I just returned home from an eventful, exhausting and extraordinary experience attending my first CHA Show. The event was hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, and WOW what a show it was!
The show floor consisted of approximately 185,000 sq ft of display area with 592 exhibitors. There were demos happening in every direction - booths filled with people networking, working on make-and-take projects and general craft chit chat. The whole place was over flowing with craft supplies of all shapes and sizes from fabric and stamps to cutters and glitter. For a long time crafter and creative enthusiast, this place was heaven! It was creativity potential on overdrive.
The License and Design section was appropriately placed in the middle of the show floor, almost like a little show within the show. There were artists ranging in style, technique and experience as well as business model and specialty. I had no idea there were so many ways to sell one's own art creations. From surface design to product design, the license and design section was filled with amazing talent.
I was able to get a hold of an exhibitor pass so I could help a few friends set up their booths. Since I was only walking the show this time, I made a point to stop and introduce myself to nearly all the other exhibitors in the section and offer to help during set up. If you're looking to make new friends, extending a helpful hand is a good place to start. I was so amazed at the people in this group. Everyone was so friendly and eager to welcome a new comer. I felt at home almost immediately.
The show offered a number of opportunities for artists to promote themselves and their work:
Show reception open to all attendees - a great networking opportunity if you know who will be there or plan to meet with someone in advance. Not everyone attends this event.
Press kits - all attending designers can submit a press kit at no charge. I didn't know about this ahead of time so at the last minute decided to drop off the postcards I had brought to hand out to those contact I met. I was pleased to see that by the end of the show all my cards had been picked up. There was also an award for the best press kit won by Denise Bosler.
Designer showcase - this event is only for a few hours on night but seemed to be a great opportunity to display work for a small fee. Each designer created a table displayed exhibit while press, buyers and manufacturers browsed through the room.
Classes and workshops - there are a number of classes offered for a while range of topics. An "all class" ticket was well worth the purchase. Not only are these classes great for information, they're another good opportunity to meet pros in the industry.
Designer meeting - the License and Design portion of CHA has it's own governing board and official organization which helps to provide the promotion and opportunities for the member designers. There was an official meeting to hear about how the group is doing, future goals. The Plaid New Horizon awards returned for this show, so the winners were announced at this meeting as well: Brenda Pinnick , Tiffany Windsor and Linda Jacobson.
An attendee standing just outside the License and Design section of CHA
I went to this show with the single goal of meeting people in the industry. I did not pre-set meetings - I had no preconceived ideas of who I would meet nor what I would learn let alone what we would talk about. I just wanted to come away with a better view of the industry and what it might have to offer for my art career. I ended up coming home having made new friends, a better understanding and clearer perspective of the industry and how the manufacturers work together with designers and what I want to do moving forward. I also gained a strong appreciation for the organization behind this fantastic event. CHA is wonderful and I'm so very glad to have had the opportunity to participate this year. Watch for it, next year I'm hoping you'll see JGoode Designs offering art licensing amongst the fabulous booths to browse!
If you need inspiration, would like to network with like minded people, want to mingle amongst your peers or are looking for motivation to move along in your career, I can think of no better place than in the Licensing and Design section of the CHA winter show. Those who participated are an outstanding group and I am honored to have had the opportunity to be around them for the last 5 days.
I end with this little snippet of the CHA Winter Show event opening parade...
The guest blog post by Paul Brent, Branding: The Tiger and the Gate Crashers , on December 15th was so well received, Paul is offering more thoughts on the matter as the drama unfolds. While the situation is a mess for those personally involved, it does provide some interesting insights and talking points as we all consider our own brands... here is what Paul has to say:
If Tiger Woods would be so inclined, I would offer him this advice from someone who has been observing the branding phenomenon for the past twenty years, “Just change you image to fit reality, Tiger.”
While the golfing industry and several of Tiger’s endorsement partners need a squeaky-clean family-man image, there are plenty of products and entities that would be perfect for Tiger Woods new image. To begin with, alcoholic beverages and energy drink with caffeine and all of those other activities that promise heightened performance both on and off the golf course. A Tiger posing as the Captain or sipping malt liquor with an attractive blond on his arm would be a winning combination. The city of Las Vegas should contract with Tiger to be a spokesperson. Who better to say, “What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. I should have played in Las Vegas.” What customer of those products wouldn’t believe in his endorsement?
