DorcasCreates is an illustration and design brand created to celebrate the beauty and strength of black women. Founder Dorcas Magdabelo has seen her art gain deserved love over the past few years, which is why we spoke to her about what her journey has been like.
Tell us about DorcasCreates: what do you sell and when did you get started?
I started DorcasCreates about five years ago and I didn’t have any proper plans for it to become anything. I’ve always done creative things like baking, sewing, and I always wanted to have a career in the creative arts, but I didn’t think my illustrations would become a business. I hadn’t made any plans so this was just me seeing how things worked and went. I started posting items on Etsy and the responses I got back were what propelled me to keep moving forward.
All my illustrations are of black women and my products range from greetings cards, to pins and earrings, to tote bags, to t-shirts – anything and everything.
What was your first product?
It was an art print; I posted it on Etsy in the May and it didn’t sell until the October! I was so excited when I saw the sale come through. Then came the greetings cards and it escalated from there.
How did you decide how to expand the range?
When I first started, I looked at what other illustrators were selling and thought about whether I wanted to do the same. With my enamel pins, I had been selling shrink plastic ones but wanted something that was more durable. Then, I decided I wanted to expand to earrings and now I’m just trying to see what else I can do.
It’s important not to be afraid to make things in a limited edition. There’s something in our mind saying we have to churn out hundreds of one item but it’s okay if you only want to do ten. It means I don’t fall back on things and get lazy, and I’m pushed to try something new.
What was it like to gain traction?
It’s so up and down: the first year was hard and my expectations were so high compared to the reality. I assumed people would just see my products on Etsy and buy them and I didn’t think about the marketing side of things. That year, I started putting my sketches on Instagram, reading different articles about Etsy sales, SEO and getting seen. At the time the advice was really basic, telling me to comment on 20 people’s Instagram feeds, that kind of thing. But I didn’t like to do that, I don’t like to be ingenuine.
I tried lots of different things but I just mainly read up on marketing techniques and make them authentic to me. What mattered most to me was building repeat custom and getting people to buy into me instead of trying whatever marketing techniques to see what sticks.
Did you make a conscious effort to put yourself at the front of the brand?
Not at first, but it didn’t make sense for me to not be the face. The more I’ve done this, the more I’ve put myself out there and been more comfortable with it. It takes a lot for me to open up but it’s easier to do it on social media and people can respond how they like. I especially found Instagram Stories to be a better way to show other aspects of my personality and it’s really easy to upload those short clips of my life. I’ve felt more engagement as a result: people will reply more and even referencing things I’ve posted when they see me at events!
I have noticed an uptake in sales compared to my first two years when I didn’t engage as much with social media or email marketing. Back then, I did have a lot of sales but it was usually thanks to random press features. In the years after that I focused on events and social media marketing.
Do you have any tips for being the face of your brand?
It is important to push yourself out of your comfort zone – not to the point of completely being someone else, but just to show different sides to your personality. Of course, you don’t have to. It’s completely fine to build your business and then work with influencers who have outgoing personalities and high engagement with their own subscribers, so that you can just focus on the work behind the scenes. I’m quite private and there’s only so much I’m willing to show, and I wouldn’t say doing more than you’re comfortable with. Maybe do things bit by bit.
What are your tips for starting an online business as a side hustle?
It’s important to not overwhelm yourself. That was the mistake I made when I started: I thought I had to have a huge product range but now I realise it’s fine to start with a small group of core products, say five, and slowly build your inventory.
Another tip is not to take things personally, as people will be really honest. I used to be quite lax about going to the post office to mail orders, and you assume people will know you’re a one-man band or that you have another job. But actually no one cares! They just want good service and products promptly. It’s important, however you can, to get organised in terms of inventory, delivery and communication.
Where in the world can your products be found?
When I started out, my customers were about 80% American, they held me down the first few years! I was using Tumblr more than Instagram back then and so maybe it was because of that.
It took me a while to build up a UK customer base but the more events I did, the more people found out about me. Now, it’s pretty much an even split between the US and the UK, as well as France and Belgium – and some random orders from places like Canada and South Korea.
You’re often doing marketplaces across the UK, and even in Paris and Brussels. How do you find them and have they had an impact on your business?
I love to travel, explore different cities and meet people so incorporating that into my work just made sense to me. When I first started, I was going to a lot of London-based events and people either loved my products or didn’t understand them at all. That’s why I wanted to see what it was like outside of London, in places like Nottingham and Norwich, and then comparing this to how people shop in countries like France. Going to all these different types of events has been really helpful for building different customer profiles and seeing what sells well depending on location.
Also, when I first started, I was living at home so doing lots of events was good for me, as a way to get out of the house and meet people. Going from interacting with people all day long at my last job to working by myself was hard.
What are the notable differences between international events and UK events?
The way people shop is so different. In London, they want a ‘spiel’ and a conversation. They want me to explain what my products are about. But in France, there was less of a need to explain what I do. They’re more direct: if they like it, they buy it and keep it moving!
