Selling Products And Services As A Creative Business – with Prithi Brinkley Art

Vicki Weinberg: 00:00:08

Welcome to the, Bring Your Product Ideas To Life podcast, practical advice, and inspiration to help you create and sell your own physical products. Here's your host Vicki Weinberg. Before we introduce this episode, I just want to let you know that I've just started a new Facebook group and you are invited. I would absolutely love you to join it. It's called the product creators club and it's for all product creators and makers, you'll find a link to the group in the show notes, or you can also search Product Creators Club on Facebook. So today I'm speaking to Prithi Brinkley Prithi creates accessible fine arts, limited edition digital prints in a variety of sizes and finishes. So Prithi actually, um, started off, um, in photography services. So she's a photographer as well. And then she speaks in this episode about how the start of lockdown in March, 2020, prompted her to rethink what she was offering Prithi then shares the process of taking some of her favourite prints and turning them into art that's ready for others to buy and hang up on their walls. This is a really fascinating conversation. Um, I don't know much about the world of art. It's fair to say. Um, and it was fascinating to me. So all the, everything that goes into it and how much detail prep has got into and how much she thinks about to create just a wonderful products that people can just buy. And it's just ready to hang up and look beautiful in their homes. So I really hope you enjoy this conversation as always. And now I would love to introduce you to Prithi. Say hi Prithi. Thank you so much for being here.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:01:39

Thank you for having me.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:01:41

Oh, you're welcome. So let's start by, um, you give an introduction to you, your business and the products that you sell.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:01:49

Yes, of course. So my name is Prithi Brinkley and I am a London-based photographer. I specialize in, um, the creation and selling of fine art limited edition prints, which is something that I do alongside, um, being a day to day photographer for branding for, um, different types of businesses, really. So I kind of offer a product and also a service within the free business.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:02:19

Oh, that's really interesting. We'll definitely talk about that a bit more later on. And if you, okay, let's start at the beginning. Um, can you tell me a bit of backgrounds of how you got into photography in, in the first place shall we start there?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:02:32

Of course. Yeah. I mean, my love for art and anything creative really started from when I was a young girl and that's kind of continued on through school and everything else, but I didn't really follow a path down there um, down that avenue, um, just because I think, um, much like many other people, they kind of go towards the academics rather than the creative side of, you know, careers. And that's why I ended up doing so. I, I was in I.T, um, project management for quite a long time. And when I had my daughter, actually just, before I had my daughter and I was made redundant from the job that I had, and I soon realized the work-life balance that I had prior to being pregnant, um, was pretty, it was really muddled really, there was no work-life balance. It was pretty intense, the job that I was doing. And I soon realized that wasn't sustainable, especially with my husband's job, being very demanding as well. So I decided to just kind of leap in to my hobby and my passion, which was photography for a very long time. I invested in a really good camera. And I'm just kind of started really slowly. It took a long time for me to get to where I am now. I think I just needed a bit more of a push, some encouragement, but I started off being a photographer, family photographer, and. You know, photographing mainly like birthday parties and babies and their families and all that kind of thing. And then COVID came along and everything went to a grinding halt. And that's actually when my print business was born. And, um, I, I then started to look at branding photography instead because I started to get requests from people that I knew, um, about potentially photographing their products for them so that's more now as I've kind of left the family photographer behind, and I'm now more focused on branding and the prints. I've got a mixture of archive prints, which I sell along with some new ones that I'm creating as well for a new series. So I've waffled on a lot there. I'm sorry about that.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:04:49

No, that's really good. Thank you. And, um, I just wanna apologize my dog barking in the background as well. I'm not sure if anyone else picked that up. Um, you know, I didn't realize he was her until he started barking, but that's life for you. So I'm really sorry about that. That's a thank you for, I didn't realize that you'd started selling your prints so recently, actually. Um, so was that we recording now in September, so really so 18 months ago and had where they, um, I don't know if this is a silly question, but were they shots you were taking specifically with the aim of, I could sell these or were you looking at. Sort of photos you've already taken. Um, so, what I'm trying to say is where are you sort of planning to do that? How'd you, did you have shots already that you felt, or actually I could probably sell these or were you taking shots with the view to selling them as prints? If that makes sense?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:05:38

