How to make the most of the holiday season

I’ll let you in on a secret. Every December, I write a business preparation checklist on an A4 piece of paper and stick it into my brand new diary. I tape it in around the October section so I can remember the lessons I learnt this season to be as prepared as possible for the next holiday season. Future Christina is always thankful that I take the time to do this. As a jeweller, the last three months of the year are my busiest, and account for the largest percentage of my earnings. Most small businesses see a rise in sales in the lead-up to Christmas. Being disorganised at this time of year leads to missed opportunities, negative word of mouth and worst still, loss of sales. Managing your time, cash flow, stock and production for the holiday season really begins in January. But fear not! Here's what you can do right now to make the most of the holiday season and be better prepared for next year. Your future self will thank you!

Holiday season business prep checklist

Stocktake consumables: Make a list of the items and packaging you will need between now and the new year. Include everything, then overestimate how much you will need of each item and start stocking up as cash flow allows. For my business, this includes mailers, packaging, business cards, stickers, ribbon, metal, drills, emery, flux and wrapping paper. Most supply businesses shut down before Christmas and open again mid-January. Rushing to order branded gift boxes or ribbon at the last minute is not only stressful, but is time better spent working on revenue earning tasks. Buying in bulk will also save you money with lower prices and postage costs.

Restock your shop: Stock up on all the product offerings you will continue to sell in the new year. For me, this means ordering metal, gemstones and castings, then turning these into products to fill my safe. It can be hard to know which products will be the best sellers during the holidays, but keep in mind that price points between twenty and ninety dollars do well. In my business, earrings sell well as they don’t require resizing like rings do. Review your best sellers for the year and make predictions based on these numbers. Stock up on any items you will be promoting.

Organise a photo shoot: While you are stocking up on products and consumables, stock up on images as well. If you are producing high-quality items, you need high-quality visuals to represent your brand. Consumers are bombarded by images and have higher expectations than they used to. Take the time to plan a Christmas-themed photo shoot with images that will stop your clients mid-scroll. What will your theme be? What will be the focus of your Christmas marketing promotion? Create a Pinterest board of inspiration, gather your props, secure a model or friend, get out your camera or hire a photographer and set aside a few hours to style and shoot your products. If you can aim for thirty images, you will have a library to use across all your platforms in the lead up to Christmas. Use free online editing software like Canva to create Facebook, blog, newsletter and shop headers and save them to a file for Christmas branding. Then these will all be ready to go on December 1st, or whenever you choose to start your Christmas promotions.

Organise a holiday-themed photo shoot for your products

Schedule social media: Once you have the images ready, draft blog posts and newsletters and use scheduling apps to plan your social media. When things get busy, social media is often the first thing we stop paying attention to, but is a huge revenue earner at this time of year. I use Dropbox and Mosaico for this. I can then upload every edited image from the shoot, write a caption, create a list of tags and post to a twice-daily schedule on Instagram.

Review your online presence: Check that your product descriptions are up to date, re-read your policies, check for continuity in your branding. Are you using the same profile image across all social media? Send a dummy email from your contact page to confirm there are no broken links. You don’t want to miss customer inquiries, or confuse customers across platforms with mixed branding.

Promote yourself: Start planning and promoting. How will you reach out to prior customers? How will you engage with new customers? What offers will you use to entice customers to purchase now, rather than putting it off? For my business, I print postcards using an image from my Christmas shoot, hand-write a thank-you note and send it on the 1st of December to every customer I had that year, offering them a ten percent discount online. This is the only discounting I do, as I feel discounting is the death of small business, and value adding (for example, offering a free polishing cloth with an order) is a more sustainable practice. I also create limited numbers of lower-price pieces that include postage and offer them exclusively for sale on Instagram. The limited number, price point and time sensitivity mean they sell quickly. I also offer free upgrades to express shipping as my mailing cut-off approaches.

