"You’re rushing out the door for another day at the office, and catch your reflection in the mirror. You look awesome obviously, but you’re not ready yet.

Don’t get me wrong. That yellow cardigan is on point, and your peter-pan collar is just too cute, but something is missing here.

A little bit of edge?

A little bit more of your self…

You need just a little bit of Wonderland in your life!

Not too much Wonderland, now. You’re off to work, not the Mad Hatter’s unbirthday party. That will have to wait for the weekend.

Until then, you reach into your closet and pull out your jewelry box to find just the right dash of madness, just the right pinch of individuality – just the right amount of Wonderland – and you know your outfit is complete... read more here.

This is the story Richelle owner of  Red Scorpio Handmade begins to tell about her Wonderland collection of jewelry, connecting it directly to her niche audience. Weaving a tale that relates to real life conditions with a fantasy twist is smart advertising copy. Bravo!

Give this copywriting technique a try with your next promotional pitch. Check out Red Scorpio Handmade's blog too. Much there to learn from.

Handmade at Amazon is a new store on Amazon.com for artisans to sell their unique, handcrafted goods to hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. It just went live on Thursday with a lineup of over 80,000 items from about 5,000 sellers in 60 countries. “You can think of it as a factory-free zone, a mass-produced-free zone,” said Peter Faricy, the Amazon vice president who is overseeing Handmade.You set up a shop, create an Artisan Profile page to tell customers your story and set up pages for each of your products. Sounds like Etsy, right? It is a similar model but more robust and with options for shipping fulfillment. And Amazon is also offering logistical backing to its sellers, allowing them to ship products, in lots, to one of the company’s many fulfillment centers around the country. Amazon will then ship out those products as part of its Prime service, which offers members unlimited free shipping for an annual fee.Etsy charges a 20-cent fee for each item a seller lists on its site and takes a 3.5 percent cut of the sales. For now, Amazon will charge no listing fee but take 12 percent of sales.I am on the fence about signing up with this giant. May wait to see what shapes over the next few months and see what type of feedback the artisans are giving it.If you are jumping in let me know. 

When you have finally built that line of products up to a point where you are ready to license them to other stores then ARTSETTERS can help you simplify the process. ARTSETTERS brings the entire wholesale process online. Their solution allows you to be discovered on a global scale, without needing to attend trade shows. Create shareable showroom collections, connect with industry leaders and manage orders seamlessly.They suggest that costly trade shows dominate the industry and make it increasingly difficult for independent artists and designers to compete and gain exposure on an international level.Overall I like their approach, however there is something to be said about meeting people face to face at shows whether they are expensive or not. I know artists would prefer to simply make their art and let other people sell it, but there is power in people meeting the artist.I was just at the L.A. International Textile show where they have reps presenting different companies from around the world. A rep can have a professional approach and attitude, but when it comes down to individual artists, fans want to meet that person.All in all though ARTSETTERS has a pretty cool model which is worth checking out.

I like to say that your newsletter is a package of goodies that you send straight to your fans mailbox. The goal is to have the receiver open and even more importantly, want to open your email messsage and then actually read it. We are bombarded by so much info these days that newsletters that we sign up to receive can get passed over quickly.There are techniques to keeping our newsletters relevant and a must see piece of infotainment. Here is a great article from Elle & Company on ways to spice up your mailing list and raise subscribers’ excitement when they see an email from you sitting in their inbox. Go here.

“Influence” by Robert Cialdini, published in 1984 has some great pointers on marketing strategy that artists can use too.  Anyone who sells things for a living, online or offline, should know, love, and live these principles:

• Reciprocity

• Commitment & Consistency

• Liking

• Authority

• Social Proof

• Scarcity

Read more about the principles HERE.

 The collegiate arena has always been an old boys club of sorts, with its own rules and regulations, standardized curriculums, application policies, governmental oversight, subsidies and much, much more. Students are groomed to attend college even before high school with the goal of winning some corporate position or in the instance of receiving an MFA degree, a ticket to becoming a full time teacher.I see artists all the time scrambling to get that MFA intending that it will lead to the golden chalice of full time employment with all its perks, but times have changed and nothing is guaranteed. Part time faculty positions are increasing while full time positions are decreasing. This shift has created some problematic results, for students too.For instance the entire class of first year MFA students at USC’s Roski School of Art has decided to leave the school, listing a number of grievances, criticizing the school’s administration for not valuing the Program’s faculty structure, pedagogy or standing in the arts community. This is only the tip of the iceberg as higher education attempts to justify skyrocketing tuitions and other costs. Read more about the USC protest here.This is why it is crucial to truly look at your options and create a backup for your art career. Teaching can be a part of that equation but do not rely on outdated educational paradigms for income sustainability.