Sure. No, that's not a silly question at all. Um, so it was actually, uh, June last year that I started the print business and I had, I've got hundreds and hundreds of photos that I've taken from various places. Around the world. I've been very fortunate to have been able to travel quite a lot. So I, you know, and people used to look at my photo and say, they're really, really good, why don't you sell them. Why don't you do something with them? And I guess there was a question of confidence and never really thought that they would sell or that, you know, that was even a possibility. So I've got, I've got so many images from like very remote places like Antarctica, um, and you know, Uh, where else like Machu Picchu and Japan and places like this, there was some really, really lovely photos that I've never really done anything with. And, um, actually that's, those are the ones that I've kind of put onto my website and decided to sell as, as a first kind of series. And then. There's some new ones that I'm working on as well at the moment. So now it's a completely different kind of frame of mind for me because I have to now look at, okay, I'm going to sell these. I need to really figure out what I want, how I want to take these images and how I want to edit them and what to do with them really. So it's completely different. Scenario, whereas before it was, I had the freedom to just shoot wherever I wanted. And then if I liked it afterwards, I think, okay. Yeah, I can sell that. So it's really just the mixture of those things.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:07:08

Yup. Thank you. Thank you for answers for answering that. Cause I know I'm not sure if it was a silly question or not, but, um, so it sounds like you're in a position where I guess branding work and the family photography sort of wasn't happening with all the various lockdowns was that when the idea came about of selling prints, you know, your shots you already had.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:07:26

It did. Yes, exactly. Because I, you know, my work stopped and, um, we weren't able to photograph large groups or anything like that. I know that, um, you know, some photographers, photographers found their way around this, but, um, I really just started to look at all of the archive images that have I've literally got thousands and I was going through them. I think as everybody did in lock down, they just kind of. You know, looked inward because there wasn't much happening in the outside world. So people were just kind of fixing up their houses or doing things. And I think this kind of started because we were looking at just printing some out to put in our own home. And I thought, you know what? Why not just give it a go I've I've thought about it before and why not just give it a go now? Because my, what I was doing before with the family photography isn't happening, what have I got to lose? So I just really just went for it.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:08:19

Yeah, that's great. Yeah. And I think you're right. That it is, uh, you know, probably also, so sort of seeing images like yours, which I've taken a look off of, you know, these really far away places must be really inspiring for people as well at a time when we will sort of in our homes and not being able to go anywhere. Um, I think sort of, you know, inspiring images like that. I kind of what people like to see as well.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:08:41

Yeah. Hopefully, um, I guess that's kind of the idea. Especially with the Antarctica images, which are the ones that I put up a lot on social media and also on my website. Um, and it also being represented through a gallery at the moment is that, you know, the whole idea with that. There's not many people that get to travel there. It's quite expensive to go. And you need a lot of time out, um, to, to actually visit because of the amount of travel time that it takes. So, you know, the idea was that if people don't well, if first of all, they might not want to go there. They might not be, they might pick Maldives over Antarctica. So why would they want to go there in the first place? But I guess it's more a case of, well, This is a place that I probably will never go in my life. And, but I, you know, I like penguins for instance, you know, I'd love to have some images of some penguins in my house or, or, um, you know, a shipwreck or some birds or whatever you want with the kind of species that live around there. It's really just kind of connection to a very far place. Like you say,

Vicki Weinberg: 00:09:46

Yeah, that's fantastic. And let's talk a little bit, if you don't mind about logistics or sort of how you actually do this, I'm quite interested in logistics. So do you have to find somebody who can sort of produce your prints for you? Cause I'm assuming you sell them as prints rather than as, as downloads. So how, how does that work.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:10:05

Um, but the actual production places in Germany. Um, but I liaise with the office that's based in London. So it's, it's a fantastic studio and they do, um, different types of printing paper depending on the image. So it's all kind of customized so that the, I have the best type of printing paper for the image itself. So if it's a black and white photo, for instance, it will go in a certain type of Fujifilm paper. And if it's a colored photo, then it might be recommended that it be printed onto something else. Excuse me. Um, So, yeah, it's printed, but I also, the way that I'm selling my images at the moment is framed. So they're printed on paper and then they sit under really beautiful glossy acrylic glass. And then they're put within a floater frame, which has made of solid oak and it can come in various colors as well. So it's, it's really kind of, it's all kind of done for you really, because I know that many people have the issue of. I like this print, but now I have to go out and buy a frame and, you know, I don't necessarily know how to choose a frame or I don't know where to go to get one and, you know, they have the additional cost of all that kind of thing. Whereas I provide that all in one. Um, and so it's already done and it also comes with hooks at the back. So it's literally just ready to hang. All you need to do is, is, um, grab a hammer and a few nails and just stick it into a wall really, because it's even got a hanging piece on there. So it's a really great studio actually um, I, I used them before I started my print business and I was really, really happy with the work that they do. It's a really high quality and really durable. And you can tell that it's a long lasting as well. So yeah, they are a brilliant studio there, so everything's manufactured in Germany and then it can be shipped out to wherever really