Set cut-offs: I like to sell up to the last possible moment, but knowing when your cut-off dates are is crucial to ensure you can deliver on your promises. Look at your calendar and write down the last possible dates you can mail products to clients overseas, interstate and with Express Post (keeping in mind that even next-day delivery takes two days in many places in Australia). If you sell your goods wholesale, you will also need to advise your retailers of your wholesale order cut-off date. If they place an order mid-December, will you realistically be able to fill it and keep up with your online sales? I tend to make my wholesale cut-off mid-November, but stay as flexible as I can to serve my retailers right up until Christmas. If you create custom work, you will need another cut-off date. In my industry, client work can involve several different processes, from casting to engraving, handmaking to gem setting, and each of these suppliers are likely stretched to capacity. Jobs that can usually be done in one day take a week at this time of year. Start educating your clients about these cut-offs so you get a manageable flow of orders rather than a flood at the last minute. Keep reminding customers of your cut off dates: include them in your newsletters, on your website and again on social media.

Relax: Schedule time for family, friends and social activities this holiday season. By following the checklist above, you will have more time to spend enjoying the season, not just working through it.

Christina Lowry is a designer and jeweller who creates fine jewellery for creatives. Her work is featured in several Australian galleries, as well as in her online store. Christina fell in love with jewellery making while studying a Bachelor of Fine Art/Visual Art. Each piece is lovingly made by hand in her Brisbane workshop, incorporating precious metals and gemstones and using traditional metalworking techniques. To see more of her work, visit her website, Facebook page, and follow her on Instagram (@christinalowrydesigns).

Photography by Trudi Le Brese Photography for Christina Lowry Designs           

Interviews with creative women: Mirranda Burton, visual artist and graphic novelist

Wattle trees in full bloom line the roadside on the drive to Mirranda’s home studio in Melbourne’s north east.

Mirranda is a visual artist who tells stories with printmaking, animation and graphic novels. She meets me by the gate and welcomes me into the compact house which has been her home and studio space for the past three years. The small home was once a worker’s hut used as accommodation during the construction of the West Gate bridge. After the bridge’s completion, the renovated fibro cottage was transported to the Nutfield property, where it sits amongst twenty acres of bushland.

Mirranda’s making space
 

A curved brick path leads to the entrance of Mirranda’s home. It is a sheltered spot facing views of wattles, gum trees and a broad expanse of bushland. Birds fly through the scrub, calling out to each other and frogs can be heard croaking from the nearby dam. The small home is immersed in the landscape, filled with the scents and sounds of the Australian bush.

A mix between 1970’s simplicity and light Scandinavian style, Mirranda’s space is filled with treasures she has gathered over the years. She has made the space her own, as a home and a studio. ‘It’s been a real gift for finding out who I am as an artist,’ said Mirranda.

A large marimba sits quietly in the corner of the room, a reminder of Mirranda’s abilities as a musician who also plays mandolin and piano. The wintery Melbourne sun gently streams through the north facing windows, creating moving patterns and shadows on the Persian rug.

A pin board displays carefully placed items which provide inspiration for Mirranda’s graphic novel; a large map, a picture of a wombat, an image of iconic sixties black framed glasses. A lightbox is on hand for tracing work. The expanse between the two windows features large bookcases filled with books. Mirranda’s favourites include Art Spiegelman, Marjane Satrapi, Nick Hayes and Sarah Glidden. The Russian expressionists, German printmakers and woodcut artists have also influenced her work.

Treasured LP’s including David Bowie’s Heroes and Duke Ellington’s Jump for Joy sit ready to be played in front of the turntable. Mirranda is inspired by something that Bowie once said in an interview, ‘When you’re in a slightly uncomfortable place in your creative practice, you’re actually in a very exciting place to discover and to make something really interesting,’ said Mirranda. ‘It comes back to that notion of life beginning outside your comfort zone.’

Printmaking as a response to the native environment

Mirranda’s latest linocut series has been created as a direct response to her immediate environment and her place in it. Using the fox as metaphor, she examines the notion of humans being an introduced species in the native Australian environment, drawing parallels through her art to examine the conflicts and impacts. ‘I feel like it’s an opportunity to self-reflect even more about our own impact’

The fox linocut series was developed during her recent two-year artist residency at Dunmoochin. ‘Dunmoochin was a huge turning point for me in my art practice and it was a point in my life where I really decided to fully commit to my art practice as best as I could,’ she said. Turning forty and being in a creative environment with other artists helped propel Mirranda. ‘It was time to really do the work that I’ve truly believed in.’

Mirranda’s printmaking work focuses on crisp black and white lino prints. She works on her designs in her studio, cutting the lino on her brightly lit desk and then prints the work at Baldessin Press. ‘I’m particularly fussy about getting very strong blacks and very strong whites in my prints.’