I present Artist As Brand classes predominately at Colleges and Universities. However, when I have the opportunity to work with small groups of people, or even better with one or two individuals then the focus goes incredibly deep and it is amazing what can be be revealed!Joan Marie is a talented, high energy, extremely positive, forward looking, visionary artist who flew in from St. Luis to Los Angeles for a mentoring session. Talk about commitment! Her daughter Brittany Bishop a Landmark Forum representative and biofeedback assistant joined us to see about getting more clarity about her career path. We had some amazing breakthroughs!One of the segments of the AAB curriculum is to create  a Vision Board that defines those parts of ourselves that bring us tremendous joy. These parts turn into specific projects or products that are then directed toward a niche audience. It is surprising that most artists do not use an inside out approach to defining their talent and its potential.Even though Joan is very intuitive she was not certain of what she really wanted to create. After some digging it became apparent that latent theatrical talents (dancing, acting, lecturing) had been hidden from sight, but now they burst forth with the power of a tidal wave. Now her art vision includes a very personal theatrical production (in the works) that will include all her paintings and a message of confidence and hope to people everywhere. It is auspicious that Joan has been a high school art teacher for decades!

Joan's Core Virtue

Brittany is a very smart, self confident individual but was still defining her career path. It became clear that she was intimately connected with the science of the heart and nature, specifically the trees. It was also learned that she loves EDM's (Electronic Dance Music) and events. So we put these elements together and now she is researching how to produce an EDM type show that connects people's hearts to the trees or more succinctly, to their own essential nature.

Brittany's Core Virtue

It is an honor and a blessing to facilitate this work with people and a joy to see the result! In fact no sooner had Joan returned home  The Mogal Muse Magazine printed an article about her! Go Joan!

Coming off of another Comic Con I am reminded about the importance of table dynamics on the convention floor. Do I stand out, make a statement with my set up and attract interested people?Every year I re-evaluate my set up.  Am I representing my brand in an authentic manner, is there a hierarchy of importance on the table, how visible is everything, what are peoples reaction, where do they look when they come upon my table.In Artist Alley in San Diego we have a 4' x 24" space to work with. It is very tight. So how the space is utilized on the table,  in back of my chair as well as under the table is crucial.Here is a great post I came across by the WebComic Alliance that offers some great advice. 

Click on the image to enlarge.

I have moderated the Artist As Brand panel at the San Diego Comic Con for five years now. This time the table was graced with the talented Daniel M. Davis and Dawna Davis of Steamcrow, Shiflett Brothers, Jeff Soto, Melissa Pagluica and Diana Levin.We had a large crowd and reviewed the art of the start, social media, conventions and facing our fears. Much inspiration was to be had by all. A big thank you to my amazing guests and the attendees.

Freelancing is an option for artists who want to work in the industries of publishing, film, games, etc.  while they build up their patron/collector base. Graphic Designer James Grieg has put together an email course called "Before Going Freelance" that helps you get your head around some of the details of becoming a freelancer. Part of the course is free so check it out.Many art colleges prepare students for this art career option. You can always send questions my way too if this is something you really want to do as I freelanced as an illustrator for three decades! In a way when you follow the Artist As Brand principles you are aligning yourself with freelancing concepts, but you are building the industry around your self as opposed to relying on other businesses for your income.But check out Grieg's class and let me know what you think of it.

For all of you artist cat lovers this convention is for you.

You may be to late for a table or booth but check it out!

June 6-7

CatConla

A beautiful booth setup is an integral part of your brand and high touch marketing strategy. The National Stationery Show in New York City each year is a sure bet to offer new ideas for booth design and products. Check out this post by Poppytalk that showcases some highlights from the event.

