EXHIBITIONS
Cheltenham Open Studios - 8 - 16th June 2013. The Cheltenham School of Fine Art will be throwing their doors open for 10 days and will be displaying work from a few local hand-picked artists and one of them will be me.
http://cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk/
http://cheltfineart.co.uk/
ONLINE SHOPS I'VE TARGETED/JOINED:
illustrato.rs - An online gallery/shop who are very picky about the work they sell, they charge 18% commission on all sales.
Society 6 - You post your images on your own Society 6 page and they use your images to make products - they take the main profit - but they've done most of the work. This will never make me rich but it's worth having images up there whilst I'm not making products from them. I already have my own Society 6 profile but I need to improve it!
Etsy - I need to decide which products I want to sell and how I want to go about making them - whether to outsource or to try and make things at home. As this is still all under investigation, I've opened an Etsy account and I've made it look like Boo Dillon Illustration, but there are no products to buy just yet.
SHOPS I'VE TARGETED:
SHOPS I'VE TARGETED:
Lovedge - Having established a relationship with the owner of this shop in Cheltenham, we have discussed stocking some of my products in her shop and in her new online shop (coming soon!).
Here Shop, Bristol/Falmouth - I had an amazing chat with one of the owners (the Falmouth shop) over Easter and I showed her my business cards. She was interested enough to ask me if I had any stock she could sample. When I explained where I was with it all she told me to get in contact with either herself or her brother in Bristol when I was ready to think about getting my cards and prints out there - very positive and exciting as I'm a real fan of the shops (/galleries).
The Old Fire Station, Oxford -
COLLECTIVES/NETWORKING:
The Bristol Creatives - is a fantastic community of 'creatives' in the Bristol area - 'an artist-led networking and marketing initiative'. You sign up and pay £30 a year which entitles you to a list of excellent tools to further and sustain the creative as a small business. This includes contacts, discounts on printing/framing services, directories which you can sign up to, a small 'webpage' where you upload your own work etc. I think Bristol is one of the important hotspots for great illustration work and would very much like to be part of the buzz that is generated there. I've emailed to see if a non-Bristolian interloper might be able to join, I've yet to hear back...
The Not Too Distant Future:
DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION BLOGS TO APPROACH & SUBMIT WORK TO:
The Scribble Project - a Blog that's been going for a few years, she invites artists/illustrators to submit a page of their illustrated thoughts and daydreams - a great way to get your style recognised and to become part of a wider Illustration Network.
http://www.scribble-project.com/p/welcome.html
If I was you - a Blog where each illustrator takes a new stage of an ongoing story, continues it, then passes it on to the next illustrator. You have to submit e.g.'s of your work to be accepted as one of the chain - some incredible illustrators have already taken part - it would be FANTASTIC to be picked.
http://www.ifiwasyouproject.com/2010/05/how.html
Pikaland - a Blog that celebrates and shares the latest design and illustration.
It's Nice That - a Blog that celebrates and shares the latest design and illustration.
http://www.itsnicethat.com/
Boooooooom - a Blog that celebrates and shares the latest design and illustration.
http://www.booooooom.com/
The Jealous Curator - a Blog that celebrates and shares the latest design and illustration.
Creative Boom - a Blog that celebrates and shares the latest design and illustration.
MAGAZINES TO SUBMIT WORK TO:
UK Handmade - this is a design-led online magazine that showcases and promotes UK creative talent. It's a real mixture and quite craft based but there's more than enough room for illustration. They also have an area where you can have your own page and showcase your work. It's a fantastic magazine and I'm proud to say they've already featured me on their Website:
http://ukhandmade.ning.com/photo/photo/listFeatured?xg_source=msg_feat_photo
http://ukhandmade.co.uk/
http://ukhandmade.ning.com/profile/BooDillonIllustration
Popshot - An illustrated literary magazine that publishes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry from the literary new blood, illustrated by some of contemporary illustration’s finest - their style is so beautiful, it would be AMAZING to get a piece accepted. I'm going to keep trying until i do!
http://www.popshotpopshot.com/
Peculiar Bliss - This Website features works from sketchbooks and other mediums, doodles, photography, digital, paintings, collages etc. Each quarter they pose an open theme and then feature the chosen entries in their beautiful online magazine. They're currently on hiatus but I'm keeping an eye on the website and am subscribed to get updates.
Dripbook - A portfolio site much like the others, you have to pay but it looks pretty professional. I'm not sure I need to join another portfolio site but it might be worth checking it out.
http://www.dripbook.com/top/browse/illustration-portfolios/?page=2
ONLINE SHOPS TO TARGET:
No Guts No Glory - are a collective of artists and illustrators based in Devon. They run an online shop and accept items from illustrators from all over the UK. Worth investigating further - they're a pretty amazing group of people.
http://ngngdesign.com/shop/
Ohh deer - two creatives who run their shop/platform for illustrators they love. It runs more like a collective - it's a pretty closed formula but maybe there'd be room for a small one...
http://ohhdeer.com/about-us
Cogo House - Cogo house is a collective based in both Oslo and London, it was born through the idea of bringing together emerging artists and designers through social media. The aim is to support artists by offering regular commissions and providing a space to showcase and sell their work.
http://store.cogohouse.com/pages/about-us
Of Cabbages and Kings -
http://ofcabbagesandkings.co.uk/
From Britain With Love -
http://www.frombritainwithlove.com/get-listed
Red Bubble - A very similar set up to Society 6 (see above). It's free to sign up and you are given an online portfolio. You can organise your work in collections or display single designs across a range of products. They even have a 'journal' area which is really more of a Blog.
