Life & Work with Helen Prater

Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Prater.

Hi Helen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Creating art has always been a hobby for me. When I worked as a Physical Therapist Assistant in geriatrics, I spent my days off painting on canvas to decompress. That was my therapy. Being married to a musician and living in Nashville inspired me to paint the beautiful musical instruments that I was surrounded by. I also fell in love with the Nashville Skyline and painted a version of what looked like a floating city in the sky using multiple layers of color.

One day, a musician friend of my husband’s who was at our house recording a demo, stuck his head in my art studio.

He saw my painting of the Nashville Skyline and offered to buy it. Thus began the selling of my art. In August 2015, I suffered a cervical injury at work which forced me to retire from the field of Physical Therapy.

Shortly after my retirement, I stumbled across an ad looking for artisans for a store in Cool Springs. I applied and was accepted. To my surprise, my canvas art sold well! In addition, I met many wonderful artisans who were more than willing to share their expertise on how to grow and expand my business. I had found my tribe.

One of the most impactful suggestions from a fellow entrepreneur was that I digitize my artwork. This changed everything and the possibilities became endless! I now transfer my art onto shirts, hats, tea towels, magnets, totes, coasters, guitar picks, and much more! Another suggestion that changed the course of my business was to retail at the Nashville Farmers’ Market.

I began selling there in 2016 and retailed to hundreds of folks until covid hit in the spring of 2020. Having everything shut down for the duration of covid has had its challenges but I am pleased to report we are back in the market after two years of selling our “original art” merchandise to a lot of happy locals and travelers.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Obviously, when covid hit, our small business suffered along with so many other businesses. Thankfully, 2019 was a strong year for us and we were able to get by on savings.

Selling at the Nashville Farmers’ Market and outdoor events has been a lot of fun, but it does have its challenges. Retailing in an open environment can make you and your product very vulnerable to Mother Nature lol. We’ve lost some product as a result of wind and rain but it’s just part of the journey. The freedom of running a business far outweighs the occasional hiccup.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a sole business owner, I am pretty much in charge of everything. Since digitizing my art, I don’t have much time to paint anymore. Many days are spent ordering and re-ordering products (shirts, hats, and the like) to ensure we have enough inventory for the folks that shop with us at the market and events. We also stay busy building custom art, guitar picks jewelry. I also dabble in photography and take pictures of popular areas in Nashville. I do all the editing, printing, and matting in order to sell them.

If my husband and I aren’t retailing at the market, planning events, ordering or picking up products, making jewelry, or working on prints, we’re discussing what other cool items we can offer to make our store even more appealing and fun. Both my husband and I are definitely right-brained creatives and feel blessed to be able to do what we do!

We believe what sets Helen’s Pop Art apart from other businesses is the uniqueness of the art and designs and the variety we have to offer in our clothing. We feel it reflects the cool vibe of Music City and the feedback we get most often from people when they see our shirts and hats is that they are drawn to the art because it’s not overstated. Over the last several years, we’ve worked very hard on building our brand. We tag the back of our shirts with our logo which is the “H” in Helen’s Pop Art. Lucky for us, it resembles the iconic AT&T, or “Batman Building” in downtown Nashville!

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Helen’s Pop Art retails at the Nashville Farmers’ Market Thursday through Sunday during peak season. Hours may vary with inclement weather. For questions about products or inquiries about wholesale pricing, email [email protected].

We also have an online store and products can be purchased and shipped for your convenience. We encourage people to check it out as we are always adding new products to our store. Our children’s line is adorable and makes for a super cute gift for the kiddos in your life. To visit our website, go to www.helenspopart.com.

Follow us on FB and Instagram @helenspopart for updates and new products!