In today’s episode you’ll learn:
- How Shelby turned a creative passion into a full-time gig
- Managing customer expectations with a limited and exclusive product, and dealing with keyboard warriors online
- Learning to brand your product through creative imagery and content without following the mainstream “plain white background photo” trend
- Shelby’s overnight viral TikTok success… and the amazing results that followed in her analytics dashboard!
Where to find Shelby, the books and podcasts she talks about on the show:
Recommend Facebook Group:
Where to find Shelby:
Transcript:
Dahna Borg:
Hi and welcome to the Bright Minds of the eCommerce Podcast. I’m Dahna, founder of Bright Red Marketing, your eCommerce advertising specialist. Today we are here with Shelby from Shelby Sherritt Art. She is a creator of Whimsical Australiana Art, quirky pottery goodness, and creator of juicy content. In today’s episode, she shares her creative process, as well as how she grew to over 1 million Tiktok followers. So, let’s get into it. Welcome to episode nineteen.
Dahna Borg:
Welcome! I’m so excited to have you.
Shelby Sherritt:
Thank you for having me. I’m very excited to be here.
Dahna Borg:
Yey! I’m a little bit of a fan for everyone that’s listening. I am have been lucky enough to get one of Shelby’s products. So we shall talk about that shortly. So tell me a little bit about how Shelby Sherritt Art started.
Shelby Sherritt:
Oh, gosh, it’s a very long-winded story. I put it to 2016 the year 2016. Because that was the year I was diagnosed with cancer, unfortunately, at age 20. So I pretty much had to put everything on hold. Whilst I did treatments, surgeries, everything, I was on a totally different career path. And because I was in hospitals, in bed all the time, I started navigating back into the art space and using it as sort of, like, a therapeutic way to get through everything I was going through. And then that’s where it sort of form that I started sort of selling these little bits and pieces that I was making. And then over time, it just sorts of flowed and adapted to Shelby Sherritt Art and something that I’m now doing full time. So that’s kind of like a really quick snapshot of that journey. But that’s pretty much the key point was that time in 2016 when I started it.
Dahna Borg:
Amazing. How did it go from, like, obviously, it was very therapeutic for you, and I suppose a calming grounding influence, how did it go from like little pieces to what it is now? Like, can you kind of expand on that a little bit?
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, so I think it just came from a lot of passion and a lot of interest in it. And I just sort of kept pushing and developing it and just loved doing the craft itself. So I did lots of different types of crafts. And then I came to pottery, which I just fell in love with. And I couldn’t get my hands off the stuff essentially. And it just sorts of became something that I was doing as like what I’d call a hobby. So I was just doing it after uni, after work, upon any spare moment to do it when I wasn’t having all these other when I didn’t have all these other responsibilities. And then I just used some like my Instagram and social media presence to sort of push the pieces out there and try to find the new homes. And that’s sort of how it really developed. And then as that became a lot more popular online and people were buying my works, I’d make more. And it just kept progressing really naturally, I would say, and became a point where I had to decide whether I wanted to keep sort of hustling really, really hard after work hours, and getting these pieces done and pushing myself in every aspect of my life or to leave my job and do the creative stuff full time and just focus on that. And that’s where I’m sort of at now is that I’m doing that full time and focusing on that creative aspect of my life and the Shelby Sherritt Art side.
Dahna Borg:
Amazing. So I just realized for anyone who’s listening that actually doesn’t know you and hasn’t followed you on Instagram yet, which you should all go do. Can you describe what it is that you actually make? Because they’re amazing, adorable, and I love mine.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, of course. So I’m an artist. So I primarily work with pottery, which is pretty much everything I do, actually. Not primarily. And it sort of came around this theme of Australiana works. And the thing that I primarily make is shelling animal plots. So your koalas, echidnas, possums, wombats, holding little bouquets of flowers inspired by native flora that you can see in your own backyard. So that’s sort of where I started, but it’s now expanded into all sorts of forms of pottery and artwork. And it’s sort of based around my style now.
