Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Alves.
Hi Jacob, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
How all of this got started is I found a way to combine my love for public golf, art, and marketing. After that, I just became obsessed with making these prints, and for me, there’s no better subject than the LA City Golf courses. My goal with my art is to not only share my love for the LA public golf courses but hopefully shed some light on everything LA City Golf does, including making golf incredibly accessible, affordable and welcoming.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’m still in the very beginning stages, but so far it’s been a positive experience. Currently, the biggest challenge is being patient. I’ll spend days on a course like Rustic Canyon, list it on Etsy, and post it on my socials and it barely moves the needle but I post a quick video of me making a picture frame and showing a print hanging in Penmar and it gets decent views. Speaking of, recently, the owner of The Penmar restaurant reached out to me, and my Penmar course print is now hanging on display in the restaurant. That was incredibly special, and I appreciate the support, as it’s my favorite course, and I have so many amazing memories there.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My main career is marketing. I’m currently the Director of Marketing for a home improvement finance company. My company helps low to moderate-income homeowners make essential home improvements like getting a new roof, upgrading their electrical or even upgrading to more energy-efficient windows. I’ve been able to utilize a lot of my marketing knowledge from my career like SEO, social media marketing, and graphic design in this endeavour although learning Etsy has been a bit of a learning curve. Outside of that, one of my other hobbies is woodworking which has come in handy actually. Like I said above, I’m able to make social media content by making picture frames for the course prints; everyone loves a good process video. I’ve built everything from dining tables, and coffee tables to cutting boards, oftentimes using reclaimed local lumber that would end up as firewood.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Learn to fall in love with failing; it’s part of the process. As I mentioned above I’ll spend days on a course print and it gets a couple of views. Something I’d like to start testing is different artsy variations of course prints, maybe even incorporating some of my 35mm course photography into a print somehow. The name of the game is test, fail, learn, test fail, learn, and maybe eventually you’ll hit. That’s why it’s so important to be passionate about your art otherwise you’ll get burned out chasing a win.
Pricing:
- 15
- 25
- 35
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SoCalGolfPrints
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socalgolfprints/