Graphic novel
 

Mirranda is currently working on her graphic novel, which is due for publication with Allen and Unwin in three years’s time.

A recent trip to Vietnam provided Mirranda with research material for her graphic novel. It explores historical events around conscription in Australia during the time of the Vietnam war and includes stories which she has gathered by interviewing people in Australia and Vietnam. The novel will include ink illustrations that capture the style and fashions of Melbourne in the 1960’s. A wombat also plays a major part in the story.

Connecting with other artists
 

‘I love working on my own, but I’m always connecting with people in the area who are also practising artists.’ There is strong community of artists making graphic novels and comics in Melbourne. ‘I feel like a have a very supportive network around me.’

In October 2017, Mirranda will take part in the Melbourne Comics Workshop in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with a group of comic artists to work on their projects. As a result of previous workshops, published work has been produced by group participants. ‘Because we’re all working in very solitary spaces to create what we do, it’s very exciting when we come together and sort of fuel each other in our work.’

Sustaining a creative practice
 

Mirranda works in roles that nurture creativity in the community. Balancing her creative practice with other work, Mirranda also facilitates an art program at a local disability support service. Together with artists Ixia Black and Melissa Haslam, she is also one of the founders of Cube Z art gallery that has recently exhibited the work of artist Sam Beke who attends her facilitated art group.

In addition to working on her lino prints and graphic novels, Mirranda also freelances as an animator and an illustrator, undertaking residencies in schools and teaching workshops. ‘I’m doing quite a number of things to help support my art practice,’ said Mirranda.

On pursuing creativity, Mirranda said, ‘Being creative can be a really challenging thing. Sometimes we’re really daunted by the prospect of being creative, but embrace the discomfort and I think, wonderful things happen.’

Website / Facebook / Comic Art Workshop

Jenni Mazaraki is an artist, designer, writer and podcaster who helps women tell their stories. She is particularly interested in the ways that women make time and space for creativity. You can see more of Jenni’s work at www.localstoryspace.com or on Instagram @localstoryspace or Facebook.

Photos and video production by Jenni Mazaraki

Creative Women at Work: Pip Smith, author of Half Wild

Eugenia Falleni, whose multiple identities are the subject of Half Wild

Pip Smith is a Sydney-based writer and poet. Her debut novel, Half Wild, draws on extensive research to reimagine the life of Eugenia Falleni, the so-called “man-woman” convicted of murder in Sydney in 1920. Published in July by Allen & Unwin, the book has been praised as “impressive” (The Australian) and “imaginative and adventurous” (The Sydney Morning Herald). I chatted with Pip about how she came to write her first novel, the importance of failure, and why the only risks worth taking are the scary ones.

What was your inspiration for Half Wild?

I found out about Eugenia Falleni when I went to see the “City of Shadows” exhibition at the Justice and Police Museum. These were police photographs from the early twentieth century. Most of the subjects were hamming it up, trying to look tough with a scowl and their hats cocked to the side. But then there was this one photo of a man who looked the opposite: he was trying very hard to look normal but something in his eyes looked like he was about to come apart. The description said this was “actually” an Italian woman and mother. When I looked at the photo, I could see how it could be two people: a woman as well as a man. What interested me was that these were equally true identities—Eugenia lived in Double Bay as a woman who wore trousers and had a daughter, but [also lived] in Drummoyne as Harry Crawford, a Scotsman who grew up in New Zealand and had a wife and stepson. I was intrigued that one body could maintain two different identities in the same city at the same time, and never the twain shall meet—until, of course, they did, in the horrible court case of 1920.

These days, there’s vehement discussion about “truthiness” and fake news. While I passionately defend scientific truth, I was intrigued by the idea that multiple truths could coexist for different people at the same time.

Also, the places in Eugenia’s story are places I have lived. Once you become obsessed with something, you start seeing it everywhere. I almost felt stalked by the story. This was a story about my city that called into question things I both love and hate about it.

Did you know right away that you wanted to turn Eugenia’s story into a novel?

When I saw the exhibition, I was interested in making theatre. We pitched a show based on Eugenia to the Melbourne Fringe Festival. But collaboration can be unpredictable. The show somehow ended up being about Michael Jackson and I was naked in a Perspex box filled with plastic plants! It was pretty terrible. Then I thought, maybe I’d turn it into a collection of prose poems. But when I started writing, it came out as a novel. That’s just the way the project evolved.

