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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