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Kelly Rae Roberts: A Journey of Creativity, Healing, and Empowerment
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Kelly Rae Roberts' career is a testament to the transformative power of creativity—not just for herself, but for countless others. She began her professional journey as a social worker, dedicating years to helping people navigate life’s challenges. Yet, at 30, a deep restlessness in her heart sparked an unexpected pivot: she picked up a paintbrush, and everything changed.
What began as playful experimentation with paint, stencils, and texture soon became a lifeline of healing and unburdened joy. Kelly Rae poured her heart into her art, and by 2006, her creative portfolio had blossomed into something extraordinary. She launched her shop, published a book, and saw her work licensed on a global scale. From home décor stores to gift shops worldwide, her art resonated deeply, spreading messages of hope and inspiration.
Kelly Rae’s story is about far more than business success—it’s about staying true to her passion for helping others. Through her art, online courses, and retreats, she uplifts and empowers women, encouraging them to nourish their souls and embrace joy through creativity and self-kindness. As a mentor to creative entrepreneurs, she radiates possibility, sharing the wisdom she’s gained from building a thriving art business. In many ways, Kelly Rae’s work as an artist mirrors her time as a social worker. The tools may have changed, but the mission remains the same: to listen, heal, and inspire others to dream big and live fully.
Kelly Rae Roberts is a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to chart a new path. With courage, creativity, and kindness, she shows us that we too can find healing, awaken joy, and create a life filled with purpose and possibility.
Website: https://www.kellyraeroberts.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyraeroberts/
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Transcript
Introduction to Rebloom Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey, everyone. Welcome to Rebloom, the podcast where we explore the power of change, rediscovery, and living with intention. That's right. We're your hosts, Lori and Jamie, two friends who really love a good story about transformation. In each podcast, we're going to chat with inspiring guests who've made bold pivots in their lives or careers. They've let go of what no longer serve them to embrace something more authentic, joyful, and true to who they really are.
00:00:31
Speaker
And the best part, many of them reconnect with passions or dreams they discovered as kids. It's about finding the seeds planted long ago and letting them bloom again. So if you're ready for real conversations about reinvention, purpose, and following your creative heart, you're in the right place. Let's dive in and see what it takes to re-bloom.
Guest Introduction: Kelly Ray Roberts
00:00:56
Speaker
Welcome, everyone, to another episode of Rebloom. I am crazy excited about this episode. Hi, Lori. Hey, Jamie. We're both fangirling a little bit today over our guest. I know this person. I've followed her as you have for a long time. So but you get the honors of introducing her.
00:01:19
Speaker
Oh, I do. And I have to tell you, my heart is just so full ah that we are so proud to welcome Kelly Ray Roberts today. Hi, Kelly, how are you? Hi, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for inviting me.
00:01:37
Speaker
We're honored to be able to talk to you today. We are so thrilled. So for any of our listeners who don't know Kelly Ray, um and I don't know how you don't because she's pretty amazing and she has had an incredible career. But I just want to give you a little background. She started as a social worker.
00:01:59
Speaker
and took a pivot in her 30s and actually discovered her joy was doing artwork and began to build her art career and at the same time also started having a family and has it had a son and started to license her work and created ah was an author of a book and then started to be an instructor and work with businesses.
From Social Work to Artistry
00:02:28
Speaker
And her career just took off in the most beautiful ways. And we cannot wait to hear all about her journey. Welcome, Kelly.
00:02:38
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that was so sweet. Thank you. It seems I've been doing this for so long now. It's really touching to kind of remember how it all got started. i think it's Yeah, a lot of we bring a lot of our guests down memory lane. because you did like You know, most of us are in forward mode all the time. And once in a while, it's kind of nice to just look back and just, you know, kind of reminisce on where it all started. So for you, you're very well, you might have had other pivots even before moving from social work into the art world. But um we want to hear all of it. So I guess take us back. Yes, back. You know, I did have some pivots and I think
00:03:26
Speaker
um When I trace it trace it back, I think and for me, it was sort of building a trust process and a confidence practice.
00:03:41
Speaker
And so that when I did pivot in my early 30s, I was ready and I had some moments that had happened in my life prior to that that were readying me. I didn't know it.
00:03:55
Speaker
up at the time. But these decisions um prepped me, prepared me, forged me. And one of those big decisions was when I was in my early 20s, I did a big road trip with a girlfriend of mine. We were in graduate school for social work. And one of our other friends had moved to Seattle, Washington. And we were in Florida. I grew up in Florida in the Panhandle.
00:04:24
Speaker
So we road tripped and I had never been anywhere ever truly except to and from New Jersey to see family. And so doing that road trip and deciding I want to move out West and then moving out West a year later was one of those decisions. It was a huge pivot in my life. That's a huge pivot. huge Wow.
00:04:49
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't know this part of your story. Yeah, cool. And I didn't realize you were from Florida. Wow. cool from the South. and now Yes, born and raised in grew up in a rural Florida. And then in um Jacksonville, Florida for high school, I moved a lot. I went to a different school every year while until I was 14 until eighth grade.
00:05:19
Speaker
So you know it's when we look back on these these sort of threads in our life, they ready us for these moments when, oh, I think I want to make a change.
