A bit about "2nd Thursdays" chat group on ArtLicensingShow.com

Hi Everyone!

Quick post about my "2nd Thursdays" group on ArtLicensingShow.com. We meet the 2nd Thursday of each month in a text chat room. 6:30 PM US Central Time (Chicago). Everyone is welcome who is interested in any aspect of the Art Licensing business. You do need to be a paid member of ArtLicensingShow.com to get access to the group. You can sign up for ArtLicensingShow.com for free if you want to look around and see what it is like & get a free business directory listing.

If you are already a paid member of ArtLicensingShow.com - I send out invitations to the "2nd Thursdays" group to everyone. If there is a glitch, just request to join :-D.

We usually keep the format open so that we can put our heads together. Cherish, Founder/CEO of ArtLicensingShow.com attends almost all of the chats. She updates us on any new features on the site, exciting news and answers any questions you may have. The group came up with the very successful holiday coloring book idea https://artlicensingshow.com/holiday-coloring-book/, I believe it has had 6,000+ downloads. Recently we had Susan January, VP Leaning Tree, answer all of our questions around the greeting card industry. https://artlicensingshow.com/2nd-thursdays-special-guest-susan-january-of-leanin-tree-chats-about-greeting-cards/.

Join us! we try to keep it to an hour long - always some great ideas and topics on everyone's minds.

Really looking forward to chatting with all of you!

Surtex 30+ Photo Review!

Annie with her art in rep.'s booth ArtsDG.com

Hey Everyone :-)

I made sure to get more photos this year! It is dependent on if I can catch people in their booths with a minute of free time and they agree to have the photo taken. These are in the order I took them, which is random because of the people I would bump into an speak with etc. Last year's post has that year's floor plan to give you a bit of an idea of the size of the 3 shows: Surtex/NSS/ICFF  click here

I attended Surtex on Monday only. The day Started with a meet up organized by http://artoflicensing.com. People come and go between 8:15 am - 10:00 am. There was a lot of great swag given away at this event! There was a short talk given by a publisher Judith McCabe, from Fox Chapel Publishing and by Melissa Schulz, ArtLicensingInfo.com.
This is a great meet up for anyone in the art licensing business to meet other people and get information.

My Agent Julie in Red and her partner Mary Ann behind her - No, They didn't know I took this pic ;-)

Part of the Art of Licensing Meet up, Level 1 Jacob Javits Food Court area

I barely walked the National Stationery Show (NSS) - I did catch a talk Joanne Fink gave to store owners about having coloring book parties, contests Etc. - It was great info that can apply to artist with coloring books.

Partial view of NSS entrance

Jennifer Speer, Artist, coloring on Joanne Fink's Coloring wall just outside of the NSS entrance

Before I post all the Surtex photos - Note that my '2nd Thursdays' group on Artlicensingshow.com will be text chatting about Surtex, trends and all things related and I hear there are some surprises! Spread the word and see you at 6:30 pm CST.  TOMORROW Thurs. May 19th, 2016 Link to group

We postponed this month to the 3rd Thursday for Surtex

SURTEX PHOTOS ;-) - Exhibitors, let me know if you would like to link to a different link. Click images to view larger - click link to each artists' work - this is on the fly photography :)

Kris Ruff

Lucinda Wei

Dinah, Western Illustration

PI Creative Art

Danielle Kroll

Cherian Design

Pamela Hamilton Designs - Gracefull Arts - This is a Design Next booth :-D

Dot & Flow

Tatyana Starikova

equinox art & design - Marsha Rollinger

My Favorite Designs!

Kate Mawdsley

Ella Bella Rose, England

Lilla Rogers Studio

Painted Planet Licensing Group

Wild Wings

Kitty Keller Designs

Nicole Tamarin - She also was a speaker/panelist for a Surtex Conference that was great!

Elizabeth Stirling Designs

Stacy Peterson

Marion Nixon Paintings

Figgy Pudding Designs - Shelley Brant

Suzanne Cruise Creative Services, Inc. - They recently merged with Buffalo Works: Press Release

 Altelier - Surface/Pattern section at Surtex, They do not like booth photos taken :-)

 

Trend Theater - Free seminars

 

Thank you all for giving me permission to take photos of you/your booth!

Make my day! and Buy me a cup of coffee (PayPal Link in right side bar, you don't need a PayPal acct.), follow this blog, and/or click an ad (you don't need to buy ;-)

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Marketing 101 for Artists - Starts TOMORROW!

Howdy Everyone!
Just wanted to pop in to let you know Marketing 101 for Artists starts tomorrow! These guys know their stuff!

