Time flies! I can’t believe today is my 8th business anniversary. When I started sketching my very first fashion drawing on my apartment kitchen counter, I could never imagine that 8 years later I would have built a brand to inspire and empower women all around the world. 

12 years ago, with broken English and a dream to be a fashion artist, I flew across the world from Shanghai to New York City. I remember there were many of my schoolmates thinking I was silly giving up a career as a game designer plus a potential engagement to come to a strange land and take a shot at being a full time artist. But to me, the dream was everything. If we don't have dreams and goals to look forward to and work hard toward to what’s the point of living? I knew the second the airplane landed at JFK airport, I was on a mission. 

After a few years of working with luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, I realized that the glamorous fashion shows and celebrity red carpet were not my interest. They didn’t light me up. Instead, I loved to draw everyday women. I wanted to draw women that we all can relate to. I put my focus on drawing holidays, special moments, friendships, and motherhood. So many have told me they see themselves in my drawings. There is no better feeling than to hear that, so I kept going. My work started getting attention from retailers like TJ Maxx, and Hobby Lobby. It was also getting noticed by the planner community, where I started to produce planners, and stickers of my art! Today, I have a busy e-commerce store and license my work to retailers around the world!

I look forward to what this journey will bring me and continuing to share my art every day. I am so grateful for all of you to be on this trip with me.

If you are thinking about starting your side hustle or your dream business, here are 5 things I can share with you.

1. It’s a mindset game - Business will always have ups and downs. Having mental toughness is the most important thing to carry you through the lows and keep you grounded through the highs.

2. Get comfortable with pivoting - The economy and consumer behavior is changing. Going with flow is important to keep you relevant. For example, I have always sold my art prints and original art. However, because I got many requests from the planner community I started creating planners and stickers with my art. Always listen to your customers!

3. Customer service is everything - Serve your audiences with the best experience. I have spent a lot of time in the back end of my business to speed up our shipping time, and talked with our manufacturer to provide the best quality products possible to my customers.

4. Hire a team to grow - Hire your weakness. Remember, you can’t do everything. That area you may not be doing well with, don’t hesitate to hire professionals which will save so much time and have a way better result.

5. Always be learning - I am an artist first and foremost but in order NOT to be a starving artist I also spend a lot of time learning the business side of being an entrepreneur. Learn from people who are doing what you would love to do. Invest in yourself, success leaves clues.

Whether you just found my art, or have been following me for awhile ... thanks for being here! Cheers to 8 years in business and look forward the next many many years to come!

Love,

Rongrong

Shop planner and stickers: www.shoprongrong.com

Shop original art and prints: www.rongrongart.com

Learn how to be a thriving fashion illustrator: https://www.rongrongdevoe.com/fashion-illustration-course

This is 7! I can’t believe it! If you have followed me for a while, you know I don't believe in the “starving artist”. I believe being your own boss is the NOW and the future of the industry.

7 years being a full time artist and entrepreneur has taught me so much more than I could have imagined. I am sharing 7 lessons I learned in the past 7 years that helped me tremendously. Hope you will find they are useful for your own adventure! 👍🏼

1. Always believe in yourself

2. Always be learning

3. Focus on what you're good at, hire out your weakness

4. Be patient! It's a journey not a sprint.

5. Put yourself out there! 

6. Find your community, and show your love!

7. You are not Doug the Pug, not everyone will like you. Its okay, keep being you! 

This is YOUR year to do something amazing and follow your dreams! With the world opening back up, you're gonna want to keep track of it all! Snag a "This is My Year" Undated Planner and Sticker bundle to keep track of your goals and add some fun to your day to day planning! 🌟

The "This is My Year" Planner is essential for me planning out everything I need to run my business, and the stickers make it extra enjoyable. Grab yours today while supplies last. Click HERE. 

Reminder: Keep going, my friend! Believe in yourself! You can do whatever you set your mind to! 😘  

Find me at - 

Website // Shop // Instagram // Facebook

A year of being a full time fashion illustrator Rongrong DeVoe

What an amazing 2015! I am so grateful I was able to grow my fashion illustration shop and work with some wonderful brands that I previously could only dream of!

Here are some of my favorite projects of 2015:

I teamed up with Scholastic to illustrate a fashion illustration book called Fashion Profile which will be published in the spring of 2016. Woo hoo! Super excited!!!

Teen Vogue back to school live sketch event

Live sketching at the Teen Vogue back to school event with Simon mall in Austin over the summer. Read about my 8 hours of live sketching here.

Rachel Zoe SS16 collection at NYFW by Rongrong DeVoe

It was a busy September. I went to New York Fashion Week as a fashion illustrator for the first time. Even though it was only four days I was amazed by the whole experience. Read my recap here.

Lastly, It was a dream come true when I heard from ELLE.com that they wanted to hire me to create 5 illustrations for Banana Republic for their holiday campaign. ELLE magazine was my favorite fashion magazine growing up. I used to draw from it all the time and dream one day I could create fashion illustrations for them.  When I saw the article on their site, I felt my teenage self jumping and dancing inside me! 

A few unforgettable PR moments:

My first TV appearance on Great Day Houston.  Check the segment here

Rongrong DeVoe, Houston Fashion Illustrator on The Every Girl

Feature interview on The Every Girl. I am finally the Every girl! It was one of my goals when I started my fashion illustration business. I really appreciated the opportunity to share my story with their audience.

I wrote a blog post with some thoughts and recommendations to anyone who also wants to draw or is at the beginning stage of drawing, especially fashion. 

While I am still new to being an artist/small business owner, I am always learning. I would love to share with you some of my favorite resources. I hope they can help you with your creative journey:

I LOVE to listen to podcasts. Three of my absolute favorites are The Lively Show,  The Fresh Rag Show and Brilliant Business Moms

If you are an artist and just started, like me, there are some great mentors who can give you career advice. These three are my favorites: Jennifer Nelson Artists,  Make Art that sells and the Graphic Artists Guild

Do you have an Etsy shop and want to grow and start making more sales? There are so many Etsy experts, e-books and courses all over the internet. The two e-books I found the most helpful are below. I purchased them myself and experimented with them. I have already seen results after a few weeks.

The Get-Found Guide to Etsy - Get to the First Page of Search with Etsy SEO

How To Start an Etsy Store on a Tight Budget eBook & Workbook

Join me on Snapchat(username: RongrongD)  see my fashion illustration process. Want more tips, tricks about creative business, social media, blogging? join me on Pinterest!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free leave your thoughts, questions, and your favorite podcast, blogs, artists in the comments below.

Until next time,

Rongrong