 Welcome to Adventures in Small Business, a collaborative effort by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Hawaii District Office, the Hawaii Small Business Development Center, the Mink Center for Business and Leadership, and the Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Pacific. All stories to showcase local entrepreneurs and small business. Aloha. Welcome to Adventures in Small Business. I'm Terri Funakoshi, Director at the Patsy T. Mink Center for Business and Leadership. We're the only SBA women's business center here in the state of Hawaii, and we're located at the YWCA O'ahu. Today, our episode is how to be an artist in business and finding your niche, how to stand out and stay financially solvent. The market is full of talented artists starting their own business, so it's crucial that aspiring art business owners find a way to stand out and again stay financially solvent. Today, I'm speaking with Laurie Sumie, Hawaii Equal Artist and Filmmaker. Her company is Laurie Sumie Studio. Laurie is a Hawaii-born artist and filmmaker who investigates environmental tensions between humans and nature. Her background is interactive media, animation, journalism, and design uniquely informs her videos, drawing, and installations. So that's a lot of things, so I'm so happy to introduce Laurie today. Welcome, Laurie. Hi. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to have Laurie here today. Not only because she's an awesome artist, but I have to just pull this out. So this month, October, is Women in Small Business Month, and we just got a proclamation from the governor. So Laurie is actually one of our women small business champions, and she's going to tell us more about it, but Laurie, why don't you start by telling us some of your background? So I'm born and raised from Hawaii. I grew up in Mililani. I went to Mililani High School, and I went to school in the mainland at Bradley University for four years. I double majored in art and communications, and that's kind of what got me interested in graphic design. And so I worked in graphic design and web design in San Francisco for many years, and then I went back to school and studied filmmaking and digital art in New York. And then when I moved back to Hawaii, I accidentally started a business doing creative stuff. So yeah. Wow. That's a lot of education. Yes, yes. So again, what motivated you to actually get into the art business? I actually didn't, you know, everyone says it's really hard to do and that people can't make a living doing this. It was really a passion that I had for native Hawaiian species, so I am really interested in learning more about our native plants and animals and the stories about them. And when I was living in New York, I had decided to do this calendar for my friends and family, and I just said, well, I want to learn more about plants and animals in Hawaii. I made this calendar for fun just to give us Christmas gifts, and that kind of took off and people wanted to buy my calendars, so I started making calendars, and then people would see the calendars, they said, oh my gosh, your birds look good on cards or other things, like tote bags. So I said, okay, I'll try to make a card or tote bag, and then I had a friend introduce my work to somebody, my first client was the Bishop Museum shop, and that's how my business got started. It was sort of word of mouth, I guess, and people were saying, I want to see your art on other things. So you kind of did it on the side? Yeah, yeah, I was freelancing and I was doing some other freelance work. You still had a full-time job? No, I've been freelancing, well, before this I was freelancing as a designer for maybe like the last 10 years. Okay, good. And you know, I have awesome questions to ask you about your business, but I'm so excited, I have to just say that Laurie is coming out with 2019 calendar, and she's actually dedicating it to MCBL to help women entrepreneurs, because it's the metamorphosis. So I think we have a picture of the front cover that we can show you. But tell us about the new calendar. So this year's calendar, the theme is metamorphosis. The idea is to really look at the ecosystems of Hawaii, because in the past I kind of picked very birds or trees or flowers, and I wanted something that I could do all the different animals and also maybe do some Hawaiian insects. And so I was thinking how cool that when I looked at the pictures of all these animals and plants, that they changed so much over the course of their lifetime. So for example, the image that you just showed is a rare koei green sphinx moth that only lives in koei. It's super critically endangered, it's only been viewed 18 times, and I want more people to know these amazing things exist in Hawaii. And so I just love the idea that there's these animals that change over time, like a butterfly or a parrotfish that changes color because it changes gender in its lifetime. So I thought these are such interesting stories about plants and animals and things that are here that I want people to know about. That's great. So when is the calendar coming up? It's almost done. It's just about done. It's going to press this week, and I will be able to ship hopefully mid-October. Great, because we're going to help you with that. Thank you so much for dedicating it to the Patsy Teeming Center and helping us. So I'm going to get back to asking you, the whole artist niche, can you tell us about why that's so important to stand out as an artist? I feel like art is really expressing something really specific about yourself and the way you see the world and the things that you care about. And so the more you can express how specific and how unique you are and the work that you do represents how you see that, I think it will resonate with more people in terms of work that doesn't look like everybody else's work. And so because I'm just focused on native wine species and those stories, and I'm a storyteller, so I'm going to find a really pretty thing and paint it or draw it. It's like I want to know all I can about it. I talk to scientists. I go to the Bishop Museum a lot and work with the curators there, so I can really understand the story of these animals and plants and scientists know they're super fascinating everywhere else in the world because they have such unique qualities that are unique because of Hawaii. And so that's something that I'm fascinated by and I want to put that in the work and also be able to talk to it when I share my work with