Since she could remember Gabby Mendoza has always chosen art as her main form of expression. She loves to paint, draw, do makeup, and in February of 2020, she was introduced to resin art by her boyfriend's mother, artist Billie Joe S., who guided Gabby through this new art. After finding her groove with resin, she decided to take a leap and make her resin pieces into a side hustle. Though, her resin art business has deemed her the label of side hustler she does not identify herself as that but as an artist. She describes her side hustle as a creative outlet that people can pay for if they like. Mendoza details how art has transformed her life and how she prioritizes her creativity and business.
Can you describe your business? Tell me the What, Why, When, Where how of your business?
Where does the inspiration to create resin pieces stem from?
I mean, I've always liked art. I always liked painting my face. Everything that I do is really from my head or I look at inspiration. But I never really copy anyone's anyone else's [pieces]. So, when [Billie Joe S.] was showing me her art it was an introduction, you know, to this. Then I was like I can actually take this and make more things out of it. Next thing you know we were in the art room doing each other's things, and we were learning from each other. I would come up with techniques and she would come up with techniques or we would look up, techniques on YouTube and share them with each other. It wasn't like, I'm gonna do it because you're telling me to, I'm going to do it because [the] more I saw it {I thought} oh, I can do something with that, I can make art with that.
Would you consider yourself an entrepreneur?
I mean no because it's not a skyrocketing business. I'm not sitting here, calculating how much I'm making, you know, I'm just doing it for fun. And if someone wants to buy a pair of earrings I will I'll ship them and put a price tag on it, but to me, it's more like therapy. I feel like entrepreneurs are, starting a business, taking the tabs on everything they're doing and I'm not really selling, like, so much in a day. You know, it's just, as I go.
Did you have any self-doubts when it came to selling these things?
So much of that, because obviously when I started it, everyone was like 'Oh my god! I love it. I'll definitely buy something,' and then as I went on those [comments] started going down and people just weren't as interested in it anymore. That's why I've been in this slump recently. So I spent a lot of time thinking about what am I really doing. I'm doing this, but then all my materials are sitting here in the basement. At first, I was like, oh I just started doing this, maybe it doesn't look as good as the rest of the people who are doing resin or, you know, doesn't look as good as his mom's stuff, so maybe we should stop.
But, I've still found a way, to sell. If people messaged me, to [make something then] 'sure' but in terms of like building stock, I'm not doing that because I'm gonna make five things of one thing and only sell one of them. That's the kind of doubt that I'm having in my head right now is how much of this should I make, or should I make it at all.
Tell me what are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media to promote your art?
So, the advantage is that you can find people from everywhere. The disadvantage, however, is that I only have one place of promotion. I've tried to use my Facebook but with it, [I only have] family members and friends. Then, on Instagram, there's more of an audience, but you only have those two things. So like, someone with an Etsy account or a big following on Twitter or Pinterest would have a greater advantage over me. And, I mean I thought about making a website but I'm not making nearly as much to keep a website up right now. I do see I really need to work on marketing and work on getting on other platforms, but it's just so hard. You know it's so hard to build a following somewhere you don't have a following.
I actually made a different Instagram account for my resin art. So I started it and after one weekend I only had one follower. [I decided] if I wasn't getting any followers that I had to make the sacrifice of taking down the page and deciding whether to post my resin art on my personal page or on my makeup page. I ended up choosing the makeup page. It had like a 200 follower following and it would still be something over one follower. So that's, one of the sacrifices I had to make, and that's why I haven't done makeup because I wanted to commit to one or the other. But, I mean as of recently I'm like 'Oh,' why can't I do both, you know.
I noticed on your social media that other resin artists or jewelry makers commented on your pieces, and they were all good comments. Do you like to see other artists as competition, just showing appreciation, or is it a mixture of both?
You said you see the hard work that other people do and that is where the appreciation stems from. So please tell me and other people who might not know what resin is and the difficulties with it. Give me every detail.
Was it therapeutic to work on this during the pandemic?
Yeah, 100%! You know, I would stay the night here [Billie Joe S. house], or I would go home really late because I was working on resin projects. And I was barely spending time with my boyfriend because I was so busy in the art room. It was a distraction, and it was really therapeutical; having a creative outlet, really distracts your mind from everything going on. February last year was when I first made the first earrings, and I started kind of getting a feel for it. Then the pandemic happened and I was like, 'Oh', like 'what do I do now?'. Then I just went down there and started working more on it, and I was like okay I can make a little page about this. And that's when I just decided to rip off the bandage and do it. But I did get really good business during the pandemic, believe it or not, people liked seeing my stuff. And it was like a month of just constantly having people buying [items], and then all of a sudden it was silence...and it was so weird. Now here in there I get a little sales and it's enough to keep me above water. I mean I made enough to buy more and do more, and right now I'm working on this really big order. So really it never died off.
So what have you learned about yourself during this whole side hustle venture?
I mean, I've learned patience and I definitely learned how to let things go. Because if something doesn't work out you wasted the resin. It's done [and] you have just got to move on. I've always known that I was a patient person, but with [the resin] I just did this amazing thing and I really want to see it but I can't because I'll ruin it. [Being more patient] has really done me a big favor when it comes to my relationships with people. During the pandemic, I actually got into a big fight with my best friend. And I was like, you know, I ruined something perfect that's fine there'll be more relationships on the road. I feel like that kind of came from my art because I was constantly, ruining the pieces that I was making, and I'm like 'Okay' you know what, throw it away start over. [Something else] I learned, is I can really put my mind into these things if I really want to. If I really want to make art, I'm gonna go and do it.
It helped me not to be bitter because people were not buying, because at the end of the day, even if it stays in a box forever it's still beautiful. And it helped me get my mind off of some things. That's what art is, to me it's a distraction, it's therapy. It helps get your mind off of things and work on something beautiful. I made something beautiful out of a bad situation for me. So, it doesn't matter if people aren't buying I'm still gonna post on it. Who cares if it's in a box at the end of the day, as long as it helped me and as long as I feel proud of it.
What is your dream career if it not continuing resin or doing makeup?
Where do you see your resin art and makeup going in the next five years?
I'm never gonna stop getting ready for myself but if in the next five months if I get people who call me and [they ask me to do their makeup] 'sure' I'll do it. There's never going to be a point where I'm [saying] 'okay, you know what, I'm never gonna do makeup again'. And in terms of my resin stuff, I think, I think I'll always have this love for art, even if it's not through resin. So, even if one day I decided okay you know what, I don't want to do resin anymore I'll probably focus on other arts like drawing and painting. I love having a creative outlet so even if it's not resin down the road, it'll be something else. You know, there's never gonna be [a time] when I'm not going to be creative. [Art's] helped me through a lot, and it's meditating to me. And that's, the difference between makeup and resin is. Makeup I do it to feel good, for myself, and to make others feel good about themselves. But when it comes to art, it makes me kind of feel better. It's meditating to me.
What advice would you give to people who want to do an art-related side hustle?
Gabby will always be an artist first and is a side hustler second. Her appreciation for art has always made her pieces unique and beautiful. To purchase and follow her art follow @resinhiippie
on Instagram.
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Very nice work..