Joan Website | Joan Bio | Joan Licensing Info | Joan Contact Info | Blog Main Page

Art Licensing by artist Joan Beiriger: I'm happy to share art licensing info but please
give me credit and link to my blog when using it on your site. Thanks.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Editorial: An Art Licensing Winning Team: Susan Winget Art Studio

Little did artist Susan Winget and painters Mary Beth and Jeannie know that they were going to travel a long and rewarding journey when they started creating art to sell at the Atlanta Gift Mart in 1982. Thirty years later and a lot of hard work, Susan Winget is one of the top art licensing licensors in the U.S. Her work is licensed for an amazing number of products including fabric, calendars, ceramic and melamine tabletop ware, all sorts of gift items, ornaments, decorative flags and paper products including party ware, gift bags, and greeting cards.

The business started in Susan's garage but as the success of first selling and then licensing art grew, more space was needed. Thus, a small building was built on Susan's property. And, as it continued to grow a larger two story cottage was built in 2001. Find out more about the art, staff, and studio on the Susan Winget website.

So why is Susan Winget art so successful and sought after by consumers?
When I have a chance, I often query sales reps, distributors, gift store owners and managers about different artists work. In response to questions asked about Susan Winget's work, a sales rep told me that Susan knows what consumers want and creates art that sells products. A distributor told me that Susan's art is continually refreshed so that it is not dated like some other artists work and the themes are just right for the products. And, a gift store owner told me that products with Susan's art on it outsells the same products with other artist's art.

I am sure that knowing what kind of art resonates with consumers has taken years and a lot of research. And, it looks like the Winget team has hit it right-on. The styles, colors, and themes have been refreshed and expanded over the years to reach out and appeal to more consumers. And, having an experienced team that creates a lot of art with different themes give manufacturers plenty of art to select. They do create an enormous amount of art because just for 2012, Susan Winget licensed OVER eight calendars. Gasp! That is over 96 images.

The success of Susan Winget is also due to being represented by a top art licensing agency, Courtney Davis, Inc. They specialize in planning a business strategy for each of their artists by seeking out the right manufacturer partners and then working with them to develop products that sell.

View the following videos for an eye-opening view on how a vision, hard work, dedication and a team that considers themselves family can produce great art that is seen on an amazing number of products that is coveted by consumers. By the way, putting these videos on youtube.com is a great marketing strategy by getting visibility of her art at no cost ;)

• "Tour of Susan Winget's Art Studio"
Discussing the start of the Susan Winget brand and a tour of the Winget Art Studio.

• "Susan Winget Shares About her Art"
A discussion about different projects for 2012.

Products
• "KandCompany Susan Winget by BlueMoonScrapbooking"
Showing papers, stickers, and other items for scrap booking.

• "CR Gibson's Brand's New Day :: Susan Winget"
Showing paper party products.

This article was updated 7/17/18.

Your comments are welcome. Please click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.

5 comments:

  1. Fantastic, Joan! Thank you for sharing Susan with us - I am going to check out her Youtube, and her website. I am very familiar with her work having seen it many times in gift stores. What a joy - and thank you for posting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. thanks for taking extra time to explain susan's strong points, like to read up on these insightful selling tips...not quite sure of why posting her videos on youtube is good marketing??

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing Post! Susan is a HUGE inspiration to me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Artistretreat,
    The more exposure an artist gets for her/his art and of themselves the more chances she/he has in licensing their work and selling product. Youtube.com has a huge audience and is a great place for manufacturers and consumers to not only see artists work but also to "meet" the artist and get to know her/him. Getting to know a person besides the art is important because licensing is building relationships. Susan's videos are great because they not only show her work but the viewer gets to meet her as she tells stories on how she got started, introduce her team, show how the art is created and see products. Joan

    ReplyDelete
  5. interesting...with all the art work the manufacturer/art director is buried under, do they really have the time to actually follow all this social media??

    ReplyDelete