Being a multi-hyphenate creative
I have a lot of creative ideas and often. My mind is constantly running with creative thoughts and visions and most of them are fleeting. Last year, I documented one day of ideas. There were 176 in total in that one day. 3 came to fruition in some way or form. Some were relative to my work, some were not even a little close to relative (haha) but that day was not an anomaly. Trust me, not everyday is like that. Today is one of the days where I have zero ideas and I am scraping my brain trying to think of an IG post or a proposal layout to reach out to clients that is creative and fun but I am drawing a blank. I probably had an amazing idea for all of the above two days ago and now nothing. And I am not ADD or ADHD (I know someone is going to say it). I am just a soloprenuer with a lot on her plate both professionally and personally.
Anyhoo, today is really more about the multi-hyphenate creative not my sporadic brain. The point I am trying to make is I love doing different creative things. For the longest time, I have been told to niche down, do one thing, focus your craft. And I 100% believe this is how it is for many people. This is how you become successful in your field. I believe this to be true for my own business ETC Creative Studio, in terms if clientele. My clients are niche, small businesses in various creative fields. My offerings are a bit wider range and this is where the multi-hyphenate comes in. I offer visual story telling services for small brands. This includes visual brand identity, web design and photography. Most times I do the actual graphic and web design as small business budgets are less but sometimes get to be the creative director, envisioning the visual story for the brands creative direction. This is my favorite piece of it. Working 1:1 with each business owner to find the right visual direction through strategy and research and then creating a guideline for them to work from.
Where my multi-hyphenate creative journey started…
When I started Rorin in 2010/2011? (WOW), I did not know anything of this side of the business. I knew web design, some code, and film photography from a few college courses I took. I had a minor in business and I knew that building a brand was more than just a logo, it was a story. So I built it with what knowledge I had, asked for help along the way for friends to teach me a skill I didn’t know and created my own brand. I did my own photography with my own knowledge of aperture and shutter speed and ISO at the time.
Rorin snaps from 2012-2014 ranging from product photography, logo, print, and photoshoots by me.
I didn’t realize that creative and art direction were a HUGE key part of my journey until last year. Almost 10 years after building Rorin without even realizing it. I realized it on my freelance journey while multi-tasking in conjunction with building my own handbag brand. Now I still make handbags, they are more unique wearable art pieces rather than a luxury bag brand but I get to exercise a different muscle there. And that brings me to what I have been blabbering on this entire email… the multi-hyphenate creative.
I have different talents that I key into multiple avenues of revenue. I make really fun (and sometimes furry) bags, I create beautiful visual brand identities for small businesses through graphic design, enhance incredible digital experiences through web design, and I tell their visual stories through photography (and hopefully soon.. videography). I love a creative concept and bringing it to life through photography - it is currently a top favorite skill at the moment! I love to learn a new skill to help small businesses while strengthening the ones I have already mastered. In the world I live in, you constantly need to learn to elevate your skills as it is ever changing. I am so glad I accepted my fate and gave myself the permission to explore all of my creative endeavors. I am even more grateful that people want to explore my offerings and want to work with me. What a dream - for real!
So tell me, what are your thoughts on the multi-hyphenate creative?
Xx, Erin
Photos from my more recent work in the last coupe of years from branding and web design to photography to handbags.
