As a professional artist, the most wonderful time of the year can also be the most stressful time of the year. Running your business while dashing between family commitments, gift shopping, and (virtual?) holiday parties quickly transforms the vibe of the season from cheery to weary.
We asked a handful of our artist partners about their tips and strategies for making sure your November and December stay merry. From stress relief to creative packaging to inspiring playlists, we think these tips alone are something to celebrate. (Our number one tip? Make sure you’re familiar with our 2020 Trade Holiday Deadlines!)
LILY & HOPIE STOCKMAN, BLOCK SHOP TEXTILES
Block Shop's Sunwave and Sidewinder in our Gallery Mid frames in Natural.
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Decor. It’s all about creating a festive, celebratory zone during the madness. We go over-the-top with our holiday decorations in the studio. The whole team makes ornaments and strings up lights and disco balls. We’re aspiring to somewhat of a Fanny & Alexander meets Studio 54 Xmas vibe.
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Music. We had our friend make us this up-tempo yet cozy multi-hour playlist that gets us through the hustle in high spirits.
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Wassailing! After long exhausting days, or after particularly great sales days, we have celebratory drinks as a team.
- Throughout the pandemic we’ve been hand-writing brief notes thanking customers for keeping our business running. We take turns writing a few hundred at the start of each month. We stand proudly by these human (and wonderfully inefficient) gestures, in this era of next-day Amazon delivery dystopia.
- When we’re feeling particularly motivated during the holidays, we buy a few buckets of eucalyptus from the flower market, and tie up each package with butcher twine and a sprig of eucalyptus for extra pizzazz.
SHANA FAUST & ALEXA MULVIHILL, PERMANENT PRESS EDITIONS
Permanent Press Editions Mints & Sugar Wafers in our White Gallery frame.
- Make sure you have a gift card option set up on your site. Art can be so subjective, and a gift card is a great option for people who want to gift art to a loved one, but are hesitant to pick out the exact artwork and frame. Plus, a digital gift card is something you can offer and promote as a perfect last-minute gift for anyone who’s behind schedule.
MAX AND MARGAUX WANGER, MAX WANGER PRINT SHOP
Cloud No. 1 by Max Wanger Print Shop looking festive in our White Gallery frame.
- When it comes to a holiday sale, prep early! Create a calendar with specific deadlines for creative, with your launch date and all emails and social that will be going out to promote your sale. Make sure anyone you need help from to make it happen knows the plan way in advance. We start this process in October for our Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale each year.
- Our clients love seeing our prints all dressed up and festive in people's homes. GIFs of prints being wrapped and unwrapped, framed prints hanging in a festive home, fun gift guides. It's worth creating this type of content because bits and pieces can often be reused over the years. Plus, it helps us get in the spirit!
DREW DOGGETT, DREW DOGGETT PHOTOGRAPHY
Drew Doggett's Éthéré in our White Gallery frame.
- One of our best strategies is to plan our communications in advance so we can have productive brainstorm sessions and rewrite as needed. Sometimes letting your ideas breathe allows you to make them more creative and thoughtful over time. What my audience eventually receives has been tweaked and edited to its best and most meaningful iteration.
- One of the easiest (and instantaneous!) ways to get rid of stress is to think about what’s at the end of it all: time spent with loved ones and the memories we create together during the holiday season. We go all out in my household, and I love watching as my kids grow up and get into the holiday spirit as well. We also burn relaxing candles in the studio, play classical music over the speakers, and take daily walking breaks to get up and move around.
- During the holiday season, we always start with expressing gratitude to our collectors because at the end of the day, reaching them is what it’s all about!
Interested in learning more about partnering with Simply Framed? Start here!