Brand building and brand management is a personal journey that all licensing properties and artists have to deal with, as Tiger does. Well, maybe you do not have to deal with it so dramatically and not in the eyes of the world. As you develop who you are as an artist, whether a designer of scrapbooking supplies and children’s wear, or t-shirts and surfboards you need to fit the image of someone who relates to their market and consequently the customers who buy your licensed products.
Christian Reese Lassen and Mary Engelbreit are two artists who embody their artwork and who are brands their customers and fans can relate to yet are very different. Lassen, the surfer who paints the ocean and tropical sunsets has veered from his popular under and over ocean scenes painted in exacting detail to many other subjects and a much looser palette knife style. His fans have followed along.
Mary Engelbreit has had a magazine devoted to home decorating and home style recipes. Her loving characterizations of vintage children with charming quips attract a totally different group of fans. Mary has kept true to her initial image and has not changed her style or outlook. Will she allow herself room to grow and change?
Personally, I have progressed in licensing from a watercolor style that has been called “breezy” by one reviewer in the Wall Street Journal to oil and more tightly rendered watercolors with digital enhancement, all the while keeping close to my coastal roots. I feel that my changes can be considered evolution rather than radical change. Many times a new subject matter or new media use was precipitated by a personal experience, sometimes just a wild idea or my take on an incoming trend. Each time I introduce a new collection I think of the story behind the art and how I can talk to customers about the new work. This adds to the value of the artwork and makes them understand how I relate to the art I create.
So, who are you as a brand and an artist? Does your image allow you room to grow or are you constricted into a limited market due to how you define yourself? How you change as an artist and a brand are part of the natural change of life itself. Let’s hope we all manage our changes better than Tiger.
Here's to your ever evolving brand to help you build your creative future!
– Tara
disclosure: Paul Brent nor I have any vested interest in Tiger Woods, Christian Reese Lassen or Mary Engelbreit - they are simply used as examples in the context of branding.
If anyone has experience in branding and especially building a brand based on an individual and lifestyle, especially in art licensing, Paul Brent is the go-to guy! Paul will be sharing his in-depth knowledge on the subject of branding, to be unveiled at ArtLicensingInfo.com in early 2010. For now, here are some timely thoughts from Paul and lessons to be learned from recent current events.
Well, it seems that today’s news is constantly bringing us examples of how branding works. Licensing artists can all learn from current events how not to build a brand and how to destroy one. The White House gate crashers have sought recognition and brand building by succeeding in their audacious attempt to attend a White House reception. Their brand is now firmly entrenched in the public’s mind. We can only hope that they have a plan for how this will help them secure their place in reality TV or result in jail time.
Licensing artists can learn that audacious acts need to be well planned and researched. Sometimes the risk is warranted other times it can backfire. In the early 90’s I was working with an individual who had a trained Florida panther and who was doing educational presentations with the panther to bring attention to their plight. I painted a portrait of the panther and arranged to have the panther appear in my booth at two trade shows. I did have to clear this with show management and the facilities management. The panther behaved and we were certainly recognized at those shows. Everyone in attendance knew there was a panther on the floor. If the panther had misbehaved the whole gamble could have misfired. Luckily the panther and trainer lived up to expectations and built my name recognition at a time when I needed something spectacular for people to remember me. So when planning an occurrence of this type be sure to think out all of the possible rewards and drawbacks before proceeding. I am not sure that the gate crashers were this astute.
Tiger Woods gives us another lesson in brand management. I have often said that you are your brand in art licensing. In Tiger’s case that extends into marriage partners, family and sexual partners. His brand was built to match his sport where family values predominate in a conservative, business leader demographic of fans. It is too bad he did not live up to his fabricated image and has damaged, possibly irreversibly, one of the greatest brands of all times.