Supermarket - You have to email them with a link to your Website so they can get an idea of your products and if they approve you then you can become a seller. They're based in America but they have a lot of sellers all over the world, a large portion from the UK. The packing and postage is entirely up to you and they take a percentage of what you sell. Their general merchandise is really nice so my products would be in good company!
Threadless - An online shop/marketplace. You submit an idea for a design and if it gets picked they make it one of their range - you get paid for the design but it is theirs exclusively to use.
http://www.threadless.com/make/idea
Thumbtack Press - An online print shop - it's an invitation only, curated collection. You submit the design, they do the printing and shipping and you get a royalty. You can't be selling the same image anywhere else - they require exclusivity on the images they sell. Based in the States.
http://www.thumbtackpress.com
Zazzle - Much like Society 6, you upload your design and get a royalty for the items that they sell with your image.
http://www.zazzle.com/sell
Illustration Age Marketplace - This page is somewhere you can list your 'shopfront', whether it be from your Website, Etsy, Big Cartel etc., and once they click on the link the customer is taken directly through to your shop.
SHOPS TO TARGET:
Smug - this great shop is in Camden Passage in London, Lizzie Evans who opened the shop is also a graphic designer and she has an eye for stuff I love, I'd really like to stock my cards etc. here.
http://www.ifeelsmug.com/
Howkapow - a colourful shop selling design and illustration from independent designers and illustrators. Their shop in Bristol is in transition and won't be up and running for a little while, but they also sell online.
I love what they have to say about the owners on their website:
"Both Cat (an ex-journalist and Central Saint Martins graduate) and her husband Rog (a BBC radio producer) found great satisfaction slogging it out together at artist markets in Melbourne and London. They often found wonderful people with exceptional talent who lacked either marketing knowledge or commercial support and so Howkapow was born.
The shop reflects their belief that investing in bright, new designers with original ideas is how innovation truly flourishes."
http://www.howkapow.com/
Inspitalfields -
http://www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/shops/inspitalfields
MARKETS/FAIRS TO INVESTIGATE/TAKE PART IN:
Renegade Craft Fair, London - a curated indie-craft marketplace showcasing creators of craft and design. Each event is juried from hundreds of applications, so your work has to be up to a good standard but they support up and coming as much as established creatives. I would LOVE to have a stall here next year.
http://www.renegadecraft.com/london
Bristol Artists Book Event - obviously very book oriented but they're open to stationery etc. as well.
http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/babe-2013-bristol-artists-book-event
Pick Me Up, Graphics Art Fair - this is 11 days of emerging artists and illustrators alongside established names showcasing and selling original artwork and limited edition prints. This is a networking heaven and it's all based at Somerset House... I definitely want to be a part of this.
http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/pick-me-up-2013
The Crafty Fox Easter Market - a highly respected yearly event held in Brixton - well worth getting involved with next year.
http://craftyfoxmarket.blogspot.co.uk/
St Catherineʼs Artisan Market, Frome - an incredible set of 3 markets held over the Summer in Frome. Famous for it's incredible footfall, it attracts designers, makers and illustrators from all over the country.
We Make London - As their name suggests, this creative organisation is London based - but they set up markets that are very Illustrator friendly.
Oxford Handmade Market - these guys put on a number of markets throughout the year focussing on, handmade designs, prints etc. They have a very good reputation.
Bristol & Frome Magpie Markets - a lot like Oxford Handmade Markets these guys do a few markets, mostly in Spring and Summer, their most famous and widely subscribed to being in Frome.
Easter Artisan Market - another one for next year!
REPRESENTATION & PROJECTION INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN:
Inky Goodness -
Inkygoodness is an online showcase for illustrators providing a platform for new and emerging talent to show their work alongside established artists. Their aim is to help artists develop professional careers through self-promotion and networking.
http://inkygoodness.com/
Degree Art (.com) - This is an incredible Online Art Gallery. They hand-pick, promote and sell student and graduate work either online, at shows like 'The Affordable Art Fair' and also at especially curated shows. There's an initial fee of £75 to join, as far as I can tell you also have to be chosen to be represented by them but the benefits look well worth it.
http://www.degreeart.com/join-us
The Artfuls - an online platform for illustrators. They interview illustrators to find our more about their work and creative process and make a feature of them. Great site for a showcase.
http://theartfuls.com/
Handsome Frank - I'm not enormously keen on the idea of having an agent - but I really like the look of these Agencies. I'd like to do some further investigations...
http://www.handsomefrank.com/
C.I.A.
http://www.centralillustration.com/whoweare.html
COMPETITIONS:
Creative Allies - this is a Website where, responding to often held competitions, you submit designs for bands, films and festivals - these designs can go on posters, t-shirts and other merchandise. You sign up for free and submit your art and designs to win prizes, sell your design and get your work noticed. There is a main cash prize, but if you're submission doesn't win you can still make money if they choose you as one of the designs they use for the online store.
https://creativeallies.com/contests
COLLECTIVES/NETWORKING:
The Bristol Creatives - is a fantastic community of 'creatives' in the Bristol area - 'an artist-led networking and marketing initiative'. You sign up and pay £30 a year which entitles you to a list of excellent tools to further and sustain the creative as a small business. This includes contacts, discounts on printing/framing services, directories which you can sign up to, a small 'webpage' where you upload your own work etc. I think Bristol is one of the important hotspots for great illustration work and would very much like to be part of the buzz that is generated there. I've emailed to see if a non-Bristolian interloper might be able to join, I've yet to hear back...
http://www.bristolcreatives.co.uk/about
The Sketchbook Project - a Website of match-making between you and another creative across the world. The idea is to start a painting and a conversation in a sort of Pen Pal Painting Exchange.
www.sketchbookproject.com/projects/penpalpainting
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