Also for this class only they are including an Individualized Website and Social Media Critique.

This is an affiliate link below to sign up - I will make a few dollars if you sign up by clicking this link which I REALLY appreciate you supporting this blog and all the awesome experts that have taken the time to share what they know with us - thanks!

More info https://jb155.isrefer.com/go/Mrkt101-February2016/anntroe/

A bit about them from their website:

John Mavrakis

John draws on his deep executive expertise with brand titans Hallmark, American Greetings, Discovery Channel, The Body Shop, Intl., Kathy Davis Studios, Mary Engelbreit Studios, and The Gap/Banana Republic to strategize and execute the mission of ideaologie.

Melissa Schulz

Melissa’s vast experience as a Creative Leader, associated with leading brands such as Hallmark, Hard Rock, American Greetings, and Kathy Davis to name a few. With 20 years of experience in the art licensing and product development fields, Melissa has strategically led creative teams through transitional, successful and growth periods. Charged with entrepreneurial spirit, she has spent years helping artists and companies strategize their business growth path. Most recently, Melissa has devoted much time building the Kathy Davis brand online through social media marketing, as well as great success in traditional marketing channels.  Through the process of building her own jewelry line, she has proven her “hands on” capabilities in all aspects of the business. Finally, she is an optimist, a relationship builder and a brand ambassador – all things that have helped season her for her latest challenge to strategize and execute the mission of ideaologie.

let me know if you sign up and keep me posted on how the class goes for you.

Agent Spotlight - Jennifer Nelson Artists

How long have you been in business and how did you come to be an agent?
Just one year, we opened in January 2015. But before that I had been an agent, working for another company. Before that I was a graphic designer for many years. So either one year, or my whole career, depending how you look at it.

Do you have help/employees?
Yes, we have a data entry person, a writer and a bookkeeper... all are essential to the business. I may add an assistant soon because most days I’m as busy as can be.

Do you prefer royalty deals? Flat fee?
We are happy working any way the client wants to work! If it’s a royalty deal, I like to get an advance upfront for my artists. We also take commissions when a buyer is looking for something special.

How do you market artists? Who pays for this? Anything different for new artists?
JNA does lots of social media, cold calls, newsletters, trade shows. In today’s world you have to be everywhere. I share the costs of promotion with my artists. We’re all in this together.

What do you look for in an artist?
I look for three things….
1) Talent: A body of marketable work. It does not have to be loads of work, just enough to show me the right subject matter in a range of styles.

2) Professionalism: Will she be on time for deadlines? Can she handle constructive criticism? Is her social media up to date and does it reflect her as an artist?

3) Kindheartedness: I need to have loads of trust in the people I represent. I work hard for my artists and I want to work with kindhearted people who I know will be good to both me and to our clients.

Do you feel an artist needs an online presence?
Yes! It’s 100% essential.

How much art do you expect an artist to create in a year?
A good minimum is one new piece each week. Preferably three to four per week once an artist is in the zone.

Anything else to add?
Yes! I’m doing a workshop in March with a company called Modern Thrive. It’s called "How To Get An Agent (And Do I Need One)". You can get more information here: http://modernthrive.com/workshops/workshop-28/

 

You can find Jennifer:
Website: www.jennifer-nelson-artists.com
Email: jennifer@jennifer-nelson-artists.com
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_nelson_artists/

Really looking forward to hearing what you have to say in the comments below!

Do you want to be spotlighted? Send me an email: info@AnnGraphics.com

Make my day and follow this blog :-D Don't want to miss the good stuff? Sign up for my newsletter ;-)

Art Licensing Newsletter - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! 

I am giving you a look at what my Art Licensing Newsletter looks like ;-) Click this link to see past issues too! http://eepurl.com/bLzjiX  I have been known on occasion to give away stuff - newsletter subscribers are the first to know!

If you want to guest post or be featured on my blog, send an email to info@anngraphics and let's chat :-)

Wishing each and every one of you the VERY BEST 2016!

Hot Summer Updates from ArtLicensingShow.com!

I am excited about ArtLicensingShow.com (ALSC). I had a manufacturer find me through the site
already! I didn’t do a thing other than join. It is a brand NEW only-one-of-its-kind website for everyone in the art licensing business. I asked the Founder and CEO Cherish Flieder to tell us about what is new and exciting about ALSC.

What’s New?

ArtLicensingShow.com is fully up-and-running. We have heard many stories of artists and agents connecting, working on projects together and signing deals! It’s wonderful to hear that the Art Directors/Manufacturers/Licensee Companies are enjoying using the site to see art and it is a huge relief to artists as well. Now licensors can take back control of who exactly is seeing their art licensing portfolios online. (Most of the deals are top secret, so we can’t tell you details until the products are on the market next year.)