While few licensing artists achieve the celebrity of Tiger, we all must insure that what we promote about ourselves rings true. I once knew a talented artist who painted what would sell but dismissed her work to people who know her, belittling her work and making negative comments about her customers who bought it. While I never heard of that getting back to her customers I think it could have been a potential time bomb for her career in art licensing.
It is far safer to stick with a truthful image of yourself and your art and not risk the pitfalls of negative press. Some of the most negative comments I hear about artists from manufacturers are late delivery, difficulty in contract negations and relentless control issues concerning quality and color. Developing a good working relationship and being reasonable, not a pushover, is going to serve a licensing artist well especially over the years as design directors and manufacturers licensing directors change jobs in the industry. We have many times made lasting friends with individuals who then bring us along as they change jobs and we certainly enjoy the referrals they give to others within the industry.
So just because you are not in the media’s eye, you, too, can learn from our newsworthy celebrities about how to achieve success in art licensing.
I don't know about you, but I have no desire to be in the media's eye in the way that Tiger or the Gate Crashers are! Thank you Paul for letting me share your insights on the blog. If you are interested in learning more about building your brand, be sure to watch the blog or eNewsletter for more information about Paul's upcoming "branding project". For now, it's * TOP SECRET *!
It's that time of year again folks! I want to mount my virtual horse and ride through the cyber-streets shouting like Paul Revere, "The art licensing trade shows are coming! The art licensing trade shows are coming!"
All four of these shows are catering to artists who license their art, at different times, in different ways and different locations. Only you can decide which will be the best fit for you and your business.
I am sticking with SURTEX again this year (this will be my 6th year here, 7th year exhibiting anywhere) and as I sent off my second payment installment this week I reflected on how scary year 1 was.
I had no idea if what I was doing was the right thing to do. There weren't any blogs (that I'm aware of) to turn to for help. My friend and I just ponied up cash, took our best guess and jumped in.
Did I make back the money I spent from deals I got at that first show? Absolutely not. But I went into it with the intention to be committed to investing in exhibiting for at least 2-3 years before deciding if I'd continue or stop. (Obviously I've continued.)
I've learned a thing or two along the way...
Like, don't put so much on the walls of your booth that a person can't see the trees for the forest. Bigger is better. The goal of your walls is to get manufacturers to pause so you can strike up a conversation.
And don't eat or talk on your cell phone in your booth if at all possible. And if you HAVE to, duck and hide and eat quickly!
If you are exhibiting at a show and want to learn more detailed information to make your investment in exhibiting pay off, check out my eBook and the Trade Show Tactics teleseminar replay from a live call I did last year. The cost is minimal compared to the cost of a booth and travel - I'm told it's well worth every penny! But just like the shows, only you can decide if it is for you... CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Here's to a successful and low-stress show season!
• 46 Photoshop™ (.psd) or PNG files with professional photographs of stationery, tabletop and gift industry products. The backgrounds have already been removed so they are ready to use for presentation and portfolio mock-ups.
• 9 video tutorials with more than 2 hours of ‘over the shoulder’ live-streaming instruction. Watch artist Tara Reed apply patterns and learn from a few mistakes along the way! (Then you will feel better when you make them too - right?)
here is what a few artists who have purchased it are saying...
"I was so excited to receive the Product Mock-up Magic CD today. I just finished watching all of the video tutorials. You did a great job! It was amazing to watch you work. I devoured every word you spoke and every move you made with the cursor. Now, I'm truly inspired to create my own mock-up designs and market them to manufacturers."
– Michael Campbell, artist
"Tara Reed's Product Mock-Up Magic saves me time and makes my life easier. With the product templates provided, all I have to do is drop my artwork onto the templates and make revisions. Now I can focus on designing."
– Liz Revit, artist
"I absolutely love Tara’s Product Mock-Up Magic video tutorials! The lessons are very easy to follow, cover many tools and techniques. Even as a fairly seasoned Photoshop user, I learned many new tips and shortcuts that I did not know before. However, I think this product will be a revelation for beginners. My product mock ups previously were very flat in appearance. The library of blank product images supplied with the dvd will help me produce realistic product mock-ups very efficiently. I hope Tara will develop an entire series of video tutorials on a range of skills for licensed artists."
