Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Beth Martinez.
Lori Beth, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Born and raised in Houston, TX I grew up with a passion for being creative. Fortunately, I was able to nurture this passion in Girl Scouts with a wide array of arts and crafts. However, as a kid, I didn’t always have the level of patience needed to see my creative ideas come into fruition. It was in graduate school where I learned a new level of patience and the need for a constant creative outlet. I began to use Perler bead art as a stress relief and continued to do so until my family urged me to create a business out of my work. With their unrelenting support, my business, Lobema Designs was born.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While chasing any dream, there are always obstacles/struggles that will pop up when you least expect them. For me, personally, I feel that my biggest obstacle comes from participation in major events, i.e., some comic cons. There are many times when the artist alley is located in a less than favorable area and so artists like myself don’t get as much foot traffic.
Lobema Designs – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Lobema Designs specializes in creating pop culture art through the use of hundreds of thousands of Perler beads. While the primary focus is on pixelated, pop culture designs, we also do portraits as well. Each piece is handmade, and every bead is placed one by one to bring these images to life. Lobema Designs prides itself on evoking nostalgic memories of childhood and sparking joy in the hearts of people and customers.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far has been being able to interact with the Mighty Ducks actor, Elden Henson. I had the opportunity to meet him at a comic convention and he became such a fan of my work in the process. Because of our initial conversation about my art, he left his own booth to find me at the convention and purchase some of my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lobemadesigns.com
- Email: lobemadesigns@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lobemadesigns
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lobemadesigns
Image Credit:
Eric Choy – Instagram:@choyphotography
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