Marketing framing services through daily-deal companies is not for every business, but for those that are thinking about giving it a try, here are a few suggestions. Over the last several years, my shops have used daily-deal marketing to great advantage, and the following list contains some of my company’s success strategies.

Daily-deal websites include Groupon, Amazon Local, and Living Social. These companies promote special discount deals; sell vouchers to their customers; and pay them for the sales, minus commissions and fees. New customers then bring these vouchers to your company. The daily-deal websites collect no money from you upfront. They get paid only if the offer to your customers is successful; if they don’t sell a deal, you pay nothing.

Here are five more things to keep in mind when you first try out a daily deal.

1. BE AWARE OF THE TYPES OF CUSTOMER A DAILY DEAL ATTRACTS
You will attract a few people who want something for nothing. One of the great advantages of these programs is that if customers are unsatisfied with your offer, they can easily return their voucher for a refund. This approach keeps you from getting negative online reviews. Most customers, however, understand what they are buying and are just looking for an incentive to spend money in your shop.

2. KNOW YOUR PRICING
Get a good idea of how much your average customer spends per order. Make sure that the total value of the deal you are making is well below that average. This tactic ensures that the 50-percent-off deal that the daily-deal site presents costs you only about 20 to 25 percent on average. Potential customers don’t see this approach as a trick.
They generally understand that framing is far more expensive than the amount that the deal offers. If they do not
understand this concept and feel that you are overcharging them, suggest that they return the voucher for a refund.
This approach will generally defuse a potentially tense situation and prevent any bad online reviews.

3. CAREFULLY WORD YOUR DEAL
Do not in any way imply that the amount offered will cover an entire framing order unless you are offering a package deal. Offers generally set certain limits, such as “$50 for $100 toward custom framing.” Also be sure to include important specifications, such as “limit: one voucher per frame,” “limit: three vouchers per customer,” and “voucher must be used in its entirety; there will be no refund or credit issued for unused amounts.”

4. GET AS MUCH INFORMATION FROM YOUR NEW CUSTOMER AS POSSIBLE
When customers redeem their vouchers, make sure to get their contact information, especially their email addresses.
Email is a preferred and effective method for these customers to receive future offers from you. Second, most of the
daily-deal sites do not make a repeat offer to the same customer from the same merchant, so it is up to you to bring
that customer back into the shop. Finally, email is the easiest and cheapest way to keep in contact with your customer base.

5. KNOW WHETHER DAILY DEALS ARE NOT FOR YOU
Daily deals may not be the type of marketing that will work with your business model. If your shop cuts margins close so that you can offer your customers the best possible price, you have no room for an advertising budget.
Therefore, this approach is not for you. However, when you use them properly,daily-deal sites can help bring new
customers into your shop. So, if you’re looking for a new marketing strategy, come up with a plan that makes sense for your business and give it a try.

With three Framing Palace locations in Maryland, Ed Gowda has specialized in custom framing for over 25 years. One of his passions is to share information and ideas within the industry. framingpalace.com

The post 5 Tips for Marketing Through Daily-Deal Websites appeared first on Art Business News.

Here at ABN, we’re always discovering new artists to love. With this list of top 40 artists to watch, we are thrilled to introduce you to our current obsessions. This group includes painters, sculptors, and photographers with already flourishing careers, as well as those just bursting onto the art scene.

Ashley Andrews
ashleychaseandrews.com
“I’m working on minimalist found-object sculpture and painting. The trademark of my work is the idea of mark-making. I incorporate images; marks with references to other artists; personal references; and colors from Mexico, the Caribbean, California, Africa, and Europe—all places dear to me.”

Ted Asnis
tedasnis.com
“For a long time, I have had the desire to paint in an abstract mode, and in the past few years I have been applying all I learned from my landscape painting to this new effort. The work has slowly migrated from total abstraction to an abstraction of my beloved Hamptons settings.”

Andy Baird
bairdstudios.com
“My paintings are unique in that they are finely rendered subjects done by dripping paint instead of the traditional methods of ‘medium and brush.’ That’s the eye-catcher. If you look at my body of work as a whole, you realize that my genre is pop in nature. My subjects are from the commercial world and its infatuation with beauty.”

Joëlle Blouin
joelleblouin.com
“Imperfection and abstraction are present in my work to show that aesthetic beauty can emerge from a simple environment. At times chaotic, serene, or mysterious, each of my works should be viewed differently. The moment my painting catches your eye, a new journey has begun and beauty shall prevail.”

Ken Bonner
kenbonner.com
“I love to combine an abstract with figurative work. The inspiration for this comes from the world around me; for instance, going on a hike will produce many ideas for me. No photos or drawings are used. I allow all of the aspects of nature to be absorbed in the moment into my being and imagination. The composition evolves from these sensory experiences, internalized visions, scenes, and creatures.”

Roy and Amanda Clark
clarkartstudio.com
“The trademark of our work is the process of sculpted fine art. To our knowledge and from what has been confirmed by art professors from around the world, we are the only ones painting on solid sheets of brass and then sculpting the paint off with a grinder to reveal the metal underneath, creating an illusion of texture, depth, and movement.”

Christian Charrière
christiancharriere.com
“In my portraits’ frontal, oversize compositions, I mine the same kind of crackling energy that I find in comic book panels. Texture is an essential component, especially in the different kinds of hair: short stubble, groomed eyebrows, and luxurious long curls. Because there is no background or even body in many of the images, the viewer must wring all the information possible from small details like the sitter’s hair and grooming habits.”

Andres Conde
andrescondeart.com
“My work is a mix of modern pop imagery with a classical expressionist style. My goal is to create an emotion which leaves the viewer feeling as though the passing of time has no relevance. I always want the work to speak for itself, to have its own storyline.”

Patricia Coulter
patriciacoulter.com
“The most challenging part about establishing myself in the art world is finding the right connection for promoting my art. My art belongs in places where people need to be energized and uplifted, and I hope to make connections with the right partners to facilitate that.”

