Hi Everyone! I’m Billy from Wit & Vinegar and I’m helping out with a post while Kelly moves/buys a house. If it were me in that situation we’d play a game called how many margaritas can we drink before we stop packing boxes and cry uncontrollably in a corner.
Since I kind of dabble in food over on my site I thought I’d have some sort of food involvement in what I brought over here. It’s an Instagram account that I’ve been obsessed with ever since Kelly posted about it in a roundup a while back. I figured we could showcase the goodness!
Tommy Perez works with food, paper, and type to make all sorts of magic that he posts on Instagram and every time it happens I freak out a little bit and double tap as fast as I can.
Hi! Kate here, from Cookie and Kate. I offer fresh, vegetarian recipes on my blog. I had the pleasure of getting to know Kelly when I was new to blogging and living in Oklahoma. My dog, Cookie, and I moved up to Kansas City a couple of years ago. Since Kelly is in the process of moving back to Pennsylvania, she asked me to share a few travel-friendly snacks. Safe travels, Kelly!
Almond Honey Granola: This is my go-to granola recipe. It’s a great, wholesome snack for the road. You can eat it as is or stop for some yogurt and turn it into breakfast.
Lebanese Lemon-Parsley Salad: This simple bean salad is packed with flavor. Store it in a spill-proof container and don’t forget your fork! It should last at room temperature for a few hours, but pack it in a cooler if you intend to wait any longer before eating.
Apricot Almond Bars: These knock-off Larabars are easy to make in a food processor and feature one of my favorite flavor combinations. They keep hunger pangs at bay in between meals.
Banana Coconut Muffins: These tasty muffins are more wholesome than most. They’re made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey. Pro tip: Don’t leave your dog in the car with an open bag of muffins.
Dane Horvath is an artist, illustrator, and designer living in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the founder of the popular blog Steeltown Anthem, which she launched in 2009 as a way to showcase the creative energy of Pittsburgh’s burgeoning arts scene through local design, architecture, craft, furniture, decor, and interiors. You can find her artwork and illustrations in her shop.
If you take a drive in or around Pittsburgh, hand-painted ghost signs are common to see on the sides of buildings or barns. The faded signs tell us what businesses or products once existed here and are a constant reminder of the city’s rich history, the way things have changed, yet, stayed the same. As a designer and artist, they are a huge inspiration to me. I try to step back and think of all the hard work and detail that went into painting them.
Hey there. Brittni here from Paper & Stitch. I’m excited to be guest posting today, while Kelly is busy moving. Admittedly, I have a lot of design crushes, but one in particular has really impressed me recently. So, I thought I would write about that today.
I’m always searching for new independent designers that have a similar aesthetic to my own. Minimal, modern, and a tiny bit trendy. And since I’ve been on the hunt for a few more specific pieces to add to my collection lately, mainly in the textile department, my casual search turned into a more specific quest to find the perfect shop. Shortly thereafter, I stumbled across Swift. After reading the background of the designers behind the label, I bookmarked the shop immediately and started adding things to my wish list.
Textile designers Michal and Roni are melding modern design with traditional textile techniques, like tie-dye, block printing, etc. So, in that way, each piece is one of a kind, which makes these designs all the more special. And puts this shop at the top of go-to list for all things textiles.
Hello! It’s Susan from House of Brinson stopping by Design Crush while Kelly completes her big move. I’ve been knee deep in renovating our 1850s historic home this summer, living in dust and piles of tools. For a visual person, this is hard, and sometimes depressing! I normally keep a neat home and living in a constant mess is really difficult. To keep me in a positive mood and focused on the end result I dream of what our finished space would look like, and look for color and interior design inspiration around every corner.
I discovered Eric Blum’s work online, and it has been an endless source of inspiration. First, his color palettes are soft, yet saturated. The inky blue and light pink color palette are so appealing. I love the combination and was inspired to use it in the interior design of our house. Eric’s use of texture feels so sophisticated to me, I could just get lost in the layers. He uses silk as a surface, applying ink and wax, which I’m sure in person is lovely.
If you have a moment, visit Eric’s site, this is a small sample of his large body of work, which includes drawings and prints. He also has an impressive list of galleries he’s appeared in.
This week on Design Crush:
A new feature kicked off Monday, once a month I’ll be sharing some of my favorite pieces stocked in the Marketplace!
Pretty pastel textiles and pieces from Lina Rennell.
Modern heirloom quilts and more handmade by Rain & the River are on my wish list.
As is all of Rebecca Mir Grady‘s entire line of gorgeous jewelry.
I can’t get enough of these muted slice of life paintings by Emily Ferretti.
Have you noticed that embroidery is trending?
Crazy colorful “pen paintings” by Daniel Eatock.
A slew of well-designed pieces for the home from Hello Polly.
I can hardly believe it’s the end of August, that means it’s time for to check in.
Embroidery is one of those trends that ebbs and flows, but never truly goes away in entirety. I think that has more to do with the style than the technique, because it can be everything from intricate and Victorian in nature to geometric and modern. We’e all seen it play out this summer on light and airy sundresses, so I’m interested in seeing how (and if) it translates to fall’s fashions!
This week on Design Crush:
An Instagram Moving Sale for Oklahoma City locals – there are still a few pieces left!
We’re giving away 2 copies of Lisa Congdon’s book – Art, Inc. – all about making your art your full time job.
Take a peek at these 10 August DIYs that are almost too good to be true.
Dreamy blurry paintings from Philip Barlow.
The new school year means a fresh start and new notebooks to me! Steven Quinn has managed to create the only clown art I will ever endorse.
There’s color and then there’s COLOR. Boo + Boo Factory does the latter so right.