Everyone’s artistic process is different. I have to go the long way to get anywhere, and that’s okay. I think it’s important to get distracted, go down rabbit holes, and procrastinate by researching something strange, because it all ends up being swept back in the project in some way.

So you give yourself the freedom to explore?

Yes, and to fail. That’s important. A lot of the stuff I wrote [in the first couple years] didn’t work. It felt phony. I was scared of writing from Harry Crawford’s point of view because I’m not a man or a trans man. It was a voice experiment that went on forever. I finally just shelved it. It wasn’t until years later that I went back and looked at what I’d written. I cut thousands of words and some of it survived. It’s amazing how things can come back like that.

Given that this was your first novel, did you struggle with self-doubt? Did you ever want to give up?

Self-doubt is a big thing for me. I took about a year to get going, just trying to convince myself I could do it. One of the things that pulled me through was that it was a true story, and that Eugenia’s life—or lives—are still relevant now. With all this debate about gender fluidity and identity politics, it’s still an important idea. Also, I was on a scholarship and felt like I had a commitment to the government to finish. As a writer, you’ve got to jump at these opportunities.

What does your writing day look like?

I need to write first thing in the morning because it’s really easy to get distracted. The hardest thing for me is getting raw material on the page. It’s the most important part of writing and the scariest—and also the most fun. I feel great if I can get three hours of writing done. I leave editing until the afternoon, when that creative energy has burned up.

The thing that keeps me going is reading. If I don’t know what I’m doing, I often at least know what energy I want on the page. In the first part of the book, I wanted a larger-than-life energy, as if time was racing ahead. I was also exploring the idea of your imagination making things real. So I read a lot of books written from the point of view of children. I’d read until I got excited by a spark of an idea, then start writing.

Different kinds of writing require different processes. The third part of the novel, which is based on the court transcript, had a lot more facts to include. I made a spreadsheet of all the witnesses’ names, what they had seen, and so on. Each week I would write one person’s scenes to make sure I kept the voices consistent.

A lot of the work is trying to find the process that works for you at a given point in time. Whenever there’s a big life change it takes ages to find the way of organizing your life that’s the most effective.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about writing?

The most important thing is to do it every day, to keep a regular practice even when you’re feeling lost. You never know when it’s going to work or how it’s going to work. If I know that I’m going to be at my desk for three hours every day, then any ideas I have will be caught, like in a fishing net. If you turn up, something’s going to make it. Being disciplined in that way has been really valuable for me.

Kate Grenville recommended writing the most difficult part first, the part you’re most afraid of. I think that’s really wise, because otherwise you spend so long circling around it, you end up with tens of thousands of words on stuff that isn’t quite the thing that scares you.

Any advice about taking creative risks?

My big fear about taking a risk is that if it’s a failure, I’ll have wasted my time. But it’s only a risk not worth taking if it doesn’t address something genuinely, deeply inside you. If it is a genuine question you have, it’s never going to be a waste of time.

Then the important thing is to ask yourself: is the question big enough? Is what I’m attempting scary enough? If the question doesn’t rattle you, it’s probably not worth asking. So it’s probably not, “Is this too much of a risk?” but rather, “Is this a big enough risk to warrant committing years of my life to?”

Julie Mazur Tribe is an editor and book-publishing consultant who loves working with authors, books, and creative ideas. She can be found at BrooklynBookStudio.com or on Instagram at @brooklynbookstudio.

Author photo by Joshua Morris

Creative Career Change 101: Long-term networking

This is Part 2 in Bec Mackey's Creative Career Change 101 series. You can find Part One here.

When you’re in the midst of a career change, there are a lot of unknowns. One of the best ways to find out more about your new industry, field or role is to ask those already working in similar jobs or businesses, and ideally, to find an experienced person who can guide you as a mentor during your transition.

However, this is easier said than done, and although much is made of the idea of mentors, the reality is most people won’t just stumble upon someone who is suitable and willing ­— at least not easily. Add to this the fact that in many creative fields, work is conducted largely solo, and the thought of trying to find the appropriate people to talk to, let alone ask for help, can be enough to make many would-be career changers feel its all a bit too hard.

