Art Licensing Editorial: 2014 Atlanta Gift Show - insights on walking the show

This is the second of three articles about the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishing Market. As the title to this article implies, it really does mean that by attending the show you do walk it which can be hard on your feet since the AmericasMart campus is huge. So, wear comfortable shoes or you will not be able to see much of it. The purpose in going to the Atlanta Gift show is not only showing art for licensing consideration and getting contact information from the manufacturers exhibiting but MUCH more! It is also to learn about the licensing industry, learn what kind of art manufacturers & retailers are looking for, and spotting art and color trends. So, you need to observe, talk to whomever you can, and ask questions. Read the first article "Art Licensing: 2014 Atlanta Gift Show - the amazing AmericasMart campus" for information about the AmericasMart and how a person can attend the gift show.

Walking the show can be exhausting and it is easy to get overwhelmed with information and looking at "eye candy". The floor to ceiling glass windows of the showrooms allow you to see an amazing number of products as you walk down hallway after hallway after hallway. And do not presume that because a showroom is empty of buyers that the manufacturer is having a bad show because ten minutes later it can be packed with buyers. For some unknown reason, people attending any type of show seem to move through them in packs. Hint: I found it helpful to take plenty of breaks to relax from sensory overload and write down notes on what I saw and heard. Note: The AmericasMart policy does not allowed photos to be taken unless permission is given by the exhibitor. Attendees are allowed to bring rolling briefcases or rolling laptop size cases but nothing larger. But, these still tend to be a tripping hazard and gets in the way. Most people carry tote bags or backpacks for literature and other items.

SHOWING ART
Not all manufacturers have their own permanent showrooms at the AmericasMart. Some use a distributor(s) that have showrooms, some have temporary booths during the shows, some have permanent showrooms and also use a distributor, or use a distributor and have a temporary booth. Thus, you may see products from the same company in several showrooms or booths.

Persons responsible for selecting art for licensing consideration (art/licensing director or owner of the company) attend the Atlanta Gift show for at least two or three days of the show. They do not often go to the smaller regional gift shows. Because many art directors ( but not all) attend the Atlanta Gift Show and it is the largest one in the United States, it is the best one to attend to search for licensing opportunities. If you have contact information for the person responsible for selecting art, it is possible before the show to make an appointment with her/him IF she/he is attending the show and making appointments.

While walking the show, always look at showrooms that appear to have licensed art and products if you are interested in licensing your own product concepts. Ask at the information desk in the showroom if they license art and also ask who to contact and for their email address. It is smart to have with you an iPad with your art on it. You may have the opportunity to show your art to the companies art director or owner. The iPad is easier to carry than a large portfolio and an art director can easily flip through the images while standing in a crowded showroom or booth. Also, approaching manufacturer art directors are great ways to start building relationships that are very important in licensing your work. But, remember this is a wholesale show and you MUST observe show courtesy. The exhibitors are at the show to sell products to buyers so wait until the person is free before asking questions.

OBSERVE, o b s e r v e, observe
There is a lot of information available just by looking at the art on the products in the showrooms and booths. What colors and art themes are manufacturers placing on their products? What art styles are they using? And, is your art a good fit for their product lines? Do not waste your or the manufacturers time showing art to manufacturers that is not a good fit! For example, if you create whimsical styled art, it is a waste of time showing it to a manufacturer that ONLY wants contemporary graphic art styles or a weathered looking vintage art style.

Be on the lookout for new themes of images that appear on numerous manufacturer products. This could be possible trends that are at the beginning of a trend cycle and could continue for several/many more years OR not. And, when you are in a crowded showroom observe what products the buyers are looking at and commenting on. Also notice what products the buyers indicate to showroom reps they want to purchase. Every bit of knowledge leads to insight on the art that buyers think their customers will buy. And, that will help you decide on the art themes to create that will have a better chance in getting licensed.

Note: I attended two of the home decor seminars for buyers that were sponsored by home décor exhibitors. These seminars were given by expert and well known decorators. Several have their own HGTV home décor shows. The reason why I attended was to listen to their opinions about décor trends seen now in the market, about upcoming trends, and also to ask a few questions. Some home décor trends do filter down into the gift industry so the speakers opinions were insightful.

