as someone who has both successfully used this strategy in interviews and conducted interviews themselves as a retail manager, if you are a Creative Sort wanting to fluff up a gap you will have far more success just saying you did freelance commission work. most employers won't be nosy enough to ask for examples if they aren't hiring you for creative reasons but you can provide some personal work as examples of "commissions" and literally no one is going to verify if a customer actually existed for them. the fact that freelance work implies some level of self-direction and organizational skills is a bonus, and from my own experience it also simply makes a good impression to share some of your creative projects because it demonstrates there's a lightbulb on, so to speak. in the end the interview is about determining if you will make a good member of a team, not how amazing and interesting you are.