While art invokes the spectrum of our feelings, art buyers are also purchasing peace of mind because collectors generally trust artists and dealers. Confidence in these transactions is the principal support for valuation, so it’s puzzling that only a small fraction of art sold carries robust authentication.

Art crime remains the third highest-grossing criminal trade in the world. Counterfeit persists and is hard to measure beyond high profile cases like Philip Righter, but theft is common, with “grab and run” accounting for about half of the loss according to the FBI.

Most artists, galleries, and collectors rely on some level of physical security. Over time, arts protective layers have grown more sophisticated, from guards and glass to cameras and sensors. Even the science of authentication continues to advance in the face of persistent threats.

Working toward nominal authenticity and physical security are certainly worthwhile pursuits. However, the market thinks art businesses can do more. In fact, Deloitte’s Art & Finance reporting finds stakeholders persistently agree that the art market needs to modernize its business practices to meet the expected standards of a transparent, trustworthy, and developed marketplace.

FOCUSING ON WHAT MATTERS

In this context, let’s reinforce that most artists and galleries are simply trying to run a business – building relationships and making sales in a highly fragmented industry.

 “We spend a lot of time with our clients,” says Susan Watts, owner of Olson-Larsen Galleries, a full-service gallery in Iowa representing Midwest artists. “Our sales cycle is usually quite long – weeks, if not months. Our relationships are so important to our business and investing in relationships has benefitted us during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Further, the basic need to keep track of inventory and sales is not unique to art businesses, and modernizing business practices looks a lot like what Metalcraft has seen in other industries – moving from spreadsheets to more sophisticated systems for asset tracking. Specifically, there are now a host of cloud-based management systems for galleries and collectors. For example, Watts relies on Art Systems, an automated database software, for managing her gallery’s business.

Metalcraft got its start supporting asset identification and tracking processes in 1950, building a global business selling bar code tags, which still deliver value today by reducing the time and errors associated with manual data entry. However, barcodes – like spreadsheets – require significant human effort. Modernizing art businesses also can involve what Metalcraft has seen in other industries: evolving systems to address security and management challenges using radio frequency identification (RFID).

THE CASE FOR RFID

RFID technology automates many business processes by using electromagnetic fields to transmit data from an RFID tag to a reader, allowing for accurate, real-time data useful for management tasks – for example, tracking artwork as it is received, moved, or sold. The tags can be read by handheld devices or fixed antennae at doors or points of sale.

Indeed, the needs of art businesses aren’t much different than others Metalcraft has served in developing a range of RFID tags to durably meet the demands of customers tracking inventory and other assets. They supported their first art tracking project in 2012 when Silent Partner Technologies brought their background in RFID and barcode tracking to the development of a flexible RFID solution for asset management and theft deterrence for art collectors and galleries.

“Display, storage, transfers, and sales are all important events when we’re talking about high-value art,” said Ted Kostis, president of Silent Partner Technologies. “You want to know where your artwork is at all times.”

The company’s web-based solution uses a mix of technologies suited to the needs of the individual collection manager. For some galleries, Kostis installs antennae to complete a web-based inventory automatically every few minutes. Other art clients are content to complete inventory with a handheld RFID reader during periodic inventory or handling – moving from storage to display, for example.

In all instances, the premise is that each piece of art is detailed in a database and assigned to an RFID tag that is attached discretely to the back or inside of the artwork – each tag’s pre-encoded number links to the data, allowing a traceable history of each piece accessible via the Web. 

“One of the real benefits of RFID is that it greatly reduces the time to locate art and removes the need to handle a piece during identification,” said Kostis. Wireless scanning via RFID also reduces the potential for catastrophe, such as dropping or destroying a work of art. Collection managers can identify art without moving it in a gallery or unpacking it from a shipping crate because tags can be read right through the crate — reducing labor, time, and potential damage. 

Using RFID in an asset tracking solution gives owners and sellers improved visibility and control of high-ticketed gallery and museum artworks. They can run more frequent inventory counts to get a handle on the whereabouts of the pieces of art at each location.