The truth is, building strong relationships with potential colleagues, clients, suppliers or employers is arguably the most important thing you’ll achieve on your quest to change careers. So what to do, and where to start? If the thought of attending networking drinks alone in an unfamiliar environment with the intention of giving out as many of your shiny new business cards as possible makes you break out in a sweat, never fear. Relationship building for your new career, or as I like to call it – long-term networking, is nothing like the awkward cliché of those dreaded networking nights.

The good news is that long-term networking is much more low-key, organic and enjoyable than traditional networking. It is less about pushing your agenda and more about creating strong relationships that last over time. Another wonderful side effect? Making genuine connections with people fosters friendships that you didn’t know you needed on your way to your next career. Some of them will become lifelong friends, and in the end, you’ll probably count meeting them as much more important and significant than any career move you ever could have made.

Here are three ideas to help you develop strong new relationships on your way to a successful career change:

Think holistically

Career change is often a time of experimentation, and this can lead to wonderfully unexpected things, such as new contacts and friends. During this time of change, you are likely going to be more open to exploring new interests, whether they are directly linked to your new career or not. This can also lead you to meet new like-minded people, many of whom may also be in a state of flux in their own lives.

Instead of just focusing on industry-specific events when building up your new contact list, understand that you’re just as likely to meet someone who you can build a strong long-term relationship with at your ceramics workshop or meditation course. The more you expand outwards into new interests that encompass the bigger picture of the change you are seeking (i.e. more creativity in your life in general) the more likely you are to end up with a strong network of helpful supporters who will be with you through this transition and far beyond. 

Don’t underestimate anyone as a potential contact or friend

One of the biggest misconceptions about networking is that its about finding the most influential people you can get hold of and then elevator-pitching yourself into oblivion. Long-term networking is about developing genuine relationships over time, and that means no one is out of the running as a potential connection. That person you met at a party who is finishing their studies, is younger than you or more ‘junior’ in some way, may not have any employment or business leads to offer you right now, but they could well be an incredibly valuable ally or connector in the future. In fact, often the most important connections are the ones you make with other people who are starting out in a new career like yourself.

In this age of collaboration, creative careers and businesses thrive with a diverse range of contacts who may, at any point, become suppliers, collaborators, mentors or, at the very least, great friends to hash out the week with at Friday night drinks.

Show up as yourself

Another problematic idea about networking is that there is only one way to do it, and that involves being extroverted and pushy. This is completely untrue, and in fact pushing your agenda on someone you’ve just met is not going to get you anywhere. Networking that results in real, valuable relationships is about being honest with yourself about who you are and what suits you best.

This doesn’t mean staying home alone and avoiding people completely if you sit on the introverted end of the scale, but it may mean seeking out smaller groups of people or one-on-one scenarios that you feel more comfortable with. Likewise, don’t push a connection with someone if your intuition tells you not to. It doesn’t matter how interesting, important or experienced a potential contact is, if the two of you don’t click, then the effort will be pointless in the long term. Concentrate on developing relationships with people who genuinely interest and inspire you, and people who show an interest in you and your work.

Be open to the fact that these people may come from many and varied work environments and have a wide variety of experience and skills, go with what feels right, and before you know it you’ll have created a contact list that isn’t just valuable to you in your new career, but is full of new friends and allies that will enrich your life. 

Are you hearing (creative) voices?

We’re all familiar with the inner critic when it comes to our creative work, but what other sub-conscious voices may be impacting our creativity? I have a theory (influenced by a form of psychotherapy called transactional analysis), that we all have a bunch of internal drives or “voices” vying for our attention in our creative life (an internal dysfunctional family of sorts!).

All these creative voices have a role to play – they’re there for a reason, but frequently they work at cross-purposes creating a sort of chaotic brawl in your head, which isn’t great for your creative mindset, confidence or productivity! As a creativity coach, one of the things I can help people with is to understand their internal creative voices, and help them to play nicely with each other (sort of like family therapy!).

Here’s a quick snapshot of just some the creative voices we have sitting behind the scenes (these are just the main ones – the nuclear family, if you will).

Critic

We all know the inner critic – that loud, judgmental one making you doubt yourself. She’s linked directly with your creative confidence. It’s tempting to dismiss her entirely her, but she actually has an important role to play, and that is to keep you safe. She’s acting on a primitive level where risk equals danger, so she tries to stop you putting yourself in precarious situations (e.g. sharing your work with others where there’s a risk of social rejection).