Cross-Country Adventures and Return to Portland
00:05:31
Speaker
and Yeah. what in What intrigued you about about Seattle or the we or the West Coast? Well, I was i had never been anywhere. Again, I had never seen um the West Coast, I'd never seen big mountains. um It was August, so it was beautiful. And Rainier was amazing. And we had a friend that worked for the Oregonian. And so we went through Portland, you know, the roses were out. And I was just like, you know what, I think I need to live here. This feels more like me.
00:06:06
Speaker
was creative. I was creative. I wasn't i didn't identify as an artist, but I definitely knew that these were my people. And so I just set a decision. I was like, I'm going to give myself a year to gather up the money. And you know this was before the internet. So I would go to Barnes and Noble and go to the travel section and get the books about Portland, Oregon, and look figure out you know the different parts of town and look at the classifieds and find an apartment and find a job and then off I went. Were you supported in that decision? Were you supported by your family? Well, I don't remember not being supportive. I think my mom was, um you know, like
00:06:56
Speaker
Please don't go forever. um All these years later, I'm still here and she eventually moved out um here as well with my dad, Greg, um when my son was born. I love that. It it was i it was an exciting time. I was in i think I was 24 or 25.
00:07:20
Speaker
And about 12 weeks before I was set to go and drive alone to Portland, where I decided I was going to go live, I met John, who is my now husband. But at the time, we met 12 weeks before I was set. No. And we just fell madly in love. And he came with me, sight unseen, here to the West Coast. Wow. Yeah.
00:07:49
Speaker
So a very exciting time, but I think that built a lot of confidence and a lot of this sense of sort of independence that I could figure it out and if everything would be okay. And and you know a couple years later, ah maybe five years later, actually, I was 28 or 29 and um was really unhappy in my social work job and was a little anxious, having a little like melancholy vibes for a long time. And so we made another big decision and we decided to sell our house and sell our belongings and sell our cars. And we we decided to go and just travel for a year around the United States and see with if we could find
00:08:44
Speaker
a city that we loved as much as we loved Portland, but maybe wasn't so rainy. um yeah And that was another one of those decisions that I think sort of prepped me for the pivot. And that was a big adventure. We so we sold our house. We had $30,000 from the sale. We paid off my student loans, which left us, I think, with like, I don't know, $18,000. And we we made that last for a year. We went and camped.
00:09:14
Speaker
wow All around the United States and California and in search of our new home. And we stayed in hotels every Sunday night to watch Alias. That was when Alias was inside.
00:09:31
Speaker
And um yeah, I mean, we ended up the funny thing about that is we ended up circling back to Portland after that year away um because we we did it not find the place.
00:09:43
Speaker
but Were you drawn to, was there any other place that you were kind of drawn to or you you kind of but did you, when did you realize you really wanted to be back where you started? When we we we wound back up in Florida for about 12 weeks and um we both had family there at the time and it was just I think the contrast of being back in Florida and be like, yep, nope, we're not this, we wanna, we missed it. We had a longing for um Oregon. And so we we came back and um settled in for a couple more years before making another pivot. Well, my husband and I joke that our lives are just one big change after the next every five to eight years.
00:10:37
Speaker
It's funny because as an outsider watching your career, it feels that way. like i I see like when you're like on the precipice of something new, and then what I admire about you is you you do it. You make it happen. Yes.
00:10:53
Speaker
Thank you. and i'm going to start go go ahead oh go ahead I was going to say the other thing that I noticed too is that so I've been following Kelly Ray's story for many years. I found her in um through a magazine, Cloth Paper Scissors, many years ago.
00:11:11
Speaker
But then she had a blog. You had a blog and you're one of the first people to sort of put your story out there. And there was an authenticity about what you shared. And or maybe you were saying sharing it on Facebook or I can't remember because it was many, many years ago. But I loved I loved I know it was pre Instagram and it was but it was ah it was really you sharing your journey and t did you have a ah pivot point that does that you made that you thought, hey, I'm going to share this story of where we're going and what we're doing? Yeah, there was a pivot point. it was I remember it really clearly. I was a social worker in Portland and my husband was a nurse, a trauma nurse.
00:11:56
Speaker
And we didn't have any children. It was 2005. And I had, this was before Instagram. It was before, I think it was during the Friendster days. Remember Friendster before my space? I don't even remember.
00:12:17
Speaker
We're dating ourselves now. yeah We are dating ourselves. But um I was not quite 30 or about to be. And I had a friend who was living in Austin. And she worked at Book People. And she went to colleges and got a degree in creative writing. And then she decided, you know what? I think I want to be a filmmaker. And so she started a blog. And it was just on Blogspot. And she would share her adventures of how she
00:12:52
Speaker
decided to become a filmmaker. And, um and she, we, all of my friends, you know, this was, we were all in different parts of the country. And so she created this blog, so we could all kind of follow along in her adventures. Her name is Kat Candler. She's still a filmmaker. She's a showrunner for um Oprah and Ava DuVernay. And anyway, watching her early sort of like like, I have no idea how to do this, but I'm going to figure it out. And I watched her
Building a Creative Career
00:13:23
Speaker
over a year create friends and rent cameras and create a feature length film that ended up going to Sundance. And it was about our little friend group in junior high and high school. And that that inspired me, A, to start a blog, because I also wanted to keep up with my family and friends.
