Meet William Demarest, Jr | Creator & Crafter

We had the good fortune of connecting with William Demarest, Jr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi William, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor to me is believing in myself. The emotions you go through when building your brand effects all of your decisions. It takes building your character and true authenticity to overcome doubts and problems. You have to know why you are selling a piece of your art, and why others should purchase your creativity. Believing in myself pushes me deeper into my values, and having a strong indenity of myself, is the most important factor behind my success.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being a person that bleeds for creativity and to show self expression towards my authentic self has not been easy to figure out. When I first started this path into leather craft I only had a vivid vision in my head of what I pictured for this to become. This idea isn’t just a hobby idea to me, It wasn’t just a business idea either. I wanted something more, something that when others saw my name, they would recognize a brand image. Since starting leather craft in early 2020, I knew I was embarking into a journey that would either make me or break me. I learned in my late 20’s, I was typically unhappy working for others, and I felt I had the capability to figure out a sustainable life of my own.
To me this was a spiritual journey to find my self and push my limits. Most crafters would probably talk about their work more, but the actual leather work was more of a blur to me because I can see now that I was more determined to work on my inner self. I guess you can say that my work shows for itself, because my skills and knowledge towards it came pretty natural to me.
Challenges of being a solopreneur, is that it’s all on you, your actions, your creativity. It has took a lot of inner self help to push limits, and stay outside of my comfort zone to grow. Growing takes patience.
I am excited now at this point in my journey to know more about my identity of my brand. I have overcome many obstacles when it comes to custom orders and customer service. Grit and perseverance has made my clients and audience continue to be apart of my brand. My mission is to have a brand that recognizes mental health and authenticity in your identity to build a strong community. Your identity matters to me, and that’s why I craft one-of-one artisan leather goods.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a Michigan boy, Going to Nashville feels like home away from home. I’m always excited for some Hattie B’s chicken, and can’t leave the south without hitting up a waffle house. With trips to Nashville, I don’t always get to get out and see what’s all to offer, I’m typically on my hustle and grind to network with others on their time. Musician Struggle Jennings took my friend Brandon Kirtsey and I to Jeff Ruby’s steak house downtown. I never ate so good like that before. I ate the cheapest steak on the menu and it still tasted better than any steak I’ve ate before. Unfortunately they don’t have PBR. You’re best finding me in a bar over by Opryland or out in the skirts in Ashland City. I do have to say, Bowies bar on 3rd.. that place is my jam, and they have a Nashville hot chicken sandwich that made me cry. Shout out to Bowies.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have had many mentors and supporters in person and on social media throughout my journey. The connections made gave me knowledge, opportunities, and much love to simply sharing and being apart of my brand on social media. The person that deserves this shout out is someone that is behind the scenes some, but the closest person to me. This shout out goes to my wife Bri. While you may see her liking all my content on instagram, it’s a role of helping me push it out to the algorithm to grow my audience. Behind the scenes she is my personal photographer, capturing awesome photos that I would never be able to take. My wife supports my vision and allows me to pursue this journey even when it’s financially tough at times. Big shout out to you bae. Love you.

Website: Www.williamshandcraftedco.com

Instagram: Wucci_made

Linkedin: William Demarest Jr

Youtube: Wucci_made

Image Credits
Struggle jennings Brianne Demarest