Molly Wagner discovered Etsy in 2008 when she was looking for unique baby items for her 5th child. He would be sharing his parents' room for a bit, so she was looking for nursery pieces that wouldn't make the bedroom look like a preschool. She wanted it to be special and artsy without compromising their adult space.
Browsing through Etsy, not really finding exactly what she wanted, she figured she would just paint her own art for his space. It was then that she realized that she should try to open her own shop and sell the type of children's art that she was already painting for baby shower gifts.
My Artsy Baby was opened in April that year. Four months later, her son Isaac was born. It seemed from the moment he had coordination to hold a crayon, he has been his mother's shadow. He loves to paint and create with mommy, more than any of her other children did. He is completely happy staying in her "Art Room" (sometimes for hours) while she works on orders. He has his own little easel set up in one corner, and just about every coloring book he owns (which is A LOT) has been watercolor painted or colored in.
Once the older kids get home from school, they require all of their mom's attention, leaving Molly no time to work. By having Isaac painting in the same room during the day, it keeps him occupied while she works. It also still gives them quality time together. He is a quick learner, so she tries to incorporate age appropriate lessons (mixing colors, painting or drawing shapes, animal colors, etc) into their time. When he isn't painting, he might be on the floor playing with playdoh, or dancing around the room using crepe paper streamers as ribbons.
It seems as though Molly's Etsy shop was appropriately named because, as Molly says, "He truly is My Artsy Baby." Who knows, maybe he'll grow up and open his own Etsy shop some day. To his Mom, his precious little paintings already are priceless .