– Debra Valencia™, DeVa Design, Inc.
contemporary pattern design for stationery, gift, craft & home décor www.DebraValencia.com
Product Mock-Up Magic is an invaluable tool for any artist looking to license their art. Being able to take your art and show manufacturers that you understand how it can work on products shows that you understand and are serious about the business of licensing. That you are a professional. And sometimes, it just gives them ideas they may not have had looking at the 'pieces' (images, borders, patterns, etc.)
When you place several mocked-up examples together for presentation, add "These are mock-up ideas, all designs are available for license" - that way there is no confusion about wether your art is already licensed or not. When you show actual licensed products, be sure to add something like this: "product manufacturered by XYZ company using my art under license."
Phew! You guys are getting good and really making us work to pull together answers for you!
November was me - Tara Reed - weighing in on your most pressing questions. As usual, we received more questions than could be covered so I chose those that would apply to the broadest group of artists and when possible, questions that hadn't been asked before.
Here is a run down of what we talked about:
Why did you choose to divide your efforts between teaching and licensing your own art?
I'm not sure what to charge for my design, what is the average price to charge?
What one thing could I do to make the biggest impact on getting started in art licensing?
What are your top 5 suggestions for connecting with end consumers to positively build an art licensing brand?
What are the top grossing art licensing themes?
When starting out, is it good or bad to list companies that you license with?
How do manufacturers license a collection? (whole collection, pieces, etc.)
How do you make mock up samples by hand or on computer?
What marketing materials do you use at a show? & where should I go to get them?
What do you consider the most effective but also economical marketing techniques/tips/must-dos for a self-represented artist?
Submitting art directly to a manufacturer vs. having it on a website - how does an online portfolio affect the perceived 'newness' of the art?
Which is better - specializing in one look and build that as a brand or have many styles and themes?
Is it possible to succeed in licensing if you have to work full time to pay the bills? Any success stories? (Guest success story artists - Karen Embry - weighed in - thanks Karen!)
What is your opinion about working with a licensing agent as opposed to working independently?
If you missed the call or want to listen in again, click the button to purchase.
The audio replay is a mere $15 through 11/29 and then goes up to $25.
The next call will be on December 16th - same times - 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST. I will be asking all your agent questions to Suzanne Cruise - art licensing agent and owner of "Cruise Creative".
P.S. Don't forget to tune in on Monday 11/23 at 4 pm PST / 7 pm PST when I'm a guest on "Art & Soul Radio" - listen online at www.BlogTalkRadio.com/art-and-soul-radio. Be sure to sign up for their podcasts on iTunes! (disclosure: no material gain, just a guest on the show!)
P.P.S. The links I promised everyone who was listening live
Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines - great resource for ballpark of royalties, flat fees, etc. across many art fields & industries (this is an affiliate link)
I'm not one to obsess over analytics and keywords and SEO... I try to optimize things for all of my websites of course, but I could drive myself crazy and never get to picking up a paintbrush if I looked at all the many ways to analyze a website.
But for some reason I was compelled to go take a look. If you sign up for a Google account there are so many free trackers and tweakers and tables that you could hire a full-time employee to manage it all. (Not in the budget so it's me, at random intervals.)
As you can imagine, I would like the www.ArtLicensingInfo.com site to come up well with the keyword "art licensing", and it does. It currently has the #4 position. (Yeah!)
But an interesting thing happened when I looked at the "Keywords" table... what on EARTH is "00pm" the keyword Google thinks has the most significance for my site? Next most significant? "00am"...
Well, I clicked on it to discover that Google thinks the WebCalendar, that I don't even think anyone really looks at, is the most important piece of ArtLicensingInfo.com. Google says, '"Below are the most common keywords Google found when crawling your site. These should reflect the subject matter of your site."
ACK! They aren't Google! They aren't!
Anyway, I felt compelled to share. Sometimes it is good to go see if what your site is about and what Google or another search engine thinks your site is about, matches. If it doesn't, the people you want to find you aren't going to find you. How many of you have done a search for "OOpm" in hopes of finding information about art licensing? I'm not a betting girl but I'm going to bet NONE.