00:13:46
Speaker
um And then about a year and a half of doing that, I was so inspired by Kat's story that I too started to just sort of share little pieces and what I was learning and her blog, ah you know, like that little rabbit hole that we all do, I eventually found myself reading blogs of other mixed media artists like Misty Mon and DJ Pettit and Judy Wise. And I learned about Artfest and this whole world opened up for so many of us in those days. And I was so obsessed and intrigued and started learning and and just started writing about what I was learning and how I was feeling about it. and But a lot of that was inspired by my
00:14:36
Speaker
filmmaker Frank Cat Candler. Yeah. I love that. I love that. And you know, one of the things that I remember early on is you sharing little bits um of your story personally, but you would also share what you were learning artistically. And that was a lesson for me um because you I mean, they were simple little things, mixing colors or doing things. And I thought, wow, she's sharing her secret sauce. She's sharing her. so And you were, in a way, but you were sharing part parts of it. And I thought, that is really brave to do. And I'll fast forward several years later, I had the opportunity to be published, and they wanted to know how I did something. And I'd spent a year doing it. And I thought, oh, no, I can't share this. And then I thought back to you. And I thought, well, Kelly shared, Kelly Rae shared what she did. And her career has grown, and it's beautiful. and
00:15:34
Speaker
And I thought, no, I'm going to do this. And I did. I shared it. And I'm sure nobody copied what I was doing, but I got published about 10 more times. And my whole art career was so much greater in all the connections because i I just shared. It was no big deal. And and i I took that lesson from you very early on, just from you sharing a little piece of your heart.
00:16:01
Speaker
but also a little piece of what you knew with other people and it really helped other people to grow. So I thank you for that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I like think I was just going to say, I feel like the work that you were doing had um so much heart and messaging that it was there at the right time for a lot of, especially women. And we have a common friend, Anne Brown, who I know she was very instrumental at Demdaco.
00:16:37
Speaker
in and fought for you too because you know they initially they always you know every company they have to weigh like who's the audience what is it gonna sell whatever but she really went to bat for you and really believed in how strong your messaging is was now still Um, so can you talk a little bit about how you went from just blogging about art and dipping your toe into it to then, you know, all the other things that bloomed out of that. Yeah, you know, it was such a surprise. And you know how we have those like seasons in our lives that are just, um, and it's never happened since ever. And I keep wondering was,
00:17:25
Speaker
Is it that ever going to happen again? But it was a really magical season. And I knew that I was in something mystical because it seemed like every other week there was something I was celebrating with John. And he was in grad school. We happened to be in California at the time. um But there was this pivotal moment again when he decided to go to graduate school and I was a full time social worker.
00:17:55
Speaker
And the school was in California. It was a two-year program and it was essentially like residency. So he would not be able to work during the program. We took out student loans, but I was gonna have to work full-time um in Oakland, California as an ER social worker. And I had this just moment of like, ooh, like seize this opportunity because um I was fired up Etsy had just opened its door. you know I started my blog in 2005. It's now 2006. Etsy has opened. and I thought, I'm going to work i mean it work this social work job while my husband's in grad school. and i'm gonna you I was young. I didn't have children. I wasn't a mom. and I just had a lot of energy, a lot of alone time while he was off doing his thing.
00:18:48
Speaker
I started that little Etsy shop and just worked endlessly on it, but with a lot of joy and was blogging throughout this whole process. And there was an editor at Northlight Books who was sort of taking note and reading my blog and said, you know what, your story of coming into the creative life is which could be a really great book.
00:19:12
Speaker
And how do you, what do you think about doing that? And I was like, what? Doing that. And then um I needed
Licensing Success and Artistic Insights
00:19:22
Speaker
and wanted to make sort of get my name out there. And so my friend, Mady Rose, who was in San Francisco on the mission. her love her She's amazing. She's amazing. She's my very, very best friend. But we would have these little parties at my house where we'd sit on our laptops and email editors of various blogs, big blogs and magazines to see if we could
00:19:47
Speaker
get some traction. And um during one of those visits, I made this beautiful box and I painted the box. This is something, Gloria, I think I can see you doing too.
00:19:59
Speaker
um But I just put in a bunch of my art and hand wrote this beautiful letter and framed it, painted the whole outside of the box and sent it off to cloth paper scissors and to Somerset magazines. And I said, i'm you know, again, I have no idea what I was thinking, but I think when you're so naive, you don't even know like you know it's what you're doing. And so that worked for me. And they called back and said,
00:20:27
Speaker
you know, hey, we would love to have you do a series of articles for us for a year. So that, Jamie, is probably what you read. And then, yeah you know, it just kept going. And then eventually, Anne Brown from Dim Daco was checking out Etsy, and she saw my art. And so it was just this little perfect storm. And she did go to bat for me at Dim Daco and said, I really want, they had never done well art before um as a category. and She did. And I had no idea how any of that worked. And in fact, I was just minding my own business. I was visiting a friend in New York and I got this phone call from Anne Brown in January saying, I'm at a trade show.
00:21:15
Speaker
And your work is selling really well. And I'm like, what's a trade show? And i mean mean my work is in a showroom. I have really had no idea what she was talking about got off the phone. And I said to my friend,
00:21:33
Speaker
this woman, Ann Brown, who I hadn't been in touch with because it would have been like a year when I'd sent her my art files, you know? And I didn't know that I was supposed to stay in touch and do any of that. And then, you know, it was just this void. And then she's like, and so we want to do a summer release and we want to move now. We want to do this and we want to do that. I'm like, okay.