MadeWorn is a clothing and lifestyle company created by Blaine Halvorson. They produce everything from hand-engraved rolex watches to t-shirts and shoes. One of the things I talk to my students about is living your brand. That means you reflect yourself authentically all the time, especially with how you dress. It is obvious that Halvorson embodies this trait and revels in it.Check out his style and how it relates to his selective clientele which is showcased beautifully in his website.

What is Hylo?Hylo is a new kind of social network that helps real communities create, together. In our communities-of-purpose; places like co-working spaces, maker spaces, and affinity groups, we're surrounded by incredible people, skills, and resources. But it’s hard to know who to connect with, for what, and when. Often the things we need most are closer than we think, but we just can’t see them.What if someone nearby had exactly what you needed to further your project? What if you were that person for someone else?With Hylo, you can discover who in your community:Has the skills you needIs working on cool projectsIs available to support youNeeds your helpHylo helps you discover opportunities to connect, collaborate, and share resources in your community, so that you can make your dreams real.Who is it for?Hylo is designed for communities-of-purpose, like: coworking spaces, startup accelerators, companies, alumni networks, affinity groups, and conferences.Check it out social art entrepreneurs.

My Artist As Brand Workshop in June of last year at Helikon Gallery in Denver had a very proactive group of artists. They decided at the end of the workshop to manifest a book and gallery show together. They created a concept amongst themselves and then produced an IndieGoGo crowd funding event to pay for the printing of the book which has been achieved!I was asked to be a part of this project and am honored to do so as they have been using the principles learned in the workshop to really get this off the ground. The show will be this June 5 at Helikon Gallery. Stop by if you are in town.I always encourage my students to jump in with their projects and get them started ASAP. My workshop in Seattle, in conjunction with TLC Workshops and Krab Jab Studio a few months ago has inspired this group to work on a collaborative project too! I will keep everyone here on my blog updated as to their progress.Check out the, Strange ConversationsIndieGoGo campaign to see how it was done, then create your own!

If you have a story to tell with your images, any story at all, this is a great place to start building your fan base for it. See you there.

Digital Trends for 2015.

Check them out HERE.

The Artist As Brand two day workshop at Krab Jab Studio was a large group of twenty students, beginners and professionals. Having taught this class to over five hundred students it is fascinating how the chemistry changes from venue to venue. Some of the students in this bunch were mainly interested in hard core marketing tactics, others embraced the holistic side to the course, others struggled with old paradigms of the artist not appearing to be a business.All entrepreneurial teachers and coaches will tell you that your business must have a solid foundation of purpose in place before you do anything. Your purpose is your brand. Some of the artists in this group were taking an old school fine art approach to showcasing and selling their art and the Artist As Brand model was a challenge for them. I come across this mindset all the time. The elitism of the fine art world is still alive and well (especially in academic circles) and so it takes some courage to jump into the future of art commerce.Thank you to Tara Larsen Chang with TLC Workshops for facilitating the class and Julie Baroh at Krab Jab Studio for opening her gallery to us. It was incredibly inspiring with all the amazing art around us! Part of this AAB group is inspired to create a product and a show next year with Krab Jab in alignment with Mythic Worlds and also with Nantes a city in France. It is going to be amazing!

The Agoura Hills, CA workshop in Mitchell's Bookshop was a delight! The group was small but mighty! We had some of the most amazing talent in this room.Aerin Holt the founder and artist director of California Contemporary Ballet Company and Dance Studio, composer and pianist Elliot Anders, painter and traveler Nubia Gala-Selbert, artist, graphic designer and creative wild woman Linda Lalande, singer-song writer Alexandra Harris and the multi-faceted artist lawyer-to-be Michelle Mitchell.Wonderful synergy within this very focused and high powered class.Below are two quick videos that Linda and Nubia took voicing their heart virtues. Love it.IMG_6657IMG_6658

Artist As Brand Workshop

This workshop in Seattle is going to be amazing! One week left to register. Wed-Thurs, Feb 18-19, 10am-8pm

TLC Workshops in association with Mythic Worlds (free admission to Mythic Worlds with this workshop) and Krab Jab Studio (this group will show with Krab Jab in 2016) makes this a once in a lifetime workshop. This workshop is guaranteed to transform the way you approach your art career with results!

5628 Airport Way S, Ste 150Seattle, WA 98108

REGISTER HERE

$195