TALK and ASK QUESTIONS
Talk to everyone - manufacturers, fellow artists, art licensing agents, reps and owners in the showrooms and booths, and even buyers. Asking questions is a fantastic way to learn about products and art that sells. Put on a thick skin and ask art directors when they review your art why they do not like certain images of yours. Many are very frank with you and the information gain from that is HUGE. It gives you information on how to improve your work (technique, themes, colors etc.) so that you can create more licensable art. Artist and art licensing agent Ronnie Walter of Two Town Studios emphasized the importance of this in an artist Tara Reed Art Licensing Info Ask Call*. To paraphrase Ronnie, You need to listen very carefully when art directors are willing to constructively critic your work. Art licensing agent Jim Marcotte also of Two Town Studio and Ronnie's husband agrees in his blog article "Runnin' Wild in Atlanta" with the statement that getting the opportunity to get immediate feedback from the people who make the final decisions in choosing art is a great education that you cannot buy.

* Download a free audio recording of Ronnie and Tara's discussion at "Ask about Art Licensing".

While waiting to see an art director, talk to a rep if she/he is not busy. Reps like to talk to people about products and they may share information about the company and artists they license their work from. Information such as what art are big sellers and why they (the manufacturer) like to work with certain artists (easy to work with; knows what art consumers buy) would not be found out otherwise. And, even talking to buyers gives you an understanding about the retail business and what sells. At the show, I spent an enjoyable 45 minutes talking to a gift store owner while i was sitting in line waiting for artist Susan Lordi (Willow Tree) signing at the Demdaco showroom :) I learned a lot about the challenges in running a store in this changing economy.

Note: Maybe it is the southern hospitality in Atlanta but I was impressed with how helpful most reps in the showrooms were when I approached the information table and asked if they licensed art. One rep said that they did not license art but pointed me to another showroom that did. In another showroom, the reps did not know and actually chased down the CEO so that I could ask him. And, the CEO cheerfully gave me the information and told me a little about his company. That definably is not my experience when I walk the San Francisco gift show. Getting contact information is like "pulling teeth"! Of course, even in Atlanta there are some reps that are grouches and I did come across a few. And, I could not believe what another artist experienced when she went into a showroom that displayed her art on their products. She was made to feel very unwelcome because she was not a buyer although she explained that she had created some of the art on their products:(

Hint: For those of you that have a hard time approaching reps and showing your art, I will let you in on a little secret. It is hard AT FIRST but it gets easier the more you do it. I am an introvert and meeting strangers are VERY outside my comfort zone. When I started attending trade shows years ago, I had to force myself to approach a booth. It was agony. And, low-and-behold I found out that usually the reps were really nice. And, I learned not to take it personally when they were not nice. So now after years of practice, when I walk the shows I put on my social hat and actually enjoy meeting and talking to strangers. I am still an introvert and prefer staying in my studio creating art but I have learned that occasionally leaving my studio and meeting other people is not only enjoyable but can be educational.

MORE SHOW IMPRESSIONS
Below are a links to articles by others attending the show.

• Andrea Brooks and Dennis Kendrick "The Atlanta Show January 2014"

• Beth Logan "Atlanta Gift Mart 2014"

• Genevieve Gail "Atlanta Gift Mart Recap"

• Kathy Weller "AmericasMart 2014 trip and Demdaco Yoga Pals"

• Linda McMullan "Report from Atlanta Gift and Home Market" and "More Trends from the Atlanta Gift and Home Market" and "Three Big Lessons from The Atlanta Gift and Home Market"

• M & M / art baking "Atlanta Gift Show January 11, 2014"

• Patti Gay "Atlanta Gift Show"

• Rhoda (consumer) "The Atlanta Mart January Show"

• Stephanie Ryan  "Atlanta Gift Mart Recap Part 1 – Fleur for Magnet Works – Studio M" and "Atlanta Gift Mart Recap Part 2 – Santa Barbara Design Studio"

• Valerie McKeehan "Americas Mart Atlanta Re-Cap January 2014"

• Working Girls Design "2014 Starts off Right - Our Trip to the Atlanta Gift Show!"

