In Defence of Slow Growth
Okay, since I doubt there is a non-cringing way of mentioning this I will just go ahead with this as a starting point: I have reached 10,000 followers on my instagram account this week.
As it happens, I was busy with my daughter’s birthday and initially did not notice. But some folks messaged to tell me. And… things got a bit Interesting.
One common theme I could not help but notice, is that the messages informing me of this milestone - while congratulatory - also included comments to the effect of ‘shame it’s taken so long.’ The term ‘under-rated’ made a repeated appearance. One person even offered to put me in touch with a PR firm, to help me advance faster.
I will not pretend that I don’t understand where the sentiment is coming from. If you consider that I’ve had my knitting instagram account for almost 7 years, and have been a professional knitwear designer for the last 5, then gaining 10,000 followers over that timespan is almost glacially slow by social media standards.
And while the social media side of things is not always a reflection of the business end, in my case they do run in parallel. I was meeting with my accountant recently, and in reviewing my tax returns from the past 5 years he remarked that my income growth was ‘almost textbook slow and steady.’ I wasn’t sure whether he meant this in a positive way, as in ‘great news - you are unlikely to be audited!’ …or in a negative way, as in ‘OMG doing your taxes is incredibly boring!’
But I will try not to dilute this with jokes.
Fact is: In the present-day creative space, viral attention is seen as a mark of success. Consequently, slow growth is almost perceived as failure. Am I failing, then, as a designer?
According to my definition, very much not. And in fact for the first time in my professional life, I am thriving. Which is why I felt compelled to write this post and offer an alternative perspective.
I have known quite a few creative people who pursued their passion expecting viral success, because we are taught to expect viral success. When it did not happen, they assumed they failed, and after a fairly short time gave up. It was sad, and also - to me - surprising, that they had not even consider whether the viral model they aspired to suited them to begin with.
Because the thing is, not everyone’s creative practice - or personal character for that matter - benefits from viral, explosive growth. Mine, as I’ve found over the years, certainly does not. And as food for thought, I would like to share just a few aspects of the ways ‘going viral’ can be more detrimental than rewarding to a fledgling creative career.
From a creative perspective, I have found through past experience that gaining a large audience quickly can stunt artistic development and limit flexibility, because you are then expected to remain in the state the audience discovered you in. It took me some time to find my creative direction, and I am still not entirely there. To have been pigeonholed as a specific type of designer early on, would have been detrimental for my practice, as it would have ‘fixed’ me in a place where I may not have wished to remain.
Depending on the type of work you are doing, and on how much value you place on flexibility and personal growth in your practice, this may or may not be an issue. Some creative makers arrive at a distinct style early on, and would not feel daunted at being expected to continue in the same manner in perpetuity. Others would find it detrimental to their practice. Point being, it is good to discover which is the case for you, before courting viral success.
From the practical and financial perspectives, it is absolutely essential to consider whether you are set up for a sudden and dramatic increase in customers/ orders/ sales. Are you prepared to hire staff who would be appropriately skilled to assist in your practice? Are you prepared to jump into a different tax bracket and restructure your business model? Are you prepared to give up more of your own time, at the expense of family life, if applicable, and other commitments and interests?
In my case, the answer to all of the above is a resounding No. I have made a lifestyle choice to live in a remote area with limited internet connectivity and limited travel opportunities. I have made a conscious choice to limit my daily work hours, so as to spend time raising my young daughter. And finally, I chose to pursue a solitary creative practice precisely because I do not wish to work as part of a team or to involve assistants or managers in my work.
From aspiring knitting pattern designers specifically, it is important to realise that with more pattern sales comes the not often discussed but very real side-effect of more pattern support requests. If one grows on a viral scale, so will the other, and you would need to be prepared for that happening all at once. Being already overextended in the pattern support realm, I cannot imagine how I would cope with more, without hiring help and surrendering my single-artisan practice.
Neither can I cope with being present and available to an audience on social media and other platforms, to the extent that becomes necessary with viral popularity. For personal and political reasons, neither am I willing to travel to various festivals, retreats, and similar for this purpose.
The ephemeral aspect of going viral is another relevant factor many fail to take into account. Viral is by its very nature a fast burn. Harnessing that effect into something sustainable over the long term takes hard work and maintenance; otherwise the creative maker will quickly discover that the audience either quickly grows bored or turns against them. Attendance at various events and festivals, regular video content, tutorial offerings, essentially creating a club around your practice - are practices that become more or less necessary to maintain ‘relevance’ after the first wave of attention comes your way. An almost 24/7 level of virtual availability will be expected as well. Are you prepared to put out endless content, to share your personal life, to reply to messages at all times of day and night, at the expense or personal space and family time?
There is a story about one of the Big pattern designers, who was bullied so badly for not replying to DMs (direct messages on instagram) over Christmas, she nearly quit as a result. Just imagine what it’s like for those who observe less mainstream holidays and need a day off on what to most knitters seems like a random weekday. Alternatively, imagine having a chronic or unpredictable health condition, and coming home after every hospital stay to an inbox exploding with angry messages. Sustaining and managing viral success is something that needs to be considered carefully - because ironically, it can rob you of any time to do anything that is actually creative, as well as deplete your mental health.
Finally, conceptualising viral growth as aspirational is based on the assumption that popularity will bring a sense of validation and achievement. But is that assumption applicable to you specifically?
There is nothing wrong with enjoying external validation, in finding it fulfilling. But not everyone processes it in the same manner. While some thrive on attention and popularity, others can find it invasive and daunting, even catastrophically detrimental to their mental health. And for those in the latter category, there is no point in aspiring toward something that they in fact do not want!
I have found through past experience that I get more satisfaction from an intrinsic sense of wonder and discovery, as well as from maintaining a stable sense of self, than from external validation. It took me many years and several failed (by my definition) ‘successful’ careers to arrive at this understanding. I am an excitable, actionable person by nature. Things have a tendency to escalate quickly when I have a hand in them. In my past lines of work, I have experienced quick successes due to this, and each time this left me feeling hollow and deeply unhappy. On the other hand, my knitwear design practice fulfils me.
As I see it, my work is not viral - because it is chronic. Slow-growing, strong-settling, deep-rooted, lasting.
I appreciate my existing audience and truly feel that I have ‘enough’ - which frees me to be flexible and focus on creative development, while still managing (just barely though) to handle the logistic end of things on my own.
Whether any of this applies to other fellow creatives is entirely up to them. We all want and need different things in order to feel motivated and fulfilled. If my point of view resonates at all, I am pleased to find some common ground. And if not - I still feel it was worthwhile to offer this alternative perspective to the viral narrative.
