2025, A Year In My Life As An Artist

Wow! This year has been an explosion of creative energy!

I started 2025 with a bang by launching Otiose Emporium, a creative vending machine company, into four fun locations:

• The Comet

• HighGrain Brewery, Brentwood

• HighGrain Brewery, Silverton

• The American Sign Museum

All are located in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

My business partner, and co-creative Jessica Wolf of Paper Acorn, and I started Otiose as an additional income stream that lets us both flex our creative muscles in a new, collaborative way. We call it a curated boutique of frivolity. Each machine carries a collection of local, handmade treasures, nostalgic goodies, and other whimsical curiosities. Make sure to check them out if you are in the area. You’ll even find some of Maker Street Studio's treasures inside.

This year, I successfully participated in 31 in-person pop-up markets and 7 art shows. After losing a regular income from a full-time job in December, I found myself in a precarious financial situation and decided to throw myself into what I knew and trusted to generate revenue: in-person events. I signed up for some of my regular shows, but also decided to expand into five new pop-up markets:

• Sharonville Bark & Buy, Cincinnati, OH

• City Flea, Cincinnati, OH

• Straus Troy Market on the Square, Cincinnati, OH

• Christmas Fair, Columbus, OH

• Not Your Mama’s Craft Market, Columbus, OH

And four new art shows:

• Lakewood Arts Festival, Cleveland, OH

• Springboro ARTfest on Main, Springboro, OH

• Upper Arlington Art Show, Columbus, OH

• Milford Art Affaire, Cincinnati, OH

All of them helped me increase my reach across the Ohio region.

The expansion also extended into my offerings. Over the last year, I heard from my clients, and I launched a collection of 5 x 7-inch Note Cards featuring my whimsical pet art. They were very successful, and I spent time between each show restocking. My tote bags have also remained popular, so I crafted eight new designs to provide even more fun options. But I didn’t stop there; I expanded into printed blankets, which I launched in my online store for the holiday season, along with my dog-therapy candles. You can find all three of these items on my Etsy Shop, Maker Street Studio, LLC

One of my favorite new items I crafted this year was my Cat-O-Mancer Paper Fortune Tellers.  This stemmed from a kit I initially made for the Otiose Emporium vending machines.  While developing my initial designs, I dreamt up a cat-focused fortune teller.  After all, I had the perfect image, Gypsy the tuxedo cat who belonged to a friend of mine. I had created a custom portrait of Gypsy portrayed as a fortune-teller.  It was the perfect design, and her mom blessed the use of her image as Miss Kitty the Cat-O-Macer. I sell this fun novelty item at markets, online, and in the vending machines.

Gypsy depicted as Miss Kitty the Cat-O-Mancer

Cat-O-Mancer Paper Fortune Teller

In addition to launching new product lines, I completed two new art collections featuring a total of seven designs. My art prints for these designs can be found on my Etsy shop at Maker Street Studio LLC

Hair on the Dog Tavern – Four furry friend finding comfort and camaraderie over their favorite beverages at the local tavern.

Alley Cat Dance Off - three hip-hop dancing cats battling it out with breakdance moves, street swagger, and larger-than-life feline attitude in a gritty urban alley setting.

I also worked with four clients to make custom pet portraits. The experience is truly collaborative; I’m the creative who helps generate the visuals, and the owner is the director guiding the piece to its final form. The process starts with one of my favorite parts, getting to know the pets. It is exciting to see how people emote so much love for their fur family through their detailed descriptions of their personalities. Next, I create a concept piece. This part really kickstarts the idea generation process between the owner and me. After a couple of rounds of feedback and rework, the joint effort yields a truly personal, one-of-a-kind artwork to be cherished.

Mocha is reserved and loves nothing more than hanging out, reading a good book, and enjoying a mocha latte

Brynn, sophisticated and sassy. She loves a good cocktail, a night out, and her statement jewelry.

Kashew and Winnie, retired greyhounds enjoying their new life of leisure. Winnie is a true athlete, and Kashie loves nothing more than hanging out in the garden when he isn’t enjoying his favorite scotch with his dad.

Izzy is a snuggle bug. She loves to cozy up under her favorite fleece blanket.

Bensen the goofball, He loves nothing better than hanging out on the couch.

As if that was not enough, I also launched a Newsletter and Blog to help improve my connection with my audience. I experimented with developing an app to manage my on-the-spot photo keepsake events, and played with introducing storytelling to my art by crafting a mini art book.

Hair on the Dog Tavern Art Book

2025 has been fun, and I have done a lot of work to help grow Maker Street Studio. Although I would like to make it a full-time job, it just isn't financially viable yet. Shows are expensive, and growing a creative business takes time.  Full circle, and I will be starting 2026 with a new full-time job. 

Maker Street Studio is more than just an income stream; it is an extension of me. It's my joy and my passion, and something I will continue to give my all to. I may not be able to accomplish as much in 2026, but I will continue striving to craft the visual stories my audience loves and share them with the world in a tangible way that brings joy.