people. So having this niche in the eco world, you actually get to work with companies and museums like I said. So how has that helped you in the business side? I feel like because I'm an artist conservationist in a way, I am basically telling that same story and message about what we have in Hawaii that is so beautiful and rare and that needs protecting and needs people to care about it and I want Kiki to care about it. I want people to, we're visiting to care about this because we have, wherever we live in the world, things that we care about that are rare and unique to where we come from and that makes that place unique and special. So I want people to make those connections of finding those things that are special to a place and then making it part of their lives. So that's why I make things like t-shirts and pillows and things that you can have in your home and that you can interact with nature every day. So I know you have an upcoming project. I think we have an image of your logo that you created. Can you tell us about that? So I'm working on an art exhibition for the Lancaster Museum of Art about the Hawaiian Crow which is one of the rarest birds in the world. There are only about 150 in total in the world and so I'm working on that art piece that's going to be in January in California and because the people with the Alalala Project were so incredibly helpful, I offered to design their logo for them because they needed a new logo for their project and so they use it for their outreach for stickers when they go to students in schools to have a logo that really represents where the Alalala now is because it was previously extinct in the wild and so they recently, last fall, released 12 wild Alalala and I got to see them and it was amazing to just see these birds that haven't, you haven't heard them in the forest for, I don't know, 15 so years and then to be in a forest and hear the sound of the birds singing and calling, it was just chicken skin, you know, and so I wanted to give back and give something to them for helping me make my own work so they can do their work. So tell us, you know, that's very inspiring and I know you said earlier when we were talking that inspires your product. Yes. Can you show us some of the product that you've done? So these are some other calendars I've done. This is my 2014 bird calendar and from the bird calendar turned into like all sorts of other products so I ended up making some t-shirts, I made some cards and then now I'm making phone cases and all of the artwork that all of the lines that I carry are originated from the calendars so it sort of is like I'll create new work for the calendar and that ends up being on products later and it usually is somebody will say I wish you would make a XYZ tote bag t-shirt and then I'll go and make it and then people will buy it so. Yeah I noticed I was looking at this earlier so you even use equal packaging? Yes, yes because as you know for example I hope most people in Hawaii know that we have a plastic problem in our oceans so I wanted to make packaging that had no plastic in it and make it biodegradable so it doesn't create more trash in the landfill. This is 100% recycled, this is also you know cotton and yeah I just wanted packaging to also be telling the same message about protecting our environment and sustaining our planet by not contributing to the waste that we already are producing so in my little small way I want to continue those kind of values through the packaging and the the products that I make so they you know align with my values in terms of the stories I want to tell. It's really cute too, I love it, it's one of my favorite. Thank you. So okay I know there's so many things but I wanted to ask you about that documentary that you worked on it was so cute. Can you tell us about that? I think I have a picture of it. Well it's still in progress so we are we've been I actually moved home to work on the documentary that's actually what brought me back to Hawaii so I've been working on it for now for four years we're doing a crowdfunding campaign right now to raise money for it but we already have distribution on PBS for national because we have some funding and yeah we are telling the story of this native Hawaiian bird called the Polila that only lives in Hawaii on Mauna Kea it's the only place it's ever lived or in the world is on the big island in human in in in recent history and there's this amazing story of how the bird went to court to save itself so they actually the case is known as Polila v Hawaii and the bird went to court they brought a stuffed bird to court and the bird sued the state of Hawaii to save itself and that was almost 40 years ago and the case is still going and so yeah there's just been a lot of people trying to save this bird and a lot of amazing story with this court case that I want to share. And when is it going to be done? I'm hoping it'll be done next year if not at the very latest I hope 2020 because yeah this is like the fourth year I've been working in researching and raising money and just kind of it takes a long time to make a feature-length documentary but it's been really fun and amazing. So that's the bird on the cover right? This bird yes that's it. Oh he's going to be a popular. I hope so yeah there's a I mean how often do you have an animal suing and suing to save itself like that's pretty unique. So how can people help you know to help you with that documentary? Please contribute to our crowdfunding campaign which is going on I think for the rest of the month and we are trying to raise money and also just to show people that this is not just a Hawaii story like when we try to save things that make a place unique and special this is the story that resonates in the rest of the United States and the world because this case actually established habitat protection for all endangered species in the United States. So this is they teach this case in law school you know that that's how important this case is so so that's great so we've learned a lot about your business your niche you know that being eco-friendly so we're going to take a short break one minute but when we come back I'm going to ask you the hard question about how to sustain your business. Yes yes so we'll be right back in one minute thank you. This is Think Tech Hawaii raising public awareness. I just walked by and I said what's happening guys they told me they were making music. Aloha I'm Marsha Joyner inviting you come visit with us on cannabis