Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

I, in all honesty, don't have a singular source of inspiration. Should I become a successful business woman, and as an artist, I would be the first of my family or anyone that I know personally. My inspiration to be that though comes from my passion for creating the unexpected through the materials I use and my belief that what I create is worth sharing with the world around me, providing a valuable contribution to the human experience.

How do you stay motivated?

College taught that writing one, five or ten year plans for goals has a greater chance of reaching them. This led to disappointment or a sense of failure if I couldn’t complete the goals in the set time frame. I stay motivated by focusing on achievable steps that leads to the end goal of becoming a self-sufficient artist. This means reevaluating what tasks can be completed to set up the foundation of my artistic practice. This has boosted my confidence to persist without the added pressure

What would you do with the $25,000?

The first portion would be for a professionally staged and stylized photoshoot to establish my brand image. I would then provide those images to Formation Studio, a marketing firm in Philadelphia, in order to revamp the website and begin marketing my furniture collection as a professional maker. The remaining funds will be used to participate in trade shows and art fairs, continuing forward with self marketing and presenting my work in various settings, launching my artistic career.