15. The Art of Business and the Business of Art with Kelly O'Neill

In this season 3 episode of Back of the Napkin, Kelly O'Neill, owner of Fusion of Iron and Earth, shares the inspiring story of her transition from the corporate world to starting a small business from little more than clay, scrap metal, sheer determination, and the passion to honor her father's legacy. Plus she talks about small business branding, Art on the Grand, Funky Ferndale Art Fair, ArtPrize and Mint Artist Guild. Read more on the podcast blog. She was raised in the 1970s, when a generation of women demanded change, and fulfilled an emerging set of expectations. Kelly O’Neill spent her formative years in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a suburban enclave outside Detroit, where her mom and Dad formulated a plan for her future: graduate college, land a corporate job, achieve success, enjoy life. And so she did. O’Neill graduated from Michigan State University – the first college graduate in her family – and rose through the ranks at General Motors. As she did, O’Neill’s father, Dennis, grew his home improvement business and tinkered in his shed with a variety of artistic endeavors. His unique take on thrown pottery moved from passion to profit, with Dennis eventually showing and selling his work at local art shows. Kelly marveled at her dad’s work, yet she found something missing. “I always looked up to him for his ability to master anything and everything,” said O’Neill. “He would display his pots beautifully. But from a competitive point of view, his pots looked like everyone else's.” O’Neill took a welding course at Oakland Community College so she could create holders or stands to differentiate his work. Sadly, their plans to do a show together derailed after her father’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent death. “So, when he passed, he was very much a prolific potter… he had pottery in every stage, and I told my Mom that I would finish his work,” said O’Neill. With encouragement from her mom and support from the local arts community, O’Neill continued her father’s work while coming of age as an artist herself. Her joy for her own work grew and O’Neill took the leap from the corporate world to the art world. Her first show, Art on the Grand, was her dad’s favorite. Read More ...