Marketing Opportunities

Marketing Assistance
3/8 Marketing Seminar From a MS Resident
March 26, 2007
Marianna will present "Finding Your Niche in the Gen Y Market" at 3:45 p.m. at the National Main Streets Conference in Seattle, Washington. For more information, visit http://conference.mainstreet.org.
Her Site - you need to keep track of this one!
http://www.resultsrevolution.com/weblog/

Arts Marketing Organization.
http://www.artsmarketing.org/
This site can help your artist associations market themselves to better show your wares.

Charity Events
none at this time

Stores
Negrottos Carrying Local Arts
Contact information for Negrottos, now carrying Sylvia Corbon, Linda Theobald, Grady Byrd and a bunch more.
Romy Simpson
negrottosgallery@yahoo.com

Mood
I went by and talked to one of my neighbor businesses yesterday...she has a really cute space and wants more local artworks. She has pinks, lime green and teal and has a youthful vibe.
Betsy Boney
moodbiloxi@aim.com
Mood
1052-A Howard Avenue
Biloxi MS 39530
Phone: 365-5995

Aimee's Linens
I spoke with one of the girls at Aimee's Linens about artists submitting actual artwork to use on her linens. She said that Aimee at one time used to do all of it herself, then she had Cathie Milner doing some, now she has a very good friend of hers in Georgia that does it. But she said that they have a shop themselves and love carrying Mississippi Made Products and artworks and that she has an artist from the Gulfport area that she is carrying who lost her home and everything. So you can contact the girls at Aimee's Linens at 601-693-7698. A previous Notebook had the website address. Very nice people.

Allie's Cafe
Next to the March of Dimes on Courthouse is Allie's Cafe and they are offering space on their walls to show your artwork. You can contact Kay Daneault with the March of Dimes for more info. She is very sweet and has tons of great contacts.
KDaneault@marchofdimes.com

IP - Imperial Palace Casino
Ann Marie Petrovich and Maryann Gompper.

IP's Retail Division
The office phone number is (228) 436-3000 extension 3574.
Maryann Gompper
Retail Coordinator

Beau Rivage
Diane Barber 386-7111 Retail Buyer for the Beau Rivage.

Sara Miller who is the public relations person for the Beau says that her sisters have opened a store and are very interested in carrying some local artworks.

ALL WRAPPED UP. They sell gifts etc. They may be interested in featuring a few local artist. They do have Linda Theobald at this time. You can pass along the name Carrie Serpas or Julie Taranto 386-3677

Custom Products as Flags...
Custom Products Mean Big Sales

I don't know if you have ever thought about turning your artwork into custom flags but the factory Toland has used might be able to do that. Quite possibly you could sell some of your arwork to one of this companies for their use. Contact Toland in Mandeville, LA 800-989-6287 to see if they are interested in licensing (purchasing) some of your artwork for use on flags and floormats that they sell. Their factory in Burlington, NC is Holt Sublimation. Gil Bradshaw at Holt's email is gbradshaw@holtsublimation.com. My thoughts on this are if you are a painter and some place like the Beau Rivage wants something custom that they can sell then you could create and the factory can produce it and then the Beau can sell it. Or you could see if Toland is interested in buying and you could simply sell to them and they can take care of the selling it. Either way you have a way to offer your artwork on floormats and flags. The factory will most likely want a hefty order so by selling it to some place like the Beau they can take over the production costs.

Magazines and Websites
2/16 www.craftsfaironline.com From Val
This website has a random link on it and it links your website to theirs. So if you already have a website this might be another site to link to it.
2/16 www.artresources.com From Val
has connections and listings of thousands of museums, galleries, artists. See if you can get listed.
2/16 http://www.earthangelstoys.com/ From Val
This site has lots of folk art from artists.

2/15 Western Art Site
http://www.thewesternartist.com/
Got this as spam actually. Checked it out and it looks ok. Some of what they call "Western" art, is pretty non-descript. It could open your work to a new market...

