Interactivearts Weblog

Very excited about our current exhibition at groovy, new cafe in Nedlands, Sugar Bean. And, until next Monday all the art hanging is ON SALE, yes that’s right, original art with 20% off the price. This is the venue’s crazy owner wanting to sell the art, as he says, I don’t care about the commission for me, I just want to sell art for these artists! We love working with Carlo and Sugar Bean, they really have a ‘can do’ attitude which makes everything so much easier.

So get on along and see works by local artists; Ruth Jeffery, Stacy Kershaw, Ann Land, Narelle Manser-Smith and Carol Scott contemporary works in a relaxed environment with great coffee and delicious food.

Support local artists, invest in Original Art.

Sugar Bean Open Monday – Saturday 8am – 5pm. Broadway Fair Shopping Centre, Shop 30A, 88 Broadway Nedlands.

More information at www.interactivearts.com.au or (08) 9380 6539

Preparing for our first stall at not only the City Farm Artisans Market but our first market experience. Looking forward to meeting and speaking to customers in person. I love the electronic and phone contact I have but it will be a nice change to put a face to a name. I’m keen to hear of feedback good and otherwise to not only our business but the artwork and products we have available and of course about our artist’s current work and their developemnt/direction as practising artists.

But definately don’t get me wrong re all our online or cyber customers, we love you too!!! Especially when you buy ;o) You know how it is on cyber space some days it does seem like you’re talking to yourself - but I definately know this is not true as the traffic to this blog has increased greatly over the last 2 months which I’m in particularly excited about because it makes writing a post every day that much easier and frankly more meaningful.

Do check out our website often or even sign up for (not another newsletter) yes our newsletter but I promise you this is packed full of all kinds of news, tips, hints, specials, special offers, what’s on… that there’s definately something for everyone. If not, make sure you tell us :o)

There is nothing like peer approval or peer endorsement that boosts our confidence more…. what do I mean by that? Well, next time you see some artwork exhibited or for sale, check what your reaction is if nothing has sold as yet. Does the inner voice say ‘Well they can’t be any good, they haven’t sold anything yet’ or ‘They must be good, look how much has sold’ or is your opinion of the quality of the artwork based on the merits of the art?

An interesting point to consider.

What’s a red dot? A red dot next to or near an artwork often signifies that it has been sold.

I don’t believe there is anything wrong in seeking an endorsement on the quality of an artist’s work but sometimes I believe you can risk a leap of faith particularly if the artwork seems great or amazing or inspiring to you. That fundamentally is the point, does it affect you, move you in mood, resonate with you or even match our decor…. whatever the reason, next time be bold and be the first red dot and see how many join you.

Why doesn’t the Interactive Arts website have a SSL Certificate? Primarily because all our payments are made through the payment gateway, Paypal. This being the most sensitive data we handle therefore we have not purchased one for the site. 

Therefore, we believe we have all the benefits of security by using Paypal. If there are any concerns about security in our site please express in what area so we can either reassure you or make changes to secure it.

Earlier this month, one of our partner venues and Interactive Arts decided to develop new opportunities and directions which has meant we no longer stock our art, gifts or cards with the 12 Tribes stall at the Station Street Markets in Subiaco.

We had a great time working with them and appreciated their support as one of our very first venues. They placed alot of trust and faith into us and we really valued this opportunity. However sometimes all good things must come to an end. So we now say farewell to the business relationship with Leith and Israel but I’m sure all our paths will cross again. Also, all the very best to Leith as a new Mum and finding balance between motherhood and business.

Now the new financial year here in Australia and therefore have taken a quick review of the business and have set the goal of signing up 50 artists to Interactive Arts over the next 3 years (I secretly think we can achieve this goal in 1 year…..)

We mainly have local artists however we are receiving some interest from interstate and the next step is internationally. So although it sounds like an ambitious target I think it is doable and good for both Interactive Arts and the artists. What a fabulous community we would be generating then!