Beautiful woodworked pieces for the kitchen and home by Ariele Alasko.
Colorful, geometric, hand-strung Sputnik Lamps.
A dishware pattern – Unsealed – created with the idea of showing off the porcelain in mind.
You know that scene in You’ve Got Mail where Tom Hank’s character tells Meg Ryan’s that if he knew her address he would send her a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils? That’s exactly how the beginning of the school year makes me feel, even though I’m no longer a student and don’t have kids. There’s just something in the air that to me signifies a fresh start, maybe even more than New Year’s does. I still troll the school supplies section as soon as it hits the big box stores, but I hold myself to one purchase. Usually a new notebook.
Full disclosure: Lisa Congdon is my friend. My crazy talented, enormously gifted, incredibly smart business woman of a friend who decided in 2006 to take a chance on art and succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artistis her latest book.
If you’re creative in any way chances are you’ve daydreamed about making a career of it, and that’s exactly what Art, Inc. is about. It’s essentially a guide to making your dreams a reality and debunking the myth of the starving artist written by someone who has taken the plunge and lived to tell the tale. Learn about the ways artists can make a living from their art (you don’t have to be on a street corner with an easel, although that was always sort of my dream). Lisa shares her knowledge of licensing, sales, teaching, promoting, managing, and tons more. Not only from her own career, but from art world pros like Paula Scher, Nikki McClure, and Claire Desjardins who we’re going to dig a little deeper into below with an excerpt.
Montreal native Claire Desjardins spent her childhood summers in the countryside, where she discovered painting. But although she loved the art form, she chose to study business in college as a way to a stable, well-paying career. After graduating, she worked for ten years in technology and marketing. Several years ago, she set up a painting studio at home to get back in touch with her creative side, painting for the first time since she was a child. Over time, she moved from small to large canvases and began painting abstractly. By 2011, she was selling enough of her work to pursue art full-time. Since then, Claire has received grants to attend artist residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Da Wang Culture Highland in Southeastern China. She is represented by Galerie Lydia Monaro in Montreal and Muse Gallery in Toronto and is a top-selling artist on Saatchi Online. Claire’s work can be found in both private and corporate collections around the world.
Lisa Congdon: As a self-taught abstract painter, how did you go from painting in your studio to selling work?
Claire Desjardins: I’d been painting for several years, and around the advent of Facebook, I started posting my work there. I had given a painting to a friend and then another friend of his saw it on Facebook and he contacted me about whether I had anything else for sale. That was how it all started. I began meeting a lot of people online who were interested in my art. That year I did quite well with my art, but I was still working for a marketing communications company. I worked only four days a week, so I would paint on my free weekday. My company was restructuring and merging, and I got laid off in 2011. But it was a perfect time for me to leave my job.
LC: How did you first get gallery representation?
CD: I sold a painting to one of my fans on Facebook. It was one of my first paintings that I had sold to someone I didn’t even know, so it was pretty exciting. I made sure that I really took care of her. I packed the painting properly, sent it with a booklet of my art, and called her to make sure everything went smoothly. Sometime later, I received an email from Muse Gallery in Toronto. Apparently, the woman from Facebook who bought my painting lived around the corner from the gallery and had told them about me. The gallery owner looked me up, liked what he saw, and contacted me to work on an artist agreement together. I did some research on them and called other artists who the gallery represented. I asked them about their relationships with the gallery and eventually, it all came together. I borrowed my father’s minivan and drove a bunch of paintings to Toronto! They have represented me since and have given me a couple of solo shows, too.
LC: Right around the time you left your job, Anthropologie contacted you. They sell your original paintings and license your paintings to make prints and for use on their products. How did this relationship come about? What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with a big company to sell and license your work?
CD: It all began one day when I got an email—and in the subject line it said “Anthropologie Interest.” They were looking for local artists to feature on the walls and windows of the new Montreal store. Four of their buyers came to my studio. I heard that they had read about me on Mocoloco.com.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to working with a large company. The main and obvious advantage is the exposure of my art. Other advantages include the additional revenue, as well as seeing my art on different products. The disadvantage is less obvious; it’s that a small portion of the artistic community came to perceive my art as too commercial or that I’m “selling out.”
LC: What is your main mode for selling original work now?
CD: By far, I make most of my sales online. Specifically, I’ve had success with Saatchi Online. In order to nurture this relationship, I try to keep up with my social networking as much as possible. This is a very important component to my job, as it’s the only advertising I can afford (it’s mostly free!), and it reaches so many people. Whenever I post a new painting online, I make sure to link it to a page that allows people to purchase my art, like Saatchi Online. I make sure that I give them credit for the good things that they do, in a timely fashion. So if they include one of my pieces on their home page, I make sure that I blurt it out for all to read, on all my social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.
LC: You are an advocate for signed agreements— whether in licensing or when you work with galleries. Why are they important?
CD: When you sell or license your art, money and image rights are involved, so spelling out the rules in advance helps to manage expectations and eliminate surprises later on. It protects both the artist and the reseller. Proposing the writing of an agreement should not be perceived as an unfriendly gesture or an indication of mistrust. In fact, it should be considered an act of ensuring mutual understanding. We all have contracts with our cable or cell phone companies, so why wouldn’t you have an agreement with the resellers of your art, whether they are galleries, agents, or commercial companies? The exercise of writing an agreement will raise many questions that had not been thought about before. Those questions can be imperative in terms of the health and sustainability of the relationship.
And once again here’s the fun part – two of you have the chance to win a copy of Art, Inc! Whether you’re an aspiring artist or know someone who aims to be this book is the guide you’ll want at arm’s reach. You have until midnight CST Sunday, August 24th to toss your hat into the ring! a Rafflecopter giveaway
is her latest book.
