February 9, 2011

A conversation you'll enjoy...

Recently I had the opportunity to have a nice conversation with artist Cori Dantini. She's an artist I greatly admire and respect, not only for the quality of her work, but for her personality (which is uncompromisingly evident in her work). For someone like me, artists like her are such a great inspiration and exemplify just how successful an artist can be.


So, I'd like to be generous with all of the information she was so generous in sharing with me. Here is a brief list of the things we talked about. I hope you find it every bit as helpful as I did.


1. Every good artist needs a good scanner- 1200 dpi or better is preferable. Surprisingly, they are not very expensive to buy...some are even under $100.

2. Sell originals on ETSY- not just prints (without frames).  This concept was fairly new to me (duh!) because I didn't realize that there was a market on ETSY for originals. Silly me. So naive. 

3. Don't ever sign a contract that gives the rights to your work away. In other words, know what your getting into when you sign your name on the dotted line. Ask someone experienced for help.

4. Get the book "2011 Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market." You can find it here. It'll tell you who to send your work to in order to get your name out there.

5. Set up a seperate bank account when the time is right for your business funds. Make sure you keep up with taxes, etc.

6. Renew your listings on ETSY often! Make it a goal to be on the first 20 pages of any search involving your work.

7. Try to stick to standard sizes when it comes to selling on ETSY.

If your not sure what ETSY is...please visit my shop
(by clicking an image on the left tool bar) to get better acquainted. 

Thanks for stopping in!

3 comments:

~cori said...

ALL TRUE! one clarification... just make sure the scanner you buy can scan at 1200 dpi, and then use that. someone just might come along and say, hey... can you make that 4 x 6 print into a 12 x 18? and if you have something scanned at 1200 dpi, you can say yes! otherwise... the answer is no.

so scan high peeps! scan high.

Carolyn said...

Very cool Michelle! Thanks for all the advice via your friend :D

Unknown said...

Your welcome Carolyn! I was actually thinking of you when I put this together. Good advice for the both of us.