Meet Sophie Edell

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

Hi Sophie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have been making art since I was very young, but it wasn’t until I moved out of the city into the country during the pandemic that I began focusing on it as my business. As I was both living in a small space and relying on selling online, I had to adjust my practice to fit ease of shipping and scale of work. Therefore I began working with acrylic paint on paper up to a certain size, as it was easy and affordable to ship work on paper, and I was able to store them easily in my home. Every little choice we make impacts our artistic practice, and so instead of seeing these things as limitations, I see them as contributions to the final product, directly impacting the type of work I create today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The subject matter I primarily focus on are interiors, still lifes, and landscapes. This was born through exploring what I was seeing around me, whether it was in my own home, on a walk, or simply seen on the internet. This body of work aims to explore the way our interactions with our surroundings tell a story, and how our tendencies and aesthetics create a fingerprint of our presence. The physical act of painting is of great importance in each piece, as I play with layering, colours, and composition to encourage the participation of the medium in the finished work.

As with many artists in my community, I gained a steady following through Instagram during the pandemic, as that was a time that saw most people at home scrolling and ordering online. Through the success I saw during that period, I have created a studio for my practice at the home I share with my partner, and I continue to create work every day. A lesson I have learned, however, is to not rely on your financial success increasing as time goes forward, as there are so many factors that can impact this. We don’t live in the same kind of world we did when I was at my height of sales, and so I have to adjust my business accordingly. This leads me to an even larger lesson, that it is important to continue making art for yourself, and to not get lost seeing it as a business.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The area I live in is very rural, in eastern Quebec in Canada, with many mountains and hiking trails. Unfortunately, we do not have great places to eat and drink out here, but to combat this we buy great wine and make delicious meals at our home! When friends come to visit, I take them to the extremely well priced thrift stores in the area, followed by a nice walk in the woods across from our home, and end the evening with a great meal and lots of delicious wine.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my partner in life, AP Bergeron. Not only was it because of him that I moved to the country, but he has been extremely supportive as I have developed my business over the past 4 years. From words of encouragement to accepting a stack of packages to take to the post office before I had my driver’s license… he has been there helping me succeed. As we are both artists (he is a musician and filmmaker), we have inspired each other to keep pursuing our creative ambitions, and continue to do so today.

Website: www.sophieedell.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dittoecho

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-edell/