suzanne shade of the beholder: let’s chat!

i embrace living in the computer age, especially when it comes to collecting art. never before have we been able to see and enjoy the multitudes of choices available at our fingertips. the trick, however, is to be able to steer through all the options and find what we are looking for. when i think of affordable contemporary art, the beholder, directed and curated by suzanne shade, is at the top of my mind. it’s a very well-edited online gallery that literally has hundreds of works to view. upon arrival it’s clear that suzanne has already done the hard work for us, putting lots of high quality, like-minded paintings, drawings and photography in one place, with thoughtful navigation and search tools for our browsing pleasure. really the main difficulty here is deciding which pieces not to purchase. let’s have a chat with suzanne and find out more!

donkey and squirrel by catherine ledner

q: where do you live and where do you create/manage the beholder?
a: i live in the castro district of san francisco with my husband, rob. anh-minh le did an apartment therapy house visit that i think is still online, so you can take a peek there if you want. the unglamorous part is that the beholder happens here, so if you’re picturing me writing this in my pajamas, you’ve got the right idea. i’m a freelance graphic designer as well, and when i go to work for advertising agencies, sometimes it happens there, too.

reception and like satellites by ian dingman

q: how did the gallery come into being?
a: i have always wanted to do something outside of what i was trained to do, and have been really interested in having a business related to fine art. about three years ago i was trying to find art to buy for my home and found that it was difficult to know what work was available even in san francisco. so that’s when i thought of doing something like the beholder, because i knew that there had to be many more people like me who felt the same way i did.

i launched it in december of 2005 with about 15 people: mostly my friends and a few brave artists who believed in what i was doing.

pivot joint by matthew curry

q: what is your criteria for including pieces on your site? are you currently accepting submissions?
a: the work needs to be strong, and i generally need to feel like i respond to most of what an artists does, not just a few pieces. just as important is their overall professionalism… do they understand what it is the site is meant to do, do they communicate well, are they organized? our process is much more DIY than many gallery relationships, so they really need to be on top of things.

christmas rose, larkspur and chamomile by lisa solomon

this year i started my marketplace, which gives artists their own space on the site to sell work directly to collectors. once they get accepted, they can manage and sell as much as they want without me taking a commission. i get a yearly fee for this, and most of the time the artist makes that money back on just one sale. to make a long story short, this allows me to accept and encourage many more artists to be on the site… so i’m always on the lookout for great new talent. one lead i got was from one of my customers. She found michelle armas, who has amazing work (claud, pictured below).

q: what can you tell us about some of the valuable features of your site, namely the seven day trial period for “testing” art in your home and your commissions, which are lower than traditional galleries?
a: the trial was set up because i wanted people to feel like they weren’t locked into a piece just by seeing a photo of it. art is such a big decision, and i wanted folks to really love what they had picked out. strangely, only about four people have returned work in the three years i’ve been doing it. people worry that the artist will feel bad, but mostly they understand.

my commission used to be 20% when i first started, and i’m still committed to keeping it low. i knew that once it goes above 40% artists need to adjust pricing up to get a decent amount from the sale. my costs are lower, but i’m finding out that the costs of events, advertising, and new web development are pretty substantial. so it’s something i struggle with. the marketplace makes that easier because once the artist pays their fee, i don’t have to take a portion each time.

untitled by mike monteiro

q: what are the benefits of purchasing art online, versus in a brick and mortar gallery?
a: it’s the access. to be able to see up to 500 pieces at a time, it gives people a really good overview of what type of work is being created. it frees people to choose what they like on their own without being sold to or told what is good. i trust that most people who come to the site already respond to this aesthetic and know what they like. the other benefit is the freedom it gives artists to choose alternative ways of reaching customers and building their own collector base.

blue swing and yellow kiss by katja ollendorf

q: what do you think is the biggest challenge in running an online art gallery? what is the biggest reward?
a: the biggest challenge for me is that people have a tendency not to view me as a “real” gallery. i’ve actually had artists say that to me in reference to their future… like, “when i get into a real gallery.” that’s kind of a buzz kill, because it reminds me about how important building status and image is to the art world, something that made we want to start this in the first place.

the biggest reward is the amount of people who write and tell me they love what i’m doing. i save my customer’s emails in one folder, and when things get tough, i flip through them for inspiration. they regularly say things like “this is my first piece of real art and i’m so excited to have found you.”

lebenssprung by fabian geyrhalter

q: what do you think we can look forward to in the future vis-à-vis the online art world?
a: that’s a good question. right now prints are the hot new thing, and people are gobbling that up and making a good business of it. since my mission is to encourage people to buy originals, i hope to see artists continue to build their own audience using the web. you see a number of people like lisa congdon and jennifer sanchez (below) making it pretty big without the help of galleries. they have total control and freedom to make their own choices, and it seems to be working really well.

i’d like to see art make as much progress on the web as music has… although the structure of the business is different, you’re still able to see the control shift from the few to the many.

some of us are able to go and see suzanne’s picks in person, because she is currently curating the california dreaming show at rare device in san francisco. the show features seven fabulous artists, including martha rich, suzanne husky and naoki mitsuse (below). california dreaming closes on april 27th, 2008, but the beholder is open all the time.

thank you suzanne!

