BUSINESS
Art AS A BUSINESS
ART IS A HUGELY SUBJECTIVE THING – NOT EVERYONE IS ENRAPTURED BY THE SAME GENRES OF ART OR ARTISTIC IDEAS AS OTHERS , WHICH IS ONE REASON WHY ART IS SO CAPTIVATING , BUT IS ALSO JUST ONE OF THE REASONS WHY MAKING YOUR ART INTO A VIABLE BUSINESS IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO . THERE ARE MANY ARTISTS WHO ARE MAKING A SUCCESS OF THEIR WORK , HOWEVER , AND MANY WHO HAVE MANAGED THE TRANSITION FROM HOBBY TO SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WITH APLOMB . WE SPOKE TO THREE KENT ARTISTS WHO HAVE MANAGED TO TURN THEIR LOVE OF ART INTO A CAREER TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT IT TAKES .
BARBARA GREY OF CLARITYSTAMP , EDENBRIDGE // www . claritystamp . com
What sparked the initial idea for your business ?
Juggling parenting alongside a career in the corporate world was proving impossible . I needed a job that would allow me to work from home , so I combined technical translating , which paid the bills , with the craft side of my business , creating and selling my illustrations . This later built to the lightbulb moment when I invented the clear polymer stamp of which Claritystamp was born .
What was the first step you took in getting off the ground ?
It all happened in California , where I was living at the time . I entered a craft stamp shop in Santa Barbara , which was full of floor-toceiling wood-mounted rubber stamps . It occurred to me , wouldn ’ t it make so much more sense if you could see through them ? I spent time , energy and money developing this idea and patenting it . I then took it to market with the help of a well-established rep in California .
What ’ s been the toughest challenge you ’ ve faced so far and how have you overcome it ?
The toughest challenge was relocating back to Kent and starting all over again with the children as a single mother . Having built up a buzzing , exciting little business in California , it was difficult to have to come back to the UK and start completely from scratch due to a difficult divorce . It was the long hours , a very loving supportive family and the passion for the business we all had that got us through this tough time . 25 years on , they are still very much an integral part of the business and I could not have done it without them .
What ’ s been your biggest achievement to date ?
Being able to develop a business and raise two wonderful children who have gone on to become very successful in their own right is my greatest achievement . I ’ m also very proud that we have now developed a strong , larger family of thousands of crafters and customers all over the UK and around the world , but we still maintain a strong family business ethic .
In your opinion , what separates a product that will be a success from one that won ’ t ?
Having been in the industry and grown up with it for the past 25 years , I have a real feel for what our crafting community would enjoy . We keep everything in-house and we do everything ourselves , so we can respond quickly and provide top quality products and customer service . There are numerous factors that contribute to a product ’ s success including price , position , perseverance and so many others . We have a great reputation and are not an overnight success ; our accomplishments have built up over 25 years of business .
If you had one piece of advice for anyone thinking of launching their own art business , what would that be ?
If money is your main driver then stop right there , it will never work . I also suggest operating as a sole trader . Too often I have seen partnerships end in tears . I had a false start at the beginning with a partner which ultimately cost me a lot of money , but more importantly time .
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