Meet Jen Fox | artist & e-commerce store owner

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

Hi Jen, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
For a while I thought that work-life balance meant that each day or week should be evenly weighted with work obligations, leisure & social activities, and life necessities.

I always felt like I wasn’t attaining this idea of balance, so I felt behind if I took a week off from creative work, or like a workaholic if I canceled social plans to finish a project.

Over the past several years, I’ve realized that my work-life balance is seasonal and cyclical. I have seasons of heads-down creative work, seasons of sharing that work, seasons of resting, and seasons of reflecting. I’ve learned to listen a little bit better to my intuition, and when creative ideas strike, sometimes I just need to lean in to those ideas and see them through. It’s become easier to embrace the busy time leading up to the holidays as just a season in my creative business, knowing that a season of rest and reflection is on deck.

The balance comes in recognizing when the best form of caring for myself and those around me is through rest & exploration of areas that aren’t tied to how I make a living — and in not taking my work so seriously.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a self-taught artist and illustrator, and I create folk art inspired illustrations that are influenced by my surroundings in the southwest, and my Pennsylvania Dutch and Norwegian heritage. My art is colorful & vibrant, whimsical & cheerful. I love surrounding myself with bright color and pattern, and my illustrations are optimistic and happy.

My journey has been anything but linear. My professional background and education is in commercial interior design, and I’ve had entrepreneurship in my bones ever since I bought packages of candies with my allowance and resold them for a profit to my classmates on the school bus in elementary school.

For the last 13 years I’ve run my own business in some form or another. I’ve designed sewing patterns, written a sewing book, licensed artwork for a line of fabric, I’ve sewn one-of-a-kind handbags, and I’ve done freelance interior design work. Alongside my own pursuits, I’ve also worked in corporate and university settings as an interior designer.

It took all of these combined experiences to really piece together what gets me the most excited. I’ve combined my love for art, design, and sewing and I now contract with several manufacturers to produce items with my artwork on them (towels, zipper pouches, greeting cards, tote bags, scarves, jewelry, among other goods). I sell these goods primarily in my online shop, and I also license my artwork to companies who need unique surface illustrations for their own goods.

I just love combining artwork with functional goods – it makes my heart sing!

The way my business looks currently is nothing like it looked a decade ago. I’ve pivoted more times than I care to admit, and there were times when I wondered if I should just give up. If there is anything that I wish I knew when I started, it’s that it always takes much longer than you think it should, and that consistency over time will pay off in spades.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my favorite things about New Mexico is the diversity of the beautiful landscape. The ideal week in New Mexico would begin with a couple days of camping, let’s say a day in both the mountains and the desert, and perhaps a day hike to a hot spring or an alpine lake. I live in Albuquerque, and Old Town is a great place to orient out-of-towners to some of the architectural charm of the area. Dinner out for New Mexican food is mandatory, and I’d follow dinner with a trip to one of the many local distilleries or breweries in town.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Where I am now is a result of the support and knowledge of so many peers, mentors and friends/family. I can’t say that I’d be where I am in my business today without one of my mentors, Susan Bradley, and a group of fellow entrepreneurs whom I meet with and talk with regularly. Having a group of online shop owner peers as well as a group of artist/illustrator peers has been SO crucial. I’ve learned so much from the experiences of others in overlapping industries who are open and willing to share what they know.

Website: www.jenfoxstudio.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jenfoxstudio

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-fox-08706222a/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenfoxstudio

Image Credits
Mandie Segura Christy Parent