VIDEO: Made in Denver: Molly Quinn Art

Editor’s note: Throughout fall, RED’s Made in Denver series will highlight Mile High business owners who graduated from MSU Denver programs.

Molly Quinn loves creating magical moments through her artwork, which often features witches, fairies and mermaids.

The Metropolitan State University of Denver graduate completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2020. Now, she sells her paintings as prints, stickers and journals under the brand Molly Quinn Art.

Social media has quickly become a major asset to her business, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, when more people started buying directly from artists.

“I first had an Instagram,” Quinn said. “And then, I realized everybody was moving to TikTok, so I’m like, ‘OK, now I have to do that.’ … My goal with TikTok was to just reach people that I couldn’t really reach with Instagram.”

In just a year, her TikTok following greatly outnumbered her Instagram following, and she started to see some of her videos go viral. This translated to more sales.

“Whenever I make a TikTok that does well, that gets a lot of views, I absolutely notice an increase in my shop views, and in orders,” she said. “… People will comment on my TikTok, saying, ‘Oh, my God, I need this.’ Or, ‘I just ran to your shop, and I bought this.’”

Quinn said that with the help of her MSU Denver Art courses, she learned not only artistic techniques but how to market and brand herself to have a successful business, making a living doing what she loves most.

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She encourages other creators who are unsure about their social-media marketing skills to give it a try. “Someone out there is going to love what you love doing,” she said. “They’re going to share it with people they know, and they’re going to follow, and they’re going to support.”