Balancing creativity, business, and artistic vision isn’t an easy task, especially not at a young age. Nikki Ackerman, better known by her brand artxnikki, has turned her passion for watercolor into something much larger than a canvas. From her signature hand-illustrated designs to her growing presence in shops across the country, Ackerman embodies what it means to transform art into opportunity, proving that creativity and entrepreneurship can thrive side by side.
I had the pleasure of speaking with her and asking how her extremely recognizable FSU-based art set a foundation, among the other things in the world of art and entrepreneurship that she has had to endure. Ackerman graduated from FSU herself, majoring in Studio Art, and in our conversation, she gave great insight about how much her business has had the opportunity to establish itself and for her brand to flourish in the city where it really began.
Ackerman previously had an in-person store located at the Railroad Square Art District near FSU’s campus prior to the tornadoes that hit Tallahassee in May 2024 and destroyed many businesses in its path. She disclosed that, regardless of this, she could’ve potentially opened back up, but took this as a moment to pivot her business.
Realizing she was losing the essence of her passion and what made her happy, she took this as a time to shift her business and keep the 40 hours from the store back to herself that she was managing weekly: to paint, create, and even come up with a concept of a pop-up camper that featured her art and designs!
Her mobile camper created an interactive moment for her customers and gave her liberty to set shop up anywhere, anytime. You can find her at Picked in Collegetown, both outside and inside of the store, where she has a section featuring posters, stickers, pennants, and other FSU-themed goodies, as well as her online store.
Her Campus at FSU reached out to Ackerman to ask her questions about her brand and experience.
Her Campus (HC): What does your day-to-day look like?
Nikki Ackerman (NA): It really depends. I work from home, and a good bulk of the job is emails, emailing back partnerships, manufacturers, and regular customers about orders. Other days, it’s just painting and can look different every week. I would say three to four days out of the week I’m painting, some days it can be three hours or ten hours. It just depends. I have a loveseat and a desk at home, and that’s usually where the work happens.
HC: Who are your main customers of the business?
NA: FSU students and alumni are a great portion of the FSU side. Definitely football fans during football season, and then our other side of the business, like our non-FSU side, which we call “Studio-side,” we mostly do wholesale with that side of the business, meaning we’re in about 150 stores across the U.S. now. We worked really hard this past year growing it.
HC: What does success look like for you?
NA: Time, keeping my own time. I feel successful now that I have the ability to make my own time and adjust to how I want it, what I get to focus on. At the beginning of my career, I had to say yes to a lot because that’s how you build. Then I hit a point where I was able to start saying no to stuff, and that was game-changing. So, I get to choose to spend my time doing things that I really love, and recharge without someone telling me what to do.
HC: Would you ever sell your brand or hire externally to work for you artistically?
NA: I don’t have the intention of selling the business off someday, but I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs go into the business with that intention, which is really cool, but I just love what I do so much. I think because of the brand, I’m going to be an artist until the day I die, so I might as well have an outlet to be that artist.
HC: What is your biggest inspiration?
NA: It evolves as I get older and grow, so very different from five years ago as I am now. I feel that travel right now is huge, like going to other places. I’m doing an artist residency in March for three weeks in France, which I’m really looking forward to. It’s basically a time when you step away from your normal practice to focus on something and are surrounded by other artists. That’s going to bring in a ton of inspiration for sure.
Something from our conversation I absolutely loved to hear from Ackerman and her personality as a creative and businesswoman was when she said, “When you’re working for yourself, there’s absolutely no ceiling. You can work as hard as you want, make as much money as you want, get as big as you want, and decide where you want to stop or keep going. And for me, that’s so amazing.”
Ackerman has the support of her business partner and husband, Brock Ackerman, as he takes on the managerial and accounting side, along with their furry four-legged sidekick Indie, while she focuses on the creative side of this successful business. While she mentioned they’re coming up on 10 years of being in Tallahassee collectively, the time in this city may feel like it’s “ending,” according to Ackerman.
Her watercolor and hand illustrations have extended outside the city, but FSU will always hold a place in her heart. Luckily, her work can be found in all of FSU’s official bookstores, including the Seminole Sportshop at Doak Campbell Stadium, in addition to her online website and art at local businesses like Picked.
artxnikki’s next chapter may expand far beyond the garnet and gold, with new collaborations and creative projects that are sure to make her art recognizable well outside of Tallahassee.
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