Dahna Borg:
Yeah, incredible. As I said, they are amazing. I love mine. Very lucky to get one. So obviously being a handmade product is very limited edition. I know this firsthand. How do you manage as you kind of grown and been more successful, you know, more people wanting to buy a product than you actually have, you know, these pieces?
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah. It’s such a tricky thing to manage. And it’s a really big predicament in handmade, I think as well is because you’ve got this demand and interest for your work, but you just physically can’t get it out to everyone that wants it. It’s a really nice problem to have. But the way I’ve sort of dogma is sort of practice, I would say, actually. It’s just like taking my pieces and practicing and practicing, practicing and trying to get the techniques and styles really refined. So I can do it really quickly. But also still have time to sort of enjoy the creation process, which sometimes can be a bit tricky when you’re making lots of works. But I pretty much have sort of almost put in like a routine before when it was sort of a hobby, it was sort of just like, I’d go with the flow of the creative process that was more therapeutic base, just making when I sort of felt like I needed it, whereas transitioning that to full time, it’s now become more of a routine based practice in life studio. So it might look like making the pieces one day, or finding their sculptural form the next day, signing off of them and getting them ready to paint, painting them for two days, and then doing the different kilim cycles on another couple of days. So it becomes a little bit more routine-based rather than your go-with-the-flow momentum of art practice. So that’s been something that I’ve always struggled with because I’ve always come from that go the flow when I do my art. But that’s sort of how I’ve sort of adapted to that need to make more product. And additionally just sort of changed the way I do certain techniques so that I can get more works out there. So working smarter, not harder. And that’s where my slip casting molds come into play is that I’ve got these molds that I can pour. So I’ve got the same shape, it’s consistent. And all the hand painting, I can spend as much time on that as I need to to get the pieces where they need to be.
Dahna Borg:
Yeah, lovely. I how do you find people in relation to the fact that you can’t always, you know, they can’t always buy a piece when they want to. So I think it took me three or four goes to finally get my adorable little koala pot, but I was just super excited. But I know that not everyone is super happy all the time. Do you have a like people complaining and things? And how do you deal with that?
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, it’s actually really tricky. I never thought that that would be something I would come across. Because I initially thought people would be really understanding that I’m only one person that I can, you know, as many parts as I can possibly make a month per week. But the way I deal with it is I sort of just trying to be really transparent and communicate on my social platforms. So that people are aware of how the restocks work. So when I put new work on how they work, I always remind people that it’s just me, and to be kind, because yeah, at the end of the day, like I wish I could make everyone something I wish I could make so many like it would be good for my pocket as well. So I would love to make everyone something but it’s just sort of reminding people that the beauty of the product is the fact that it is so limited. And you can only get one of these in the world from one person. So that’s sort of what I sort of anger towards. But the one key message I say to people is that if you missed out this time, or you didn’t get the pot that you want at this time, it just means that the right one for you hasn’t been made yet. Because I truly believe each one sort of finds its own little home to the right sort of family.
Dahna Borg:
I got that message a couple of times. But yes, no, I agree with you. My little pot is perfect and beautiful. Lovely. So can you share a little bit more about how you managed to stay creative now that is a little bit more routine-based, I suppose.
Shelby Sherritt:
It’s really interesting. I got a question the other day, someone messaged me and they’re like, oh, like you must get creative art block all the time. Like he must get it because you put out so much work constantly. And I honestly cannot tell you the last time I had artists block, which is really amazing for me. And I think that’s come down to the fact that I’ve got a really solid product is what I would say is that I’ve got this product that I’m really proud of and I am really passionate about and I can make hundreds, thousands, millions, if I wanted to, and I would never get bored of it. And that’s what I sort of like associated with is that routine. There are still, like, elements of that therapeutic process throughout it constantly. It never really feels like work to me. And I think that’s where it comes down to everything is that it has never really felt like work to me. It’s just felt like I’m doing what I meant to be doing in life. And just creating something that I am really proud and passionate about. And I think in life that’s really hard to come by. So I’m very, very lucky that I’ve sort of found that little piece for me in the creative world of what I’m happy creating again and again.