This summer, I flew all over the country to New York (Stationery Show/Surtex), Las Vegas (Licensing Expo) and Atlanta (Summer Gift Mart) connecting with members and potential members of the site. There was a very high level of enthusiasm in the air and we are very optimistic for things to come! Members are giving very useful feedback and are an important part of making this website an excellent place to network and show art online. Art Directors tell us that they are eager to see more art on the site from a variety of art and photography styles!

Our development team continues to develop the features of the site to run smoothly and securely in the background. Since we launched, we have added a vetting process for new Artists/Agents and Art Directors/Manufacturers/Licensee Companies to join the site. It’s a difficult thing to do sometimes, but adding this step in the registration process actually has attracted a more professional level of Artist/Agent as well as Licensee Companies. Overall, we are very happy with the progress.

We are getting social…
Art Licensing Show is now on Pinterest & Instagram!
In effort to give our members more opportunities to get their names out there, we have decided to partner with these highly visual social media platforms.

Art Directors are always using these networks to look for art. They can find out about a new artist they like on Instagram or Pinterest and click through to the site to see their private portfolios on ALSC.

Follow ALSC on Instagram: https://instagram.com/artlicensingshow/
Follow ALSC on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/artoflicensing/

ALSC portfolio members can find out the steps to get featured here!
(http://artlicensingshow.com/instagram-opportunities/)

…and even more social!
ALSC has recently added social links to the portfolio enabled profile pages. Artists/Agents can share their links to: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Ello, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, Dribbble, Blogger, RSS, Email, Vine, Spoonflower, Etsy, and Behance.

 

What’s Coming Up Next?

More notifications:
The ALSC development team has been adding new ways for members to know what’s going on within the site including notifications for trigger behaviors and email updates from groups. Settings can be managed in the notifications section. We hope to provide more helpful notifications in the future based on member feedback.

Re-ordering collections:
We are in the finishing stages on a new feature that will allow Artists/Agents to re-order how their collections will appear on the page. (It sounds simple, but the way the portfolios are set up to give specific permissions, it’s much more complicated in the code than one would imagine). We are happy to announce that this long-awaited feature should be up and running by next month. We have hundreds of ideas in queue that we are working on with our development team. Members are encouraged to contact ALSC with feedback and ideas. (http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/contact/)

There are so many things you can do at ArtLicensingShow.com, but there are also MANY lesser known strategies that will help you out. Cherish and I brainstormed on some tips that have come up in recent discussions. Hope you find them beneficial.

Tips & Tricks for Artists/Agents

• Mark each image with your name so if an Art Director saves the image on their computer, they will know it is yours when they come across it in their files later.

• Upload tear sheets/portfolio pages rather than individual art. It will save you time! You can edit the crop if you want to zoom in on a portion of it for the preview image.

• Get connected with industry leaders. Join a group that interests you. There are 20 specialty groups, so far, such as Greeting Cards, Trends, Home Décor, Art Marketing, Tech Talk, Character Design, Art for Kids, Bi-Weekly Art Challenge, and Call for Submissions. Of course, Annie Troe’s “2nd Thursdays” group is very popular and a great way to get plugged into our community.

• Take time to add tags, keywords and descriptions. When an art director is in your portfolio and does a search (or clicks on a tag on your profile page) it is searching only within YOUR portfolio. Adding more art will make these searches more productive for them, which will give you more opportunities to license your art.

• Remember, this is YOUR private portfolio; you can invite any credible licensee to the site to come see it. They only need to register once and then they will be able to login and out with ease. (Invitation & art sharing steps: http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/invitation-and-portfolio-sharing-process-infographic/)

• Sharing your art is VERY simple, but it’s not automatic. Login often to share your art with current and new Art Director contacts. Remember, you have 100% control of who sees your art. All you do is click the check box next to their name and it is instantly shared with them (no “save” button needed). (More info on sharing: http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/share-collections-pieces-art-directors/)

Tips & Tricks for Art Directors/Manufacturers/Licensee Companies

• Click on the “My Activity” link to see an archive of everything that has been shared with you. There is a thumbnail for each share that will take you in to see the full collection or piece at your leisure.

