As the Moon Eclipses the Sun, the Pathway Opens
And I take the Leap of Faith!
Yesterday I read a blog post on Art Store Front. I saw that the underlying concept is the same as my concept of a network of independent makers, except that printing images is much easier to simplify than making ceramics. The collaboration in the Art Store Front model is the website as a curated gallery, the same as I envision for the Andersen Design website, representing other makers, in this case, it is printmaking. and has the potential to deliver an income stream to develop other possibilities.
The idea behind Art Store Front is identical to my own concept of a network of small individualized makers with each studio independently owned and operated. contrasting to one mass venue that dominates an entire industry.
The rumored enshittification of Etsy, invites a new way of selling handmade crafts online as small but curated platforms rather than mass Amazon-size sites that sell everything. Andersen Design has the established brand recognition to do a curated venue - quote by author source
Yesterday Art Store Front offered me a deal I cannot refuse and can afford with my current resources. I was trying to raise funds for the lowest-level package. Art Store Front offered the highest level, including all features. To start I pay a minimal fee and pay the rest when I make $20,000.00 in sales. Today after a zoom meeting, taking place just when there was a total eclipse of the sun, I took the deal. The website should be ready in a week.
The idea of the Art Store Front is the curated venue, and a personalized space, which I have been doing since I first created the Andersen Design website around 1998.
After spending longer than I intended in New York City, I arrived back in Maine in the early 90s at a transitional time, after the business let go of the location in Portland. In my view, Portland was never an appropriate location for Andersen Design, Established as a home business. The proximity of home and business was immediate while Portland was many miles away. Such a radical change came about because the Boothbay Town selectmen prohibited my parents from expanding their business on the land they owned across the street, the view I have been so inspired of my photographs.
My Dad designed a building that merged into the hillside preserving the view. I was not around at the time. and do not know what the issue was against Andersen Design expanding. My sister said my Dad said that the selectmen were an old boys club and stopping him from expanding was the only way they had to control him. This explanation is consistent with the way that the Town selectmen of today behave toward the small entrepreneurial community. If my Dad had been able to build in the location that was ideal for our business, I am sure that it would still exist today.
I worked for my family business for about 25 years, living at the home where my family business was located making it possible to take care of my Dad in his elder years. I did not collect a paycheck. Therefore my social security is small but I was able to create a website, single-handedly, independently, without a board.
When I created the website, I was aware that a standard had emerged and most websites followed It. (the crafts site Etsy was an exception but it was made up of small vendors) The product is displayed on a stark white background with rarely as much as a shadow to indicate an environmental context but that isn’t how a product is seen in the real world. I was also the product photographer. To repeat that format over and over does not make for a rewarding work process, and in that way would not reflect what Andersen Design is about, an individualized production work process. Engaging work is a process that includes discovery within a rhythmic pattern that develops craftsmanship.
After we lost the property that housed our production and after my sister Elise passed away, I was left alone to safeguard and steer the history and future of Andersen Design, I incorporated my newsletter into the website. Initially, it seemed “inappropriate” to do so but what is appropriate changes. I realized that I was alone in the endeavor and so Andersen Design was me, while I also retained my own identity as Mackenzie Andersen in my photography.
Although my photographs were also displayed on the website they were never included in a description of my assets, but in fact, with the services and tools provided by Art Store Front, the photography is far more easily monetized than the ceramic assets. Now I have discovered that I didn’t inherit the most easily monetizable assets, I created them. I alone designed and maintained the Andersen Design Website. There was never an ownership discussion. It is my intellectual property as are my photographs. This is important because it means there is no probate to be resolved over assets that I created myself.
The problem with promoting the website has always been coordinating production with the instant delivery expectations of online sales. Art Store Front uses Bay Photo Labs for printing. Now with Art Store Front, for the first time, I will have a product that can deliver at internet speed. The brand name of Andersen Design with its long-established history is an asset for the website. The photographs sold in partnership with Art Store Front can bring more exposure to the Andersen Design product line and any other product line sold on the Andersen Design website.
Art Store Front is a collaborative platform of individualized makers so I will be able to experience and learn about how collaborative online platforms work.
Art Storefront prints designs on cards, mugs, and other items. Elise was interested in designing decals and left a large collection of fascinating drawings.