I don’t try to be a salesperson. For the most part I’m happy to explain my journey and motivations but i don’t need to have a sales pitch.
Black Girl Fest is one of my favourite marketplaces because of the whole atmosphere of the day. You literally spend the whole day laughing and smiling with lots of different people. I also enjoyed Afropolitan Fest in Brussels, just because it’s a really beautiful space in a museum and there’s lots of different types of people there. I’m a people-watcher and I’m always surprised by the type of people who engage with my work outside the UK.
I enjoyed the second time I did Afropunk as my mum was there with me and it was the first time she was seeing what I did as a job. She could see that other side and how people interact with my work.
How do you decide which marketplaces are for you?
At first, you have to do a lot of events to figure out where your customers might be. I would do any as long as I felt the fee was reasonable. Then, it depends on if I know whether their audience aligns with mine. If they’re not my customers, I contemplate a little more but sometimes I can be pleasantly surprised. I did a Christmas market in Paris once and was really shocked at the diversity of people passing through.
When you evaluate whether an event was worth it, it’s not just about sales. I’ve done events where the sales weren’t great but I’ve made connections with people, we’ve exchanged details and that’s led to other things. I always have sales targets but if they are other successes then that’s worth it.
Last year you partnered with Studio Nelle to create Ile La Wa – a pop-up shop in Walthamstow and selling products from the black British community. Tell us about that.
At the time, [Studio Nelle founder] Chanelle and I were trading regularly at a market in King’s Cross and we got talking about what we wanted to do next. We were both tired of doing markets all the time and really wanted a space of our own, as there aren’t many Black British gift shops in London. We knew lots of people doing amazing things and we wanted it all to be under one umbrella.
Chanelle found the space in Walthamstow and we were there for a year. It was a good base to test different things, like product lines, displays and customer profiles. The area is quite diverse but it’s undergoing gentrification and the kinds of customers coming in changed over the period we were there; at first, it was mainly white clientele, but as we promoted it on social media and spent a longer time there, more of a diverse crowd came in. We wanted to make sure our customer base was as diverse as possible, to reflect the area.
What was the main lesson you learnt from the pop-up?
The pop-up was a really good experience but I underestimated how hard it was going to be. The weekends were up and down – it was good in the run-up to Christmas, and then super slow between January and April – and dealing with this and having to think of ways to boost sales was challenging. That’s how it is in business anyway, but we saw how it plays out when you’re in a retail unit. It was basically a whole new business.
The main lesson I learnt is that it’s important to have a strategy in place for dealing with low points in the sales year. For example, people may not be buying from you but there are ways to remedy that with activities such as workshops.
Also, communication is key. I went from working alone to having to learn how to communicate everything with someone else. Share things and make sure nothing gets lost in translation.
How do you fund yourself?
I did initially have a full-time job and quit, thinking I could be an illustrator full-time. That lasted for six months! I then got a part-time job for a year, working from 7am to 2pm and going straight to the studio after. That year, a lot of things were built: I was going to more events and my Etsy sales took off, and so I quit and decided to go full-time again.
I am a huge advocate for keeping your part- or full-time job for as long as you can! Build that cushion, as you’ll need it.
How has COVID-19 impacted DorcasCreates?
I can’t do in-person events anymore, and I had a few of these lined up in Brooklyn and other parts of the US. Also, having to move everything online is tricky. I do want online sales but there’s only so many times I can go to the post office.
It’s also affected certain products: my t-shirt suppliers have shut down, and my earrings took two months to arrive here from China.
On a creative level, for the first few weeks that desire to create was absolutely gone. My focus was diminished – I couldn’t force myself to do things. But now there are a few things in the pipeline and I’m getting myself back to working.
How do you find suppliers?
Google everything. And not just the first five pages – you have to search 20 pages in! There are also a lot of different Facebook groups for pin makers, like the Black Pinmaker League, and information-sharing groups. There are a million blog posts about sourcing materials and suppliers.
What do you do to avoid burnout?
I don’t know! I’m really bad at setting those kinds of boundaries. I don’t really have a ‘Monday to Friday’ routine, which I don’t necessarily think is a good thing, but I think it’s important to set those boundaries with other people first. For instance, establish office hours and don’t touch emails on weekends after 6pm. Otherwise people will think they have access to you 24/7.
Also, listen to your body and rest when you need to.
What attracted you to working with Jamii?
[Jamii founder] Khalia and I met at Pop Up Africa in Spitalfields Market at the very beginning of Jamii. I thought it was a really good idea and I was trying at the time to support other black-owned businesses and be more conscious about where I sent my money, and so when she explained what Jamii was trying to achieve I knew I wanted to be on board. It’s not about just having a directory, it’s about fostering a relationship with the black-owned businesses and, in turn, boosting their relationship with their customers. It’s also about striving towards things as a community and sharing resources. That’s what drew me to it.