So... the web calendar is history. It takes time and is apparently a Google SEO gremlin in disguise.
I encourage you to go see what your site looks like to the Google robotic eyes... for more information about webmaster tools, go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/
Apparently "Branding" is on a lot of minds lately. I posted about it last week and started a great discussion on LinkedIn. (You do know there is an "Art of Licensing" group on LinkedIn, right? It is very thought provoking at times!)
Paul Brent just told me he wants to focus on Branding on his next "Ask Paul Brent" call... date to be determined so stay tuned...
And my friend Barbara Rozgonyi, a Social Media guru if ever I met one, just did a great blog post called "10 Branding Methods - Butterflies and Rainbows Optional".
What I love about her post is that it is short, sweet and skimable. I can look at it quickly, get ideas and go implement. It's like information for hummingbirds - I can flit in, get what I need and fly off. Perfect!
From identity design to personality to virtual and word of mouth - she boils branding down to some thought provoking questions and do-able action items.
P.S. Barbara is yet another fabulous benefit of taking the Teleseminar Secrets class last year. If you want to learn more about it and why I feel it was such a great investment, click here to go to my affiliate page...
This is a question that has been rolling around in my head since I started licensing my art back in 2004.
Art licensing is an interesting thing... our main client is the manufacturer - without them putting our art on products, we don't have a business.
The manufacturer then has to sell (or pre-sell which is so often the case these days!) the products with our art to the retailer. So they are a customer of ours, once removed.
Then the end consumer is a customer twice removed. When we create art for licensing, we have to please the manufacturer and retailer, while trying to figure out what the end consumer (the shopper with the wallet) will want from us.
Tricky! Sometimes we meet this end consumer - twice removed from our business. They may look like a friend, an aunt, a neighbor... and they often sound like this: "I love your stuff! Where can I find it?" They are full of enthusiasm and ready to give gifts featuring your art...
I regret to say I often have to respond like this, "Well... I'm not sure. You might find it in this store or that store but it really depends..." Eek! Hard to promote ourselves when we don't control the product, isn't it!?!
But the trickiness isn't even done yet! Sometimes the retailers and manufacturers like to license art from artists who are "known" and have a reputation with the end consumer twice removed. You would too. If you owned a store and knew that any product you put on your shelves with art by 'Betty the Great who's been on every talk show known to man and has an amazing cult-like following" would sell, wouldn't you do it? Or would you take a chance on "Brand New Bob who does nice work but isn't as known"?
This post isn't intended to throw you into a panic and make you think there isn't a point to even trying, OK? Don't get me wrong.
The point is to show you that to be really successful (read $ in the bank) in licensing, you can't ignore building your brand with the consumer.
So now we have circled back to my 6 year question: HOW DO I BRAND MYSELF WITH THE END CONSUMER???
For me, this is still a work in progress but I have found one pretty cool strategy that I wanted to share.
I design fabric for South Sea Imports. One day I walked into a local Craft Warehouse and one of the samples was using my fabric. Well I got quite excited and literally started jumping up and down a bit. The woman working noticed, may have been a little concerned, and asked if she could help me. I explained that I had designed the fabric and was just very excited to see it as a sample.
This jumping encounter has led to me going "on tour" at 3 Craft Warehouse stores to date. Each month, the stores have "Quilt Parties" where quilters come together to learn a new quilt block, listen to speakers, see what's new in the store, and form a fun community of like-minded people.
I have had the pleasure of speaking to 7 groups (of end consumers - no longer twice removed) about how I design fabric. How the ideas go from my head to their sewing machines. Most of these women have never met anyone who actually designed the fabric before so they are interested and always have great questions. I get to see "show and tell" and see how quilters are using the end product. That helps me design the product.
So how do I keep in touch with these consumers I have met, once I leave the party?
Many want to look at my website or blog, so do I hand them a business card? I could, but really, how much fun is a business card for a quilter?