Jeanne Dana
paperandstone.com
“We both grew up studying music in the ’60s and ’70s, but Jeanne also designed greeting cards, and Dana had experience in photography and printmaking. Together we created silk-screened greeting cards and sold them at fairs and festivals. With the development of the Internet in the late ’90s, the demand for greeting cards declined, so we built a small paper mill, making paper, envelopes, and cast-paper sculpture with recycled glass.”

Mamuka Didebashvili
mamukadidebashvili.com
“Much of the emotional charge of my paintings is drawn from their color palettes. When painting a background, I guard against it taking away from the main statement of the canvas. When I paint people, I strive to depict them so that their essence is comprehensible by hinting at their occupation and descent and featuring their personal accessories because they are informative and add to our ability to understand and interpret the characters.”

Nancy Egan
nancyegan.com
“My trademark today is my Museum Scapes [series]. These paintings capture who is looking at what art—everyday scenes recording details of our culture.”

Joe Fenton
joefentonart.com
“All artists now have the opportunity to present their work to a large audience through the Internet. Especially for artists like myself that do not fit into any particular box that may have been defined by the fine art world, the Internet has become a necessity in order to survive and make a living from my artwork due to the fan base I’ve managed to have gained.”

Sandra Fuka
sandrafuka.com
“My trademark in art is the women. I try to paint them in their different moods and characters: sensible, sensual, delicate, joyful, seductive, or powerful. Sometimes I paint them alone; sometimes [I paint them] with a partner who supports them, like in a dance, or protects them in the form of an animal. With my paintings, I like to bring positive energy into places and to awake something new in the observer.”

Brian Goodman
briangoodmanphotography.com
“I’m often asked if the images in my ‘Solace of Space’ series are watercolors, or even oil paintings. While many of the photographs start out as landscapes, I use a variety of techniques to create an otherworldly experience for the viewer. I don’t want people to analyze my art, I want them to feel it.”

Christine Hähner Murdock
christine.exto.org
“I have done a lot of black and white recently. I am going for bigger sizes, more color, and easier-to-read paintings. So the obvious is more obvious without letting go of the hidden layers. That’s for my entertainment and for [that of] the buyer to be.”

Gina Piccirilli Hayden
ginapiccirillihayden.com
“My vision is to achieve common ground with emotional connections through my art. History repeats, and our interpretation of the circumstances are what’s unique. I am a clay sculptor who tells stories. My empathy dictates the story. I use the symbolism of nature because it is the oldest form of communication.”

Inam
inamgallery.com
“I usually don’t plan things; I just let my feelings loose and my soul wanders around until that specific moment emerges from nowhere. When this moment embraces me, I feel the energy. Then I immediately start. It is a beautiful world, though temporary, that this energy establishes for me.”

Jean Leclercqz
flyingmachines.be
“The basis of my work is a hand drawing on a large sheet of white paper with a continuous line that I compare to writing. When I start drawing, or ‘writing,’ flying machines, it is a constant discovery. At the beginning of the drawing, I never know what the final shape of the flying object will be.”

Brett Lethbridge
lethbridgegallery.com
“My secret, if there is one, is to always base my search for subject matter on my own emotional experiences and the things that have significance to me. The drape was in fact the sheet I shared with my future wife while she was studying in Europe for 5 years, and the perfume bottles were the gifts I bought her when I would go and visit. These deeply personal emotions I have toward these objects … breathe life into them as the subjects of my paintings.”

Iryna Lialko
larkgalleryonline.com
“Art requires an exacerbation of feelings, the heightening of all senses leading to the shedding of my own skin, which is very difficult to do when exposed to the cold, piercing winds of life. My main inner struggle in the world of art is my struggle to find time I can devote to pure art without hustle.”

Cathy Locke
cathylocke.com
“I like to capture behavior that is unique to a child, whether it is the joy of twirling in circles, hiding in a secret place, or creating a puppet show out of an old box. My figures are painted in the method of the old masters, where I build up thin layers of paint over an extended period of time. I also like to combine oil and cold wax to create a rich surface for the backgrounds.”

Arrington Magny
arringtonart.com
“One of the most challenging aspects of establishing oneself in the art world is simultaneously one of the most liberating: There are no rules—at least none etched in stone. There are no straight, direct paths. Seeking to further one’s career as an artist is certainly not as easy as 1, 2, 3. There is quite a bit of trial and error, experimenting, failing. But it is an adventure!”

Peter Maier
impossiblyreal.net
“My passion for creating art and for making a mark within the fine art world has been one wild ride. The journey to me is everything. Let it continue.”

Jason Matias
jasonmatias.com
“There is something quiet and pensive, something solemn and secretly stirring about my photographs. My work has veiled energy and subjective drama. I try to create images that give the audience room to travel and find themselves in their own unique space. I see life as a patchy blanket of individual happenings. Regardless of the world’s connectivity, our experiences seem more and more singular.”

Darian Rodriguez Mederos
condecontemporary.com
“First and foremost, I’m looking to please myself with the visual results of my work. I want to get to my perfection. Every centimeter of the canvas has a secret, a richness. I want to feel like a god in front of the canvas, creating a completely habitable world.”

Todd Monk
toddmonk.com
“I have a background in graphic design and have worked as a digital retoucher for many years. I use these skills in my pre-visualization process and my roughs. When you see my art, you get the impression that it’s somehow digital, but it’s not. My work is a marriage of vector, pixel, and digital art—all rendered traditionally.”

Kat Moser
katmoser.com
“These amalgamations are an extension of my evolution from image taker to image maker. There are no longer any bad photos, merely unfinished images waiting to be manipulated or layered with another that together make a more compelling statement than either image would on their own.”

John Napoli
johnnapolifineart.com
“What distinguishes my work is the way in which it depicts the positive energy in the world around us, particularly the life energy of nature. My paintings and pastels are colorful, exuberant, and rhythmic. Capturing nature’s beauty, the changing light of day, and the passing of time, the art depicts flow and movement.”

