A conversation with CanvasRebel

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andi Morse. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Andi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been able to earn a full time living but it didn’t happen overnight. I fell into this business accidentally. I have always been into interior design and fashion. I had a friend that asked me to help her by designing some rooms in her home. She said she wanted my help, but would only feel comfortable if she was able to pay me for it. There was a lot of back and forth about it, but finally I relented and agreed to charge her. I started with a very low fee for this client. I did the job and found out I loved it. From there business began to be referred to me. As my experience grew, so did the size of the jobs. When I started I had 3 kids in college. I had lots of time when they were gone, but wanted to be home and available when they were on breaks. This business allowed me to pace myself and set my schedule so I could work when I wanted and take the time off when I needed. I wouldn’t change any of that. I loved being a mom as much as being a designer. I didn’t want to miss any time with my family.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I fell into my career. For most of my married life I was a mom to 3 beautiful girls. When my twins were in college, I had a friend ask me to help her out with some rooms simply because she loved my taste. She insisted on paying me for the time. And my business was born. It started out slowly with small projects with friends and referrals and has grown to encompass larger projects including full home renovations and new builds. I’m most proud of showing my girls that it doesn’t matter how old or when you start, but more importantly, just start. You can accomplish anything with lots of hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude. I want to be the best role model for my children and being happy with my work is one of the important ideals I want to pass on to them. My whole job is problem solving. When people enlist my help, they want me to solve a dilemma in their home. Whether they need strictly furnishings or an entire gut renovation, they have issues they want help resolving. I love this part. Figuring out the best way to provide function and instill beauty into their home. I feel extremely grateful to have people trust me to do this with one of their most important possessions. My passion is full home design. Taking a client from the very beginning and guiding them through our process that allows us to complete the entire home in a cohesive, beautiful manner.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One of the most important resources I lacked in the beginning was a bookkeeper/accountant strickily for my business. I am really not a numbers person. Figuring out so much of the back end of my business like filing sales tax, etc. was a struggle for me. It took up way too much of my time and not to mention caused extreme frustration for me. I had a business coach that suggested I find a bookkeeper/accountant to handle that part of the business for me. Once I found the correct company, boy, what a relief and time saver for me. It was well worth the investment to pay someone to do all of the chores I not only disliked, but wasn’t good at it. It helped me realize that I can farm many responsibilities out to people who can do a better job of it than me. My wheelhouse is the creative end. I want to spend most of my time doing just that, being creative and creating interiors. Farming different areas of my business to others who do it better than me has been a game changer.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The mission of my business is to create family centered environments for individuals to make them feel safe and secure in their haven which is their home. Your home should be your haven. It should be where you can let you hair down and completely relax. You should not have any pretenses or stresses here. Creating interiors that can help a family or individuals facilitate their haven is of the utmost importance to me. Providing pieces of furniture where clients don’t have to worry about messing them up all the time, providing clients with streamlined environments to make getting out of the house and cooking dinners easier, providing the utmost function in a beautiful environment is key.

All images by Heidi Harris