Looking Back on 2025
- Jan 25
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 25
Bestselling products, new projects, market recap, and more.
Last year held more highs than lows, and I'm looking forward to covering new territory in 2026.
Crowning achievement of 2025: my first mural!
I planned to publish this post in the first week of January, like all the responsible artists I follow online who published their sales breakdowns with creative infographics and pie charts. Instead, I reorganized my office/studio, vacuumed the house, photographed some new products that arrived during the craziness of the Christmas holiday, and made 12 new bookmark designs. So, not a total loss. Since I have none of the new bookmarks in-hand yet -- they're at the printer as we speak -- enjoy these mockups for the time being.
For this post, I added handy section headers, in case you want to skip around:
2025 Bestsellers
One thing I absolutely love about setting up at markets is getting to see which products people are excited about in real time. Bookmarks continued to be my most popular product overall. Hand-painted items like keepsake boxes and ornaments brought in the most revenue overall, followed by four-leaf clover keychains, which are always a hit at markets. Here's a roundup of my bestselling stickers, bookmarks, cards, and notebooks:
Top Sticker: Floral Kentucky (exciting news: I've updated this sticker to be almost double the size & will have them at my next market)
Top 5 Bookmarks:
3. Berries
4. Reading Reasons & Robin & Dogwood (tied for 4th)
Top 2 Greeting Cards:
Top Notebooks:
New Stuff
In 2025, I challenged myself to rethink/repurpose some previous designs to see what I could come up with. Last year, in the one blog post I published, I mentioned plans of reworking the fuchsia bookmark, and I succeeded! First, I created a sketchbook/journal design, then a coaster set, then a keepsake box design, all of which I absolutely loved. I even painted the keepsake box in a new color variation that I am a little obsessed with (and need to digitize so I can use on a notebook). While I didn't end up bringing some of the items to market last year, like the notebook pictured, it's a top priority for Q1 of 2026.
I painted many, many dogwood ornaments, riffing off my bookmark design, and I finally added fanny packs to my repertoire, along with new accessory pouches art prints, boot keychains, 2 new greeting cards, 6 new notepads, 9 new bookmarks, and the floral Kentucky design as a notecard set. One of the products I'm most proud of bringing from my head into the real world are the Sketch Journals, which ended up selling really well. After using one myself, I can attest to the fact that it is so handy to have one place for both sketches and notes/daily reflection.
I've really wanted to keep my supply chain close to home, and, luckily, there are commercial printers in my city where I can source 98% of my stationery items. I've also found some great places outside of Kentucky to source products, like Canvastry, who print my tea towels and coasters. I've ordered some items from Printify, a print on demand service, but I don't like that they source most of their goods from overseas. That said, I might use them for more complex or unique items, as I was especially pleased with how the Bento box and Berries tote bag samples that I ordered as gifts turned out (seen below).
Markets
Though I promised I'd only do three or four markets, I signed up for seven in 2025. Each market brings in a different audience, and, depending on the time of year, I try to provide items that go along with the season. Markets really motivate me to try new things and design new products. I absolutely see the value in meeting people face to face, especially when I see repeat customers -- you have no idea how exciting it is to have someone shop with you one time, much less three or four. It really lifts my spirits to see returning customers, especially if I've felt anxious or it's been a slow day. Seeing someone you recognize heading to your table with a smile on their face can truly change the trajectory of the entire event. So, thank you!
Some Meaningful Wins from 2025
One huge win (literally) was completing my first mural. A friend and fellow artist who works at Cynthiana's Dept. of Tourism approached me at a market in February and asked if I'd ever considered painting murals. I told her I'd never been asked, so I'd never considered it! My husband and family encouraged me to take on the project, and once I said "yes," all the questions of how I was going to paint a mural started rolling in. So I wrote those questions down and found answers from fellow artists--artist/muralist Wylie Caudill kindly had coffee with me and answered SO MANY questions--and I found artists online who take the time to publish supply lists and tutorials. Once I had done some research, I felt more confident about the project. I figured a lot of my problem-solving would have to happen on-site, which turned out to be true.
Many texts and emails and months of drawing/editing/planning later, I had created a board-approved design, a wall had been confirmed, and I began painting on April 11, finishing April 28. At a total of 20 ft wide by 10 feet long, The Maiden City Mural is located at the corner of Pleasant and Main Streets in downtown Cynthiana and is my largest project to date. It celebrates the beauty of nature and the four seasons while paying homage to the city’s iconic namesakes, Cynthia and Anna Harrison. Inspired by the art movements happening in the U.S. and abroad in the late 1700s and early 1800s, I incorporated design elements from Federal Architecture and Romanticism as well, since Cynthiana was founded in 1793.
Another win is that my first mural commission led to my second! I was commissioned to do a mural inside Cha Cha's salon in Lexington, where I put a tropical theme to the test, using a limited color palette of mostly green tones.
I took source photos of plants from trips to Florida and Louisiana and sketched out the design on paper over a photograph I took of the space. My proportions in the design were a little off, which I didn't discover until I was on-site, ready to start painting, so I had to wing it here and there. My stomach churned every morning when I faced that wall -- I was terrified of messing up and felt the pressure from a very tight turnaround (I was supposed to finish in two days), but I pushed through and ended up with a pleasing result that blends in perfectly with the salon's decor and aesthetic.
Do I want to do more murals? Why not? I'm not actively pursuing those projects right now, but if any opportunities arise, at least I won't be starting from scratch.
Lessons Learned & Looking Ahead
Did I accomplish everything I set out to do in 2025? No. I didn't pursue wholesale partnerships like I should have. I didn't get past setting up my account on Faire. I probably wasn't pushy enough with my sales pitch to potential stockists -- they say one email is never enough. One bookstore chose not to restock my bookmarks at all; others ordered more than ever. A few lessons learned: don't assume you can't do something just because you've never tried; ask for help from real human beings; continually seek new ways to improve and push yourself.
Overall, I feel hopeful and grateful -- dare I even say inspired -- after 2025. I'm finishing up a course on pattern-making and look forward to creating more distinct and complex patterns in 2026. I'll be sharing 12 new bookmarks at the first event of 2026: Galentine's Day! See you there?
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