“Many in the art world still don’t know that RFID exists,” said Kostis. “There’s so much potential. RFID can help art sellers confidently expand. Museums and private collections get better visibility to high-value artwork with less effort.” For example, Kostis’ testing with Metalcraft tags inventoried 93 larger paintings in a 30,000 square foot floor in a New York City high-rise in under three minutes and read 237 paintings inside of a storage room under two minutes. “How could one person do that work without RFID?” asks Kostis. “It would easily take an hour, but most pieces aren’t even moveable alone.”

AUTHENTICITY AND TRUST

At Metalcraft, RFID promises faster, better art collection management. Beyond saving time and money, it allows people to focus on relationship-building that strengthens trust.

In October, Metalcraft introduced a tamper-proof RFID tag for stronger asset tracking and authentication. The DuraDestruct RFID security tags are durable and can’t be transferred, featuring a patent-pending construction that renders labels useless upon tampering or removal. These are discrete tags, only 4 inches wide, 1 inch tall and just .02 inches thick, that can be read from a distance of 40 feet in the context of an RFID-based art tracking system. For galleries and collectors, it’s another way to offer peace of mind to buyers as it provides an additional level of security for tracking and authenticating high-value assets. 

Art remains vital. Now more than ever, it’s important to build efficiency and confidence in the sharing of art with the world.

About the author:

Kyle Bermel is Chief Operating Officer of Metalcraft, a designer, engineer, and manufacturer of custom property identification solutions.

The post Building Peace of Mind Through Positive Identification appeared first on Art Business News.

Now the question arises, how can routine fetch success and how to draw inspiration from that routine? Not to worry, we think we’ve got it covered here with some concrete answers.

Where routine begins, and what a good routine looks like?

Heard the saying, “Early bird catches the worm?” This saying alone says everything about the role of routine in life. A well-planned routine begins from the moment of waking up early in the morning and ends with going to bed. Wait, it does not end here.

Certainly, these are the basics of a quality routine, but routine is something more. It is a broader concept that varies from person to person. Having a regular daily routine implies utilizing every second, every day in a productive way, and most importantly, in a proper order that synchronizes with time.

It is important to highlight that the routine must be in synchronization with time, i.e., the things that need to be done, as and when they are required to be done, not per the mood.

How routine is connected to physical and mental health?

Did you know that just like the clocks on our walls, our body has a clock too? This may sound strange, but it is true. According to Ayurveda and Vedic Science, our body has a biological clock within, which goes along with nature’s clock. It is most crucial to keep the biological clock in harmony with nature’s timing.

If we disturb the synchronization, the brain gets confused, and eventually, we receive signals from our body in the form of disease and illness. This is why it becomes more essential to set up a routine and follow it genuinely. Besides having physical benefits in the form of fitness, routine can also bring serene mental health in the form of peace, calmness, and self-satisfaction.

When one wakes up early, goes to a workout, meditates, has meals on time, spends the day working, goes to bed on time, it leads to a smooth life, both in terms of physical and mental health, compared to someone who starts the day by waking up at 10 a.m. and has sleepless nights.

This is why, from our earliest schooling, we’ve heard the good habit of “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

Role of routine in building basic qualities of life

“Well planned is half done.” A well-planned routine makes room for all the things to be done in time. The person with a routine can easily finish up all the work to be done during the day in the given time without having to compromise on any of the work.

It’s easy to see how organized life seems when we start living according to a firm routine that we’ve set for ourselves. People struggle so hard to achieve an organized life and complain about the chaos in their life. But they fail to understand that having organized life is hidden in having a regular daily routine itself. When you have your routine planned, it is like giving yourself instructions beforehand. No constant need for planning, no confusion, no mess, no obstacles, no shortage of time, can spoil your day and the work to be accomplished. You get a clear picture of your pending work, new duties, and other things to be fulfilled — and you simply start working on them with great efficiency.

And routine saves time. Time is one of the most valuable assets in life doesn’t wait for anyone, but it can be saved with the help of routine, eliminating the time that would otherwise be wasted in planning, preparing, decision making. You achieve a structured and disciplined lifestyle.

As an artist, you need to have discipline. It is not easy for an artist to draw inspiration from their routine and follow through with their daily activities. The biggest benefit of a routine is that it helps an artist develop discipline, which is crucial for an artist to become successful. With discipline, you can improve how you handle your time and focus on what you need to do. You can more easily eliminate distractions or things that are going on around us.