Vicki Weinberg: 00:12:00

Well that's fantastic. And it sounds like you did such a great job of finding someone really good, because as you say, your art is beautiful and so it needs to be presented correctly. Um, and it's fantastic. You offer that service cause I mean, I know as well that actually you can buy a really nice print of something and you can buy a really nice frame, but actually it sounds really daft perhaps, but putting something in a frame in a way that it looks good, isn't as easy as it sounds is it to frame something nicely? Um, I think there is a bit of a skillset. I don't have that. Um, so I think that's really good that the customer gets stuck the finished piece, as you say, just ready to hang.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:12:38

Yeah, exactly. Because, um, what I tend to do is look for the colors within the image itself to choose the frame. And then it's not always easy to find that frame on the high street or online. Uh, it can be quite tough. So I think that's why I like to provide the customer with the finished option. And then we can actually tweak a few things like the color of the frame, for instance, if they, if they wanted something very specific. So it's really just an all in one. Like you can, you can even buy it as a gift if you wanted to, or you can buy it for yourself. Um, Or, you know, some of my prints would fit really well in, in hospitality space, like a restaurant or a hotel is what I'm being told at the moment. Um, but yeah, it's, it's all kind of just done for you and that's really thanks to the, to the studio that I use. So they've done a really fantastic job at manufacturing everything that I've, I've sent their way.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:13:31

Oh, but I, yeah, I do. And that's fantastic. And I think it's great that you are able to offer that option. Cause it's like, I think there were so many things in when it comes to buying art. I think there were so many things that can trip you up, like not knowing how to frame it or where to get the frame, you know, all of these things. I think it's fantastic that you can, and that you can be so flexible as well. If someone says, actually, no, I don't want that frame. I want a different color or whatever. Um, it sounds like you spend a lot of time as well, sort of choosing the right paper and the right frames to go with. With each print as well.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:14:02

Yes, exactly. Cause it all really comes down to, I mean, my prints are not cheap. Um, I'm quite happy to admit that, but that's because of the whole process that goes behind, um, you know, first of all, for taking the image and, and then to like actually editing. Sometimes taking a really, really long time to do. Um, but then as you say, selecting the right type of paper, um, and the acrylic that goes over the top and then the floater frame and all that kind of thing, really. And then, you know, the, the shipping accounts for that as well. The fact that we can have it shipped from Germany to America, for example, or, you know, anywhere in Europe is re you know, the flexibility is there within the price. So. Yes exactly. That that's exactly what it is.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:14:49

And so where are you selling your, your prints at the moment.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:14:52

So at the moment, um, I'm selling them through my website and that's something that I've just recently started because I've, I'm still actually working on my website. It's, um, it's under construction, but I've got a basic thing there with the shop and all that kind of stuff. So the prints are now available in the shop on the website. And I'm also selling through, um, Perdomo gallery, which is a America based gallery, um, an online gallery gallery as well. They're based in Miami, but, um, they're very much established and they sell artwork, um, and they target Northern America mainly. Um, but. Um, I believe you can have it shipped again from, you know, if you wanted to make a purchase from Europe through them, you could have it shipped wherever you wanted to as well. So it's not an issue really, but, so, yeah, it's the gallery and my website at the moment.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:15:46

Okay. Thank you. And so when you first started selling these prints, it just over a year ago. Um, so what. What were you doing to sort of promote the fact that you had products to sell? Cause obviously previously offering services that people might have known you as a family photographer branding photographer say, how did you make the switch to, um, to sell it, to selling your prints?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:16:07

