Helping visual artists become sustainable businesses
Deciding to do the show. So, as I was looking through Arts/Craft Show application deadlines online, I found the application for the "Buyer’s Market of American Craft" (BMAC) at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The jury fee was $10.00 and I decided to apply along with several other … [Read more...]
First a little back ground The current rebellion over underpricing soccer moms on Etsy has gotten a lot of other artists’ undies in a bundle. There are few options for artists to sell their work on-line so the sites that offer all the things that make us creatives shudder like credit card … [Read more...]
A couple of weeks ago I came across a post on craftmba.com about the impact of underpricing and general cheapness that seems to be causing havoc within Etsy. The range of the comments illustrated the depth of this issue and which I maintain is the logical outcome of an overall paradigm shift based … [Read more...]
Leaders are not afraid to help others learn to lead and they aren't afraid of grooming their replacements. It is no secret that realm of handmade creative work regardless of the end product is experiencing a shift both in the process of making and the process of consuming. As art and creative … [Read more...]
As a graduate student in design I was able to see how my much younger classmates were able to see the world with much more clarity than traditional liberal arts students. The more I observed this phenomenon the more I believed that a design/visual arts education was far better at equipping young … [Read more...]
Marketing has not had a good rep, particularly among us creative types, we like to see ourselves as above such mundane things as having to sell our work. However, the hard truth is unless we are independently wealth, win the lottery or have a rich aunt... we have to market our work. The honest truth … [Read more...]
One of the primary ways in which businesses and the people who operate them become successful is through self investment. Nothing could be more important than owners of of small businesses to invest in the tools and training they need to successfully operate and grow their business to the level that … [Read more...]
The Changes that have occurred over the past year have changed the business playing field in more ways than one, and one of the biggest changes has been in the way small businesses can market themselves. While networking was part of the "old way" of doing things its' effectiveness often left a lot … [Read more...]
What non-traditional methods do you use to market and sell your art? For marketing e-cards have been very helpful for me. I have a number of collectors who enjoy sending e-cards from my website to friends and family. They select a painting and then can create a card with a personal message and … [Read more...]