The NEW #SmallWins by Art Storefronts!

I've been listening to so many episodes lately where artists talk about landing their work in design projects, and it got me thinking about this from a practical standpoint. For artists here who have successfully gotten their pieces into interior designers' projects, how did you actually make that first connection?

Did you reach out cold? Show up at design trade events? Build the relationship on social media first? I'd love to hear what the initial approach looked like and what made designers say yes. Also, did you need to adjust how you present or price your work specifically for that market?

This feels like one of those opportunities that could be a real game changer for building a collector base, but the "getting your foot in the door" part seems tricky. Would love to hear your stories!

Good morning, friends! A fresh week is ready and waiting for you.

Here are a few things I'd love for you to put your energy into:

• Get ready for the Prime Day Event, all the details are in this playbook

• Spooky season is officially here, and if you like jumping on trends, now's a fun time to look through your work and see which pieces fit the mood

• Keep an eye on your inbox, a special invitation is on its way (no more details today, I'm keeping you curious 👀)

Check these off by Friday and you can call this week a win, I'll be cheering you on all the way.

Have a great Monday; you've got this 💛

I haven't been photographing much in recent months because my complete lack of sales has made pretending to be an artist feel like a depressing chore rather than something joyful. However, we had a bunch of the mushrooms that I like to photograph pop up in our yard yesterday and I found this lovely pair that were very cooperative models.

I really like this image and I think I’m going to call it “The Prayer” because it looks like that tall guy there is reaching his arms out to heaven…

I was reading about an artist who lost a sale because the buyer only wanted to pay through Venmo, and the artist wasn't comfortable going outside their normal checkout process. It got me thinking about how common this must be now.

For those of you selling your work, how do you handle it when a collector or buyer asks to pay through something like Venmo or Cash App rather than going through your website? Do you accommodate them to close the sale, or do you stick to your process? I imagine there are real concerns around things like tracking, taxes, and not having a proper receipt or record of the transaction.

Would love to hear how people navigate this. Does saying no ever cost you the sale, or do serious buyers understand?

Just asking you all - have you ever built with audio Reels? I know, or believe, that I don't have the strength or momentum to always put myself in front of the camera and post Reels, as perhaps a good campaign needs. I put together a test Reel, and if you have the time - tell me what you think and, above all, whether you yourself have had good experiences with audio - so below is the link to the Reel - and later the idea is to show this kind as a small development series - not in my shop, but on the accompanying artist page, to show - the title of this column, one could say, is: Currently on my mind ... , if it works. Oh - and perhaps in the second step I'm also interested in YouTube Shorts for this format - do you have experience with that? Lots of questions ... for now, the video ... I look forward to your impressions ... it's quite a thing - you can't share Reels here - can you? Then I'll put the link to my page in - there you'll find the recording - first page ... scroll down a bit - Thanks for your efforts! https://www.tinagattermann.com

CLEARING WITHIN invites reflection on the moments when letting go creates room for something new. Its imagery remains open: the light may suggest clarity, hope, renewal, or simply a pause in which the viewer can breathe. Rather than prescribing a single story, Cleaning Within offers each person space to recognize their own movement from darkness toward light.

I want to run a giveaway for one of my character design prints and announce it through a reel, but I keep second guessing the structure. Do I lead with the prize right away so people don't scroll past? Or do I hook with something visual first, maybe a quick timelapse of the piece, then reveal the giveaway details?

I also don't know where to put the entry rules. Middle of the reel? End card? Text overlay the whole time? Every giveaway reel I see seems to do it differently and I can't tell what actually keeps viewers long enough to enter.

For anyone who has done this before, what order did you lay things out in, and did anything specific make a noticeable difference in how many people participated?

I invite all for you follow also my site instagram renzo.battacchi_arte where you can see more my artworks

Just today my site went active!!!!! Ran into a question??? " Is my artwork NFT verified?" What does that mean and how do I get verified?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.. thank you

I basically abandoned my Instagram for close to five months. Between coaching soccer and a string of kiln disasters that left me with nothing worth photographing, I just stopped posting. Now when I share anything, it feels like shouting into a concrete wall. Reach is basically zero, engagement from people who used to comment is gone.