I decided to have some blank notecards printed with my art on the front. The back has my logo (branding!), a blurb about me and my website. I told the women that they could have a card if they wanted when the quilt party was over. That way they would have a fun note card and a way to find me online.
THEY LOVED IT! One woman just stared at me, jaw dropped, confirming that she could just "have" the card. She was so appreciative. So am I. I have watched my unique visitors to my website and blog spike after these visits. I also know that if these quilters send the card to a friend, that person will also learn about me or at least see my logo. So it's like double-dipping branding!
Note cards cost a little more than a business card but I think it's worth it. It creates good will and I have a hard time believing over 250 women would stand in line to get my card but that's about how many note cards I've handed out.
Interact with your end user if and when you can. And when you do, have a fun giveaway that they will want, that includes your art, your logo and your website. Little interactions can do big things over time!
Here's to your creative success - I have to get back to working on my next fabric collection.
– Tara
PS - you can find lots of places online to print Note Cards and other giveaways - and usually the more you buy the less they cost. I went with one design and bought lots. For the note cards (called greeting cards on the site but if they are blank inside, I call them note cards) I used www.OvernightPrints.com. (disclosure: no affiliate relationship to this link)
In case you didn't know, SURTEX has an eZine called "On the Surface" that they use to help promote and inform artists and manufacturers alike about the show and the art licensing industry. This month's issue had a great article called "Countdown to SURTEX 2010" and I really liked it.
I was given permission to reprint it here (why re-create the wheel, right?)
COUNTING DOWN TO SURTEX 2010
In our month-to-month, step-by-step march to SURTEX 2010, October brings us to what licensing veteran and public relations pro Kay Degenhardt calls "the most important task for right now," determining the size, configuration and location of your booth.
TO-DO THIS MONTH:
Decide What You Really Need
Trade show success, just like real estate, depends on three factors: location, location, location!
And which location works best for you depends on how you plan to use your booth. Here are some guidelines to help you decide:
If you are a textile designer. Because designers who focus on the textile and wallcovering trades have asked that an area be set aside for their specialty, the folks at GLM have carved out two aisles specifically geared to the textile trades. While many of your designs will translate beautifully to paper goods and other products, the size, motifs, and techniques used to produce those patterns are geared to manufacturers of decorative fabrics, home textiles, wallpapers, and even apparel fabrics. If your designs fit this overall category, you might consider asking for a spot in this special section.
If you are selling designs outright, you will want a booth that can accommodate as many showing tables and counters as you need for your inventory, the scale of your work, and the number of designers and/or staff you will have on hand. A corner booth is a good bet, as it allows several people to show designs at the same time.
If you are licensing collections, an entirely different booth display may be more advantageous. In addition to your latest work, you may wish to feature licensed products already on the market(be sure to call them in early enough!),especially if they are being shown at the National Stationery Show in the adjacent aisles. By displaying the finished products alongside your newest collection, you're illustrating your diversity, and also reminding potential clients that your name and work are highly desirable.
If you are a generalist - like many surface designers - you gear your work toward the larger marketplace. Whether you are licensing or selling your work outright, the question is, how do you set yourself apart? How do you draw attendees to your booth? The answer: create a unique setting. Use color. Study the work of truly great merchandisers. Anthropologie is one retailer that's mastered "enticement merchandising," the trick of drawing customers from one vignette to another. Take it all in and use it to create your own special environment at SURTEX.
If you are still sitting on your SURTEX application, get up and get it off to GLM pronto! Space is limited, so the sooner you apply, the more likely that the organizers will be able to accommodate your needs. Besides, you'll want all the time it takes to make your space exactly what you decide it should be.
Couldn't have said it better myself! So there are some things to consider and prepare whether you are exhibiting at SURTEX or any other show. I'll be at SURTEX exhibiting and teaching and look forward to meeting lots of licensees and artists alike!
I just returned home from an eventful, exhausting and extraordinary experience attending my first CHA Show. The event was hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, and WOW what a show it was!
An attendee standing just outside the License and Design section of CHA
But an interesting thing happened when I looked at the "Keywords" table... what on EARTH is "00pm" the keyword Google thinks has the most significance for my site? Next most significant? "00am"...
