Surviving and Thriving in Creative Business with Duane Jones

In this episode, I'm welcoming artist, designer, and podcaster Duane Jones to Bold Company. Duane and I talk about some of the very real struggles of running a creative business, include what it's like when you just can't find the motivation to create, pricing yourself in a way that honours your time, talent, and work, when it's actually okay to work without pay, how difficult it can be to outsource (but how great it can be as well), and more. Get ready for a very real peek behind the curtain of creative business and enjoy my conversation with Duane. About Duane Duane is a Bermuda born multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Kjipuktuk. His work blurs the lines between commercial and fine art – jumping between paintings, drawings and digital tools. Duane holds an Associates Degree in Art and Design from Bermuda College, a Communication Design (Honours) degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University and a Master's Degree in Information Management from Dalhousie University. Duane's work challenges commonly held beliefs around race, culture, gender and sexual orientation. Recently, Duane's explored his Bermudian roots in the form of paintings and apparel designs that reference Bermuda's landscape and slavery abolitionist, Mary Prince. Duane is most known as the founder of Art Pays Me, a lifestyle brand rooted in the belief that artists can achieve the dream of financial and creative independence. Art Pays Me was nominated for Most Innovative Business of the Year by The Halifax Chamber of Commerce in 2021. Duane was also named one of the most inspiring immigrants in the Maritimes in 2021 by My East Coast Experience and has been nominated for The Coast's Best of Halifax Reader's Choice award twice for fashion design, once for podcasting and has appeared in a number of media outlets. Links Art Pays Me (website): https://artpaysme.com/ Art Pays Me (podcast): https://artpaysme.com/blogs/art-pays-me-podcast My episode on Art Pays Me: https://artpaysme.com/blogs/art-pays-me-podcast/amy-eaton Duane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artpaysme/   Music Credit: Happy Life by FREDJI https://soundcloud.com/fredjimusic https://www.facebook.com/fredjimusic/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/u4PI5p5bI9k-----------------------Join me on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/amy.takes.picturesWatch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/amyeaton-----------------------Subscribe + leave a review! I'll love you forever. Seriously, it means so, so much.