I've heard the algorithm punishes accounts that go dormant, and I'm not sure if there's a way to dig yourself out or if I'd be better off starting fresh. Seems brutal to lose the few hundred followers I had who actually cared about figurative sculpture.

Anyone managed to revive a dead account? What actually moved the needle for you, posting frequency, content type, something else entirely? Would love to hear what worked.

Phew! I'm just reorganized my entire site based on comments overheard at my recent solo show. I've got a social media post ready to go but thought I'd run it by you all before I post. Thoughts? Here 'tis:

At a recent show, I noticed people most loved recognizing the places in my paintings: “I’ve been there!” “I love that trail!” “I grew up there!” 

Those comments stayed with me. They’re the feelings I follow when I paint, so I’ve redesigned my website with that idea at the heart: collections instead of categories, stories instead of sales copy. I’d love for you to explore the new collections and tell me what feels familiar to you. I hope you’ll find a place you know - or discover somewhere you’d like to visit. 

To celebrate, I’m giving away a 9×12 fine-art print of the winner’s choice from my Washington Trails collection. To enter, sign up for my mailing list by October 31 (pop-up coupon or look in the site footer). I’ll draw a winner and contact them on November 1. Free shipping within the U.S. Winners outside the U.S. pay shipping.

https://evamoonartist.com

I'm truly honored to have one of my photographs - 'Donato's', included among the many fine photographers featured in the Griffin Museum's homage to Robert Frank and his iconic book - 'The Americans'. This show, which is online only, is scheduled to run through the month of October.

https://griffinmuseum.org/show/robertfrank_homage/

Happy Friday, friends! Quick list to tackle before you log off 👇

• Peek at your top three posts from September and jot down why they worked, free inspiration for what's next

• Tidy up your workspace, a clear studio or desk makes Monday you a lot happier

• Queue up a post or two for the weekend so your page stays active while you rest
  

Enjoy your weekend, you've earned it 💛

Hey everyone, my website is still getting set up. Would love any feedback on my Instagram @natalie.illustrator

It's Boost Day! Here's how it works:

• drop a link to your latest social post, and the community will show up with likes and comments.

• Then return the favor – visit a few links in this thread and do the same for others.

Why this works: receiving engagement (ie: likes and comments) on your social post tells the social algorithm that it's valuable and entertaining content – making it more likely that the post is then shown to your own followers and art fans outside of your network.

So by helping each other “get the ball rolling” with engagement, we all grow! The system only works when we all contribute though – so be sure to give back as part of participating in this weekly thread.

This happened yesterday. A great small win after two months with no art sales.

I got invited to participate in a charity art auction here in Portland and they asked all the artists to create some video content to help promote it. I have no idea what to make.

Most of my work is ink illustration, figure drawing, people caught in gesture. The obvious move is a timelapse of a piece being made, but I've seen a hundred of those and they blur together. I thought about filming the part where I'm redrawing the same hand for the fifth time because that's honestly what my process looks like, but I don't know if that reads as charming or just frustrating to watch.

Does anyone have experience making video for auction contexts specifically? I'm wondering if it should focus on the finished piece, the story behind the cause, or the process itself. What got the most engagement or actually helped drive bids?

This is "ABLE" 1st of my series of 3 Fishermen/women. Comming soon I will be sharing the next 2. Hope you like him. This piece is a 16" w x 20" h Oil on Craddled hardboard. Let me know what you think !!

This is the third piece in the series -'Easy entrance and Clam'

20 episodes. 4 editing apps. One goal: make Reels that actually do something for your art business.

If you followed along this summer, we want to hear from you. Did you try any of the editing tactics? Did you post a Reel using something you learned? Did it perform differently than your usual content?

Drop your experience in the comments. What you tried, what worked, what surprised you, or even what felt too complicated. All of it is useful for our future courses.

And if you missed the series entirely, the full playbook is waiting for you HERE

Every tutorial, every episode, all in one place at your own pace.

Also, if you did use one of the tutorials, share your Reel link in the comments, and we'll give it some love!