At the beginning of September, local artist and content creator Destiny Chew quit her job to pursue a career in art. She didn’t know what would come next, but after following a social-media-inspired whim, she’s now booking artist pop-ups at street fairs, business launches, and weddings across the state.

Her creative outlet? A DIY "doodle booth," designed for sketching portraits of strangers in the style of photo booth strips.

Chew was inspired by various street sketch artists on social media when inspiration struck to bring the idea to Richmond. | Photo via Destiny Chew

Drawing on inspiration

“I had the idea on a Thursday morning; I made the booth that night, and I was out in Carytown the next day,” said Chew. She added that Carytown businesses like One Eyed Jacques, Tokyo Market, and World of Mirth welcomed her to set up the booth in front of their stores without a second thought.

“My goal was to make $5 on my first day. I just wanted to sell one doodle strip, and if I sold one, I would have been successful in my mind. I sat at the booth for maybe 10 full minutes before I made my first sale," said Chew.

Her first Carytown pop-up took place in mid-August. Since then, Chew has booked events around the city, including the soft opening of Full Circle RVA, the Plant House Renaissance Faire, and multiple weddings.

Connecting with strangers

Chew said her favorite part of running the booth has been simply talking to the people.

"It's just cool to be a part of someone's day for 10 minutes, and since people can't see what I'm drawing, it gives them a chance to calm down and talk without expectations.

"You never know who's going to come, what they're going to say, or what they might ask to be or turned into. It's so random, like, 'Oh, we just got engaged an hour ago,' or 'Oh, my dog just died,' or 'Can you make me into a cigarette and make my head on fire?'

When recounting her most memorable stranger interactions, Chew recalled a couple who had gotten engaged an hour before visiting the booth. Leaning into their excitement, Chew created a photo strip inspired by their story + their dream wedding. | Photo via Destiny Chew

Sketching out the future

We asked Chew what was next on the horizon for the doodle booth and her career in general. "Art in any form," she said.

"That’s always the goal. If this shifts to a different form of art, the goal is always genuine connections with others. I don't really care how that translates into my life. I just really care about having genuine connections and being able to create art that people can resonate with."

Upcoming pop-ups + how to connect

Keep up with Chew's upcoming pop-ups via Instagram. Coming up soon, the doodle booth will be at Triple Crossing for the Dead Peoples' Stuff Vintage Market on Saturday, Oct. 25.

If you want to reach out to Chew about a booking or creative consultation, you can visit her website.