Stephanie Gray
Instagram: @holdfastcarving & @andthe_gray
What kind of rig are you living in/working from?
2005 GMC Savanna 3500 converted Skoolie
How long have you been on the road?
Since the beginning of 2021
What is your business?
I am in the business of making heirlooms. I come from a long lineage of woodworkers and my mother certainly got the gene, but I did not discover it for myself until I was approaching my thirties. I've always been an artist, yet when she taught me how to carve my first spoon I knew I'd found that artistic niche I'd been looking for my whole life.
Life invited me to take the plunge into nomadic living and running my own business at the same time; as the pandemic was closing doors on my career and living situation, it was opening the doors to a new life. Living tiny and living as an artist really go hand in hand; by cutting my costs of living I was able to afford going into business for myself while not putting so much pressure on the business itself. I don't know if I would've been able to afford taking the plunge into my work without going tiny. The best part of living nomadically and working from the road (so far) has been how landscape influences my work. It's really hard to carve a spoon on the beach or in the forest and not have that scenery and energy translate into your work. It was the one aspect of taking my work on the road I was most eager to explore, and I can't wait to see what else comes out of my travels as I take my art around the country and let the country take my art.
What challenges have you faced trying to operate while on the road?
The biggest challenge is in how to present my unique business model to my customers. We have become so adapted to online shopping and prime shipping that we have become out of touch with what it takes to make things and the makers themselves are completely hidden from view. Everything I make is custom, and I invite my clients to collaborate with me as much or as little as they like on their order. This is an unfamiliar concept to a lot of people. Now add nomadic living into the mix and you've really confused people. It's a learning process for both myself and my clients, and I so appreciate how flexible and open people have been with me as I navigate it all.
What insights or advice do you have for aspiring nomadic business owners?
We have been conditioned to believe that you cannot have roots and wings, but I have found that to be completely untrue. You can be rooted, established, and stable while also being completely free, transient, and mobile. This world needs more people living out of the unique expertise of their experience and translating that story into the work they present to the world. We don't need more carbon copies, we need you being you doing what you do best. There's a way, you might just have to carve that path for yourself, but it'll be worth it in the end. So go find your way.
