Creative Presence: colours may vary talk

N O T E S   F R O M   T H E   T A L K:

• When setting up the shop they found it was important to make something that didn't already exist in the city. They wanted to create a hub for conversation and meeting creative people within the Leeds and surrounding area. They mentioned that this is also a way to think about creating work, they stock work that's individual and exciting, something that's not already been done.
• They discussed the how important the appropriateness of media and format used for each individual product. Just because it's screen printed or hand-made doesn't make it better. It's important to think about pricing and making it accessible for a particular market. The price should be appropriate to the project. 
• When approaching them or other businesses and agencies it's good to let them absorb what you've produced without pushing for a conversation. It might not be an appropriate time for them for example. A good way to go about approaching them is to leave something with them and forward them an email to allow them time to process and have a proper conversation about your work and how they would like to be involved. They also discussed that approaching them through social media doesn't feel personal, it feels very immediate and not thought out.
• When setting up exhibitions they discussed how meeting people means meeting more people and new opportunities. They can be great conversation starters for new projects and new people to get involved in.
• They also discussed that as stockists it really important for them to foresee change and encourage evolving their stock and suggested that as artists we should keep re-inventing ourselves to move with the environment around us. 
• They also discussed the importance of allowing ourselves time as young creatives to get experience and that going into self-employment straight away doesn't suit everyone especially if you're not well disciplined and completely confident within your abilities. Working for a company can allow a lot of learning about the industry
• They also discussed that it's important to evaluate social media presence and establish what you want future collaborators, employment and opportunities to understand about you and your work. Having a personal Instagram and a studio Instagram is a good way to go.  

 

In the talk they discussed that when deciding what to stock within their store it was really important to them that the products have a really nice finish and feel to the work. They discussed how important paper quality and application of media is. I picked up these two books as the tactile qualities, colour, media, binding and compositions were really lovely and exciting to flick through.