The Expectation for Creatives to Give Away Time and Energy for Free

Last month, I had a post go viral — and then another and another. It increased my following by nearly 400%, which is incredible to see after so many years of creating content.

Prior to this, I would get occasional DMs from friends and followers asking for design advice, and that’s what led me to start offering design services (I also worked in interior design for several years early in my career). At that time, I realized the amount of time people were requesting of me seemed innocuous to that singular person messaging me dozens of photos and detailed questions, but hours are money, particularly when you work for yourself.

Over the years, people have been totally gracious and understanding when I lead them to my design website. I’m happy to answer a quick question here and there. For example, someone who I’ve spoken with countless times of the years messaged me this morning asking about a paint color I have and whether I thought it would work for a specific space. I’m happy to chat about that for a minute and offer my personal take! People who follow me will ask for my thoughts on a wallpaper brand or what I think of a rug I’ve bought. I’m here to help when it comes to those questions!

But the more comprehensive questions that require looking through dozens of photos, helping them source items, or check out multiple paint colors I’ve never seen before are the requests that will require significant time and energy. I can’t take an hour out of a busy workday for unpaid work (though, I  genuinely believe the other person innocently sees this as, “She loves design; this is fun for her!” — I don’t think it even occurs to them that it’s costing me hours of free labor).

Luckily, people generally get it when I deflect a more involved question or request with a, “I’d love to help out! Here’s a link to my services.”

But, one thing I’ve noticed over the past month, is an influx of curt DMs from people who do not follow me and have never messaged me before. “Bedroom links” “Link to paint colors” “where u get that”

There’s no introduction, no please, no thank you, no, “I’d love to recreate this!” Just “link” “colors” “table.” As if they’re talking to Google, not a human.

And this has me thinking a lot about what creatives should give away for free in terms of time and talent. I’ll share the details on a room renovation in a story I’ve written or here on the blog. But if I was to send links to paint colors to each of these people, it would take an enormous amount of time on my end. Time that I am not compensated for in any way. In the beginning, I was taking an hour a day or more to go through these DMs. I would send the info, and, without fail, there was no follow up or acknowledgement. No simple thank you. They take the info and run. It led to me simply disregarding any future messages I received requesting info.

However, beyond this, it led to an even bigger question — regardless of time, do I want people to have free access to all of the specifications and sources in a room? It takes significant creative energy to dream up and execute these spaces, and it’s not something that is designed to be copied en masse. It’s something I wonder if I should even get away from when I talk about my design on the blog. Maybe it’s best kept to specific parts of a project, like a wallpaper I used or a piece of furniture I sourced. Something that involves storytelling rather than a laundry list to replicate.

I’ve contemplated whether this would feel different if I was a DIY influencer, for example, rather than someone who actually offers interior services. Maybe it would feel less like an infringement of creativity. Perhaps they’re intentionally creating guides for others to copy.

But, because I do work with design clients, giving away all of the details in a room feels like I’m offering my work for free that others pay for. If I was to give away the information, it’s not that different than when I come up with a design scheme for a client. By requesting all my design details from top to bottom, they’re basically getting a mood board of what the room looks like, a plan for furniture and color, and the links. Essentially that’s exactly what a design client gets. Clients are paying for it to be tailored to their space, but shouldn’t everyone want a space that feels like them? I know hiring a designer isn’t in the budget for everyone, but everyone has the ability to find their own style.

I know this isn’t unique to interiors. It happens to friends who are graphic designers, artists, stylists, and any other profession where your talent is seen as possibly bordering on a hobby.

I wish I had a great answer here, but I haven’t figured it out. If anything, I’d love to start a conversation with others who’ve faced this and how they’ve handled it.

My plan as of right now is to continue to share some info on here on the blog and direct those who are asking for every single detail to my design services page. Will that change? Maybe. But it’s all an ongoing evolution.