advantage of you as a creative. Your products are worth what you say they are, and just because someone says they’re your friend doesn’t mean they’re entitled to free or heavily discounted items. If they were your true friends they would support you 100% of the way and not ask for free or free items or services. You’re welcome to offer that at your own will, but be cautious as not everyone is as kindhearted as you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in a little town in the Pocono mountains, so already right out the gate the first thing I’d wanna do with someone is go hiking. I live near Lake Wallenpaupack there’s plenty of hiking trails that surround the lake, the forests are full of life and to me one of the most beautiful things around. There’s plenty of spots to go camping, fishing, I also personally love to go the river to find quartz crystals and other cool rocks for my collection. You can also go on boat tours of the lake and there’s also a zoo build into the mountain and forest. My little town doesn’t have much as a city restaurant wise. However there’s a really good Italian place that’s been here forever and even though I was born in New Jersey, it’s the best pizza I’ve had hands down! A lot of the shops on main street are consignment, thrift stores, or antique places, and most major shopping centers are 10-45 minutes driving away. Make a day to the Scranton area a day trip and it’s always a good time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s always important to credit the ones who support you. For me that would be my family. My mother, father, and all three of my siblings have always supported my creative ideas. My father has me paint his hard hats for work to show off, and my mother displays my handmade stickers on her car’s dashboard. My siblings wear my buttons on their backpacks, and they’re very proud that I’m able to make these products. I also want to shout out my wonderful partner Steph. Since we met in our early teens we would create little worlds of original characters, give them stories, and I would spend my time illustrating them. I honestly think that without their help building this imaginary world for characters for me to draw, I wouldn’t be as into any form of independent illustration as I am today.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thebestgingerninja

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_best_ginger_ninja

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeXhVMbw7NMLC64m80FbWRA

Other: https://www.patreon.com/TheBestGingerNinja