As a gallery owner, you need to gain experience and run your business. It can be hard to run a business without a routine. You feel like you are in a constant state of overload and may even be coming up with excuses and feel like you have no time left to even take care of yourself. When you draw inspiration from routine, it gives you structure and accountability for your daily activities. You will have less trouble focusing on your schedule, which will lead to more time for you. As you will be able to take care of yourself, it becomes easier to focus more on your gallery.

It can be hard for an art dealer to take time off from work for a day. An art dealer’s only time is when they are at home or away from their gallery, so an art dealer needs to draw inspiration from their routine. Even if they are too tired or think that they are too busy, a routine will help them gain discipline and become more effective in their business. They will also know exactly what their next steps are, which will help their business move forward.

A person becomes more proficient with a routine in their life because they cultivate the habit of regularly doing things. In this way, you become a master of skills done on a regular basis. Routine helps you classify your jobs as more important, less important, and medium-important tasks.

Eventually, you can prioritize the tasks and work on them accordingly.

Routine also reduces the struggle to maintain constant determination. We don’t need daily determination to bathe, wash our face or brush our teeth, right? That’s because it is a regular daily routine for us. Likewise, when you have a routine you escape the need to seek a source of determination and motivation. It simply goes with the flow. Along with this smooth flow comes self-confidence, which becomes the fuel to gear up and maintain the routine with stability.

We can choose to use our routine as an inspiration, but no one truly wants to copy their routine exactly, nor does one want to become like everyone else. The great thing about routines is that they allow you to do the same thing every day. But if we are to take inspiration from routine, we can work with it and change it up. Examples of how you can work with a routine to create something inspired:

• What were you dreaming about while sleeping? Take inspiration from sleeping and draw an artwork about your dreams or about sleeping — or even what you do as part of your routine before you sleep. This may include listening to a relaxing song or reading a book before falling asleep.

• There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from a routine as long as it is something that you would do anyway. Don’t be afraid to switch up your routines for a while and see what works best for you. You might give this a test by taking an hour or two every Monday for a month to work on any artwork that comes to your imagination, without worrying about making money or selling the piece. See which of those Mondays you are most inspired by.

Role of routine in cultivating hobbies

When we speak about following a daily routine, most people get the picture of a busy life, with no time for leisure. But routines don’t work that way. Instead, they reward us with more free time. When completing our routine on time, we have the rest of the time left to do things that we love, like our hobbies and other leisure activities. This brings a sense of joy as we are able to do more of the things we want in life. It is also possible that a routine can lead us toward a more stress-free life.

On a broader vision, a stable routine helps a person set goals, work towards them, achieve success, and keep a track of the success. By following a stable routine, a person can achieve basic qualities in life like punctuality, consistency, discipline, time management ability, health consciousness, better mental health, and so on, all of which are the foundation for success in the world.

To Conclude

Routine plays a magnificent role, from achieving physical health and mental health to basic qualities in life and achieving success in life. It is a medicine for most of the problems in life, be it health-related, career-related, or personal expectations. It’s the reason why health experts, monks, counselors, education providers, and almost everyone suggest the benefits of having a regular balanced routine. It may seem boring and rigid to beginners but as you start following it sincerely, it can become a source for happiness and self-satisfaction.

Routines differ from person to person on the basis of their requirements and goals. Each one of us should build our own routine. After knowing the enormous benefits you can reap from a routine, there is no place for second thoughts. Get your routines planned and set up so you can be on the road to finding a more contented, successful life.

About the Author:

Jack Lee is a journalism student at the University of Toronto and a freelance writer from ThesisHelpers.com. He is interested in a healthy lifestyle and engaging in outdoor activities, but most of the time it won’t be the case – you’ll probably find him on the couch, watching another episode of The Big Bang Theory.

The post How to Draw Inspiration From Routine appeared first on Art Business News.

What the pop-up brings is an exciting experience that engages us in the experiment and creates a sense of urgency in its “here today, gone tomorrow” concept. So we were intrigued when the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Lafayette embraced the idea of a pop-up and morphed it into an exciting community-based experiential endeavor.