• Feel free to request Artists/Agents to submit to you though the site. It’s very easy for them to share work this way (since they have already uploaded their art, they only have to press the button next to your name, this means you get to see it even faster!). (Info on how to request specific art “shares” :
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/art-directors-ask-see-hidden-portfolio-collections/)

• All the portfolios are searchable, so you can find what you need at a moment’s notice. You can search within an Artist/Agent’s portfolio or the whole site if you go to the “Portfolio Tab”. In both cases, you will only see art that is specifically shared with you. (How to request art shares: http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/art-directors-ask-see-hidden-portfolio-collections/ )

• Post your art needs in the “Call for Submissions” group if you are looking for licensors to submit specifically themed images with your ALSC account. Don’t worry, submissions via ALSC won’t bog down your email with attachments. You can login to the site when you are ready to review fresh new art. (Ask to join the group here: https://artlicensingshow.com/groups/call-for-submissions/)

Note: You can join ALSC today and by setting up a free, enhanced “yellow pages” type listing for your business while getting a feel for the site. Also, if you want to learn more about the tools and resources available to you with the premium account options check out our knowledge base site at:
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/.

THANK you Cherish for writing the majority of this post. Love the "Call for Submissions" group - what a great idea! I can't imagine the amount of time (years!) you have spent researching and setting up this amazing new site. I REALLY appreciate it and I find it is worth every penny.

Everyone - let me know if you found this post helpful and feel free to post comments below or email me info@AnnGraphic.com. Thank you for stopping by!

Related posts: Why I am on Art Licensing Show http://annietroe.blogspot.com/2015/03/why-i-am-on-art-licensing-show-com.html

Artists: See how your profile page looks to Art Directors/Manufacturers : http://annietroe.blogspot.com/2015/02/peek-into-artlicensingshowcom-next.html

Orphan Works - Sample letter to Copyright office

August 24, 2015: Initial comments have been posted http://copyright.gov/policy/visualworks/comments/ sometimes the site is down for weekend maintenance

IMPORTANT: Please feel free to paraphrase my letter! :-)  But if we all send the same letter, our efforts will loose its effect. You don't need to be an artist for "The Next Great Copyright Act" to affect you.

click image to view larger

Hi everyone! Posting early this week because I thought if you are like me, your first few thoughts about writing a letter to the U.S. Copyright office might be filled with questions! Lots of chatter online about this topic. ALSO I wanted to show you my letter isn't grammatically correct or perfect. The idea is to be heard and to be heard in numbers. Save your letter, you may want to send it to your representatives later down the road. My thought is seeing someone's letter may make it easier for you to write. - Let me know if this was helpful :-) info@AnnGraphics.com

Let me back up a bit.

 

This issue has come up a couple times in the past. There are people who know more about it than I do!
Joan Beiriger has a fantastic blog post that talks about this issue - click here.

I used this blog post to help me write my letter http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/ It talks about what you might want to say if you are an artist and if you are not an artist :-)

Scroll down, this link has several letter starter phrases http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Artists-Alert--The-Return-of-Orphan-Works-Part-2---ARTISTS--LETTERS.html?soid=1102063090742&aid=DEeIBiwWgJ4

There are many posts about this, here are a couple more: http://www.theinformedillustrator.com/2015/07/urgent-orphan-works-alert.html And/or you might like this one http://www.drawger.com/holland/index.php?section=articles&article_id=15400
 
Video with Brad Holland talking about the copyright issues

Thoughts: I think it is important to mention that copyrights are our source of income. The other point I found important is that publishing doesn't devalue our work. I don't think you need to live in the United States to be concerned, we have a global economy.

Here are hightlights of what you might want to say from Brad Holland's Post (link above).
So when writing, please remember:
– It's important that you make your letter personal and truthful.
– Keep it professional and respectful.
– Explain that you're an artist and have been one for x number of years.
– Briefly list your educational background, publications, awards etc.
– Indicate the field(s) you work in.
– Explain clearly and forcefully that for you, copyright law is not an abstract legal issue, but the basis on which your business rests.
– Our copyrights are the products we license.
– This means that infringing our work is no different than stealing our money.
– It's important to our businesses that we remain able to determine voluntarily how and by whom our work is used.
– Stress that your work does NOT lose its value upon publication.
– Instead, everything you create becomes part of your business inventory.
– In the digital era, inventory is more valuable to artists than ever before."

Deadline is July 23rd, 2015

Submit it here - it was easy http://copyright.gov/policy/visualworks/comment-form/

I sent a PDF, The link above list the file types they will accept at the bottom of the gray box.
Note: a PDF will be searchable unless you convert the type to outlines. Not sure about your PDF?,  just save your letter as a Word doc, RTF or ASCII file format.

Thanks for your time! Let me know if seeing my not-so-perfect letter made it easier for you.