Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Peterson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always loved art. I spent hours drawing and painting every day as a kid. I loved my art classes in school and felt like it was where I was the happiest, but I never really felt that I was “good enough” to make art happen as a career.
I’ve also always been very academic, so I was excited to really push myself in college. Once I got to BYU, my focus shifted toward attending law school and I decided to study English. I still got small tastes of art, and of course literature, but I had left fine arts behind. I enjoyed my classes, but I saw English as a means to an end rather than as my ultimate passion.
After some different experiences, I decided not to attend law school after graduating. I felt empty and longed for some personal development and fulfillment, particularly as I became a mother. I had some limited Adobe Illustrator knowledge from a class in college and I designed some prints for my house.
A few people saw my prints and encouraged me to start an Etsy shop. I spent every free minute I had during nap times and late nights for a couple of months setting it up. It was meager and small, but I had officially started my business.
I got a Cricut die-cutting machine for Christmas around that time and I started making little projects here and there. I made cake toppers for my kids’ birthdays and things like that. I would make onesies for friends’ baby showers and it snowballed! Making custom designs for apparel really jumpstarted Ink & Brass*.
I’m back to my artistic roots and it feels so good. I took a long detour, but it finally feels like I’m home.
*I came up with the name “Ink & Brass Designs” when setting up my Etsy shop. For me, it stood for the prints (ink) and making your home beautiful (brass). Prints are now just a part of my business, but the name is so special to me and reminds me of where I started.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been a long, twisting road and I’m still on it! I have spent a lot of time feeling like I had missed my chance or I was too behind because I hadn’t majored in graphic design or art. I didn’t know enough. I didn’t have anything worth sharing. I wasn’t talented enough. No one would resonate with my designs. People would only order things out of pity, if at all.
I really let that fear of what other people thought of me keep me from going all in for quite a while. I tiptoed around my dreams and apologized for trying something new. I’m still working through feeling like I need to qualify my business as “little” or as a “hobby”.
Imposter syndrome hits me regularly, but I believe that I have something unique to give my clients. I have to tell myself constantly to keep going when it gets hard.
My husband is extremely supportive and encourages me to go all in, to lean into my passion. That has made a big difference for me!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I create custom graphic designs that are used in a variety of ways. I’ve designed logos, home decor signs, wall prints, car decals, business window vinyl, Christmas cards, etc. My favorite designs are hand-drawn and hand-lettered for tees!
I’ve made hundreds of custom tees. I’ve made shirts for supporting family members going through cancer treatments and shirts for families’ Disney trips and everything in between. A shirt is a pretty simple thing, but creating a design that is encouraging someone through a hard time or is adding happiness to a family memory is something that has become very important and special to me. Seeing my designs bring meaning and community to my clients is so fulfilling.
I don’t currently outsource any of my process, which means that every step is done with love and personal attention in my home studio. I am very particular and use the best materials; my process has been perfected through trial and error. I’ve made just about every mistake in the book, but my business is all the better for it.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Creating makes me happy! I believe that our souls long to be like God, the ultimate Creator. When I create something new and uplifting, it lights a fire inside of me. It can look like creating a design for a tee or creating new traditions for my family. Creating, in every sense, resonates with the spiritual parts of our being. How cool is that?
When I exercise my creativity, it blesses all aspects of my life. I’m a better wife and mother; I have the energy I need to continue to create a better home and life for my family. If that’s not happiness, I don’t know what is!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkandbrassdesigns/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/InkandBrassDesigns
Image Credits
Ink & Brass Designs
