meet the maker: Kelsey from Honey and The Hive

Hi! I'm Kelsey. A bit about me: I'm a 22 year old picture painting lady living in Michigan with my husband and our two year old son.  I have always been a very hands on person, as a child I loved making things - I've always been incredibly fascinated by the idea of making something completely from scratch.  Though I spent a lot of time doodling in notebooks and on letters to friends, it wasn't until my junior year of high school that I took an art class and realized that I had such a passion for it.  Since then I've dabbled into just about every medium from graphite drawing to sculpture and mixed media until finally finding my niche with watercolor painting.

Fast forward a few years to 2013 when I had started to post a couple of paintings I had done for fun or as gifts for family members to Instagram.  Much to my surprise people started asking how to buy my art.  Little by little I started doing custom orders, selling prints here and there, and eventually there was enough interest in my art that I made the decision to open my first online shop.  When it came to naming my business I wanted to come up with a name that best reflected my little world - a little bit of crazy and a whole lot of sweetness, plus I've always had a thing for bees.

The biggest struggle I have faced since starting Honey and the Hive has been with several members of family not accepting my choice to be a working artist.  Coming from a family of 9-5'ers, they aren't able to relate to, or even begin to understand my crazy work schedule or how art can become a job.  I am however incredibly fortunate to have an amazingly supportive husband who is full of encouragement and will make me tea while I pull a late night painting session.  Heck, he'll pull up a seat and paint along with me (did I mention he's an incredibly talented tattoo artist?!).  My friends have been a huge source of encouragement from the start too, from celebrating with me as this little dream started to become reality, to converting our "girl time" to sitting around my table and talking while I paint, to volunteering their time to help me with my very first art market coming up in August.  I've also met some incredibly wonderful and talented people through the handmade community and have a great support system there as well.

The greatest achievement I have had so far is honestly just looking back at my art from a year ago when I started this journey to now and seeing the progression I have made - all of the trial and error has finally come together into something that I am so proud of.  I can't wait to see what another year, or five years, or ten years will bring.  I feel incredibly fortunate to do what I love and to be able to make cheerful art that is inspiring and encouraging to others.

Save 25% off anything in Kelsey's shop with code DAFT25 through August 1st, 2014!

connect with Kelsey

instagram/shop