Life & Work with Nina Sweeney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nina Sweeney

Hi Nina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey towards starting a small business has been a winding road. I’ve always been okay with trying something out, even if I end up learning that it’s not for me. This mindset led me to a wide variety of disciplines after college – cold call sales, project management at a startup, working as a Teacher’s Assistant at a coding bootcamp, data analysis & visualization. About 3 months ago, I decided to go part-time in tech to pursue starting a small business selling upcycled, hand-painted furniture, and I just launched my website!

Because my path has not been linear, along the way I picked up a range of useful skills. Most people would probably see coding Python as my highest-value expertise, but I think the soft skills I’ve learned are what drive my success today. Developing my ability to see the big picture, regulate my emotions, and problem solve under stress have been vital so far as a small business owner.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When you’re building something new, there will always be struggles. So far working on this small business, I’ve definitely had mistakes and regrets, but for me the biggest challenges have been mental: me against myself. These challenges have come in various flavors, the strongest being the fear and self-judgment of being perceived online at a level that I never have been before. Creating and selling art is a vulnerable thing to pursue, and sometimes I feel very exposed. The other mental struggle is a classic – feeling like a fraud.

Working on my mental health and confidence is a nonlinear journey, and these things come in waves. The best antidote for these hurdles has been having people around me who hype me up, see the potential in my business, and bring me back down to earth when I’m anxious. I can’t overstate how grateful I am for those people!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an artist that specializes in upcycling discarded furniture & home decor into colorful, playful pieces. I am pushing back against the norms of newness, perfection, and overconsumption, and helping people create vibrant, sustainable spaces that are full of secondhand treasures. I think that if we can embrace playfulness and vibrancy at home, we might learn to create more of it in the world around us.

So far in my small business journey, the piece I’m most proud of is my Pride Mirror. This colorful mirror represented me and my work as a queer small business owner, and I brought it out into the community during Pride Month to let people interact with my art and take joyful photos. This piece got such a positive response from my community, instilling confidence that I’m moving in the right direction.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
A past version of me only consumed non-fiction, educational content in the interest of spending my time “productively”. These days, I’ve done a total 180. I am constantly listening to podcasts while I create art – hours and hours of them, and the biggest commonality among them is storytelling of any and every kind. Whether it’s fantasy fiction, international journalism, true crime, or spooky glitch-in-the-Matrix tales, I constantly have stories filling my ears. Storytelling is so human and intimate, and while it might not be a direct resource on starting a business or creating art, it provides me with vital entertainment and inspiration.

Moving toward consuming content because I *want to*, rather than because I *should* has been hugely beneficial for me. If you are in the same rut, try giving yourself the freedom to read a fantasy novel – it’ll change your life!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pillowfortstudio.co