Dahna Borg:
Yeah, amazing. So obviously I’ve been following you for a very, very long time. And I remember in your Instagram posts used to say that the pots were quite tricky to photograph. Have you got any tips on taking really good photos of your product for those who might be, you know, struggling with taking photos?
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, I really struggled initially, because I always went with the sort of typical guides that you know, like, you type in on Google, how do I do good product photography? How do I make it look good? And all of them would be like really bright lighting, white background, and all these examples that didn’t really relate to what my product was. So when I started taking photos, I was sort of, for a while, testing that sort of white background thing and then sort that adding a little bit of my own style, but when it came down to it, I found that the best photos for my work were the ones that I asked myself the question, well, what is my product? What is it about? Why would people buy this product? So I wrote all that down and then I say, what is it inspired by? What are the colors? And how do I want to represent it on Instagram? There are so many people doing the white background thing, there are so many people doing different things that you don’t have to follow a rule guide of how to take product photos, just as long as you’re showing what the product is, why someone might want it, what purpose it fulfills, then you’re doing your product photography right. So I completely challenge the status quo of a plain white background and went for a completely colorful background with big textures, like autumn leaves, backdrops of just pure flower bushes, in photographing the pieces in front of those because the pieces were for their little pots. So they are for getting your little pieces of nature and propping them in there. So that’s where I sort of just, I guess carded that, that advice to do the plain white background, and just did my own style and my own thing and presented it in my own way. So my advice to people would essentially be just to figure out what your product is, and who your sort of, I guess what sort of need it fulfills, and then take photographs in your own way. You’re always going to not like your first product photos because you’re still learning and you’re still developing your style, but still put it out there because I guarantee it’s just you sort of flicking over the small details and you’ll slowly develop your style over time.
Dahna Borg:
That’s amazing advice. I don’t think I want to see another white background photo. Unless it’s like e-commerce on a website for something complex. Like…
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah.
Dahna Borg:
The way you take your photos now is just stunning. And it suits your product so well. But if someone else tried to copy that, that was slightly different products, different brands, it probably wouldn’t work as well, because it’s so on-brand for you. It’s amazing.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, well, it totally is. But there are definitely things you can adapt from my sort of style of photographing, that you can definitely do with any other product…
Dahna Borg:
100%! I just think it’s more that, like, it’s gonna be in line with your brand, like just doing what you do, because it’s what you do doesn’t work. But if it’s on brands, and that sort of kind of floral textured background could work really well.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, exactly. I would strongly advise looking in your local area because there are so many little things that really that you can sort of add to sort of add that depth and texture to your photos as well. Some stuff that’s probably in your own backyard that you didn’t even realize so yeah, just keep your eyes peeled to add to your photos.
Dahna Borg:
I love that. Now, I have seen you grow crazily on Tiktok over the last month. How long has it been since you’ve joined Tiktok?
Shelby Sherritt:
Gosh, I don’t even think it’s been probably a year. Yeah.
Dahna Borg:
And you have over a million followers. Like that’s a yes.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yes. Yes.
Dahna Borg:
I was a little bit about like, what you were thinking when you first started Tiktok. And like what’s happened since then?
