Subscribe to www.ArtPrintIssues.com It’s Free—Tell Your Friends About It
The Godzilla movie from
a few years ago had the
tag line, “Size Matters.” I
believe it’s true in print
marketing as well. If you
have read my book, How
Print Market, then you
know I suggest having a
big budget to come in and
capture national market
share quickly.
The fly in the ointment for
most artists is they lack
either the financing or
qualified marketing
personnel to make such a
splash. For those
entrepreneurial souls that
disdain the alternative of
seeking a publisher, there
is another choice.
I’m working on an audio
Starting Small and Growing Regionally
Page 2
CD with Aletta de Wal
with a working title of
Self-publishing on a
Budget. Aletta is the
Executive Director of
Artist Career Training. It
is the leading artist career
advisory. She and I have
been collaborating on
projects for more than a
year. Last year, we
produced a Ten Tips Class
on Getting in the Print
Market and a Workshop
Series of 3-One Hour
TeleClasses aptly titled,
How to Profit from the
Art Print Market.
We will be reprising that
series twice this year in
addition to producing the
aforementioned audio CD.
Workbooks to help guide
listeners will accompany
the CD.
Essentially, what we are
proposing is to setup to
print giclées or possibly
canvas transfers as the
medium of choice.
The suggestion follows to
fan out regionally and
build a base of dealers and
galleries. A self-published
artist for a fraction of
what it takes to mount a
national trade advertising
campaign and companion
tradeshow schedule can
use this approach. It may
not get you there as
quickly, but it can pay
nice dividends and lead to
more growth when one’s
budget has grown larger.
Art Print Issues
Trend Report - Metrospirituals Represent Market Share Growth for Home
Decor
Murphy’s Laws
Exceptions prove the rule
... and wreck the budget.
Whenever you set out to
do something, something
else must be done first.
It is impossible to make
anything foolproof
because fools are so
ingenious.
If there is a possibility of
several things going
wrong, the one that will
cause the most damage
will be the one to go
wrong.
Left to themselves, things
tend to go from bad to
worse.
Anything that can go
wrong will go wrong.
Trust everybody ... then
cut the cards.
Two wrongs are only the
beginning.
Everything takes longer
than you think.
The first myth of
management is it exists.
According the Web site
www.Belief.net, Uma
Thurman, Leonardo
DiCaprio, Angelina
Jolie, Gwynneth
Paltrow, Richard Gere
all are metrospirituals.
Do you shop at Whole
Foods, Anthropologie,
Origins or Aveda?
Thinking about buying a
hybrid car? Been
participating in Birkam
yoga? If so, you are or
are well on your way to
being a metrospiritual.
Metrospirituals are not
hippies gone gray. These
educated, successful
people seek a different
experience than the mass
consumer produced
environment most
folks in the U.S. live
in. Belief.net describes
them this way:
Metrospirituals—the
kinder, gentler post-
Yuppies who want to
treat the earth and
native cultures with
respect, connect with
their inner source and
inspiration, test their
bodies and expand
their minds with
ancient physical
practices—and do it all
with serious style.
The trend is working
its way into home
decor. In a
StLouisToday.com
report on
Metrospirituality, Gil
Williams, owner of
clothing and home
furnishing store Macro
Sun had this to say,
"We've certainly seen
a big increase in some
of the items we sell for
over $500, particularly
in home decor. It's
been an exponential
increase," Williams
said. "People want to
find something deeper,
some meaning to what
they buy."
Is this naming of a
trend just some
marketing hokum? I
don’t think so. It is just a
means of drawing
attention to the trend. I
believe few, if any
persons would care to be
categorized this way.
What’s important here is
that this trend is growing
as the yearning for
things that are authentic
continues to increase. I
don’t advise dropping a
Buddha or cruxifix into
your next garden print,
but if you are already
down the path of this
trend, think about
incorporating it into your
art. You might find an
audience more receptive
than you prayed for.
 |
 |
 |