Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucy Williams.
Hi Lucy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been connected to art-making and am so excited it is now my main gig! I have processed, learned and grown when making art. I studied art history and studio art in college, with a concentration in printmaking. After college, I explored different cities and worked in a print shop as an assistant. It was exciting, but I didn’t feel as though I was using art to help others in my community. I went back to school and received a Master’s in Art Therapy and specialized in helping folks who are battling eating disorders. I worked with incredibly brave people and am so proud of that part of my life, but I burnt myself out quickly. I moved away from practicing therapy actively right before the pandemic when my partner and I decided to move from Boston to Austin. It was a turning point for me to take a step back and make some decisions about what I wanted to do next. With lots of free time during the start of lockdown, I spent the majority of my days needlepointing. I first learned to needlepoint when I was a young girl; my great grandmother Mopsey taught me when visiting her on Nantucket Island. She was a powerhouse creative, painted canvases for local needlepoint stores and was a prolific stitcher. I was encouraged to continue needlepointing by my grandmother Nonnie (who wanted to be called Queenie, epic right?). She is a master florist, can fold a fitted sheet beautifully and adds an element of design to everything she touches. I strive to embody these women in every business decision I make. I noticed through Instagram that lots of people were learning to stitch or reconnecting with the craft and were building a community. I was encouraged by other stitchers to bring my love of color and background of printmaking to try designing canvases. I painted one canvas and was hooked! There was an opportunity to become a new designer, start my own small business and create fresh designs full of color. It was a leap of faith to start a new business during a global pandemic. I have been embraced by the small but mighty needlepoint community and encouraged to design bold canvases! Instagram and the ability to sell my designs online has been crucial.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Can any artist say they’ve had a smooth road? It sounds cheesy, but I believe the bumpy road is the reason I am settling into owning, operating and creating my own small business. I moved away from printmaking to help others, but also because I allowed my fear of failure to get the best of me. I believe I needed the time away from actively making a living with my art to understand how important it is to who I am as a person. My study of art therapy and my background in mental health counseling now inform how I want to be an artist and connect with a community. I learned so much about myself while I was actively practicing therapy. I fought off a lot of fear and missing and craving art-making during that time was crucial. I preached to my patients that they needed to be selfish to be selfless, to take care of themselves to be able to care for others. I looked in the mirror and realized I was doing the opposite and needed to seriously think about how I could continue to work hard while also taking care of myself. It’s been a long journey of understanding what self-care looks like to me, being able to set boundaries and check in with myself. Both of my parents are small business owners and I watched them work so hard for what they love. It has been instilled in me from a young age to work hard, protect your dreams and to go for what you want. I have learned so much from them; they are fabulous mentors. Even though I am from a family of small business owners, I never imaged how hard it is to run your own. Not many people will tell you what it takes to be the owner, head of HR, IT, accounting, packaging/shipping, website manager and still having time to design new products. It is a blast, but a lot of learning on the job!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The quick answer: I design and hand paint needlepoint canvases. The nitty gritty answer: I first sketch ideas in a notebook with pen and ink, then move to a computer program to chart them and then paint on large mesh canvas. The process of designing, researching if the design has been done before, planning color palettes, testing designs with fiber and reproducing for sale takes hours. All of my designs are hand and stitch painted, meaning that the color is rich and precise on every intersection of the canvas and a stitcher will never have to guess where to place their fiber. My most recent canvas takes about 10 hours to paint just one of them, they are a labor of love! I am really proud of my use of color and am so excited that it is becoming what I am known for as a designer. I am looking forward to bringing bold and fresh ideas to a longstanding community of stitchers. I strive to create designs that appeal to someone fresh to the craft, a stitcher that has been needlepointing for decades, a millennial or someone in older age.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I am new to Austin! We moved during the pandemic and have been trying to safely explore our new city. I am originally from Vermont and spent the last six years in Boston. I love that I am able to spend time outside almost everyday! Austin feels like it will be home and I am so excited to be able to explore more in the coming years when we learn our new normal after Covid. Gotta say the barbecue and tacos have my heart already.
Contact Info:
- Email: howdy@mopseydesigns.com
- Website: mopseydesigns.com
- Instagram: @mopseydesigns
Image Credits
Justin Borja