00:21:57
Speaker
so That's how all that started. know Wow. Wow. It was a fun, fast, ah exciting time. and And then it went from there. That's what started licensing. And that's how I met you, Lori. Yeah. Yes. We actually had dinner that with the Demdaco people. Yep. Yeah. Exactly. So I met you when I was, you know, like,
00:22:27
Speaker
in the thick of what have I gotten myself into and ah um learning about the industry and yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It can be pretty crazy. Rewarding. it Pretty crazy.
00:22:45
Speaker
What I also love. if' you're strong on it laie i love that you stush oh You're still going strong all these years with licensing. I love that. i've I've kind of like backed off a little bit and just kind of work with certain companies, you know, and now I'm kind of bolstering up my daughter because, you know, it's a handing over, handing it over.
00:23:08
Speaker
to the next gym. Steve likes to say, teasingly, he's like, you're the has-been, she's the it girl. I love watching those adventures. It just looks really fun. But you all, including Kenzie, all three of you have just such a beautiful look and such a beautiful style that's uniquely your own. And I think Kelly, that's what really stood out as Laurie said, you know, we needed it at the time. I think we really needed it again right now. We need hope and joy and softness and kindness. And did you draw some of your social work, the things from your social work and bring that into your artwork? Was that did that help to inspire what you're doing? Yeah. when and I
00:24:02
Speaker
i think I still think that what I do is a marriage of my social work, sensibility, my social work career. I still think I'm a social worker. I'm just doing it um differently.
00:24:18
Speaker
you know I'm doing it with art, but yeah, I think it's always been that way and it will always be that way for me. I think of i think of it as like a an encouragement brand or like, and i the messages are our messages I need to hear. So I'm pretty sure someone else needs to hear them.
00:24:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I was teaching with Carrie Schmidt. um You know, Carrie. Yeah. And some of the women at that retreat had been at somewhat one or two of your retreats and they really were singing your praises in in terms of that, that it's your retreats are not just about art making, but they're also about so much more and, you know, the depth and like feeling safe and yeah you know, encouragement and all of those things. So, yeah, I think explaining it that way, that it's a marriage and often in our conversations with people as they kind of go back through their journey. It's always interesting to me to see how people pick up the little seeds along the way and they just applying it to the next thing, to the next thing, to the next thing. And it's just fun to hear those stories. I love that.
00:25:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's for all of us. There's that sort of like woven thread that it goes. And even yeah um even I've always been a builder. I love building and creating worlds and ideas and things. And then I love you breaking it all down again and then building something new and deconstructing. Like I notice, especially as I get older,
00:26:09
Speaker
Oh, that's just, there's nothing wrong with that. I used to think that there was something wrong with that. Like, just settle in, do one thing. um But it's just not my nature. And if I follow those threads all the way back, um even when I was a kid and a teen, I was doing the same things. And so I love the liver. I love, I'm be I'm going to be 50 soon. And I just, oh, guys, I just love it so much. There's the liberation and the freedom. There is. yeah there is There is. And and you know I think if if people follow your work or look towards your work, they'll see the layers of life that you bring to each and every piece that you do. And I think that's what made me love your work so much initially and follow along with your career is,
00:27:02
Speaker
to your point, you bring the threads through, you bring the layers through. Each and every piece is a collage of of so much of your life. And it's and it's just beautiful. And um it's so fun. it ah we got And gosh, we do we do need it. And um Yeah, Laurie. So you're so you're doing the licensing thing for a while. But then then I saw you moving into your own retail space. right and like Take around the pandemic time, wasn't it? I have a funny I have an uncanny habit of making these pivots or these big decisions and then
00:27:47
Speaker
you know, wild things happen. Like, you know, ah we moved here, we moved to Sisters Oregon about six years ago. um And that was a big pivot as well. And that was in 2018 or 2019.
00:28:04
Speaker
And at that moment, I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna, I was teaching a lot and I was licensing a lot and I was overwhelmed and burnt out. And I thought, I'm just gonna go live a simple life in this little mountain town with 3,000 other people where it's sunnier and Yes. And then within a year, I'm like, let's have a retail store and, you know, my life with more creative chaos. Um, and then we signed our lease on March 1st of 2020. And then the couple of weeks later, um, and that was a whole era. Um, yeah, that was a fun era. And then.
00:28:50
Speaker
And then the pandemic hit and I'm sure Lori with you too, it really, really, really um affected my licensing career. Oh yeah, big time. um And that was when a huge shift for me in my licensing journey and Also, through the pandemic, I started to learn about print on demand and manufacturing my own stickers. And so that's been really fun, too, to sort of um play with um being able to do it ourselves. And um this year, I opened, I started in my own wholesale business, which holy smokes, I'm not
00:29:36
Speaker
again, like just totally bone of my life. um And I'm leaning a lot on our mutual friend Michelle Allen of like, again, what am I got myself into? But I i think I was telling some friends the other day, I was like,
00:29:53
Speaker
i I do love waking up every morning and going to work. I love what I do. I love all the different eras. I love change. um I do a lot of work on my personal work to um not do too much and sort of settle in, let my nervous system. but settle, but I do love building things. Let's take a quick minute and thank our amazing sponsors. Our podcast is proudly brought to you today by Jet Creative and Urban Stems. Jet Creative is a women owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment since 2013.