Shelby Sherritt:
Alright, so, you know, it probably has been a year because this is what I thought when I first got Tiktok, I doubt I think I downloaded it at the end of 2019. And I went on the app. And there was just like, a lot of like dancing videos and people singing to, you know, popular songs. And I was like, This is not for me. This isn’t right. I don’t think I can do, like, post on here. This doesn’t feel like my sort of vibe and what I can put time towards. And that was nothing, I was I don’t want to put time into this when I haven’t even really seen anyone doing what I’m doing on here. So I deleted that out. And I didn’t look back for a while. And then I think it wasn’t until maybe March when the first sort of COVID lockdown in Victoria and I saw another friend posting on Tiktok. And I think she amounted to half a million followers in under sort of six months. And all her videos were going really well. And her business was booming because of all this increased flow of customers that were seeing her videos pop up and wanting her product based on her videos and the way she presented it. So I was like, You know what, now that I’ve seen someone else actually doing what I’m doing, maybe I should get it and just do videos that I want to see on the app and start from it. And I think my first sort of video that’s on my page at the moment, I think was about June, maybe. So it’s almost the year last year. And since then, I have sort of posted a few videos and they kind of did a write as I got maybe in the hundreds of years, and I was like, Oh, this is all right. It’s not so bad. I just film it in. little bits and bobs. And then my first video went viral. Like, I was so shocked I had, like, when things go viral on Tiktok, it is absolutely wild and so full-on. So you have people constantly following you in your notifications, you have people commenting on your video, people commenting where they can buy your work. I noticed because I do small batches. And I don’t readily have pieces available on my website, I noticed a massive spike on my analytics on my website, or people visiting my website wanting to check out like a massive spike. It was huge. I think I had like 10,000 visitors just from one video. And these were super early days. So after that one went viral, I was like, Oh, I see what it’s all about. I get it now. Once I sort of figured out what it was that made that video go viral, and the elements that I put in that and then I watched a lot of other Tiktok so I started looking into small business Tiktok, Australian artists Tiktok, all of these sort of hashtags. I searched and sort of watch their videos to see which ones were doing well, and I sort of just adapted what they were doing into my own videos. And then the rest is sort of history’s just been putting out these videos. And then the mold series eventually faded from that as well, which is a totally different, almost like a different path for me in the Tiktok journey as well.
Dahna Borg:
Yeah, amazing. So you said you went and did lots of research and to see what was happening, are you able to share any of the things that you saw that were making a difference in the years?
Shelby Sherritt:
So I noticed that it’s all about sort of using a trending song sometimes just to get that first sort of algorithm momentum. So trending songs are sort of the ones. They sometimes show them on your song page. I don’t know what they call it on the app. But on the song page, they’ve got a lot of trending songs there that you can pick from. But generally, the trending songs I find are the ones that keep coming up on your main page. So what I do is I just save those for a later date, if they suit my branding, and then I’ll use them on my videos, whether that’s as the main feature of the video sound, or whether I do a voiceover and just put it on as the background sound, I found that that really works. So using the trending sounds as one another one is to use some relevant hashtags. So don’t feel the post with hashtags, but use a few relevant ones, which is pretty similar to how you’d go about Instagram. So I think you can use about using about three or four works really well. Another thing is biggest thing I find with my videos is taking the viewer on an elevator pitch journey. So you’ve got on the app, you can film from 0 to 60 seconds of video content, which is a lot but it’s also not a lot. So a big tip I saw was actually taking people on the journey with you. So having a start middle and end or having some sort of tip or skill or advice or making sure that you’re filming as if the viewer is doing it themselves is a big thing that I noticed because people want to see what you’re doing and they want to watch it. And they want us to gain something from watching your content. So that’s sort of my main advice and just sort of adapting it to what your branding is and what your style works really well because people want to see authentic, different unique, but also want to come with you for the journey of whatever you’re making, doing, creating.
Dahna Borg:
That is amazing advice. Thank you very much. And any last tips for artists wanting to grow their business before we kind of wrap it up?
Shelby Sherritt:
Oh, gosh. It’s a big one. I think the most important thing I found with my business was to, in a way, to listen but not listen. My advice is to listen to people that have gone before you and see what they’re doing that’s working really well. But then don’t listen to them at the same time and do your own style, your own taste, your own flavor on that, because people are always creating new things, new trends, but they always sort of adapting on things that have come before them. So yeah, my advice is, to listen and learn, but also to take your own style and adapt what you’ve learned in your own way.