James Paterson
jdpaterson.com
“A trademark of my work is the use of kinetic, hand-driven motion as a compositional element in the art pieces themselves. I like that the viewer must engage in a tactile way to get the full effect of the art. I want the work I create to be beautiful to look at, invite reflection, stimulate ideas, and then further spark the imagination when you touch it and it moves.”

Rigo Peralta
rigoperalta.com
“I’m working on a series of black-and-white paintings entitled ‘Nothing is black and white; there is some gray in between.’ The basis of this is differences in human race. I’ll be showing that, if there is no
pigmentation on our skin (in the paintings), then we are all the same.”

Richard Riverin
labelleimage.org
“I had to develop a personal style. I had to paint in a way nobody else ever had. I knew that my paintings had to look great in a living room or a dining room. It was not enough to do a very artistic work; it had to be cherished and loved by the buyer. It had to have a great and comforting presence in a home.”

Christopher Rimmer
christopherrimmer.com
“A Zen-like calm is revealed in my work as I seek out a visual representation of the polar opposite to what I experienced growing up in South Africa during the Apartheid era. My childhood was dark, chaotic, and tragic. I have never been able to completely release myself from my experiences as a child in South Africa; thus, as an artist, I have felt compelled to constantly return in an attempt to articulate what I feel.”

Susan Schmidt
susanschmidtart.com
“My continuing ‘Seaburbia’ series explores the cultural memory and heritage of the beachfront homes of Australia. Painted in acrylic and oil, patterned, layered, rubbed back, and glazed, the works achieve a weather-worn texture recalling the erosion of matter overtime and the exquisite residues of nostalgia and decay.”

Waqian Sun
waqiansunart.com
“We are living in the 21st century, really overwhelmed by a multitude of different art forms: modern, contemporary, pop, classic, abstract. If I were just to crawl behind some masters who are my idols, imitating their styles, I could never become a real artist on my own. I must be completely free in my spirit, following my heart and mind and inspiration to offer to the world what I really feel and see.”

Rajvi Dedhia Unadkat
rajvidu.com
“I take deep inspiration from ongoing transitions in life, and I strive to portray these inspirations on canvas, which gives me immense joy. Constant change brings challenges. I strive hard to convert challenges into new opportunities.”

Anna Voloshko
artvoloshko.com
“A human life, and especially the life of an artist, is full of events, impressions, and achievements. Since my first steps in art, I was doing something I really enjoyed. The sculpture is the most important thing in my life. When I create, I am happy and I live.”

Kenneth Ray Wilson
kennethraywilson.com
“Big, bold, simplistic images of pristine nature have been a passion of mine throughout my career as a professional fine artist. My most recent series of birch and aspen trees has brought a surprising reaction from the public. My ‘portraits’ of birch and aspen trees are like faces; they are all interestingly different.”

Martin Wittfooth
martinwittfooth.com
“My work is most recognized for exploring the confused relationship between our species and the rest of the natural world, depicted in animal allegories. This is an issue that weighs heavily on our times and is one that I feel compelled to process through my work.”

The post Top 40 Artists to Watch appeared first on Art Business News.

In many renovations, framed art is often at the bottom of the design budget. A designer asks that a client purchase the key elements first: flooring, furniture, rugs, window dressing, and decorative mouldings for the walls. These big-ticket items anchor the design aspects of the room and constitute the basis for all future metamorphoses of the room.

Most prevalent design strategies propose that these investment pieces be of good quality and as design-neutral as possible. The items that comprise the trendy and fashionable aspect of the design plan are usually cheaper and deliberately interchangeable for seasonal variety.

This situation puts custom framing in an awkward middle position, as it is neither cheap nor interchangeable. Properly custom-framed art is expensive and aligns more closely with furniture than with pillows, throws, and other accessories. Framed art that is cheap, interchangeable, and ready-made, on the other hand, requires frequent replacement due to its poor construction and general absence of real artistic value. Yet the framer still must often handle the tail end of dwindling resources for customers who show them paint chips and carpet swatches and expect things to match.

When you face this situation, all you can do is take a deep breath and dive in.
As with most other situations, preparation is key. After bellying up to your counter, what the customer sees first are your frame samples. I like to arrange mine according to finish and size. My customers don’t know or care what company supplied them, so arranging them by supplier would be unnecessarily confusing. By keeping all my similarly colored frame samples together, I ensure that my customers can see at a glance what kind of selection I offer.

I cannot overstate how necessary it is to have the right samples on display. You must have samples that reflect current styles and trends—not because you want to create trendy and fashionable framed art, but because you want to represent yourself as knowledgeable of current design trends and as a credible source of design advice.

People’s tastes change. Recently, there has been a noticeable movement toward a simpler design aesthetic. Empty-nesters are getting rid of all their heavy wood “investment” furniture and decorating with an eye for clean lines and simple shapes. Furniture retailers will tell you that white is the most common color choice for leather furniture. You will not sell anything to this customer if all the samples they see when they walk in your store are mahogany or barn-board blue.

Your frame supplier is the best resource for keeping your frame samples current. Your sales rep shows you carefully considered frame samples that coordinate with what your customers have seen in interior-design magazines. Keep an open mind when viewing samples from a frame supplier—don’t assume that your customer won’t like what you don’t like. When I was a sales rep and first went out to galleries showing them a new line of brightly colored lacquer frames, most framers were visibly repulsed. Those sweet little frames brought up all kinds of unpleasant memories of bad lacquers gone by. The framers brave enough to put those samples out were thoroughly surprised to find that their customers did not share their feelings. Clients were more than ready for some color and shine in their framing projects. Sales were so good that some colors ended up on backorder due to the unexpectedly rapid depletion of stock.

Pay attention to what your customers are asking for. Customers were asking me for wenge frames long before I carried anything with a wenge veneer. They were asking for white gallery frames long before I had the right matte white and tall stem shape that such frames required. They were asking for floater frames before I even knew what a floater frame was. We framers get caught up in the day-to-day operation of our businesses and our busy lives, and we can lose track of the dynamic nature of our customers’ desires. But this changing nature is the lifeblood of our business, so you must change along with it.