2/10 Community Arts Network

10/18 Bobby Kennedy
I was told you were the go to person for local artist. I have started a website called Biloxi's Original Sin. Which is at www.biloxisoriginalsin.com
I am looking for Gulf Coast Artist that would like to put there art on my website. I do not make any money off the website. There is a set up fee for having my web designer create their space which would not be much and that would be their only expense, no other expense going forward. Anybody who wants to buy their art would have to deal directly with the artist.
If you go to the site and go down to Other Biloxi Artist you will see what the basic format is.
If you can help me on this I would greatly appreciate it. I am a Biloxi boy living in Chicago.
Thanks,
Bobby Kennedy

10/14 - Judy Stanley http://www.jstanleysales.com/
Val spoke to Judy Stanley an independent rep here in the state of Mississippi. Judy has a website that she uses to rep her products to her customers (retail stores in Mississippi) and she is very sweet and easy to talk to. We were discussing representing various artists. I had told her that while many of you did original art that would be primarily gallery material that some of you were doing other things on the side, suitable for retail sales. I mentioned Michelle Allee's rubble chunks she is doing. She said she was very interested and asked if I had given Michelle her number.
So this is where you have to just make the calls ...pitch what you are making. Most reps can sell something if they can wholesale it for a small enough dollar amount. They can take it to the north end of the state and for example...something that you retail here for $20- if you can mark it to $12 and then the rep will tack on a small percentage...then then can sell it wholesale for $15 and the retailers in the north end of the state can sell it for $30.
Anyway, if you have prints or things easily reproduced for retail sales call Judy!
Judy Stanley Information: Phone: 601-942-9882

My Space - added 9/29 Michelle Hirata
1. Do you have a Myspace account? If not, you should consider getting one. I get more sales off Myspace than my website and the sales are worldwide.

http://www.guild.com/ or http://www.artfulhome.com/ are good places to apply. They carry some of the most beautiful works from artisans all across the country that are shipped directly from their studios. It would be good to mention to them that this area is pretty messed up and possibly they should consider a Katrina page or two.

http://www.southernbreeze.com/ recently did an article on Linda Theobald of Diamondhead.

www.lindatheobaldart.com This is a good magazine that covers LA, MS, AL and FL ...the good life on the gulf coast. Try contacting some of their writers or editor for stories they can do on your business as you recover. They also did a nice feature on Pass Christian Soap Company. Paula Lindsay says she misses Pass Christian terribly. She has moved to Daphne, AL and has done a Katrina soap where all the proceeds are being donated to help the Pass rebuild.

Coast Observer
We are set for a print date of September 25. Please have all ads, ad changes, press releases, lineups, gigs, etc to us No later than Sept 22!!!
Best Wishes!!
Cheli Strumila Owner, Coast Observer
PO BOX 7374 Gulfport, MS 39506-7374
228.896.2295 Fax 228.896.5212
www.coastnightlifeobserver.com
http://www.chelistrumila.biz/

9/29 Update from Val
Cheli used to live next door to my store so I have known her a little while. She is upwardly mobile as she is just a very hard working gregarious person. She invited me to do a column to add to her paper. She had always wanted an artist section and now October will be first issue of that! I changed the name. I had initially though Eye of Katrina was good..a little play on words...I love to play with words! But after thinking it over, I thought a year from know that name is going to get stale and that the Eye of Katrina might get a black eye! So my sister said to me "Valerie's Gallery". I know it's kind of cute...but might be catchy name. I am writing 3 little paragraphs and leaving the rest of the space for all your beautiful artwork and info about yourself and where your art is sold! I invite you to submit by sending me a link to your work. Please don't send photos because my email is very slow. November's column is themed "Thankful" and December "Christmas". I don't want to leave anyone out. We will be featuring 6 of you each month. I thought 6 was much better than one. That gets 72 of you featured in a year.

Thanks,
Valerie