Hello! My name is Sophia and I am the owner of Creatively Sophia!
Today I will be talking about how and why I started my business, and how I found my own style as an artist!
I opened an Instagram account at the beginning of this past May to showcase my digital illustrations and bring happiness to other people by sharing them! I am fifteen, which may seem young to be starting a small business, but I have always been interested in the marketing world. I grew up watching my parents work full time which is directly translated into my work ethic.
When I was in sixth grade, I started a Pinterest account because some of my friends had it, and they really enjoyed the app overall. I had some boards and basic categories, but it started taking off when I transferred from a personal account to a business account. When I made the switch, I fell in love with viewing the analytics and charts that I was provided with from the app. I was obsessed with growing my numbers for the sheer reason that it was like a game to me; compare pins that were bringing in the larger numbers (got more views, more saves, more link clicks, more profile clicks), to the pins that may have not performed as well, and try to understand why and what made them different. When I got old enough for my parents to allow me to open a personal Instagram account, I was ecstatic. But it did not have the same rush of excitement as Pinterest did, because I was a private account and was not a business account.
Years passed and I continued to focus on schoolwork and sports. As COVID-19 hit the United States, my school shut down for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. During this time, my younger sister and I started a podcast! I made the graphics and Instagram posts, but because we did not see it going anywhere, we decided to keep the memories and delete the podcast. Through this, I found that I really enjoyed digital design and illustrating, so I decided to start my own Instagram account! I followed other design and illustration accounts, especially ones that inspired me! By taking in everyone else's styles, I found what I liked, and what I did not. I tested out less detailed and more detailed illustrations on my own, and found that I love the look of more detailed designs!
As I started to gain more followers and grow my account, I realized almost all other accounts use an iPad to create their illustrations. It makes sense, because the screen is larger, you would not need to worry as much about storage, and you can use a stylus for more small details. Since I do not have enough money to buy my own iPad at the moment, I have been working from my phone and using Procreate Pocket, and taking the money I make from commissions and saving it for an iPad, so I will be able to take my illustrations and business to a whole new level!
In the future, my goal is to team up with larger-scaled businesses, but also have an in-person store where one could buy my prints to hang. I would still like to offer custom designs to those who want them, and maybe expand and offer lines of merchandise. All of this could very well change as time continues on, but for now, this is what I can see myself having a career in!
Thank you for reading and getting to know me, and thank you to Rebel Compass for allowing me to share my story! If you have any questions or want advice, do not be afraid to send me a dm!
~ Sophia D'Amelio
Check out her cute digital drawings on Instagram @creatively.sophia!
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