Properly implemented custom framing is a craft. It has all the attributes of fine furniture, and, like fine furniture, it is expensive. Education is the only approach to customers’ resistance to your price point. Be knowledgeable about your product and be willing to share that information. People pay more when they understand what they are purchasing. Fine Italian wood veneers look different from foils. Real metallic leafing looks different from a metallic spray finish. Acid-free mats won’t fade and discolor as paper mats will. I don’t offer paper mats, and I don’t use any materials in my gallery that are substandard, because I know that the product my gallery produces is my representation in the world. It is the best advertising I will ever do, and it has to show the quality and design expertise that my clients have every right to expect.

Do not hesitate to charge properly for your work. If you are proud of your work, you should be paid accordingly. There will always be someone willing to do it for less, but do not let that fact affect you. Good customer service and a superior product always win in the end. Great design is priceless.

People are obsessed with trends and all things trending in popular culture. The trends are unavoidable and, if you keep them in mind as reference points, rather than the full objective, they are useful tools.

For example, I have recently noticed the re-emergence of gold in interior-design compilations. It is the brassy, true-to-life gold that hasn’t been in the hardware palette in a long time. For as long as I can remember, silver has been the metallic finish of choice. The trend started with bright silver leaf, which slowly shifted into nickel and then into darker silvers with patinated finishes. Gold was the color of “Grandma’s framing,” and designers and their clients avoided it like the plague. The new gold is modern, sharply angular, narrow, and delicately textured. It will be a slow process, but be warned: Gold is coming back.

The espresso wood trend is sticking around due to its total domination of the furniture world. Because people have invested so much money in espresso-finished flooring, furniture, and cabinetry, I don’t expect the trend to disappear for a long time. There has been a lot more conversation about color forecasting and Pantone’s Color of the Year in the media this year than I remember from years past. I find that, for me, this forecast is of personal interest but of limited use in my framing projects. A change from Radiant Orchid to Marsala in the color schemes of mass-market production will never influence the directions I give my customers concerning frames and mats.

When customers come in for the final finishing touches on their newly renovated space, be confident and ready. With preparation and design savvy, you will have exactly the right tools to ensure that those last pieces of their design puzzle will be exactly what they need to finish the project off with style.

The post Finishing with Style appeared first on Art Business News.

During recent trips to my favorite art gallery and an amazing museum exhibition, I was reminded of how important an artwork’s display is to the overall effect of the art. As I viewed the sculpture collections at this gallery and museum, I noticed how the pedestals on which the artwork rested enhanced my experience of each piece.

If you’ve had a similar experience and wondered how you can achieve the same display and appreciation for your treasured sculpture pieces, look no further than Pease Pedestals. Celebrating 20 years of creating beautiful acrylic fabrication, Pease Pedestals has established itself as a premier U.S. manufacturer of high-end acrylic furniture, fixtures, and accessories.

Founder Patrick Pease and new owner Scott Gordon reveal how the company started, what drives its development, where it is headed today with Gordon at the helm, and—perhaps most important—what Pease Pedestals can do to inspire success in your business.

DECOR Magazine: How was Pease Pedestals founded?
Pease Pedestals: Patrick Pease began working with acrylic in 1979 as co-owner of Carmichael Designs in Palm Springs, California. Carmichael specialized in acrylic furniture design and fabrication. Patrick sold that business in 1995 and returned to his hometown in the Chicago area to raise his family. There, he opened Pease Plastics, again focusing on acrylic fabrication and creating a variety of furniture, display fixtures, accessories, and artwork.
In 1997, Patrick exhibited his spectacular colored acrylic sculptures at Artexpo New York, and he realized that his pedestals were generating as much interest as his artwork. As a result, he created a full line of pedestals, and Pease Pedestals was born.

DM: How did you develop your careers and come into this business?
PP: With a background in art, Patrick was drawn to the techniques and creative possibilities of acrylic fabrication. His first and most celebrated pieces were layers of laminated colored acrylic forming magical prismatic sculptures. Needing a way to display the sculptures he created, Patrick made coordinating display pedestals. Galleries began ordering the display pedestals for their artwork, and Patrick soon realized that he could expand beyond the sculptures. The addition of high-end furniture—dining tables, side tables, chairs, barstools, benches, and more—gave the company a full range of products to enhance any decor.
After 35 years of running a successful business, Patrick decided to scale back his involvement and find someone to buy into his business who would continue—and, he hoped, expand on—the legacy that he had built.
Scott has always had a passion for working with his hands. By the age of 10, he had discovered Guillow’s wooden airplane kits—basically a set of plans with a couple of flat sheets of balsa wood from which he could build a fairly complex 3-D airplane that could actually fly. Over time, he expanded and refined his skills, building furniture and remodeling his home. A passion for art led him to open two art galleries in the 1990s, but, with a successful career in film and television, all of these remained merely hobbies—that is, until 2013, when Scott decided to start a second career and do what he loved. He looked for a successful business to buy into that would allow him to be creative and make things with his own hands. Luckily, he found Pease Pedestals just as Patrick was looking to make a move in his career.
Today, Scott and Patrick work side by side, with Scott running all aspects of the business and Patrick advising when needed and occasionally working on a sculpture commission.

DM: What is your vision for the company and the motivation and inspiration behind your product lines?
PP: Our vision is to make Pease Pedestals and its sister company, Pease Plastics, the premier U.S. manufacturers of high-end acrylic furniture, fixtures, and accessories. Pease has developed a solid reputation over the years, focusing on innovative design, quality, and service for the most discerning customers. The company wants that legacy to continue. The challenge is to keep all of those attributes at the highest level while scaling up to meet the demand. Deploying the latest technology—laser cutters, engravers, and computer-numerical-control (CNC) routers—certainly helps, but it is our exceptional craftsmen who ultimately maintain our high quality and make innovation happen.
The pedestals are intended to be functional and beautiful yet not overpowering. Because they were originally developed to showcase Patrick’s acrylic art, many of them incorporated lighting, along with motors and turntables. The original designs have evolved over the years to our current line. We also create custom designs, and popular custom features often migrate to our standard line. We are continuing to develop new designs, inspired by the latest trends in art and architecture.