So what do we do with our artist’s work? To make available to the buying public we exhibit our artists work:

• From our website interactivearts.com.au
• Smaller and giftware items from a second website but initially from Interactive Arts website
• Hang in our partner venues (e.g. cafe, pilates studio, gallery)
• Display at an Interactive Arts stall at local artisans markets (City Farm, Kalamunda, Subiaco)
• Plan regular Interactive Arts exhibitions

And more opportunities will arrive as we have access to more variety and larger quantities.

I was talking to a client recently about the fabulous talent and professionalism of illustrator Ken Allen and how he completed 17 portraits within 2 weeks! His only frustration was he couldn’t believe they wanted them so small (9×7) so he was unable to give the detail he would have liked… anyway, I digress… back to the client, they asked me what I meant by the portrait commissions when I used this terminology to refer to the completed commission of the 17 portraits. So there and then I thought that would make a great post to my blog.

Art commissions. What is an art commission or portrait commission?

It is simply a client requesting and paying for a specific piece of art for an artist to produce for them. For example, with our recent portrait commission. The client was familiar with Ken’s style, which they liked and therefore arranged for a commission of all their staff as a gift at a recent company celebration (thus the tight timeline). However the timeline was manageable because Ken had a slow couple of weeks before beginning a new position, which I hope to chat about in another post once I have permission to do so…

Some other examples are: we have another client that loves the style of one of our artists Narelle Manser-Smith but would like a particular type of scene therefore we are currently in discussions to make this happen.

Sincere apologies for not posting daily this week, not sure what’s happened other than excitement over the refinement of the business Interactive Arts to focus on Art and to move the gifts and cards over to another website and business I own, Not socks and jocks. The cards may stay at Interactive Arts… just wanting to clean up the branding of the 2 businesses. I am meeting with a business mentor tomorrow so going through all my documentation and my out dated business plan etc. Although they say a business plan is out of date as soon as you put pen to paper, so I don’t feel so bad….

Would you buy art? …..Yes….

Would you buy art on the internet? …. possibly….

From the other side of the world? ….

Although we acknowledge that images on a website cannot give the full impact of an image, what if you knew we also provided a 100% money back guarantee. Would you feel more confident in your purchase? We of course are able to provide you a detailed description of anything you’re considering buying if it is not already supplied on the website. At the end of the day, if you receive your item and it’s absolutely nothing like what you expected, then simply return it for a full refund. How much easier could it be? We are interested in happy, returning customers, telling the world what great products and services we provide.

Try us out, look forward to hearing from you.

A topic many artists and galleries struggle with, especially artists establishing themselves. What needs to be acknowledged by both parties (artists and galleries) is the importance of both.

What I mean by this is, Artists are primarily interested in creating their art and galleries are primarily interested in selling artist’s work. Therefore let’s acknowledge that artists are not interested in ‘doing it all’ that is creating, promoting and selling, and also acknowledge that galleries have overheads to maintain a space. Therefore if artists establish a standard ‘retail’ pricing structure then I believe it is not only more professional but consistent and therefore not confusing to the art buyer.

For example, if an artist sells an item themselves then no commissions are involved so they receive the full amount. But if a gallery or agent sells the work then a 20% - 50% commission is taken by this or these parties (sometimes higher commissions).

So how should the artist price their work? Well first and foremost make sure that what ends up in your hand is what you want, because if you work with a gallery or agent and they do sell your work but you are resentful of their ‘cut’ then I believe you will not continue this relationship or even that many pieces will actually sell. No matter who you work with, only do so if you believe in what they offer. After all they are an extension of your professional image. Make it a WIN/WIN situation. This should be the ideal and I believe achievable.

Here at Interactive Arts we are considering streamlining the business to keep Art to www.interactivearts.com.au but to move the gifts and cards over to a new website called Not socks and Jocks. Thought a more light hearted, cheeky theme might work better for the gifts and cards. But what do you think? The not socks and jocks site is under construction but a couple of things are up there - www.notsocksandjocks.com take a look. The aim of the name of the gift site is to demonstrate we will have a range of unique and different items but of course all these urls are taken. But we thought not socks and jocks was a good bit of fun.

Let me know what you think re the name of the business and the site… keep in mind it’s all a work in progress!!!