May 2019 began the adventure that would become my summer. Working 7 days a week, on and off from 9am until the next morning, with little to no separation of work and personal life. But living the life of being a full-time creative working from home. This past summer had some of the longest days, but some of the most enjoyable. 

Flashback to March. I was applying for jobs everyday. My time was spent strictly being in class, doing homework, or filling out job applications on Indeed and Glassdoor. By the end of April, I applied to about 35 jobs. I only ever received 2 answers back from employers, after spending hours and hours writing cover letters and submitting my resume. I always had a backup plan of working in food service, but my mental health couldn’t handle that anymore. I was stumped. Then came May. Just weeks before moving out of school, I texted my mom, “Do you want to make candles this summer? I think that would be fun.” At this point my mom was able to find me a client to do freelance design work for, so candlemaking was just going to be a fun craft that my mom and I could do together. Little did we both know what would happen from there. 

Being the granddaughter of entrepreneurs, my mom and I thought it was time to finally license my creative skills to become a sole proprietorship. We wanted to make sure I was licensed to carry out freelance design work with clients, and to run my shop. Weeks passed, not much attention coming to my shop and not many purchases happening. Then came mid-June, when I was making a sale a day. When I have recently updated my shop, I make about 25-35 sales a week.

As of October, I’ve sold 382 products, and have made 251 sales. Running my candle shop and designing has turned into a full occupation, one that I will continue doing after I graduate. While at college, I’ve been adding other things to my site as well. So far, I’ve sold ceramics, stickers, paintings, and candles through my shop. I’ve worked with 15 clients creating business cards, 4 clients creating full branding, and 2 clients creating logos; all through Twitter with a couple being local businesses. 

My favorite part of making candles and doing design work over the summer was being able to be creative all day long, and set my own work shifts. I struggled with taking time off and taking breaks, but I eventually figured out a healthy medium. I also struggled with keeping a clear line of communication between me and a busy client. I have learned a lot and have grown not only as a shop owner but also an artist. 

My plans for the future include vending on a weekly or monthly basis, and working on at least 5 branding projects a month. 

Cait Konradt ’20

POE: Technology and Design