DM: What materials and components do you use in your products? What innovations and product features differentiate you from competitors?
PP: At Pease, we use a variety of methods in our construction. Many are common knowledge and similar to woodworking techniques, but we do have a few proprietary methods that set us apart from other acrylic fabricators. In particular, we are known for making beautiful, strong, crystal-clear joints in thick acrylic. Industry professionals constantly compliment us on our joinery, and we have even acted as subcontractors for other acrylic manufacturers to provide them with our high-quality joints. We’ve also developed unique ways of using our laser to build jigs for cutting and shaping, allowing us to make items most acrylic fabricators would only tackle with a CNC.

DM: What are your customers like? Do you have any great customer stories?
PP: Our customers vary quite a bit. Most are galleries or furniture retailers who are in turn dealing with their retail customers. We provide them with all of our resources so that they can offer custom, high-end pedestals as if they were the manufacturers themselves. We work very closely with galleries; they are actually our primary sales force. We also supply a variety of designers and decorators, as well as a few of our own retail customers. We cater to a high-end, discerning clientele, but we also provide a full range of pedestals, including simple boxes and display cases.
One of our favorite stories involves a designer who was so pleased with the acrylic furniture and decorative items that we had made for her that she sent us a very generous gift. In most companies it works the other way around! Somehow, we’ve managed to attract the most amazing, appreciative, and loyal clientele. Who could ask for more?

DM: How many people do you employ?
PP: We have 27 employees, and every one of them counts. We believe in taking very good care of our staff; they are our most important asset. Each is an expert at what he or she does, and is valued by everyone within the company. We’re very proud to provide them with good wages, paid vacation and sick time, a health plan, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan with matching funds.
In addition, we support the community where we all live and work. Many of our regular customers are local, so their causes often become our causes. We donate money, goods, and services to local charities. We’re also members of the local chamber of commerce and some neighboring towns’ chambers of commerce. We think this completes a circle of taking care and giving back, and we have been rewarded with loyal employees and loyal customers.

DM: What can you tell us about product development? What’s on the drawing board?
PP: Our customer base includes many leading designers and decorators, so we’re always participating in the latest trends. The development of new products at Pease Pedestals is constant and ongoing. Some designs begin as modifications to existing pedestals, and others are completely new creations. Inspiration comes from a variety of sources—perhaps an amazing work of art or a bold example of architecture.
Inspiration can also come from new technology. For example, although we have no specific plans to introduce any new models in the coming year, it’s quite possible that our ongoing migration from halogen- and fluorescent-light sources to LEDs could result in new designs. Our growing use of lasers and CNC routers also opens up new possibilities beyond what we could do with traditional tools. We’re not only able to manufacture in a better way, we’re also often able to add new aspects to the design.

DM: Do you have anything else to tell our readers?
PP: Even after all these years, it’s great to see the business growing and thriving. We do it through building partnerships internally and externally: with our staff, our customers, our community, our industry, every point of contact.
We’re excited about what we have. What we see in our customers is love for what we do and how we do it. How can you beat that?
For more about Pease Pedestals, visit peasepedestals.com.

The post Pease Pedestals: Displaying Success appeared first on Art Business News.

By Alan E. Katz, Esq.

After months or years of searching, you have finally found the ideal studio space. The location, light, and rent all meet your criteria. The only thing between you and your ability to move in and start creating art is the dreaded lease.

Negotiating an art studio lease presents many unique challenges. The first of these challenges is the “use clause,” which defines the purposes for which the tenant can use the premises. Few landlords object to a gallery use, but some might find it disturbing that paint and other flammable materials will be on the premises. Thus, if you need more than just a retail space, the use clause must clearly stipulate that the lessee has the right to use the premises for creating art in addition to using it as a gallery.

However, your problems do not end there. The fine print of the lease often contains numerous clauses that might thwart the intended use of the space. Most leases stipulate that the tenant may not use or occupy the premises in violation of the building’s Certificate of Occupancy or local zoning or environmental laws. Accordingly, your attorney must review the Certificate of Occupancy for the building and the zoning laws to ensure that the proposed use is permitted, even if you have overcome the hurdle of spelling it out in the use clause.

Most leases contain a hazardous-materials provision, which prohibits the tenant from keeping any hazardous or flammable materials on the premises. Moreover, the tenant is generally liable for the cost of removal of any such materials, for the cost of any remedial action incurred by any governmental authority, and for personal injury or property damage arising from any violation of this provision.

Leases are complex instruments. You may think you have agreed upon the rent, but you will soon find out that the rent figure is only a base number, because the rent is often subject to annual percentage increases or increases based on the Consumer Price Index. The tenant often must pay a pro rata share of real estate tax increases and, depending on the location of the premises, a pro rata share of common area charges over a base year. Other items that are quick to add up include electricity, water, sewer, insurance, garbage removal, snow removal, and extermination services. You should immediately ascertain their cost so that you can determine whether the deal is still financially feasible for you.

If you default on a lease that you personally signed, you may face a huge amount of personal liability, which may equal the amount of the unpaid rent and other financial obligations for the remainder of the term of the lease. This amount of liability varies, depending on the state in which the property is located. Therefore, it is advisable to ensure that the tenant be a limited-liability company (LLC) or a corporation. The cost of organizing either entity is minimal, especially compared to the potential liability you would face if the lease were in your name. On the other hand, landlords may still want a personal guarantee because they recognize that LLCs and corporations have limited or no assets from which to recover damages in the event of a default.