JPG@The Bank, a pop-up art gallery and interactive event space, opened its doors in February to an exciting launch. Orchestrated by Jennifer Perlmutter, founder of Lafayette’s successful Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, JPG@The Bank is housed in a long vacant Wells Fargo building.

We wanted to know more and took the opportunity of asking Perlmutter a few questions. It’s a terrific story of problem solving and community commitment.

ABN:
How did the idea for JPG@The Bank happen? What was the impetus driving the concept?

JP:
In the summer of 2018, the city of Lafayette held a retail workshop with property owners and business owners to solve the issue of long-term empty storefronts. I was invited to be on the panel, offering my perspective. The city wanted to find solutions to make the downtown area more interactive, give people more reasons to come to Lafayette all days and hours of the week. The property owners and developers on the panel had vacant buildings, both large and small, but were resolved to only lease them to viable tenants. Councilman Mike Anderson suggested the idea of a pop-up art gallery and the empty bank building emerged as a gallery and interactive event space. Working with the city and property owner, Steve Cortese, JPG@The Bank was created.

ABN:
And there you were with an opportunity. We get it—but you already have a gallery. Why open another one just down the street?

JP:
I am an artist. When my family and I first located to Lafayette, I had a studio in Berkeley. I tired of the commute and realized I wanted to connect directly with my customer and offer an experience elevated from a studio visit. I wanted community connection and I knew I could represent myself as an artist. I opened the Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery in February 2014. Finding ways to bring art and commerce together for everyone to win is a blast most of the time!

JPG@The Bank is intended to be more that what can be accomplished in my small gallery. There will be community events with music performance, artist talks, wine tastings, collaborative painting, a weekend painting workshop with the Carl Heyward of Global Art Project (GAP), a youth poetry slam, Cal Shakes salon, a speaker night on the art of leadership, and more.

For the last five years, I’ve been having community events in my gallery, bridging culture, commerce, and community. Now, with this space, in the center of town, even more people get to experience the strong creative culture in Contra Costa County. It’s just exciting.

ABN:
It’s a pop up gallery. What does that mean to you and the community?

JP:
Retail pop-ups are becoming a very popular model. Not dissimilar to the art fair model. What it means to me is “make it count”. What it means to the community is they will have an activated, interactive, artful business where they can bring their families. They now have more choices for art without traveling outside the area. It means another empty, sad, dark building will be full of light. Their city becomes a more engaging place to be on the weekends, date nights can last longer than a meal. We’ll host artist talks, demos, concerts, and help local non-profits gain more awareness by hosting fundraisers and guest exhibits.

It may disappear but it will, and it already has, sparked more positive connections in our residents and organizations. Artists will meet more collectors, the gain is tangible. Even the neighboring businesses will see an increase in business on the days and nights we are open.

ABN:
Is it temporary only?

JP:
Who knows? I know my license to the space has an end date on it. I am focused on creating exhibits and experiences to remember long after the site becomes something else. We are taking over the best and most visible building in the city. I intend to make every day count. I have the same philosophy with my flagship gallery as well.

Nothing lasts forever, live every day as though it is your last. Things change and naturally evolve. My nature is not to whine about obstacles or lack. It is to offer something positive. I gave a Tedx talk in 2011 called “Begin Where You Are.” This is my process. Give me an old bank, I’ll give you an art gallery with exhibits, events, music and collaboration. Give me a piece of sidewalk and I’ll figure out a way to bring value to people passing by.

ABN:
What are your goals for both the Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery and JPG@TheBank?

JP:
The goal at JPG@TheBank is to over-deliver on what I promise my artists and supporters. And the goal for the Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery is creating exposure and awareness, leading to increased exposure and sales. All of which will enable us to thrive as a valuable member of the business community in Lafayette.

ABN:
And for the future?

JP:
I am open.