chronicles a 10 thousand year artist where we explore and examine the plant that the muse has given us and stay with us as we explore all the facets of this planet on Wednesdays at noon. Please join us Aloha. Aloha and welcome back we're talking with Laura with Laurie okay now here's the hard question so you know you have your art people love it you're passionate about you know the birds and the eco and Hawaii now how do you sustain a business model where do you go what resources did you find? Well I read a lot of books because I'm kind of a nerd so I just googled and read lots of business books and then I read business books about artists and being creative entrepreneurs but when I needed more hands-on training I heard about the Patsy Mink Center and was able to get some mentorship and training through some class there and that has really helped me reframe and rethink how I do everything. Oh that's great so how did you find that resource? I think I just googled it I was like looking for small business help in Hawaii and then I that's how I came across it yeah that's the answer for everything right now yes yes totally that's great okay so I'm glad you found the resource and you had the help you needed so tell us more after you took the course you know what was your next step so my next step was to you know get someone to help me run the business and and basically because I'd been doing everything myself and and being able to organize and get help so I was able to hire an accountant and someone who's a business manager to manage the accounts for me so I can just focus on making the work but I did for two years before that I kind of had to test and figure out how to make a business doing this because I'd never done this kind of business so before I had my own company doing creative design so I you know billing hours and service-based business so I knew how to do like invoicing and that kind of thing but the actual product-based business was totally new and it's a completely different way of working so that was just huge learning curve of figuring out how do you price things how do you sell retail how do you sell online how do you sell wholesale how do you make line sheets I mean line sheets and catalogs like figuring out how to do skew numbers like you know just things like that I never I have no background on retail like I never even worked you know a mall job where I sold anything so just the idea of skews I'm like what's a skew like how do I create skews and you know just all that really basic stuff that people who know how to do this they're like oh yeah like this is how you do it but I had to learn and I just looked for books and internet resources to kind of figure out how to do that and but it only gets you so far you know so that was that was good and bad and people I had a cousin's wife who had done some retail and she was very helpful in telling me when you're selling to bigger shops and stores that what their expectations are you know how long it takes to get paid dealing with capital which I'm like huh like capital and just terms for selling all that stuff I had to just she was really helpful in sharing how that works but that being said each place that I wholesale it like they do things a little differently so it's not there's like a standard system that everyone uses well sounds good sounds like you had a good support system I know for artists it's hard you have to brand yourself I mean can you give us some advice I know like social media and I feel like the most challenging for the selling is that anxiety of like oh my gosh I have to sell myself because as an artist you are your brand you know that is why my company's name is my name because as a professional artist when you sign something that is what you're selling is you you're selling part of your vision in you so it's not like I can hide behind a logo and say it's company that I also have so I feel like that authentic voice and being really consistent about how I'm messaging and expressing what I do and being not so shy about sharing my story which is funny because I my job used to be telling other people how to you know market their businesses and how to do social media but when I had to do it for myself I'm like oh I feel so self-conscious talking about myself or trying to promote my work in that way so I think it's getting over that hump of shyness I think putting myself out there and so on your website is it like your portfolio no I have a separate I have two separate websites I have my artist website for galleries and museums you know for curators who are interested in my work and then I have a separate site for selling that's just like to buy things and also for wholesale retail people because I also make you know just art that is installation so I have an installation at the Bishop Museum for example and that's not something you would buy in a store you know it's like a it's an artwork so I do both and I keep them separate just because the audience is totally different right so a curator at a museum or gallery is not necessarily soup someone who wants to buy a t-shirt right so that's a that's a good point because as an artist there's so many different ways to actually make revenue so again that you're saying you have two sites because you want to do wholesale retail commission work licensing so what's your advice on that how do you know if that's the route you should go as an artist I feel like you need to know who your audience is so if your goal is you know just to be a museum artist and you know to be in these collections like obviously you're not going to be selling at a gift shop but the reason I ended up thinking because before I was like oh I don't you know I'm not going to do stationery and stuff but then I was at the MoMA store in New York and I noticed okay well Picasso has a calendar selling at the MoMA and he's also in a museum so I can make a calendar of my art I don't have to be dead first so I'm just gonna you know make my calendar and put my art on products and not stress about it you know and and I know you also did a pop-up yeah and you did some trade shows I think we have a picture of your Christmas yeah so I did a Christmas pop-up in Jaikoo at Alamoana last Christmas and I was there for three different days and it was just a really great experience to engage with a different audience and to also be in a mall setting which I'd never done that before it's very different and everyone at the staff at Jaikoo they were so kind and really made me feel