If the landlord requests a personal guarantee, it is generally limited to a “good-guy” guarantee, which means that if the tenant knows that he or she will be unable to pay the rent and wants to return the premises to the landlord, then the tenant must give the landlord notice of his or her intention to vacate the premises and pay all of the rent and other charges due through the date set in the “notice to vacate.” The length of the notice to vacate is subject to negotiation, but is generally 90 days. The tenant must also deliver the premises in “broom clean” condition or in any other condition that the lease stipulates and must hand the keys to the landlord. If the tenant meets all of these conditions under a good-guy guarantee, the guarantor is no longer liable for obligations arising after the vacate date. However, the LLC or the corporation is still liable for the obligations under the lease for the balance of the term or until the landlord finds another tenant.

Most leases stipulate that the tenant is in default and can face lease termination if he or she is late in the payment of rent or if he or she fails to comply with any other lease provision. Hence, it is important to negotiate a “notice clause,” which states that the landlord must give the tenant some number of days’ notice and the opportunity to cure the default before the landlord’s right to terminate the lease comes into existence. The typical recommendation is 10 days’ notice for monetary defaults and 30 days’ notice for nonmonetary defaults.

To seal the deal, a landlord will often agree to give a tenant either some period of rent abatement or a cash allowance to make improvements to the premises. Otherwise, the landlord might decide to make some improvements, such as painting, electrical work, and lighting, before the commencement of the lease term.

In short, negotiating a studio lease can be a daunting task for an artist. Having an experienced attorney representing you in structuring the deal before signing a term sheet or a letter of intent and negotiating the lease is as important as priming your canvas with a good gesso.

The post Negotiating an Art Studio Lease appeared first on Art Business News.

Framers are always looking for ways to increase profits. They’ll try just about any advertising idea, even having their logo emblazoned on placemats at the local diner, cash-register tapes and bowling score sheets. They’ll squeeze suppliers for discounts; I’m guilty of this one. They’ll walk around their shops switching off lights to save a few pennies. However, one of the easiest ways to increase profits is by analyzing the markups on the materials that go into a custom-framing order and begin placing more emphasis on those that offer the best profit margins. This business concept certainly isn’t new; in fact, businesses in every industry focus their sales efforts on their most profitable items. Supermarkets place their moneymakers at eye level on store shelves; Chevy and Ford advertise their pickup trucks more frequently than they do their cars. Why shouldn’t framers do the same?

Many framers put most of their effort into selling low-margin products while ignoring more profitable items. Consider the major components that go into a typical custom-framing order and explore how to dramatically increase profits by shifting emphasis to selling products that are better for the bottom line. You can achieve these goals and give your framing more visual bang for the buck.

MATS

I consider mats—not frames—to be the foundation of custom framing and the center of the custom-framing universe. Consumers can buy some fairly nice frames in a number of places, including art supply stores, online sources and even some general retail stores, such as Target. These frames are not as nice as the ones consumers can purchase from custom framers, but they are certainly adequate for many buyers. Custom matting, on the other hand, tends to be the exclusive domain of the custom framer. Mats add beauty, create visual depth and enable the framer to control color and space. Most important, mats are among the keys to your profit picture, producing both direct and, more importantly, indirect income. When it comes to direct profit, mats are the kings of markup, when you calculate on a percentage basis. I discovered that a $5 sheet of matboard can produce more than $100 in retail sales. I proved this fact by doing an experiment under controlled conditions, and, admittedly, it required cutting concentric openings in the mat. Although this approach is great for making a mobile to hang in a child’s bedroom, it doesn’t represent the typical yield. However, even if you get only $50 worth of sales at from a $5 mat board, you’d probably be pretty happy.
When it comes to mats, however, the indirect profit has the greatest effect on both your sale and your profit, and that effect can be huge. Simply including a mat in a custom-framing order may increase your sale by as much as 35 to 45 percent. When you place a mat around a piece of artwork, you’re no longer framing the piece; you’re framing the mat. So, in addition to the price of the mat, the order now requires a larger frame, a larger mounting board and a larger piece of glass, all of which add to the total sale. For proof, try this experiment. Using a 24-by-36-inch print, a frame of your choice and your default glass type, price out the order without a mat. Then, add a single mat and once again price out the order. You should find a substantial increase in your sale. That mat can also produce additional profit by leading the way for add-ons, such as additional mats and upgrades to conservation-quality mats and fabric mats. But why stop there? Mats also open the door to fillets, decorative cuts and other embellishments. One of the best things about selling mats is that, while you’re increasing your profit margin, you’re also improving customer satisfaction. Mats provide great visual bang for the buck, and they put the “custom” in custom framing. And because the benefits of mats are readily apparent, they’re an easy sell, as long as you begin the design process with mats. For obvious reasons, it’s almost impossible to sell a mat after you’ve quoted a price without one.

FRAMES

Mouldings will typically have varying markups, with lower-priced units typically receiving a higher percentage markup than more expensive mouldings. Because the frame is the most expensive component in most framing orders, frames account for both the largest cost of materials and the largest portion of each sale—but not always the most profit. To illustrate this concept, compare two design options for a piece of artwork. The first design includes a nice high-end frame but has no mats—only a frame and your default glass choice—and prices out at $400. The second design includes a frame that’s neither as nice nor as expensive as the first. However, this option includes a double mat and the same type of glass you chose for the first design. This order also prices out at $400. On the surface, both designs may appear to produce similar profit margins, but not all $400 sales are equal. The order with mats and a lower-priced frame probably generates a significantly greater profit.

GLASS

Glass is the last major component that goes into most framing orders. I believe that many framers err when it comes to choosing their default glass. I recommend that your go-to choice for glass should be the lowest-price option you can offer: standard, reflective picture glass—the cheap stuff. I know that many framers do not use this glass as their default choice. It’s in your and your customers’ best interest to offer premium glass products as options, not the default, however, because a large portion of the public sees custom framing as expensive, and many see it as too expensive. By forcing the customer to buy a premium glass product, you’re adding to that perception. Furthermore, most of your customers have set a limit to the amount of money they’ll spend to frame an item. A vendor who offers a variety of choices almost always offers better but more expensive materials as options rather than forcing them upon the customers. This approach lets the seller keep
the base price more affordable and leaves an upgrade path in place. It makes sense for framers to take this approach, too. Another thing to consider is that standard picture glass provides an attractive markup percentage that is second only to mats. Standard glass produces a healthy profit for you and is a budget-friendly option for the customer. Premium glass products, on the other hand, are more expensive, typically produce significantly lower margins and take a bigger slice from your customer’s budget. You should continue to sell these products when appropriate, but you should offer them as options.

