Hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend!
Thanks once again to all my wonderful supporters for helping me along this incredible art journey. I thought I would share with you some insights as to how this journey began and where it is taking us now. I say 'us' because without my husband Dean, there really wouldn't be much of anything to talk about! He has the ideas, from carefully building and maintaining our website to creating new products and how to display them!
So it started from friends encouraging me to keep painting and to try selling beyond the odd painting I would do for a friend. We figured selling fine art prints of some of my paintings would be a good start. I was pointed in the direction of a local photographer who was able to print as I needed which is a great help to someone just starting out. We matted them ourselves, bagged and printed labels for the back. All-in-all they looked pretty good!
We started selling at the local farmers/artisans market in Tatamagouche, NS at the end of last summer. We also thought we'd try some of the images on blank greeting cards, they turned out great, opting for the better quality card stock with the glossy look was definitely a winner. Our first few markets went well but it soon became apparent that selling artwork is actually a difficult sell! And, all of a sudden, this art hobby was becoming a business! Eek!!
It was at the Christmas Craft markets that we realized we have to do more than just art originals and prints in order to engage more people, and talking with a well established artist offering some very good advice, we came to the conclusion that people want something they can use more so than a piece of paper to hang on the wall. Don't get me wrong, that piece of paper which is created from archival inks and paper and set to last 100 years or more is every bit as authentic as the original piece, all-be-it a reproduction. No, we just thought we need to offer other items with art on them, more affordable, useful items. Hmm!
We thought of postcard magnets and coasters, among other ideas we have not yet tried. So this past couple of months, since I last blogged, again, apologies for my sporadic entries, we've been busy building stock of these items now available in Maritime Mosaic in the old Dayles' Grand Market building in Amherst, NS, or from us direct.
The postcard fridge magnets are super quality 4.5" x 5.5" full magnets and are packaged with an envelope to mail to family or friends if you wish:)
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