So I, um, I started with Etsy actually, um, because it was more, it was more of a, let's see what happens here, kind of a situation that I put myself in and I just put a few on Etsy. I made a few sales, um, And then. And then I kind of left it for a while because I think we then went into two more lockdowns after that. And I really wasn't intending for that to happen. I don't think anybody imagined that we would go through three lockdowns, I think after the first one where we thought that that was the end of it. So, um, Then when everything locked down again, I did get slightly de-motivated and I did leave it for a little while. And then I really kind of put some momentum into it around March this year. I, um, I started to contact galleries and I started to look at various different avenues. And luckily I found the gallery that I'm with now. And, um, they, you know, they wanted to, they wanted to sell my work through their platform. Which has been really, really great, it's been a huge blessing. Um, but I really just use social media to promote myself, um, being a new business and trying something new. Obviously you don't have a huge amount of funding to begin with. So I just, I worked on setting up my website and I'm mainly using Instagram and Facebook to promote myself. And then more recently, LinkedIn as well.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:17:34

Yeah. And I can see that, um, tools such as LinkedIn and Instagram has worked really well for you because obviously your, what you do is so visual. And so I can see that social media has worked really well. I think what you said about just starting off on Etsy and seeing how it goes is actually a really good approach because obviously to get started on Etsy doesn't cost very much. It's fairly, I don't want to say it's easy. Cause I know that, you know, you need to put work in to getting it right. And I know that sort of Etsy sellers spend a lot of time making sure their listings optimized and things like that. But I think as an entry place, it sounds really sensible just to see, you know, if they sell there, presumably then you can think okay they're going to sell on Etsy they'd sell somewhere else. And that definitely makes more sense to me than sort of, you know, spending a lot of time and money on a website or something bespoke before knowing if they're going to take off.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:18:26

Exactly. And I think for small businesses Etsy is brilliant and, um, it really provides a platform for anyone who doesn't have a huge, uh, startup investment and. Like you say, just try out and see what happens. I think because many of us do rely on social media to promote ourselves. Um, and and Etsy, I think it can be quite difficult to find items as well, unless you're searching for something very specific. Um, but you know, so it's quite a competitive platform, but on the other side of it, like you say, it's really great. It's a, it's a really good tool to start.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:19:01

That's good to know. And did you, um, did you have to invest on any advertising on Etsy or anything like that or, or did your listing sell without having to do that?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:19:12

Um, I didn't invest in any advertising. No. Um, they, you know, they I've sold a few pieces, not many. Um, and you know, some of that was through promoting it myself through social media, and then they would go to the Etsy shop from finding my, my work on social media or whether that be through family and friends and recommendations. Um, because, uh, I think there's quite a lot on Etsy. So you weren't always come up in people's searches. So you have to try and get to the top if you can. Um, and also use utilize the hashtags and all that kind of thing on Etsy too. So it was quite tough, but, um, like you mentioned before, it's, it's really cheap to list items on there. So it's definitely worthwhile trying that to begin with.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:20:00

Yeah, thank you. And I hope you don't mind me asking that was it. I was just really trying to get a sense, because I know on some other marketplaces, unless you do advertising, you don't actually stand much of a chance initially. So I work with a lot of Amazon sellers, for example, and on Amazon, unless you're prepared to bit, a bit of money behind it at the start, it can be really, really hard to get going, unfortunately. So it's good to know. That, you know, Etsy might not be the same if your product is one that can be sold on Etsy, um, it's good to know that it can be maybe a bit easier to get started. And when I say easier, I know like a lot of work goes into it, but it's good to know that, you know, you don't necessarily have to spend lots of money on ads to get those first sales.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:20:41

No. I mean, like, you know, w we're lucky with, as well as that we have free social media platforms that we can use and, and use those for advertising or marketing instead where they're a bit cheaper. Um, you know, we can roll out an ad, for example, on Facebook, it might just work a bit better for smaller businesses.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:21:01

Yeah, I think that's right. And then obviously you can have, even if you wanted to, you can do Facebook Ads going into your Etsy store, going into your website. Or wherever you wanted to, but you wouldn't necessarily, if you were selling on Amazon wants to do a Facebook adsort of going there.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:21:16

Yeah, sure. Totally.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:21:18

So now you're selling some products as well as this, um, are you offering the services again? So are you doing the photography that you were doing previously?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:21:28