One final point is that framing components fall into one of two categories: those that enhance your designs by providing visual benefits and those that provide protection. Upgrades to archival products and all glass products typically provide protection. Buying them is somewhat like buying insurance. Not everyone wants to buy insurance, but it should be available for those who do. Customers should be the ones who make the choice. Analyze some of your recent sales to see whether you might be able to increase profits—and improve customer satisfaction—by changing sales emphasis. A few simple changes could provide a big improvement in your profit picture.

Paul Cascio is the lead instructor for The American Picture Framing Academy.
Cascio also provides business and sales training and consulting.

The post Mind Your Margins – More Profit for Happier Customers appeared first on Art Business News.

By Alan E. Katz

In 1958, a private collector donated an Alexander Calder mobile to the Pittsburgh International Airport. Calder crafted the mobile, “Pittsburgh,” of aluminum and iron—two signature Pittsburgh metals. Shortly thereafter, officials at the Allegheny County Department of Aviation decided to have the black-and-white mobile painted in Allegheny County’s official colors—green and yellow. The county also reconfigured the 28-by-28-foot sculpture by adding weights to hoist up a portion of the mobile that it deemed as hanging too low and then attached a motor because, with the added weight, the mobile would no longer rotate on its own.

Although these changes greatly annoyed Calder and he had not approved them, he had no legal recourse against the county. Because of this situation and others like it, the United States in 1990 enacted legislation, the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), to protect the “moral rights” of artists’ work.

WHAT IS VARA?

Congress enacted VARA as an amendment to the United States Copyright Act of 1976, and it brought the United States into line with much of Europe, which had for years protected artists’ moral rights. The term “moral right” comes from the French “le droit moral,” an 18th century French concept referring to spiritual or personal—rather than economic—rights.

VARA comprises the basic rights of attribution and integrity. It protects these rights by granting the author or the creator of a qualifying work of visual art the rights to:

• claim authorship of the work;
• prevent the use of the artist’s name as the author of a work that the artist did not create;
• prevent the use of the artist’s name on any work that another party has distorted, mutilated or modified in a way that would be prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation; and
• prevent, under certain circumstances, the distortion, mutilation, modification or destruction of the work of visual art.

VARA provides its protection only to paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and still photographic images in single copies or limited editions of 200 or fewer copies that are for exhibition only and that the author has signed and numbered. This protection exists for the author’s lifetime, and these rights cannot be transferred to another party. However, the author can waive these rights in writing.

VARA does not apply to works made for hire; posters; maps; technical drawings; diagrams; models; applied art; motion pictures; or books and other publications and art produced primarily for commercial purposes, such as advertising, packaging or promotional materials.

APPLICATION TO PUBLIC ART

“Tilted Arc,” a 120-foot-long steel sculpture by Richard Serra, was installed at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan in 1981—before the enactment of VARA. Although the General Services Administration (GSA) had commissioned the art, an eight-year struggle between government bureaucracy and the artist culminated in the removal of the sculpture on March 15, 1989. Serra brought a lawsuit against the GSA seeking damages arising from such removal. He was unsuccessful because, among other reasons, he had signed a contract containing a clause permitting the GSA to remove the piece. Had VARA then been in effect, the outcome likely would have been the same because Serra had waived his right of integrity.

Graffiti artists tried to protect their art under VARA when a building containing their murals and graffiti was slated for demolition. In a case involving the 5 Pointz building in Long Island City, New York, the artists invoked VARA but lost because the judge ruled that, although the artists had permission to decorate the space with murals, they “knew that the buildings were coming down” and therefore could not have expected that the work would be permanent. The court also concluded that, although the graffiti at 5 Pointz was visual art, it was not a “work of visual art” within the meaning of VARA and thus was ineligible for protection.

Likewise, in the Carter versus Helmsley-Spear case, three sculptors—John Carter, John Swing and John Veronis—sued building owner Helmsley-Spear Inc., citing both the modification and the destruction clauses of VARA. The U.S. District Court granted the plaintiffs a permanent injunction enjoining Helmsley-Spear from removing, modifying or destroying the artists’ visual-art installation in the building that the company owned. However, on appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that the artists were employees of Helmsley-Spear; thus, the works were made for hire and outside the scope of protection that VARA affords. The final decision vacated the injunction and resulted in the artwork’s destruction.

An artist who receives a contract for a commission to create a public mural or sculpture must read the contract and understand what it does and does not cover. It may not address contingencies, such as the nature of the materials the artist or artists used, the need for maintenance or the demolition or renovation of the building in which the art is installed. In a case involving a building in Baltimore, cracks appeared in a glass sculpture that was commissioned for the lobby in the early 1990s. The building’s owner became upset, leading to arbitration that forced the sculptor to remove the work at his own expense and return the money he had been paid. The sculptor had failed to disclose that cracks generally appear in the material that he used but that it would not compromise the structural integrity of the work. In a similar case, a sculptor received two commissions for public art, but the contracts did not contain a clause requiring the owner to provide routine maintenance of the sculptures. When the works rusted, they became a hazard to the public, and the city destroyed them for safety reasons. It would appear that letting a work of art deteriorate to the point at which an owner can declare it hazardous provides a loophole to the provisions of VARA, unless the contract provides a duty to maintain the work.

On a brighter note, VARA was held to be applicable in the case of sculptor Jan Randolph Martin versus the City of Indianapolis. Martin had created a large outdoor metal sculpture on city land and had a contract that required the city to preserve the sculpture. After the city demolished the sculpture, Martin brought suit against the city for violating his rights under VARA. The court determined that the work was one of “recognized stature,” one of the key qualifying requirements of the legislation, and further held that the work was not a work for hire, which would have denied it protection under VARA. The court awarded the artist the maximum statutory damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs.