Dahna Borg:
I think “listen, but don’t listen.” It’s just good life advice.
Shelby Sherritt:
It’s almost like I swear there’s a better way to phrase that…
Dahna Borg:
I love “Listen, but don’t listen.” I think it’s so succinct.
Shelby Sherritt:
Such a contradiction, isn’t it?
Dahna Borg:
But you’re spot on, like, listen to the people that have gone before you that have done it before that had good advice. But don’t listen completely, like do your own thing. And probably don’t listen to the negative stuff either. Because that’s not helpful.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, exactly.
Dahna Borg:
Yeah. Do you get many negative comments on Tiktok, I find that sometimes Tiktok can be a bit nasty sometimes. Maybe we’re in the wrong part of Tiktok.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, look, Tiktok. Because the app is moving so fast, people drop comments on things because they don’t understand or they made assumptions, or they just feel like sharing a little bit of not good energy with some other people. Because that’s what people do sometimes. The way I treat my Tiktok, for a while I actually had a few videos come up now, like, you should keep the negative comments on your posts, because it helps with your engagement. And I’m just going to card that comment in the being. And I think you should, too.
Dahna Borg:
That’s a “don’t listen” comment.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, that’s a “don’t listen” comment for me. But I think there was this really nice metaphor, and I cannot remember who shared it with me or who said it. But treat your social media account like it’s your house. And people when they see your videos, they’ve been invited into your house. And you wouldn’t be mean to someone when you go to their house, you wouldn’t be rude and tell them that to their face. So you can gently uninvite them by removing my comment or even better blocking them. So that’s how I sort of live by my Tiktok because I did notice that if you do have one negative comment that sort of pops up, you’ll end up getting more people because people go, oh, someone else got away with saying that. So I’m going to say that now. So I am a strong advocate for deleting mean comments and making your space the space you want it to be. And yeah, just making the energy you want on your social media because I think in the long run, my account has become a lot more of a safe space for people as well. And I think like your following will start to notice that what your values are, if you are deleting sort of the mean comments, I guess, yeah, that’s what I would say, to do.
Dahna Borg:
Some mean people on TikTok and just ignore them because most of the time they’re 12-year-olds that don’t know any better.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah.
Dahna Borg:
No. And I had heard that metaphor before and I think it’s a brilliant one.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, I think so too. I was… It only had it a few months ago. And I was just like, that is a perfect way to explain it. And it gives me full confidence now to delete things. Because for a while, I was really nervous to delete things. But now I’m just like, no, this is my space, and I’m going to run it the way I want to run it, so…
Dahna Borg:
100%. And I think that’s brilliant. I’m just going to wrap up. Is there anything else that you want to share? Yeah, I think I’m your shed look. I’m very, very grateful. And we have a couple of questions we ask everyone. Do you have any strategies, routines or habits that you follow each day to help you stay on track?
Shelby Sherritt:
No, I think I’m…
Dahna Borg:
…shed look. I’m very, very grateful. And we have a couple of questions we ask everyone. Do you have any strategies, routines, or habits that you follow each day to help you stay on track?
Shelby Sherritt:
My routine game is really bad. But one thing I do is make a cup of coffee. So that is one thing that once I’ve done that I start to sort of getting in the momentum of things. I also do write a list at the end of each day of what I want to do the next day, so I’m not thinking about it at night time in bed. I found that really helps.
Dahna Borg:
Lovely. Do you have a favorite business book?
Shelby Sherritt:
Whoo. I’m not a big book reader, actually. Yeah, I barely read books. I do like groups on Facebook, though. And I regularly sort of stalk those groups for people asking questions. And I’m somewhat interested in learning from lots of different perspectives on those groups.
Dahna Borg:
Are there any groups in particular that you’d recommend?.