SUMMARY
It is expensive to attend the Atlanta Gift Show because of airfare and lodging costs. So, use your time wisely in walking the show to learn as much as you can. Wear comfortable shoes, bring an iPad with your art on it, and a camera or smart phone to take pictures if you have the opportunity. Also do not forget to bring some business cards and postcards with your contact information on them. Pick up literature and magazines from the magazine racks situated near the elevators and escalators on each floor to peruse after the show. You can ask the manufacturer for catalogs but I found that not many will give them to artists because they are saving them for the buyers. Talk to everyone, ask questions and build relationships. And, learn as much as you can so that you have a better understanding about the licensing industry and thus a better chance in licensing your art.

RELATED ARTICLE
• Art Licensing Editorial: 2014 Atlanta Gift Show - trends

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Art Licensing: 2014 Atlanta Gift Show - the amazing AmericasMart campus

This is the first in several articles about the 2014 Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishing Market that sells product to retail stores. The January and July Atlanta Gift Show each year is the largest in the United States and held at the AmericasMart campus in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. It has more than 1400 permanent showrooms and during the shows 2500 temporary booths housed in three buildings (sometimes called four buildings because of the addition to building two). The above picture of the 774 page tome of the buyer's guide attests to how many companies showed their products to buyers. Note: This year the Mart installed free WiFi in all buildings and floors. As you would expect, not all areas had a strong signal and so the speed and connections were sometimes iffy. The Mart also installed an app that could be used with smart phones and tablets for locating exhibitors. I found the app not reliable, slow and difficult to use on my iPad so I finally gave up and instead used the buyers guide.

Artists attending this show get contact information, meet with art/licensing directors to show their art for licensing consideration, and get inspiration by looking at all the products. Because the show is a wholesale trade show for buyers, artists are only allowed to attend if they qualify for the Marts admission policy. Artists can be a guest of a company exhibiting at the show*, a guest of a buyer attending the show, a buyer if the artist owns a business and qualifies as a buyer, as press (some bloggers have been able to quality), or as a rep for several artists. To find out more about qualifying, read "Admission Policies" and "Press Registration / Credentials".

* If an artist has a licensing deal with a manufacturer exhibiting at the show, the manufacturer normally is willing to get the artist a badge to attend the show.

Connecting bridges among the three buildings on certain floors allow show attendees to walk among the buildings without going outdoors. Shown in the photo are the bridges between building 1 and 2.

The AmerciasMart campus is huge. Building One has 23 floors, Building Two has 18 floors, and Building Three has 15 floors. The above schematic of the buildings show what floors the bridges connect to what buildings and a general description of what products are in the showrooms on each floor. Building One has showrooms of home and rug, furniture and linens, home design and décor, and holiday and floral. Building Two showrooms have gift and home, and outdoor / indoor products. This building has most of the companies that license art. Building Three has showrooms of apparel and jewelry. Temporary exhibiting booths are on certain floors in all three buildings.

The elevators especially in Building Two are used a lot and not the fastest way to go from one floor to another. So many people use the escalators or even the stairs. The above schematic shows the location of the elevators, escalators and showrooms on floor six Building Two. Floor six tends to have the heaviest traffic in Building Two probably because one set of escalators stop at this floor. To go up to the other floors a person needs to walk across to the other side of the building to get to the escalators that go higher. Traversing Building Two and looking for certain showroom numbers are frustrating because of the addition to the building and enlarging floors six, seven, eight, nine and ten. The showroom numbering system is no longer sequential. A person walking down an aisle toward a destination of for example showroom 631 discover that all a sudden the showroom numbers changed from 627 to 685. The only way to find showroom 631 is to look at the floor schematic.

Not all exhibitors license art or products. Some companies have no art on their products, some have the art on them but do not license the art, and some are distributors that represent various manufacturers that may or may not license the art on the products. So if you feel your art is a good fit for the company product line, it means asking if they license art. I was very surprised that many more exhibitors than I expected do license art. And, some were even willing to look at art when I asked for contact information. In situations like that, it is imperative to have your art on an iPad because not all exhibitors have room for a table to spread out a portfolio. With an iPad, art can be flipped through quickly while standing.