BOTTOM LINE

Although VARA represents a giant step forward in adopting the European tradition of respecting and recognizing artists’ moral rights to visual works of art, it offers limited protections, particularly in the case of public art. Thus, it is critical that artists negotiate comprehensive contracts for both the proper attribution and the protection of the integrity of their works of public art. Likewise, galleries, museums and art collectors should be aware of the far-ranging implications of VARA, which apply to private art, as well.

The post Know Your Rights appeared first on Art Business News.

According to legend, the first person to paint this image was St. Luke, while visiting St. Mary—who blessed the image. This image is claimed to have resided in palaces and chapels in Constantinople, Russia, and Rome. It has been venerated for centuries by emperors and peasants alike. Bridging East and West, “The Sovereign Way” is a classic Byzantine image.

I love this image and have painted it many times. With origins in antiquity, I feel this regal icon stands with the strength and dignity to continue its appeal in these contemporary times.

The post “Sovereign Way,” Jodi Simmons appeared first on Art Business News.

By Lance Evans

Even if you’re in the business of art for the love of the craft, your ultimate success still comes down to making sales. Sales come from leads, which, depending on your business model, could come from patrons walking in off the street, advertisements in an arts publication or exchanges of business cards at some chic Sotheby’s cocktail party.

Increasingly, though, as art sales have moved online, so has lead generation. To increase your online leads, you could use the Internet to look up prospects or, alternatively, engage in online social interactions, such as blogs, forums, or Twitter feeds, that focus on art and collecting. Both of these techniques can potentially be successful, but they could also turn into a huge waste of time and net you few prospects.

However, LinkedIn offers yet another option for generating online leads. An online social network for professional adults, LinkedIn is hugely successful, boasting more than 315 million members. The business-to-business network can help you build meaningful alliances and connections that can lead to sales, trades and deals.

What makes LinkedIn so valuable to the art professional? According to online sales guru Brynne Tillman, it offers you the “warm-call” effect. “I did cold calls for years,” she says. “I know how hard it can be. LinkedIn is like doing a warm call, . . . where you have had some prior contact with the recipient, perhaps through a previous call or an introduction.

“LinkedIn works in two ways,” she continues. “One is that you can use it to actually get an introduction through linking members. But, even if that’s not the case, merely being in the same network breeds some level of camaraderie.”

Tillman, a veteran sales pro herself, says that she now generates her leads almost exclusively on LinkedIn. ABN spoke with her about how an art dealer, a consultant or even an independent artist could use LinkedIn’s powerful resources to discover and connect with leads they might otherwise never have had access to. Her top suggestions follow:

CREATE A CLIENT-ENGAGING PROFILE

There are many vital parts to a good solid profile, and they all matter.

• Pretend you are on an island looking at your prospect in a boat. You need to get into that boat and see your profile from her perspective.
• Articulate the value your art brings to the client’s space.
• Take that value proposition and create a 120-character headline. For example: “I represent midcentury artists that are the epitome of elegance and a top investment value.”
• Elaborate on your value proposition in your summary. Why should the buyer work with you? Perhaps you can even give tips on how to choose artwork for the client’s space.
• Add case studies to the “Project” section on your profile. Include client profile, challenge or opportunity, and your solutions.
• Get recommendations from past clients. Ask them to tout your work.
• Add a call to action at the bottom of your summary. Ask the viewer to call you, fill out a response form or buy something.

SIGN UP FOR SLIDESHARE 

LinkedIn owns Slideshare, a web-based slideshow-hosting service described as the YouTube of slideshows, and Google heavily indexes it. It also works seamlessly with the LinkedIn platform, so upload your samples.

JOIN GROUPS 

Find and join LinkedIn groups that your buyers are likely to be members of. Then post content and articles and engage with other members in the group.

POST ARTICLES ABOUT YOUR ARTISTS OR YOUR GALLERY IN “PUBLICATIONS”

Play up any media coverage of your work by adding it to the “Publications” section of your profile.

EXPAND YOUR CONNECTIONS

• Find out who your clients know who would also make good connections for you.
• From the connection’s profile, click on their blue connections number. The next page will list all their connections. Click the search-bar icon, which appears a gray magnifying glass in the top right corner of the page. Do not confuse this icon with the main search bar at the top of the page.
• Enter the keyword or title of the people you would like to meet—for example, “architect,” “designer” or “art collector.”
• This search will likely return many hits. You can narrow your search by clicking the “advanced search” button in the top left of the Connections box. Filter your search according to location, industry, or both.
• After you’ve made a list of a few people you’d like to contact, ask your mutual LinkedIn connection whether he or she can introduce you to those that you’d like to contact.

Tillman concludes with this advice: “If you invest a bit of effort in LinkedIn, you’ll find you can monetize it in ways no other platform offers.”

You can learn many more LinkedIn marketing techniques through Tillman’s company Social Sales Link, through which she offers educational seminars and private counseling sessions to both small and Fortune 400 sales teams, or from her 2014 book LinkedIn & Social Selling for Business Development.

The post The Power of Online Leads appeared first on Art Business News.

This piece is one in a series of highly-textured mixed media collage artworks. Ripped distressed plywood has been used as the base and integrated with other bits of 3D materials which include artifacts of past communication mediums, typography, computer parts, pieces of mirror, Plexiglas, aluminum and paint. This particular piece of wood panel had a hole cut into it which Kearns decided to focus on and patch providing the inspiration and the title.

These plywood paintings comprise a series of about 85 works which incorporate a heart shape, typography of the word “IMAGE” and a particular number that is exclusive to each particular artwork. The heart shape is inclined to bring some element of humanity to an otherwise edgy industrial artwork. Kearns has been maintaining the concept of including the word “IMAGE” and relatively sequential numbers in subsequent work even when the mediums and subject matter has changed.

cliffkearns.com

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