00:30:41
Speaker
Are you ready to Rebloom and build a website or start a podcast?
Embracing Change and Personal Growth
00:30:45
Speaker
Visit jetcreative dot.com backslash podcast to kickstart your journey. They will help you bloom in ways you never imagined. And bonus, our listeners get an exclusive discount when you mention Rebloom.
00:31:00
Speaker
And a huge thanks to Urban Stems, your go to and our go to source for fresh, gorgeous bouquets and gifts delivered coast to coast. Use Bloom Big 20 and save 20 percent on your next order. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Rebloom podcast. Thanks to our sponsors and thanks to you for joining us today.
00:31:29
Speaker
So when you're deciding to take a major plunge or make a change, and do You like is this anxiety accompany that because yeah before we hit record that a lot of people are very change averse and because it's not easy. Change is hard. And sometimes people maybe are unhappy in what they're doing, but they don't want to make that leap because they're afraid. So how how do you how do you approach the the changes in
00:32:05
Speaker
get yourself revved up to be able to do it. and And you probably also have great support from John and True and I'm guessing. So I know that's always very important when people have those kinds of people in their lives to help spur them on.
00:32:23
Speaker
Well, I think, I mean, you guys know this. Like, i I think for me, what happens is I start to get these rumblings of dissatisfaction or something feeling quite right. or And then what happens is I start to envision, how can I create the experience or the life or these little small changes, a lot of it are just small changes that can um sort of bring more intention into how I want to live my life. so i those that so you so for these And again, I think those little small pivots ready us for the bigger pivots. And if we're if we're um making these micro adjustments in our lives on other things, like little tiny things, like how we
00:33:23
Speaker
who we choose to spend our time with, how we're decorating our homes, how we choose to adorn our bodies in the morning with our clothes. like Are we in full representation of who we are in the world? Does it show? Do you know what I mean? like In our community, in our homes, in our clothing, in our artwork. And so then when we start to get these rumblings that something's not quite right,
00:33:52
Speaker
um And we want to create something new. and The anxiety is is there for sure, but for me, my thought process is do I want to nothing changes if nothing changes kind of idea. Yeah, yeah. So um to build on that years ago, like I went through a time in my 30s where I was like, well, pretty depressed and worked with a life coach and one of the exercises was
00:34:25
Speaker
break down your life into um you know what do you wear? What does your home look like? What is your faith life like? What's your family life? know all All of the pillars that make you who you are, and then write down where you are now, and then write down a vision for where you would want it to be.
00:34:46
Speaker
And um it was such such a great exercise to go through. ah i I do that all the time, too, and I couldn't agree with both of you. um I always think of like the F's, you know your faith, your foundation, your friends, um whatever whatever they may be, whatever those, as you said, Lori, those pillars, I find that when something's out of balance,
00:35:10
Speaker
in one of those particularly, that's when I'm out of balance. And that's when you really need to kind of dial in and and either feed that issue or whatever's going on. But also, you know, every everything moves forward. All of those pillars move forward and nothing is sedentary. So as we have families, our family needs change.
00:35:35
Speaker
are, if you're helping with your parents, that changes. If your children are growing. And I mean, everything is shifting and moving in ah in a beautiful way, um but it often requires us to, you know, dial back on some things and and and move forward on some things. And I think that's the, heart it's interesting because I've, I don't know, personally, i've I've listened to sort of what you said, Kelly, you listen to those, you listen to those grumblings, you listen to what is bothering you, but you also make those, make those fine changes. And then it just helps, you it helps you to grow in all of the areas, all of them. Right. And it prepares you when you need to make a big decision about
00:36:24
Speaker
who you're spending your life with, what job career you have. Are you happy in this job? But if we don't have, if we aren't doing it in those little micro areas and editing out and making sure we're showing up for ourselves and that it's harder to it's harder to make a big change. For me now a big change is so much easier um in some ways and in some ways it's a lot harder because there's a lot more to lose.
00:36:55
Speaker
um But I do think, I think it's hard either way. So what's yeah ah what's the heart what's the right heart that's gonna put me in more alignment with my whispers that are saying, you know, more joy or more creativity or more, um you know, I'm always thinking about this with parenting with my 14 year old, like more like get it sneaking in as much connection as I can in these years. And just micro adjusting all of that all the time as we do as women, I think. yes This is what builds our hearts and our minds. But when it comes to those dreams that we have for ourselves, like like what you're doing with this podcast, you know, like, okay, I'm gonna take, take,
00:37:51
Speaker
i'm going to create the experiences that I most crave for my life.
Business Ventures and Challenges
00:37:58
Speaker
And for you, that's that me that was reaching out to Lori and saying, I want to do this. Let's do it. it's these little nothing Not everything needs to be a grand, big gesture of change. It's just these little quiet, subtle, um
00:38:16
Speaker
movements that we make. I think it's listening it's it's exactly it's listening to your heart and it lets you know what to say yes to, and it also lets you know what to say no to. And then it lets you really focus. And I think we as we grow and we move, sometimes we don't listen to that voice. And I think our our voice within our heart really does know best. It does. and And we know what we need.
