Conversations with Carly Ristuccia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carly Ristuccia.

Hi Carly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Carly’s Vinyl’s is an Art Business I started in March of 2017 as a bored, broke college student in hopes of fundraising some money for The Starkey Hearing Foundation at an event that was being hosted at my university. What started as a one-time creative endeavor, has really evolved into a larger part-time business and my personal passion and joy.

Music has always been such an important part of my life, and art is what keeps me connected with my inner child. The combination together was a no-brainer for me, which is why I started to create designs on vinyl records that were no longer able to be played. To this day, I have never run out of creative, musically inspired ideas for designs, especially with the help and support of my customers who order custom pieces and keep me endlessly learning and creating.

To this day, I describe my art as a combination of acrylic painting, collage work, & graphic design all on my favorite canvas: a Vinyl Record. I include a vintage record cover in every order because I want to keep the vintage, historic feel of the business alive. This is an attempt to appreciate the history of music and album art design. I’ve expanded to create many other fun products, art prints, and canvas designs.

Some of my happiest memories revolve around music, art, losing track of the moment, and the creativity of it all. With this business, I hope to make music & art a more significant part of other’s lives as well, because I believe it’s such a beautiful part of life.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Starting and trying to grow a creative practice has definitely been the most challenging of endeavors for me! There are days I’ve stayed up far too late working on orders, there are days I’m racing to the post office to get an order shipped and there are days my studio is such a disaster I can’t even step foot in it.

But there’s nothing else in the world I would allow to make such a mess of my life. The joy I feel when a customer loves their custom piece, when I create a work to help someone heal after a loss when I get a review that I’ve made someone’s day- there truly couldn’t be a better feeling!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My artwork is a combination of acrylic painting, collage work, & graphic design all on my favorite canvas: a vintage Vinyl Record. I’ve also expanded to create T-shirt designs, stickers, bookmarks, art prints, and canvas work. I’m really proud of the community I’ve built in the Record and music-loving world.

We bond and relate to each other through music and there’s never a day that goes by where I don’t have a good album recommendation. I love being able to work with local Record and Thrift shops and support the small businesses around me.

I believe what sets me apart as an artist is really have a passion for music. I really try to create art as I see it through music and lyrics, and I know that is the only niche that will ever really work for me.

What do you think about happiness?
My happiness simply put, comes from being able to feel. Feel emotions, music, and life deeply. I try not to put such an emphasis on being happy because that is no longer a goal of mine. I like feeling fulfilled, accomplished, at peace even emotionally.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @CarlysVinyls
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlysvinyls/?modal=admin_todo_tour
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLLEd6L4JHmnQHgFA1uXeQ/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarlysVinyls