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Sarah Ritchie | Episode 796
Sarah Ritchie is a self-taught artist based out of Mohkinstsis (Calgary), Alberta. Sarah works out of a private studio using ceramics as her primary media and the focus of her business – From Hands of SJR LTD. Sarah’s practice integrates her academic and professional science background with arts as a means to incorporate science communication and an appreciation of the natural world into her work.
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Why were the numbers important in deciding to go full time?
Well I am definitely not the most…I am trying to be more financially literate but right from the beginning getting into art because it was something that I have done for so long, but was never seen as a viable path to really make your money off of, it had to be a really good outlook for me to trust it. And that was also partially why even though I did a lot of art in high school, it was never something I wanted to pursue post secondary in terms of going to a degree in it because it was too much of a risk for me. As I am back in it and it is making some promising look for my career, there were just some bench marks that I knew I needed to have covered before I made that plunge into it. So it was just things like my student loans being paid off and me having X amount in my savings. I also found an accountant I could trust and made sure my business expenses were separate from my personal finances.
Do you feel like it a wise choice for people to reach out and get help with financial literacy?
Well for me it was because I didn’t have the background growing up that I felt that I had the tool set to do that confidently and properly, I guess. So having somebody who I knew would do it properly and get all the things I might miss if I was trying to do it all myself, gave me the peace of mind that that was worth it. So the money of paying somebody and having it done, that I could trust and wasn’t taking up my own head space was well worth the money.
Kenny Rogers had a song that said, You have to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. How did the numbers help you decide to hold of fold them?
Well I stuck with it because the numbers were promising and they were going in the right direction. Not just the numbers financially but the numbers of people themselves with orders. So that was all down the right path and then we are talking about that literacy involving finances and business savvy decisions and what not, but it also felt right and so it was bringing me a lot of joy to make this work, I was feeling fulfilled doing it so it was combination of the both of them.
Does having the numbers help you take the steps towards the risk as apposed to pulling back and staying in a safe place?
Absolutely because then it becomes more of a calculated risk that you can see and you and not just stepping into it blindly but there is something supporting that decision and you can’t guarantee where you are going to end up but there is some evidence that you are making a wise decision.
What was a big challenge that you didn’t expect that you had to figure out?
The work-life balance because ultimately I can’t tease them apart because what I do I really enjoy, I really love so it doens’t feel like work. And when I am not working I am still thinking about things I want to do but that line is so blurred because you just end up in there all the time. Like I have done so many 12 or 14 hour work days back to back getting ready for a sale and even though that is something I am working to benefit myself and it’s something I am fulfilled by I have to constantly improve that and have some of my own personal time. Because otherwise I forgo doing stuff with friends or my partner. I know there are points here I don’t get to see my family for really long stretches of time so I do have to break it up.
Book
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Contact
Instagram: @fromhandsof.sjr