Carving Her Own Path with Ellen Smith of Little Bare Furniture

 

This episode is brought to you by Jobber – getjobber.com/ethan

 

“I don’t do this because I want fame or money or, you know, a nice car. I do this because I love working with my hands, and I love building furniture.”

 

• Ellen Smith

 

Welcome to Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson, the show that talks about the business behind the furniture business. In this episode, Ethan sits down with Ellen Smith, owner of the Northwest Ohio-based furniture company Little Bare Furniture. For Ellen, furniture is seamlessly intertwined in her life.

 

To quote her directly. “I am a mother; I am a wife. I am a woodworker; I am a woman. I am not one without the others.” That passion for one’s craft is impressive and commendable. Rarely do people find a vocation that draws them in with such strength. Yet, for Ellen, she can’t picture her life any differently.

 

But when one finds themselves so fully immersed in something, it can sometimes be hard to look at it with a critical eye. Yet Ellen has found a way to navigate this, do what she loves, and be successful at it. Follow along as Ethan and Ellen talk about being an artist and a furniture maker, how to price your work the way you want to, how to balance your family life with business, and much more.

 

 

 

 

Where Furniture and Sculpture Meet

 

“My furniture journey started in college. I went to Mercer University in Huntington, West Virginia. But when I went there, I went for pre-med. I had always wanted to be a neonatologist for as long as I could remember, but I also lived on HGTV and would rearrange my room constantly. Though I was very creative, I didn’t really get into art at that time.

 

I decided in college that being a doctor wasn’t for me and I should be an artist. So I switched my major to graphic design because I thought I would always have a job that would soften the blow to my parents. I was doing really well as a pre-med student, I was a tutor, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I knew I wanted to have a family, and I just decided to be an artist.”

 

• Ellen Smith

 

After switching her major to graphic design, Ellen quickly learned that she could not sit still behind a computer. Soon after that discovery, she took a 3D design class in the sculpture studio at her university and immediately knew that she belonged there. Ellen loved being in the studio, making things with her hands, and pushing her own beliefs and upbringing into her art, but she found her groove when she took a furniture elective class.

 

Between an innate understanding of joinery and the immense joy that Ellen found through the hours of sanding and finishing a piece, she became hooked on making furniture. Although her university didn’t have a furniture major, they allowed her to create furniture for her subsequent four semesters. She is still in love with making furniture twelve years later.

 

 

 

 

Finding the Line Between Art and Business

 

 

Transitioning from an art-based university experience into a business of creating and selling furniture is a journey that many makers struggle with. However, in Ellen’s case, she found that the transition began with her mindset and went outward from there.

 

“For me, it really began with accepting that functional art is still art—for instance, potters. Potters make wonderful bowls and vases, and they’re considered artists. Whereas ceramicists that make more sculptural work are working in the same medium, it’s not functional, so why are they different; because one has a function and one doesn’t? that doesn’t make sense to me.

 

I do better with function than I do with something that’s just going to sit. But I realize that not everyone thinks like me. What I started to do when designing my work was think about it as a piece that someone can look at as if it were on a pedestal, but that they could sit on, put their drink on, or tell the time with. There are so many layers to furniture; it is both functional and sculptural.”

 

• Ellen Smith

 

Form and function for Ellen are one and the same. She doesn’t want to make something that can be sold at IKEA. She wants her work to look like it was handmade. Her work functions as a window into her passion behind the piece, but it also needs to be something that can be used daily in a person’s home.

 

 

 

 

Developing and Maintaining a Clear Vision

 

 

Ellen has found herself in a unique position compared to many other furniture makers. She has her line of furniture that sells well, and people know her for her style of work, but she does some custom commissioned work as well. When she started, Ellen had to grow her reputation to create a situation where she could be an artist and provide for her child.

 

Part of the way Ellen began to build her reputation was through a complete leap of faith. She applied to an art festival in her town, recognized as one of the best in Ohio, and won second place in a show there. That recognition helped her realize that she could be a mom and an artist and be an artist in that town.

 

“It was this huge kind of boost like, “Hey, Ellen, figure this out now.” And from there, I did. At my next show, people started asking, “Oh, we saw you last year. Do you do custom work? Then it started from there. I got noticed by a couple of galleries here and there, but art festivals around this area are how I started.

 

They’re so much work, and the return is typically on your smaller items; your big items that bring people into your booth do just that. If you sell one of them, you should have a party. I used to do so many festivals to get through the year, but now I only do Black Swamp, which is the festival here in town. I probably will always do Black Swamp because it’s where I started.”

 

• Ellen Smith

 

For aspiring furniture makers and artists, Ellen offers the advice to figure out your own definition of success. Whether that looks like profit margin, social media followers, or a gallery inclusion, she explains that the important thing is to be happy, make what you want, and sustain it. Ultimately, she believes that success is very personal and is therefore different for everyone.

 

“I have lived by a Teddy Roosevelt quote, “Do what you can with what you have where you are.” That has been the entire basis of my business. I don’t want anyone to think that they can’t start a business, but you have to be prepared for it not to work. You have to be prepared to do it with what you have, and by what you have, I mean, I started with a jigsaw and an angle grinder and a sander, and I made a chair, and then I made another, and I grew from there.

 

But you could also have a savings account dedicated to this, and you can purchase all these things and do it that way. That’s great. It’s just about using your resources and your materials, and your network. Doing that to its fullest, doing it when you can, when you’re ready, and then just committing to it. Whatever that definition of success that you have for yourself is, commit to it and make it happen where you are.”

 

• Ellen Smith

 

Website: https://www.littlebarefurniture.com

 

Instagram: @littlebarefurniture