00:38:43
Speaker
I was just listening to the smart list podcast and they were interviewing Jillian Anderson and I loved the conversation because they were talking about like she she expressed how she'll say yes to something when she's actually very terrified and she'll say yes and then deal with the fear afterwards. And then when she's in the muck of it thinking what the hell did I What did I do? And then getting through it and then Jason Bateman said, yeah. And then on the other end, that's when the confidence kicks in because you said yes, you face the fear, you made your way through it and now you're more confident and you're ready for the next yes. And it might be ah it might be a bigger yes next time.
00:39:36
Speaker
Yeah, or your bed. Yes, that's exactly it. I think that these are the we say yes, or maybe we say even sometimes our full body yeses, or sometimes even they the full body knows our confidence builder, you know, yes.
00:39:53
Speaker
that that's That sometimes is the scarier choice. um But yeah, if we're scared and terrified and excited all at the same time, then that's pretty part. I know that I'm um i'm in a good moment or good making a good choice.
00:40:10
Speaker
And then, yeah. I would say that that that's exactly what Lori and I felt about this podcast. Oh, totally. That describes our podcasting experience. Yes. I say I was the reluctant podcaster. you know my my friend jamie had My friend Jamie had a brilliant idea. I think these conversations are really powerful. And she said, we're doing a podcast. And I'm like, what?
00:40:39
Speaker
here we are talking to you and having these other great conversations and you know hopefully they're helpful to people. We feel confident to your point. like We feel so good because we know that these stories are important to share. and I think people look at someone um like yourself, Kelly Ray, like Lori, who have beautiful big careers and they think,
00:41:07
Speaker
Oh, well, they've they've been famous and they, you know, no, no, no, no, no. it's ah it started It started with the simple, you know, with the love and the joy of drawing or painting and grew from there. And it also involved a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work along the way.
00:41:26
Speaker
and um so the Super big dose of curiosity. That's what I tell people. That's my superpower. And I hope I never lose it. And I'm guessing it's the same for both of you. but I don't know. I'm i'm led, I think um Elizabeth Gilbert or someone just said, lead with curiosity, not fear. And I love that. And I sort of always dive into something when I'm really curious and the fear is like secondary. It's like you're just driven to learn about something because you have to. I love that. You know what else curiosity has been, has been such a, um,
00:42:08
Speaker
such a um companion for me with is my self-talk. If my self-talk about anything, about anything, if i get if find the moment I turn to curiosity and compassion, huh, tell me more about that. Where do you think that's going?
00:42:24
Speaker
Why do you think you're talking to yourself that way? Is there another way? Like it's been such a um softener for me on the canvas too. More fun on the creative side. but more softening on the inside. Interesting. I love her style i do love that. I love that. So you were licensing for many years and are still licensing and are you still licensing or if you are you doing whole more wholesome? Yeah. Yeah. Demdeko and I sunsetted our partnership a couple of years ago and and that was a big celebration for me. I'm a big
00:43:05
Speaker
celebration person when I went on for endings. um And yeah right now, the only licensing that I do is fabric and greeting cards. And that's great for me. And then I have my own independent line of doing my own cards, but I also license with Lean and Tree, who I love, love, love, love them. um And then fabric.
00:43:33
Speaker
but everything else I'm manufacturing myself now. That's fantastic. and How do you like that world? How do you like manufacturing by yourself? Oh, gosh. It hasn't even been a year um that I was like, let's let's do this. um and This is the riskiest decision I've ever made. The riskiest pivot, the scariest pivot.
00:43:59
Speaker
um both financially and otherwise, because I'm just like, I hope sure hope this works. um and hired i've more i used to It used to just be me. and like every Every now and again, and through various areas, I would have like one other person helping me with my inbox or something. But now I have a marketing person, an operations person, and a shipping person, and a product development, per you know it's payroll.
00:44:28
Speaker
so i' freaking out a little bit, if I'm being absolutely honest. um But it is, it's that scary freak out and that exciting freak out of like, okay, let's see. Let's see if we can reach more people and and have more creative control and have um fun and I'm learning about how to be a boss right now. Oh, that's a big one. oh Oh my gosh. It's just such a huge learning curve in so many ways and not even just in creative way in business, but also i did i I definitely believe that the choices we make
00:45:11
Speaker
are sort of like, you know, when we choose our partners or our friends, there is this sort of cosmic reason we're drawn to that person to work out our stuff with and evolve and develop personally. And I think that's true in business, like there was something cosmic in my decision to do this. And there's a lot of stuff I'm working out and learning and healing And one of those things is I've always done things alone. And this is the first year I really had a team. um Interesting. And that has been huge for me to sort of let go of the reins, accept help, have support, ask for what I need and what I want on this larger playground of which to learn all this stuff. So it's it's it's so good.
00:46:03
Speaker
And it's very rich with learnings and um nothing in my mind or what I'm telling myself right now is nothing fails. Even if it this isn't a like commercial success, um it still has been a wild success in so many other ways for me already.
00:46:28
Speaker
yeah I so agree with that sentiment that nothing is a failure because sometimes you you emerge on the other side of said failure or whatever or learning yeah a much better person, a much stronger person, a much a more centered person. So i just I think it's so cool watching you unbox your products.