Unfortunately, she’s not very discriminating, in that she shouts all manner of things at you - both useful critique about your work (e.g. “that paragraph doesn’t sound great - you should move it”), and judgmental, personal comments (“you’re a crap writer – what made you think you could do this!”). Coaching can help you to tune in to her constructive comments and tune out the rest. Once you turn a deaf ear to the negative white noise, you’ll find she’s actually not so bad.

Cheerleader

The opposite role to the Critic is the Cheerleader – that fearless, overly enthusiastic, and carefree voice that tells you that anything’s possible. It’s great to have her positive voice boosting your confidence, proclaiming you’ll be the next Shakespeare or Mozart, but this cheerleader doesn’t spend much time with her feet on the ground, so she’s a little out of touch with reality. Plus her rebellious streak doesn’t care much for your safety, so she’s happy to throw her weight around with little thought for consequences.

Needless to say, Inner Critic and Cheerleader are in constant battle with each other. Like the Inner Critic, her voice matters, but she should only be taken in small doses (plus she can be super annoying at times!), and balanced out with the other voices.

Child

The inner creative Child is a bit all over the place - she can whisper or yell depending on her mood. Like all the voices, your inner creative Child has two sides to her. She can be curious, playful, imaginative and energetic, for example the excited feeling when struck by inspiration, or the bursts of energy you feel when starting a new piece of work. Unfortunately she can also be moody, needy, erratic and egotistical, for example, whining that she doesn’t want to get back to work, or demanding that your partner drop all his prior commitments to pick you up a tube of paint.

There’s different ways to deal with your inner creative Child when she’s cracking it. She can be tricked or bribed into behaving, or you may want to use your inner Competitor to put her in her place.

Competitor

Your inner creative Competitor takes an opposite role to the Child – although both like to play games. Think of your Competitor like a serious athlete. On the plus side, she’s disciplined, focused, organised and hardworking – you get stuff done! She knows exactly what she wants and she’ll do anything to get it, but this level of control comes at a price. This disciplined workaholic can hinder your creative freedom, distance you from other parts of your life, or push you to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Sometimes the inner Competitor just needs to take a chill pill.

The Competitor-Child interplay is an interesting one. When they’re both at their best, this pairing works really well – your Child helps soften your Competitor’s hard edge, and your Competitor provides the scattered Child with some much needed structure. If these two roles become unbalanced however, things can get messy!

Coach/Counsellor

Your inner Coach is the perhaps the most important role of all because she acts as a central, neutral point between the other voices. Hers is a voice of reason, empathy and objectivity. Think of her like the family therapist working with the dysfunctional family. If your inner Coach is strong, the balance between the other voices will be maintained. She’ll help to bring out their positive sides so they work together, not against each other. If however, your inner Coach is inexperienced or a bit timid, she can easily find herself overwhelmed, and won’t be able to keep the other inner voices in check. At the extreme end this could look like your Competitor coldly dictating to, and attempting to control your Child, who’s flailing around having a massive tanty.

Meanwhile your Cheerleader is running about aimlessly shouting empty motivational phrases (“You can do it – yay!”), and on the sidelines your Inner Critic is on her high horse, looking down on everyone, pointing the finger and shouting insults. Let’s not play this mental game!

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The trick with our creative voices is to listen and acknowledge them all, understand their motivations and differentiate between their constructive and destructive sides. Just like real life family members, we’re stuck with them so we need to learn to live in harmony rather than conflict.

Creativity coaching can help ensure all your voices are heard, understood and their constructive sides developed. Most importantly, creativity coaching can help build up your inner Coach so you can maintain a healthy creative life (and your sanity!).

Bronya Wilkins is a creativity coach and founder of Creative Cocoon, a coaching practice dedicated to helping people connect with their creativity to increase wellbeing and life fulfilment. Bronya is passionate about psychology, self-development, and creative expression. Some of her creative hobbies include dance, graphic design, music composition, and photography. For more about Bronya and Creative Cocoon, visit her website and Facebook page, or follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

How to create art for businesses

In the last post on this series, we covered some basic tips for working on art commissions.

On this post, we’ll discuss in more detail things you can do when working on art commissions for businesses. 

