Jewelry Artist Podcast: You Can’t Plan for That with Becky Nunn
In the second episode of Jewelry Artist, artist entrepreneur Becky Nunn and I talk about what it’s like to be a creative business owner during the global pandemic. Although Becky planned for a worst-case scenario, nothing could have prepared her for the nuances of these unprecedented times.
Becky owns Nunn Design in Port Townsend, Washington. Nunn Design offers jewelry findings and educational resources for artisans to create unique pieces of wearable art. Many Nunn Design components play well with resin, Crystal Clay, miniature embroidery, and other materials that can be used to make creative jewelry.
On Becky’s blog, she writes about her experiences owning a business and shares tips you can use in your own business. I especially love Becky’s book recommendations for leveling up in 2020 and am adding these to my own reading list.
As a graphic designer by trade, Becky blends her artistic side with her business savvy by planning ahead; maintaining transparency with employees, vendors, and customers; designing new collections; and more. All of the aspects of running a business engage her creativity daily. During the pandemic, she has relied on the power of habits, her journaling practice, and her family to help keep things going.
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One of the biggest shocks of the pandemic is that her business suddenly transformed from Becky and her employees running the day-to-day business to more like it was when she started the company over 20 years ago. When Becky heard the stay-at-home announcement, she started putting findings in buckets to bring home from her office. It reminded her of her early days in business when she had a hand in almost every aspect, as opposed to the management she has been doing in recent years. She misses her staff.
Becky acknowledges that she feels grief for the changes she has been forced to make and for being labeled “nonessential.” She wonders what it does to an artistic person’s psyche to be told that their work isn’t necessary. Once she attended to all of the practical matters of her business going into pandemic mode, Becky could attend to the emotional side of things. It helps her to remember that “it is what it is.” She can’t change the pandemic, but she can control her response.
Becky and her husband have two children, and they are accustomed to traveling abroad for several weeks each year. The routines they’ve formed as a unit have helped during the pandemic. They know what it’s like to visit a place and not know anyone or speak the language or know where anything is located. During the stay-at-home order, they’ve found themselves falling into the comfortable patterns that they’ve created while traveling. Becky feels grateful to have those skills to rely on, even though they’re at home.
Subscribe to Jewelry Artist Podcast and hear our complete conversation in episode two, “You Can’t Plan for That with Becky Nunn,” owner of Nunn Design. You’ll hear tips you can use in your own business and ideas for keeping your creativity going as a jewelry artist, even when times are rough.
Katie
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