Mother’s abstract art business continues to go from strength to strength, with two-month waiting list

A Northampton mother’s new abstract art business, which was only set up in January, has continued to go from strength to strength and now has a two-month-long waiting list.

28-year-old Lucia Tonna first launched ‘The Modern Art Mama’ after she posted an abstract art piece she was making for herself and people requested she began selling them.

Three months on since last talking to this newspaper, The Modern Art Mama’s waiting list remains “inundated” and her monthly waiting list size has increased by six times the amount.

Lucia said: “I knew what artwork I wanted for my living room but it was going to cost me around £1,000 to buy it. How is this justifiable for anyone?”

After buying the resources and posting about the process on her personal Instagram page, people she knew were really impressed and wanted Lucia to open up for commissions.

“I set up a separate account and everyone loved what I was doing,” said Lucia, who has had such a huge response that she has still not yet finished the piece for her own living room.

The 28-year-old, who lives with her partner and two-year-old son Archer in Wootton, wanted people to be able to buy art without the “extortionate prices” and “prides herself on keeping costs minimal”.

She said: “For normal people, it is not a priority to spend so much on art.”

Lucia’s talent and the affordable price tags has seen her monthly waiting lists soar from eight commissions, to between 40 and 50.

The 28-year-old, who juggles her newfound business with motherhood and her day job, is planning to spend one day a week specifically doing art – as well as in the evenings and on weekends.

“I’ve been overwhelmed with the response,” said Lucia. “It all doesn’t feel real, considering I’m still so early on in getting to grips with running a business.”

Lucia has spent a lot of time researching how to grow a business and has invested in advertising, which has seen her Instagram follower count grow to nearly 5,000 and orders are being placed from all over the world.

What started as selling art locally has grown to orders being placed in Scotland, Ireland, Dubai and the USA.

One of Lucia’s hopes was to master shipping nationally and internationally, and she says she is still learning and finding the most effective ways.

“It’s crazy that people are happy to pay for my work,” said Lucia, who was taken aback when one of her favourite social media influencers placed an order with her business.

Blogger Hattie Bourn, who has almost half a million followers on Instagram alone, purchased a piece of Lucia’s artwork.

After Hattie received her order and posted a photo of it in her home, Lucia gained another 400 followers in just 24 hours.

“I’ve been following her since I fell pregnant and her having a piece of my art in her home is a pinch me moment,” said Lucia.

Reality television star Jess Wright also got in touch to let Lucia know how much she liked her creations.

When asked what is next for The Modern Art Mama, Lucia said: “I want to continue improving my work and learning different art techniques to offer more options to customers.”

Once Lucia gets her waiting list down, she also plans to set up a website.

When the business owner last spoke to this newspaper, she hoped that one day she could move her artwork out of her home and have a dedicated space or studio for it.

With taking on up to 50 commissions each month, Lucia is considering this jump a lot sooner than she thought she would need to – with some commissions being for canvases bigger than her.

She said: “Everywhere you look in my home there is art, which is mental and another pinch me moment.

“Sometimes I question if this is really happening to me, and the success motivates me to push myself and grow even further.”

Lucia says she has always been artistic and sees what she does now as a “therapeutic hobby after running around after a wild toddler all day”.

“I don’t stop from when I open my eyes in the morning to when I go to bed,” she said.

Though Lucia admits it can be “difficult at times”, her motto remains that “when you want something, you just do it and adjust”.

You can check out The Modern Art Mama on Instagram here.