‘There are a lot of small artists like me who rely on this, and they’re really suffering now,’ said Rachel Mitchell
Rachel Mitchell has made a living off her artwork for more than a decade, but her primary source of income is now in jeopardy.
The Sault-based artist paints natural scenery, animals and more on rocks she collects around the North Shore and Lake Superior, and over the years she’s built a strong enough customer base – mostly in the U.S. – to turn her rock-painting hobby into a career through her business, Rachel’s Rocks.
But when the U.S. government imposed its latest round of tariffs on a slate of Canadian goods last month, including a 50-per-cent levy on artwork produced north of the border, Mitchell saw her sales vanish overnight.
“Up until August of this year, I was able to send my stuff to the states without worrying about tariffs,” she told SooToday.
“Now I can’t even afford to send my stuff to the states, and that’s where all my customers are.”
For Mitchell, that means a piece she would normally sell for $50 on Etsy will now cost an American customer $75 plus shipping – an increase that’s made doing business south of the border prohibitively expensive.
Mitchell said she’s not the only artist in the same position.
She’s aware of others who have built customer bases in the U.S. over the years, who are now scrambling to keep their careers going.
“There are a lot of small artists like me who rely on this, and they’re really suffering now,” she said.
“God help me if something doesn’t change because I can’t just throw it away. It’s 12 years of my life.”
While she also earns income through her YouTube following, Mitchell’s artwork sales have plummeted from over $2,000 per month to just a single $49 sale since the tariffs took effect on Aug. 22.
It’s been a devastating blow after years spent honing her craft and building a dedicated clientele.
“It’s like being fired from a job that you’ve put everything into, and it’s gone . . . for something that you didn’t do or something that wasn’t your fault,” she said.
“It’s terrifying.”
While Mitchell said she’s a “Canadian and supports Canada,” her customer base just happened to take off in the U.S. as she built her career.
“They’re not the ones that find it interesting – it’s the people in the States that do,” she said.
“That’s what put food on the table.”
Beyond the immediate loss in income, Mitchell worries she may permanently lose the customer base she spent years building.
“That’s my audience, that’s my customers, that’s my clientele, and . . . you don’t get back from this,” she said.
“Once you disappear, people don’t go looking for you.”
Mitchell’s artwork is sold through Etsy, and more can be found about her on her YouTube and Facebook pages.