One of the artists Perlmutter represents, Patty Taylor, is excited about the opening of JPG@The Bank. An award winning sculptor, Taylor shares her insight on the importance of the endeavor: “When I think about exhibiting in a gallery, it must be a gallery that represents respected work, with a following of collectors, decorators and designers. It also needs to be a social place where art is not only exhibited, but celebrated. Both of Jennifer’s spaces accomplish this and give back to the community. It’s that big city gallery feeling in Lafayette—exceeding my dream for representation, where I can be proud to invite my collectors, family and friends. I hope it’s a pop-up that transcends the pop-up concept!”

Traffic at JPG@The Bank has been steady, event days are filled with enthusiastic art lovers, and sales have been good. Perlmutter is thrilled: “For the last five years, I’ve been bridging culture, commerce and community in my flagship gallery. People here are thirsty for art and creative connection. Now even more people get to experience the strong creative culture in Contra Costa County. It’s nothing short of exciting.”

It’s a lesson for all of us in expanding beyond perceived boundaries. Step out of the box and see what can happen.

For more information and the current schedule of events for JPG@TheBank, go to www.jenniferperlmuttergallery.com/jpgatthebank

The post Hey Cities! Got Space? How About a Pop-Up Gallery? appeared first on Art Business News.

The traditional way of selling art through brick-and-mortar galleries works. But if you find yourself creating marketing materials, building websites, packing boxes, and accounting for your sales when you’d rather be painting, sculpting, or blowing glass, then it’s time to consider selling to the trade.

Also known as wholesaling, selling to the trade is commonplace in the commercial marketplace, and it’s gaining ground among fine artists who are tired of the feast-or-famine income that results from pursuing only one type of selling.

Instead of relying on consignment, successful artists have entered the world of wholesale and are building a distribution network of publishers, gallerists, and designers who provide a professional skill set in dealing with the art world, from marketing and selling to packing and shipping.

The more places your art is on display, the better chances it has of it selling. So let’s look at three types of trade distribution professionals and what they typically charge for services.

Publishers

An art publisher is not unlike a book publisher. A book publisher (think Simon & Schuster) manages the careers of many writers, while an art publisher manages the careers of many artists. Not only does an art publisher provide operational, promotional, and financial guidance, but also, and perhaps most importantly, a publisher maintains a client list of galleries and retailers around the world in which to sell the art they “publish.”

A typical art publisher needs to buy at a deep discount so they can sell the art wholesale to a retailer (i.e., a gallery owner). For instance, if the retail price of a piece is $5,000, the retailer will expect a discount of 50/10, which means the publisher usually asks for a discount of 50/50/20: $5,000 less 50 percent is $2,500 less 50 percent is $1,250 less 20 percent is $1,000.

This is a wonderful relationship for artists who can paint quickly. Let’s say you can paint 100 pieces annually. How many can you sell on your own? Not many. However, the publisher’s distribution network of dealers, galleries, and trade professionals does the selling for you, leaving you with more time to paint.

Gallerists

Otherwise known as gallery owners, gallerists account for 51 percent of art sold annually. Gallerists are the business side of the industry, acting as the retailer, curator, accountant, marketer, and sales team all in one.

“It’s not an easy business,” says Eric Smith, president and CEO of Redwood Media Group. “When you’re dealing with a gallery owner, I encourage you to work with them. They are your partner, and you never bite the hand that feeds you.”

Gallery expenses include rent, power, sales commission, advertising, marketing, events, and more, so a typical gallery needs to buy or consign the work at 50/10 to 50/20.
But remember, when you work with a gallery, your distribution is limited to the area they occupy. Even if the gallery is in San Francisco, you’re still relying on foot traffic — so be patient.

Designers

Interior designers can be a significant source of distribution for some artists, and they often don’t take as large a piece of the pie. That’s because designers are not guiding or assisting you; they are simply selling directly to the end user — the collector. You’ll still have to capture the image of the piece, post it on your website, and provide much of the marketing.

Typically, a designer works on a 25 to 30 percent margin. For instance, if the sale price of a painting is $4,000, you’ll receive anywhere from $2,800 to $3,000 for the piece.

You can learn more about selling art to a trade buyer through the wholesale marketplace at the Topics & Trends Educational Series seminars at Artexpo New York, running April 23–26, 2020, at Pier 94 in New York City.

For more information on Redwood Media Group’s shows and how RMG can help you develop your career and grow your business, visit redwoodmg.com.

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