00:46:53
Speaker
as they come in from, I'm sure they're coming from China or, you know, far, far away. India right now. Yeah. We just got these new, I haven't, I'm just announcing these on Thursday, but we were working with a Seattle printer. So all of our cards are gold foil now. Ooh. That kind of stuff. I'm just, I'm just like. That's got to be like Christmas. It is. Yeah. I have a feeling of like,
00:47:22
Speaker
Oh, yeah, it's fun. It's fun. Well, and we've talked to others who are kind of moving and shifting from, you know, working with other companies to pulling their business within. And you do, you get that lovely control. But the other thing that you've done, that Lori's done, and some others that we've spoken to too, is you've built your brand. You've really spent many, many years cultivating your beautiful brand. And I have to believe, as a fangirl, as one of your many,
00:47:51
Speaker
that it will be a huge success because it it is. it's It's your spreading joy and in in beauty and in your creativity. and um But it's important, as you said, as you you take these pivots that you recognize as a business professional, too,
00:48:09
Speaker
how to succeed. I mean, if you've got you've got it, you've got to grow and change it it. And I do think sometimes people don't look at the business side of art and there's a big side to that that you have to really be smart about. oh yeah oh yeah yeah yeah And it i've I've worked with many young artists and they're very sweet and they're very, I've talked to them and they're like, Oh, I'm going to go make art." I'm like, okay, well, how are you going to pay your rent? you know like you have to You have to think as a marketing person, as a business person. And I think, Kelly Rae, you've always done that. You've really thought that way from the very beginning. Thank you. you know i don't People say that, but I um i don't know how... though And I think this is true for a lot of
00:48:56
Speaker
um of of us artists brands that we were just out there doing our thing. And we're not thinking in the moment, I'm building a brand, where nowadays, it seems to be that way, like, I'm gonna go build a brand. Whereas, yeah when I was coming up, it was like, oh, I'm just gonna go make some art. And, you but nowadays,
00:49:17
Speaker
there's The technology is such that you can just go get your get a website up in a day, whereas yeah back and back in the olden days, the you you had a blog spot and um they're what we didn't have the tools that we have now. so I think by the time those tools came along, the brand had already been built, but we didn't even know we had a brand. you know right um That was my case. I mean i started my company in 2006, but I didn't actually do any official branding until 2018. I hired someone to help me pull it all together into an official brand um wow with fonts and colors and a logo. but upright up you know before that it was like yeah again just kind of having making the art and sort of organically sort of creating over time a lifestyle brand I guess because yes we were all talking about our art but we're also talking about what we're wearing and our studios and our
00:50:30
Speaker
and our families and all of all of that too.
Heart-Led Branding and Philosophy
00:50:35
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, and it is fascinating. I mean, I think we all lead with our hearts first, not necessarily to your point, thinking that this big business or brand is going to happen. I started when I started taking floral photos, I was on a retreat with some friends that we even know. Kelly Ray, and I was in California and They're like, post on post on Instagram. And I'm like, oh, no. But I started doing it. And I thought, well, I'm going to post what I love, which are florals and antiques and handmade treasures. And then it's just grown into this neat little, I guess, brand. And it is. But I but i led with my heart, as all all of us have done, as all three of us have done. And I think
00:51:27
Speaker
you kind of lead forward and then you think oh wait a minute I think I have something here and then your head has to come into it and then you have to say all right let me be let me be smart about this and how can I monetize it but I think at the core of it at the core of it is our heart and soul yes and that's that's what you have to lead with and yes heart-led branding Absolutely. Absolutely. And a heavy dose of curiosity. A heavy dose of curiosity. I love it. A huge curiosity angel. Now you're also teaching, are you doing any retreats coming up soon or anything in the next year? Yes. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I think
00:52:10
Speaker
ah when when my when When True, my 14-year-old was, um before he was born, i did I felt like I gathered and retreated with folks a lot more. And even when he was little, but then right around that, and then it just stopped. I stopped doing very many retreats. I'd maybe do one a year or so. um But then with most recently, actually in 20, again with the pandemic,
00:52:40
Speaker
I thought 2020 was going to be my year of retreats and kind of get that out of the way. And we had four retreats that were sold in account and had were done and sold out by the time the pandemic hit. So that was such a long process.
00:52:58
Speaker
um and then And then I started doing them again, I guess. just i last year, maybe one a year or so. But now I'm in a rhythm with UpTrack and I'm doing like two a year. So this year I did, which was so, I'm just like, yay, we're back, like traveling in earnest and being able to make plans with confidence in earnest. It's the best. Yeah, yeah, yeah. so And I'd love to hear your
00:53:30
Speaker
story with how you're doing with your retreats, Lori, too. Because I feel like you guys do a lot of retreats. Yeah. Lori's doing a ton. I love it so much. I love being with kindred spirits and the connections you make and the community building and almost every retreat I teach at ends in a text chain where yes you know i have I don't know how many text chains I have now with different groups from each retreat because no one wants it to end. They want to keep connecting. I know. And you know what the best part about that is, is that they come to the next retreat. So now but it's like a little, little
00:54:17
Speaker
you know, middle aged creative lady posse. yeah have yeah world Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So fun and um so meaningful. And I love I love it. And um what I especially love it, ah what I love about it right now is that my kiddo is old enough that I'm bringing him with me so he can sort of see the world. Yeah. That's exciting. Yes. So Ken's just went, she's come with me a few times. And then this last time I taught in Italy, ah my husband and my son and son-in-law joined us afterwards. and
00:54:59
Speaker
It was my husband's first time out of the country. So that was a big step. Big step. he' is he does it He has sort of travel anxiety, but he wrote we just had such a great time as a family. So it's such a gift to be able to do this. I just, you know, I feel so grateful.