Related articles:
• Art Licensing Editorial: 2014 Atlanta Gift Show - insights on walking the show

• Art Licensing Editorial: 2014 Atlanta Gift Show - trends


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Art Licensing Editorial: Can You Make a Living Licensing Art Now?

One of the most asked questions by artists interested in licensing their art is "Can you make a living licensing art?" Five years ago before the start of the great recession (started late 2007 but often referred to as 2008) many artists were able to get enough licensing deals that they actually could make a living licensing their art. Now six years later because of the change in economy and consumer spending, the art licensing industry is much different and less artists are able to make a living ONLY from licensing their art. Most of the artists that do make a living by licensing have been licensing their work for years, have built a consumer following, and have a solid relationship with the manufacturers that license their work.

The impact of the great recession on consumer spending has created a new norm of bargain hunting according to "How the Great Recession has changed the way we shop – even during the holidays." Consumers are looking for discounts and expect it from retailers. And, they are not splurging as much as they did before the recession and normally only buy what they need. It is predicted that this change in consumer spending will NOT shift back to pre 2008 spending.

Retail stores are giving consumers what they want with constant discounts at stores such as clothing at Kohl's, and fabric and hobby supplies at JoAnn Fabric and Craft. And to attract consumers to their stores and make more revenue, chain stores are turning into one stop shopping that include food items such as at Walmart and Target. Also, many retailers not only have brick-and-mortar stores but also sell their products on the internet. Service centers not usually associated with the selling of products are now selling items related to their service such as t-shirts at exercise centers. Even the U.S. Postal Service offices sell greeting cards and other products.

Of course the shift in consumer spending has a huge impact on the art licensing industry. Retailers are buying less products and many times discount seasonal items well before the end of the season. This results in manufacturers often doing only one production run of the product and producing less products than pre 2008. Thus, artists get less revenue for the design and it may not be produced again the following year even though the licensing contract will not expire for several more years.

So what can those artists new to licensing or those not yet making a living licensing their art do to improve their revenue? Licensing agent Maria Brophy had the same dilemma that many businesses did during the recession. In an article, Maria said "In 2008, when everyone was hit hard by the recession, Drew and I were still going strong with our business of selling and licensing art. But our revenues gradually started to decline, as many of our best clients and licensees, went out of business. OUR INCOME DROPPED BY 40%. Then it continued to tank… By 2011, we were bringing in 50% of the revenue we were earning before the recession. And we started to panic. You see, just like many small business owners, we thought the recession would be a temporary thing, and that we would go back to selling art in the way we always did. But we were wrong. Things changed and never went back." Read what Maria did to counteract the decline in her business of selling and licensing Drew's art by reading "Where the Money is Hiding and the Thriving Artist Summit".

If you read, Maria's article you will find that even before the recession she and Drew were not just licensing Drew's work but also selling it. The term often heard in art licensing is "don't quit your day job" is so true. Not all artists can earn enough in licensing and they need other means of revenue to support themselves. Some have full or part time jobs that may or may not be related to art. Some sell their art in galleries, at art and craft shows, or do commission work. And, others sell their art on internet stores. Read, "Art Licensing: Should you sell art on POD stores?" for the pros and cons on having a print-on-demand internet store.

Licensing art has never been easy. And, it has gotten harder. Licensing experts that have been in the industry for decades state that what worked previously in successfully licensing art does not always work now. There are less retailers purchasing products with licensed art on them. And, manufactures have much more art to choose because there are more artists licensing their art. Thus, the number of available licensing deals are less and spread among more artists. So the bottom line is that you may not be able to make a living just by licensing your art even with the improvement of the economy. Licensing art can be a good way to bring in revenue but you still may need additional ways to make a living.

The change in the licensing industry mean that artists not only should but MUST change the way they approach licensing. Getting licensing deals is very competitive and the more the artist stands out in having the right art and willingness to satisfy the manufacturer the better chance for her/him to license art.

