Meet Ali Palmer | Small business owner & illustrator

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

Hi Ali, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in a very small town in upstate NY. Both my parents were teachers and they didn’t have an income that would allow for electronics or excessive amounts of toys. Mostly what my sisters and I did was play in the woods and our imaginations were what made everything entertaining. I remember one ‘toy’ I had was a block of wood that my dad had lying around in his workshop that I named Harry and would scratch designs into his ‘hair’. My dad is an artist. A woodworker, ceramicist, painter… Truly a jack of all trades so anything creative and whimsical was encouraged and (unlike a lot of artists) when I chose to get my bachelors in fine art there was only encouragement and support from my family.
One of my favorite passtimes was listening to my dad read to my sisters and I. He read to us the whole Harry Potter series and dozens of novels in various genres. I attribute my ability to picture projects and scenes in my mind to this.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I would say it’s hard to define if creating my business and brand was, ‘easy’. I have drive, imagination, am able to get back up when knocked down but I also had support from family, I had a financial safety net and an education that I cannot ignore made it possible for me to be successful. So there were times that I would say, ‘no not at all, it was not easy’ while also acknowledging that it could have been a lot harder. It did take a lot of patience and time to be where I am now. I dabbled in a lot of mediums and made sure to be adequately talented at them before settling on a medium. I did digital photography, printmaking, and animation for a time and think honing skills in these different departments only benefitted me in my later opportunities and creativity. I also grew a social media and following very slowly and tediously over 6 years, I was never a blow up success but I am grateful I wasn’t.

I think a valuable quality in being an artist is being able to ‘kill your darlings’ or at least have a realistic view of the things you create. It’s so easy to be blinded to constructive criticism. When a product flops and it was something you poured so much time and care into, it’s easy to ignore the lessons that can be learned from analyzing what you did wrong.
By making my artwork into a profitable business I had to learn that, even if I love it, if reception is bad then I need to rework or start over. I’ve seen artists online have a project flop and go off on their followers asking for more support or declaring that the art they put out deserves more. Our artwork doesn’t deserve anything and the lesson you get in a failure is a lot more rewarding than pity sales from shaming your customers.
My art and, I’d argue, most artists work is always growing and changing just like I am and that is a GOOD thing. Embrace the ebb and flow of interaction, sales, and growth. It’s part of the journey.

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 by the Adirondack park and hands down. Nature. The landscapes and woods are incredibly beautiful, inspiring, and healing. I’d also like to add. If you get the chance to eat dim sum at Ala Shanghai Chinese Cuisine in Latham NY. Grab that opportunity with both hands. Or visit me and I’ll take you there for three meals a day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My dad and my husband. My dad for encouraging and fostering creativity in my my whole life and my husband for being the safety net I needed to take the leap and start my own business.

Website: https://alipalmerart.com/

Instagram: instagram.com/alipalmerart

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_CZaKWyjlzq9X-5kyIKMiw