00:55:18
Speaker
Same. Same, same, same. Absolutely. It's a big, um, and I find that going on retreats, um, will the, the filling of the well, it will last for months like oh and I will have fuel.
00:55:37
Speaker
and inspiration and motivation and all of that it for the investment, I guess, is worth it. It just keeps on giving for until until the next one. Exactly. yeah exactly i would i would agree I've gone on retreats that are 10 years ago that have changed my life. And it was three days. And you think, how did this three days in Palm Springs with the Shutter Sisters, which were amazing? I loved them. But i you know you meet people that you're still friends with, that you still connect with. that and And to your point, they you take that spark with you and then it just energizes you. And I think we all
00:56:23
Speaker
Gosh, we all need it. We all needed it certainly after 2020, but I think there's always pivot points in our life where we really, really need it. And um yeah how blessed everyone is now more more he than ever. yeah yeah We really need to we do prioritize that.
00:56:45
Speaker
Well, Kelly Rae, you are an absolute joy and we have loved having you on our podcast. We ask our podcasters, or excuse me, we ask our guests on our podcast to share a little piece of advice maybe that's been given to you along the way or that maybe you like to share with other people um that you think would help our guests.
00:57:09
Speaker
Oh gosh, you know, I, um, oh, okay. I just thought of something. So about a week ago, I was in a conversation with, um, my 14 year old again. And we were talking about when we were doing like, a we pulled a card and the card was what's the best advice you've ever been given. And he said, well, you've told me two things that I, that, that I, um,
00:57:38
Speaker
sort of live by lately. And I was like, oh, what are they? And I'll share those with you.
Advice on Self-Compassion and Personal Truths
00:57:44
Speaker
The first one is one that I received, um which was I have a tendency to over deliver or overdo it. And so my friends will often say, hey, Kelly Ray, like bring 50%. Bring your B game because your B game is ah for people's A game. And so I see that in my own kid and I'm like, hey, true, just please bring your B game because it helps
00:58:17
Speaker
like yeah instantly like sort of offset that like overachiever person that sort of integral sergeant um so that bring your B game and then the other one was I heard through Elizabeth Gilbert who ah we brought up um earlier and she uh and which which I also share with my kid and he does now too which is the the um that instead of being too concerned about disappointing other people, that the opposite of the word disappoint actually means that you're not appointing yourself. And so when you disappoint someone else, it means that you're appointing yourself, your own, you're trusting your what you it is that you most need and that is good. So for those of us who are people pleasers and
00:59:16
Speaker
um disappointing I like that advice. and like Please appoint yourself. It means that you're you're not betraying yourself.
00:59:29
Speaker
I love that. That's really good. So good. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for being here. I feel like we could talk for another three hours. For another three hours. I know. Well, thank you very much for being on our podcast. It has just been a joy to meet you via this podcast and I cannot wait for everyone to get to know you a little bit better. And so thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Jamie. Thank you, Kelly Rae. You're such a treat. Okay, and until we meet again, everyone, peace, love, and rebloom. All right, Lori, I feel as if I've had a dream come true that I got to spend an hour talking with Kelly Rae. That was incredible. That's pretty cool. And she's pretty great. And one thing that I
01:00:24
Speaker
I really want to apply something that she shared that I thought was really profound when we were talking about curiosity and how she spoke about applying curiosity to your own self-talk.
01:00:39
Speaker
That really, really struck me, you know, like really thinking about when you are being mean to yourself, as a lot of us tend to be at times. um Think about why are you saying this? And could you maybe frame it a different way and in a more positive way? And I don't know, I just really, that really, really struck me. That was a really great nugget.
01:01:05
Speaker
It was a great nugget and it's interesting because we as creatives and particularly Kelly Ray put such beautiful hope and kindness and compassion into the world and she certainly is offering that curiosity to others. And so it's so it is it's a beautiful reminder to just be compassionate with ourselves and to grow creatively. And this is going to be just an incredible hour for everyone to really um enjoy her journey, which has been incredible and colorful and beautiful.
01:01:45
Speaker
and just how she's gone from one job to another, but yet grown along the way. It's incredible. It's just been incredible. Can I share one other thing that's always been an inspiration to me when it comes to Kelly Ray's? And we've talked about this is, you know, I watch her make changes in her life and move towards something new.
01:02:10
Speaker
and just goes all in and makes it happen in such a really cool, inspiring way. So I was so happy that she could share this time with us and just talk about how, you know, she picked up these threads throughout her life and she keeps weaving them into this really beautiful tapestry and then keeps adding new threads to it. And just, I don't know, I just I just think it's so inspiring her story.
01:02:39
Speaker
It's amazing and she authentically shares her beautiful story with all of us. Life is too short not to follow your passions, so go out there and let your heart plant you where you are meant to be and grow your joy. We will be right here sharing more incredible stories of reinvention with you. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode of Rebloom.
01:03:04
Speaker
Until next time, I'm Jamie Jamison, and I'm Lori Siebert. Peace, love, and rebloom, dear friends.