Shelby Sherritt:
I’ve always liked Like-Minded B’s Drinking Wine.
Dahna Borg:
I don’t have to put a language warning on this episode. Thank you.
Shelby Sherritt:
Cuz I was like, Oh so that one’s really I found that one really good, just because you can sort of search anything in that group and they’ll be nice someone asking it. I’ve joined the Lady Startups, which has been pretty good. And just like a few other sorts of small businesses e ones that you sort of find over time, like it’s a small business, I’m not with it anymore. But I joined that when I was on Etsy. And that one’s always really interesting to see how different people have dealt with like a black a complaint or a product not arriving to where it needs to arrive to. It’s just always interesting seeing what other people have done in those circumstances and to get some tips and tricks for yourself if you ever come up against that sort of issue. So yeah, that’s what the few groups that I like
Dahna Borg:
Do you have a favorite podcast?
Shelby Sherritt:
I don’t…
Dahna Borg:
That’s okay. We’ll just say mine. I recently started, I mean, I’ve had a podcast over the years. So like, think two years this is a reiteration of, but I’ve really just hadn’t really listened to podcasts properly in the last couple of months. So…
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah. It’s almost like books as well. For me, I’ve liked being like, I need to start getting into podcasts. And there’s a few that I’ve wanted to listen to, I can’t remember what names they are, but they come up on things all the time. There’ve been a few where I’ve gone, I sit down, listen to that. But I just never get around to it. And if I’m in the studio, I’m usually listening to music, or I’ve got Netflix on in the background.
Dahna Borg:
That’s fine. If people want to visit you and get themselves prepared for a product drop, what’s the best place for people to visit you? Or places?
Shelby Sherritt:
Oh, yeah, I’ve got a number of places. But I would say my best is Instagram, and sort of Facebook, I say sort of and I’ll explain why. Instagram is where I sort of post when all the restocks are happening, what’s going to be in the restocks, all the updates for when I’m going to have new work, workshops, all of that. I obviously put them on the website, but you sort of have to be following the social media to know when they’re going on the website. And I say Facebook, kind of because I automatically share everything from Instagram onto my Facebook for people that don’t have Instagram. So yeah, that’s how you can find me, but it shall be shared up.
Dahna Borg:
Lovely. And I love when you do the restock announcements that you can do that notification thing.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yes.
Dahna Borg:
And then it can like notify that’s super handy.
Shelby Sherritt:
It has been a game-changer and I think it’s been a game-changer for me buying things as well like this morning I bought these products that I’ve admired for a long time. And they had the countdown on their overstates so the time difference always is hard to calculate. And I just happened to come on Windows 10 minutes to the restock. I was like, Oh my gosh, I’m actually here for one. So I love the countdowns. They’re awesome. So another business tip.
Dahna Borg:
Because I think that’s how I ended up with the iPod. Because I think the first time I put a calendar in my diary, but there was like the time difference because I’m in Queensland, and I was like an hour late to something and I was like, oh no. And then I think there was that and it was so handy. I think the first time I students out but…
Shelby Sherritt:
It’s so tricky with the time conversion. I always find it hard and I get a lot of people actually asking me to convert their own time and I’m like I don’t actually know… I really calculate that.
Dahna Borg:
I have no time. You do the math.
Shelby Sherritt:
Yeah, exactly.
Dahna Borg:
Well, it’s been sorry lovely speaking with you. Thank you so much for sharing so many little nuggets of wisdom. I really appreciate that.
Shelby Sherritt:
You are most welcome. Thank you for having me. Hopefully, it was helpful for some listening here.
Dahna Borg:
Very helpful. Have a great day.
Dahna Borg:
Thank you for listening to the 19th episode of the Bright Minds of eCommerce podcast. Don’t forget we load all of the links and show notes onto our website. You can find everything at www.brightredmarketing.com.au/shownotes/episode19. The link will also be in the episode description. Thanks so much for listening.