Creating art for businesses is very different from creating commissions for individuals, because there will often be a lot more people involved in the process. Whereas some organisations (such as city councils) regularly commission artists and will have a clear process in place, others have never done so before. Because you might be working with feedback and expectations from a large team of people, communication can be even more challenging. 

Keep in mind some of these tips to help you during the process:

Know who is making decisions and giving you feedback. 

Even if you deal directly with only one individual in the organisation, they will often be the spokesperson for a group of people that all have a say in the artwork. Understand who is involved and what process they use to discuss your work and come to agreements. If someone is passing on the ideas between you and a larger team, do something so that they can be easily presented (such as a PDF explaining your concepts) or try to arrange a meeting to present them yourself. 

Establish your creative context.

You need to understand from the start what they expect from you as an artist and how much your creative input will be valued and listened to. Some businesses will have a designer / creative team, and they might see you as a collaborator on the conceptual phase or merely want you to reproduce their ideas, as well as anything in between those two extremes. If there is an existing creative project in place (such as interior redesign or a rebrand of the company) try to speak to the designers to understand what your creative context is. 

Always understand their brand and who you are creating for.

Even if you have complete creative freedom with your piece, make an effort to understand the company’s brand and values, as well as the audience of your artwork, so that you can sell your ideas. If you have to justify any creative choices, it’ll be much more effective to do so explaining how they are relevant to the company and the people involved with it. 

Make art for the audience, not the boss. 

Inevitably, sometimes you will receive feedback that is based on the personal taste of an authority in the company or the individuals working with you. Although their understanding of the organisation is essential, their personal taste should NOT determine the direction of the artwork. It is essential that the conversations about your piece centres around its audience, whether it's existing customers, prospects or staff. Be prepared to explain your creative decisions and stand your ground on important points. 

Accept that some people will hate it. 

The bigger the business, the smaller the chances that every single person in it will love your work. Do the best art you can in the context of the project and don't worry too much about individual opinions.

Follow Julia on instagram at @artofboth, and at her website artofboth.com. 

Project management for creatives

There are many project management strategies to help you reach your creative project goal and delivery. Here are a few of my tips to keep your creative project moving in the most successful and efficient manner.

Define the project

Before you even start working the creative side of the project, define what you are delivering. This can be done as part of the quoting process, scope out the deliverables with the client so you both have the have the same understanding on what you are delivering and what you are not. This can include milestones and invoices as well as the creative product.

Work out your requirements

Work out what you need to do and complete and what you need your client to supply or confirm. Do this early, give yourself and your client time to collate what is needed and ensure that it is ready for when you need it.

Be systematic

Break your project down into manageable bite sized pieces and tackle it in a logical manner. Have client feedback and approvals at regular intervals and ensure they are having input at each step where it is important.

Make a plan

Map out the entire project, from beginning to end, bite sized piece by bite sized piece and include your clients / stakeholders review and approval times in it. Once you have these written down you know the next steps at any point of the project. There are many project management tools out there that can help with the mapping it out, creating gantt charts etc. Find one that suits you if you want to use one.  

Review your plan regularly

Review your project plan each day as you track through the project, before you get your head stuck into the creative side, take five minutes to review the plan and create the day’s tasks. Your creative project may move and sometimes you need to shift with it and adjust to keep it moving, this can be easier if done daily.

Manage expectations

Continually keep your lines of communications open with your client and stakeholders. Schedule in regular catch ups and send them updates at least once a week. Keeping them in the loop and up to date with progress can help them to feel confident in the delivery and ensure that any unknowns or assumptions are found early.

Avoid scope creep

You don’t ever want to under deliver and it is just as important that you don’t over deliver either. Make sure when you have defined what your project is you keep reviewing your scope and you stick to what you said you’d deliver. If more is required, you have somewhere to refer back to, making sure you have additional budget and time is allocated for the additional deliverable.

Quality, budget and time

It is often said that you can have two out of the three when managing any project. Keep an eye on these three main elements when completing your creative, they are all equally important and can easily slip.

Revisit

Each project is different, each outcome is different. At the end of each project take some time to review what worked and what didn’t. Then apply these learnings to the next project. Then you can spend your time focusing on the best part of each project: the creative work!

Jes is a ‘practical creative’, doing the business in a digital agency, being an artist and an university lecturer. Follow Jes on Instagram.