Yeah. Um, yeah, so I'm not doing the family photography as much. I've done a one shoot this year for a family, but I am more focused on the business branding side. I'm finding that there's demand in that area. Um, so I'm just going to stick with it and actually I really, really enjoy it. It's um, really great to meet other small business owners and really kind of find out about their brand stories and why they started their business and really help to tell that story through the photography. Um, so, you know, it's not always just kind of formal, straightforward headshots it can be about the products as well. Um, as well as the kind of business owner within the products. I just find it really, really interesting and really fun. Actually. I think without that side of my business, I think I would probably find, find, um, just the print business on it's own a little bit boring. Um, only because there's, you know, you just kind of stuck with working by yourself a lot of the time, and there's not that interaction with other people. And if you're used to that, it can be really, really hard being a business owner of your own, just working on your own and, you know, creating and selling products. And I think that's why I've stuck with the services side, because it really. Enables me to get out there and meet people and still kind of, and you know, you're always learning as well. When you, when you're meeting other people, you're still always learning about your offerings and your, your business as well as other people's businesses. And it's also a great opportunity to network. So I don't foresee myself ever stopping that side of it. Yeah, it was a great combination.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:23:13

I think that makes total sense. And especially as if you love what you're doing and I think of selling the prints as well, I guess it could also, you know, there's probably not, I'm not saying it's easy to sell products or there's nothing to do to sell products, but I think on a day to day basis, um, like you say, you don't have the same interactions with other people. There's not the, it's not the same. That's sort of doing a service, it's offering a service where you get out and you meet people and speak to people and you have different things going on. I think just solely selling the products and yeah. Might, as you say, might not be as fulfilling.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:23:49

Exactly. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's both aspects of the business are really, really interesting in their own, right. I still very much like meeting people and seeing people, um, and just, you know, getting behind the camera. Um, cause a lot of my print shots are taken abroad or in different places. Um, some are taken in the UK, um, but a lot of them, a lot of my inspiration and my motivation comes from going to new places and other countries. So I think this really enables me to get out and shoot for other people really and do it for them. Um, Give them photos that they're really happy with as well. So yeah, it's really nice actually, to be able to do that.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:24:31

Oh, thank you. And, um, I'm going to be putting you on the spot a little bit of this question that I'm really sorry to do that, but I can't help myself. Cause you did mention that, you know, you also take some product shots as well as which is part of the branding. Is there any advice you would give people when they're photographing their products or taking photos of their products, I really hope you don't mind me asking, but I couldn't resist.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:24:55

You mean when they're taking photos of their products themselves?

Vicki Weinberg: 00:24:58

Yeah. Or maybe if they asking somebody else to do it, because I think that it's product photography is so difficult, isn't it? I mean, it's nice to have the photos of your product, like on a white backdrop, for example. But beyond that, I think it can be really hard to, you know, for peoples to visualize how to get great shots of their products and what they're offering.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:25:19

Yeah. Sure. So what I often tell my clients is to think about what, you know, what words best describe your business, um, three or four words that best describe it. You know, let's say for example, you've got business where you create dresses, so it might be something like, um, fun, vibrant, colorful, um, Comfortable maybe. Um, and then, you know, that really kind of gives us a good foundation to, to what kind of images we want to create. So. You know, does, does vibrant and colorful really fit in was just a very neutral background or do we want lots of color in there? Um, I would definitely say it's always worth thinking about what your business represents and you know, how you would describe it to somebody else, because we can always use that to create, you know, whether you want fun photos or whether you want, um, just very simple minimalistic formal photos. I think you really should consider that before taking photos. I mean, you might just want to take a single image, single photo of one product on its own. It might be a candle, for example. So white background might work really well because what you're selling is the candle. Um, but if you're selling a line of clothing, for example, it might not work so well. Maybe this particular line of clothing would work really well being photographed outside, or maybe it worked pretty well being photographed in a wardrobe, for example. Um, so I think those kinds of things. Really kind of give you some ideas to work with. And if you know, a good photographer should be able to help you to come up with something as well.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:27:00

That's brilliant. Thank you. And thank you so much for answering that because I know you didn't realize that was coming up, but I didn't know. I didn't know I was going to ask you that. You mentioned the product photography. Well, thank you so much for sharing your journey and talking to us about your, about your products and your business. Um, the final question that I ask everybody who comes on is what was your number one piece of advice to anyone looking to do something similar?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:27:27