To optimism the possibilities in getting licensing deals, I recommend artists:
• create art that the consumer want on products. That means you must research each product industry to learn what themes and color combinations consumers are attracted to so they will buy the products and manufacturers will license your work.

• send art that fits the manufacturer product line. You should analyze why your art fits (or not) specific products for specific manufacturers and be able to explain the reason why your art should be licensed to the manufacturer if asked. To find out why you should do this, read art agent Jim Marcotte of Two Town Studios surprising article "Dude, what's Your Problem?"

• send art for licensing consideration in the proper formats. For instance, do not send horizontal or square images to flag manufacturers. They need images that are formatted vertically. However, if the manufacturer also license art for floor mats and/or mailbox wraps then an image formatted horizontally is not only appropriate but wise to send with the vertically formatted image.

• send collections of art to manufacturers that require multiply images for their products. For instance, images for tabletop ware often require a collection of multiple central images, borders and patterns but a greeting card only need central images. Thus, there is no need to send patterns and borders with the central image to greeting card manufacturers if that is the only product they manufacture.

• send mock-ups of the product if appropriate so that the manufacturer can see what the art will look like on the product. Greeting cards and flags do not need mockups but it is advisable to send mock-ups for a collection of art to tabletop manufacturers.

• be willing to edit art to manufacturer specifications and tell them so when you submit the art.

• be willing to send high resolution (HiRes) art to manufacturers when requested for client presentations. Many manufacturers presell their products before producing them. Note: Requests for HiRes art are without any assurance that the art will be licensed. And, sending the art is done without a contract so the artist needs to trust the manufacturer before sending them.

• And, most importantly build relationships with manufacturer art/licensing directors and follow up after submitting art. Read art licensing agent Jim Marcotte of Two Town Studios article "Hey Remember Me?" on the importance of building relationships with manufacturers and follow up.

Your comments are welcome. Click on the comments section (below) to write your comment. Note: Some people have a problem in leaving a comment. The most successful method is to comment as Name/URL (your name and website or blog with a "complete" URL address).

Licensing Art to the Decorative Tile Industry

Ceramic decorative tiles are used in kitchen backsplashes; murals and accent pieces in kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, and on floors; as wall art; and as trivets for hot dishes. Making tiles and placing art on them are relatively easy to do. Thus, the manufacturing of them is not usually outsourced to foreign companies but done locally and ideal to be customized to individual needs.

There are many artists that sell tiles in POD (print on demand) internet stores and on their own websites. And, art is licensed by some internet tile companies. These companies tend to sell their tiles via POD to individual consumers and not to retail stores. Therefore, the licensing revenue may be very small because the tiles are not sold in mass quantities. Note: Not all artists license their art just for the money.  The aim of some artists is to also see their art on products. They are willing to do POD deals even though the revenue may not be a large amount.

As when submitting art to any manufacturer, artists must research what art theme and style each manufacturer use on their tiles. Many use fine art scenes, floral, and coastal designs but some use a variety of other art styles such as abstracts. Also, some tile manufacturers want to showcase artists work with the same theme. So be prepared to have collections of art that can be mixed and matched such as different flower designs.

Tile manufacturers generally want art that:
1. has themes that work well on tile for the home. Look at the manufacturer's websites to see the art themes they use on their tiles.
2. is formatted in squares or can be divided into squares for murals. Look at the manufacturer's website to see if they specify the tile size. Note: This may not be necessary but it is always advisable to make it easy for the manufacturer so they will license the art.
3. can be used for single tiles or murals. Show the art as collections of vertical, horizontal, and square motifs (from the painting or created separately). The manufacturer may only be interested in square motifs for accent pieces or only the painting (either horizontal or vertical) for a mural. But, having a collection increases licensing opportunities.
4. the artist is willing to edit (change colors, remove icons, reformat) to their specifications.

Tile Manufacturers:
• Artwork on Tile

• Cape Cod Treasure Chest

• My Backsplash

• Pacifica Tile Art Studio

• The Tile Mural Store

• Tile by Design

Read more articles about other manufacturers under the word Manufacturers in the Topics section on the side bar.

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