Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginny Wiley.
Ginny, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story definitely begins with my family – they’re pretty amazing! I grew up surrounded by gifted musicians and talented artists, master storytellers, and inventive cooks. Correspondence arrived as well-crafted words in neat, curling handwriting, Dinner was colorful and artfully composed. Lovely, welcoming interiors were important, and nature was appreciated.
Creativity came naturally for my family, and – naturally – they encouraged it in me. They picked up on my love of drawing right from the start, and have been my biggest cheerleaders and supporters. I’m pretty sure the whole family worked together to keep me supplied in paper (it took a lot.) My dad, a graphic designer, would bring home paper samples from the printer, and my grandparents made sure to always have skeins waiting for me when I’d come to visit. Birthday and Christmas presents were pencils, sketchpads and design books. It was wonderful.
I took the art classes available at school in our small Texas town (Shout-out to Kermit Olson, the best art teacher ever!) and then again in college. More than a career, though, what I really wanted to be when I grew up was a mama, and I’m thankful to have gotten to spend the last seventeen years doing just that.
About two years ago, I started feeling really antsy to start a business that my sons, husband and I could run together as a family. I considered several creative business possibilities, but my husband was insistent that the company should be named for me and center on my drawings. In the end, his persistence won out. Last October, we opened Ginny Moon, an online store selling a home, fashion and gifts products featuring my art. I’m so thankful for my husband’s encouragement. Now, I get to spend my days doing my favorite thing: drawing.
Has it been a smooth road?
I constantly feel like I’m flying by the seat of my pants! Small business owners take on literally hundreds of jobs that a larger company would outsource to experts. I am no expert. I’ve spent my life learning about and practicing illustration, not running a business.
I took a year to research and learn before I felt confident enough to open the store. I keep a running list of huge, really important new things I need to learn, and I’ve developed kind of a process of tackling one big project (learning photoshop, setting up an e-commerce site…) before moving on to the next big project (marketing, mastering SEO…) I am constantly making mistakes, but I try to keep in mind that while there’s the best way to do things, there’s also a good-enough-way that works just fine. I shoot for the best but stick with good-enough when necessary.
An unexpected challenge for us has been a lack of good internet service! We live and work in the country about an hour outside of Fort Worth. Providers are limited and, honestly, we have yet to come up with a good solution. Googling how to run a business is tricky when it is difficult to even access Google. I look forward to improvements in service in underserved areas like ours. In the meantime, we’ve learned to post and upload when the gettin’ is good. 🙂
We’d love to hear more about Ginny Moon.
Gracious, timeless, lady-like yet comfortable. My family lives across the South and is the inspiration for my work. I focus on traditional pieces and classic patterns with design motifs unique to the Southern states. It’s important to me to create collections that can grow over time, so I am careful to carry specific colors and patterns over from one season to the next.
Fashion illustration is my first love, so every collection also includes a few coordinating giclees of fabulous dresses.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
Time! A woman’s life is so full of serving others. We have so many responsibilities that can’t be ignored to focus on our own growth. And honestly, most of those responsibilities, like family, are pretty wonderful.
One thing that has really blessed me in all this, though, is just how do-able a business is right now! So many people are willing to help – I recommend the Business Assistance Center in Fort Worth, fwbac.com, for business training and coaching, and a networking group, like Tuesday’s Together Fort Worth, @tuesdaystogetherfortworth, for creative business peer mentoring and support.
Not long ago, the only way to have a store like ours would be opening a brick and mortar location with expensive inventory. It’s incredible what technology has done for people with an entrepreneurial heart. We run on Shopify, connect with Instagram, and advertise through Klickly. Print on demand providers creates our products as needed. Internet, art supplies, and Adobe Creative Cloud are examples of our small monthly expenses. The barriers are so low. It’s an exciting time for ladies who want to start their own business!
Pricing:
- $10-120 For Home and Fashion Products
- $75-200 for Custom Art
- $200-2000+ for Logos and Licensed Images
Contact Info:
- Website: shopginnymoon.com
- Phone: 940-393-6205
- Email: hello@shopginnymoon.com
- Instagram: @shopginnymoon
- Facebook: facebook.com/shopginnymoon
Image Credit:
Amanda Lane Photography, Ginny Wiley
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