So I would say, um, really take the time to research and, um, you know, gather samples and really think about what it is that you want to produce. So when I started out, I, I, wasn't just looking at just printing photos. I started, I think, because I started to meet other people who sell products and I thought about putting my prints onto, um, Like candles or books, for example. And I really got a little bit lost if I'm completely honest and I didn't actually realize how much time it takes to actually figure out what it is that you want to do, unless it's super, super clear from the beginning, um, about what you want to sell, whether that be just one product or two single products that's it. I think you can get a little bit lost. So. It's really where speaking to manufacturers or studios, whatever it may be, get as many samples as you can. Um, and, and really take time to look at quality and what it is that you want to do. And just really stick with that and make sure you have the best quality. Um, because I mean, at the end of the day, you do want to stand out from your competitors and you do want to make sure that your customers buy the best possible thing that they can from you. And, you know, it does take time. I think for me, it took around five or six months and I didn't actually estimate that in my business. I thought I was going to hit the ground running and that would be when I started. But it's the reality is not that at all. Um, I think people just need to be prepared for that. It does take time. But once you get here, it's, you know, it's great, it's, it's really good fun, when you know exactly what you're doing.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:29:13

Yeah. That's really good advice. Thank you so much for that. And you're right. It is, it can be really fun and really fulfilling, but yeah, that beginning bit where you're figuring it all out, I think it's easy to underestimate how much work goes in to getting it right. If you want to have a great product and you've talked already about the time you take selecting the paper and the frames and all that takes time and. I guess .Now you've probably got it down where, you know, you know what you're looking for, for example, in a frame or glass. Um, but at the outset, I think it's fair to say most of us just don't know all of that. And it does take quite a lot of research doesn't it? And sort of figuring out all the options and working out what's best. And I think that you've made a great point that you can easily underestimate how long that takes.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:29:59

Yeah. And then when you underestimate it can get very frustrating as well because you, you thought that you'd be further than you than you are at the moment, but, you know, I think it's a requirement for every business. Really. Everyone needs to do it. So. It's um, yeah, it's just one of those things, I guess.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:30:19

Yeah. And what was your initial vision then that you rather than selling prints, you'd be selling your images printed on to other items? Was that the plan initially?

Prithi Brinkley: 00:30:29

I think it was prints as well as the prints printed on to other items. Um, that's w that's the idea that I had, I think, because I saw lots of other businesses doing that and I thought that I would need to do it to compete, but actually. That's, that's not what the, you know, that, that's what, not that, sorry. That's not what I needed to be doing. Um, I think what I'm doing now, which is more the fine art side of it is definitely where I needed to be, but it took me a while to figure that out. Um, But, you know, I think it does for everyone. Sometimes it's worth going through the journey just to kind of get to the point that you're at now. Um, and I think that's what it, what business is for, for lots of people. It is a journey, isn't it? It's so much learning at the beginning and throughout. Um, I think the difference is you just kind of become a bit more equipped as you go along.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:31:25

Yeah, I think you're right. And I think it takes a while as well. I think ruling things out as well as in is also a good, as you say, good thing to do, because you kind of, then you're sort of really clear on what it is that you do want, once you sort of disregarded all the things that maybe won't work. Um, because it's easy when you start any business to have all these big ideas and plans, and you're going to do all of the things. And particularly as you said, if you see other people doing it, because there can be a perception that, well, they must be doing it for a reason. If they're doing it and I wants to compete, I need to do that. But actually, um, the more people, you know, I did this kind of interviews with, and I speak to, I think that there's a lot to be said for doing your own thing, regardless of what everyone else is doing.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:32:10

Absolutely. I mean, that's one advantage of being a business owner and kind of stepping away from corporate world is that you do what you really, really love to do. Um, otherwise, you know, you're selling yourself short and it's probably not going to work out anyway, cause you won't end up enjoying it because you're not being true to what you really want to do. So, um, yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?

Vicki Weinberg: 00:32:32

Yeah, I think so. And I think, especially when you're doing something creative as you are that, um, it needs to be you and yours and, and like you say, it needs to reflect, you know, like you were saying, Hey, you know what you're you're producing is fine art and the products need to reflect that because they are. So, yeah, that makes, that makes sense. Well, thank you so much again, for all that you've shared there. Absolutely love speaking with you. And I will put the link to your website and your social media platforms in the show notes. Everyone can come along and take a, take a look at your prints and imagine being in far away places.

Prithi Brinkley: 00:33:10

Well, thank you so much Vicki. Thank you for having me. It's been a really, really nice, um, experience to chat to you on my first podcast. So thanks for having me.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:33:20

Oh, you're so welcome. Thank you. Hi, thank you so much for listening as always. I'd absolutely love to know what you thought of this episode. Please do remember to rate and review the show and also most importantly subscribe. So you don't miss out on any future episodes. And as a reminder, I release a new episode every single Friday. So take care and look forward to speaking to you again, then.