very welcome so it was a good experience and I would highly recommend other people to participate in things like artisan I think it's called like an art it's their artisan program where they invite local artists into their shop and I know you have so many more products coming out and I remember seeing your pillows and those are really cute yeah I think I need some for Christmas yeah so those kind of came about because I wanted something that people could have in their home that they could look at and use and yeah and they've been really popular so the one cool person who ended up buying it was Maisie Hirono she bought like I think four of them and every time somebody goes to her office in Washington DC she put them on the wall so everyone sends me pictures of my artwork in her office so it's really cool that's great you know Maisie Hirono is a big advocate for small business and she loves endangered Hawaiian birds apparently as well so there you go yeah so you know we have a few minutes left and I want to wrap up by saying you know what are some of the challenges that you can share with us you know having your business in Hawaii that you can share to any artists out there that's thinking of doing their business so I really tried to make everything in Hawaii at the beginning because I thought I want to support local other local businesses to make my products but I basically realized it's really hard to do at the right price point and I said okay I don't want to send products in China because I know what that production cycle is and yes it's the cheapest way but it's not the most ecologically sustainable so I I may hit a goal now to just make sure all my products are made in the United States that's my criteria and yeah it's really it's because of the cost of shipping everything into Hawaii and then the cost of labor's high it's so hard to make stuff here that being said I have made some of my products my stationary and paper products here but I think for the long haul just for cost I probably have to get everything made on the mainland because the cost is really important if you don't hit the right price points you won't sell anything even if you have a really great product so your advice is you know try to do as much local as possible but cost I feel like cost is the number one thing of whether people will buy what you make you know if you make something brilliant that people want it has to be priced right for the market and for your customer otherwise you won't sell anything and going from selling off my website to wholesale like that totally messed up my pricing because like I had to learn about key stoning and then I'm like okay I won't make any profit if I'm selling at this price point and then how can I make it for less but still you know have my eco credentials and run a business in Hawaii because you know you're competing with companies that are selling things in Alabama where they're it's much much cheaper to run a business so once I kind of learned those things I'm like okay well I still want to be based here I still want to make my work here so how can I make sure the economics of that works and and get the pricing to a point where I'm not breaking even but making a decent profit because there's definitely been other items I've sold where when I crunch the numbers I'm like I am making so little my margins are so low that it's not worth me making the product but it took me a while to figure out what that process was because you have a cool idea and you're like I'm gonna make this thing it'll be great and then you're like wait I'm not making that much on this so maybe I should try to make something that for them a time and effort I'll actually earn a profit so I'm smiling because my background's written I hear you but you know I have to commend you for such great product assortment because you know you have something for your personal you have you know for gifts yeah for the home and I we forgot to mention that we also do education yeah these are this using my artwork of birds I wanted kids to be able to learn the names of the birds so I made Go Bird for an event at the Bishop Museum and as just a test to see if people would like it and just you know because you have to say oh do you have a boy or whatever and the kids really got it and they were got they really got into it and it was a really cool project because I wanted to do something that was fun yeah they're so educational they're so cute yeah you know so we have so many different products that you did that's great and I know you have more so can you tell people where to go to find your product yes so my website is laurysoumiestudio.com and I sell at about 10 different stores also on the big island Kauai and Oahu so if you don't like buying on a website you can also buy some of my items at stores on my and there's a stock is site on the website if you prefer to shop in person but our newest item are the phone cases and I kind of wanted to do phone cases just because I haven't seen a lot of local art on cases and I like the idea of having it with you all the time and you know having your bird or your turtle your honu I know these are so cute yeah with you so thank you so much Laurie for joining us and I just want to remind everybody that Laurie is a small business champion and she's part of the shop small initiative to to really help small businesses here in Hawaii and if you go to the shop small website you'll find champions just like Laurie and we're going to be celebrating all month it's a year-round celebration so this month and next month yeah we have our one big event at Honolulu night market on November 24th so your calendar will be ready yes yes we'll be able to sell everything yeah and then it's thank you so much for having me it's been really great to share my story and to kind of explain like why I do so many different things but you know all of the things that I do whether it's documentary film or products is to kind of tell the story of Hawaiian animals and plants and to get them in everyone's everyday lives because some of these animals are so hard to see I like the idea that they're part of your life in a way that you don't got to go up a mountain and go look at the bird you know it's because it's hard it takes like five hours and then you got to wait to hope it shows up so this is a much easier way to see these things thank you for everything you are yeah and thank you everybody for tuning into adventures in a small business and we'll see you again next week