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better living through design: let’s chat!

if you love contemporary design as much as i do, you’ve got a list of places you visit regularly. perhaps you’re familiar with the finds that katie hagar and kris bernard show us on their fabulous website, better living through design. katie, a former product and interior designer (and current editor of the site), and kris, a kitchen and bath design instructor and information technology expert, tirelessly hunt for the most clever, functional and well made products and accessories for our homes. the spare design of their website is a blank canvas for the great breadth of selection featured; it consists of four sections including products, remodeling, books and travel. i appreciate the fact that their personal love affair with design and style grew into a tremendous one-stop resource that we all benefit from. let’s have a chat with katie and kris and find out more!

q: where do you live and where do you work?
a: katie: i live in houston, tx, and i work in my home office/studio.

kris: i live in los angeles, ca (silver lake) and I work in downtown la.

q: how did you meet, and how did bltd come into being?
a: katie: we met in dallas at some art show. i guess we had mutual friends, but it wasn’t until we started talking about architecture did we realize how we both liked the same sort of stuff - that turned into exchanging ideas about floor plans and home design and then kris actually came up with the idea of bltd - she thought it would be a good idea to create a site where we could keep track of all the great products available on the internet.

kris: ditto what katie said, but she left out that we were actually pen pals for a while, which is how we exchanged ideas about our floor plans. i thought that was important to add because it shows how truly nerdy we are about design. as far as how bltd started, i had actually purchased the domain about a year before we started the site. i really liked the feeling that the domain evoked, but i wasn’t sure what i was going to use it for. then somehow the idea struck me to start a website and i asked katie to join me. the funny thing is that we had only really talked in person that one time when i asked her to do it, but now three years and 2500 posts later i probably talk to her everyday.

q: what is your criteria for including pieces on your site?
a: katie: i think it’s fairly intuitive. most of the time the item has to stand out in some way - good design that meets at least one of the following criteria: affordable, useful, or spectacular.

kris: also, it needs to be available for sale online. very rarely do we post anything that’s not available online. we really wanted the site to be a comprehensive resource for anyone who’s looking for the perfect table or wallpaper, etc, so we try to include important design pieces as well as lesser known items that may meet a need for a space.

q: do you have a favorite category? if you do, why is it your favorite?
a: katie: i love home furnishings in general, but i’m quite fond of miscellaneous accessories - i guess because they’re more affordable (usually) and an easy way to make a small change in your surroundings.

kris: my favorite is our new “remodel” section which we launched a few months ago. it’s for people who are looking to make a major change in their space, such as surface treatments like changing flooring or wallpaper, or for remodeling their kitchen or bath. i used to teach kitchen and bath design at the college level, so i’m pretty excited we added that category. i really get giddy over fixtures.

q: can you name a few current design trends that you love?
a: katie: i like the new crop of products that have been designed with sustainability in mind, not just because it’s a trend, but because it’s interesting to see how designers are pushing the boundaries a little, and how manufacturers are more likely to take a chance considering the recent “green” movement.

kris: i’m kind of an urban nomad right now, so i really like the new “flatpack” trend, which is furniture or other items that are easily packable and movable. i also like the modernization of older styles; for example, the digitization of older baroque styles like the pixelated tables by salad industrial in spain.

q: what do you think is the biggest challenge in writing a design website?
a: katie: finding the words to express how i feel about something without reverting to “i love this”, “this is awesome”, “holy”, and “dude, you have to buy this” all the time.

kris: we try to keep it affordable but that’s not always easy. there’s a reason good design is expensive. a great sofa can last 50 years, not only in terms of construction, but also being relevant aesthetically. but not everyone has the budget for that so we try to find the less expensive items too. unfortunately they don’t last as long, and that has an environmental impact. so, i’d say that’s my biggest challenge: trying to meet the needs of all our readers’ budgets but at the same time trying to strike a balance between providing enough interesting content but making sure the pieces are relevant.

q: can you finish this sentence? the future of design…
a: katie: looks promising.

kris: looks exciting! i can’t wait to see what people come up with next.

like-minded design connoisseurs can hop on over to bltd and see lots more substantial picks. i don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

thank you katie and kris!

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mutualart.com

have you ever experienced frustration or a lack of organization when it comes to finding art online? i have. i don’t meaning jumping on the laptop and googling art galleries in austin or barcelona. i just never thought there was one single place to find a huge amount of information; to discover new artists, find out about openings and fairs, or collect info about my favorite emerging, mid-career or established artists from all over the world.

until i discovered mutualart.com.

mutualart.com is a brand new website that will make these tasks a simple pleasure for you. it’s a cleanly designed, easy to navigate place that has the cooperation of museums, galleries and publications from all around the world. on the site you will be able to rapidly search for information on hundreds of artists (working in genres from gothic to avant-garde to outsider to neoclassic), find out the most up-to-the-minute news in the art world from 250 different publications and keep up to date on gallery openings and events in dozens of cities.

this is an exceptional site to bookmark if you travel on the weekend to one of the cities in their database and want to find out what’s happening in the galleries and museums there. and i especially like the fact that i can create my own personal filing and preference system and organize the categories, events and artists i like my own way.

they are currently doing beta testing, so head on over to the mutual art site, get your name on the list and stockpile some good art info for yourself.

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barack obama is your new bicycle

no, i never write about politics, and no, he isn’t your new bicycle, but this funny website sure makes the presidential hopeful seem quite lovable. just click on the phrase that you see below (or here) and you’ll find out what else he is doing for you. he’s actually pretty plugged in, from what i can tell:

amusing!

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the beholder redesign - more art!

behold the new beholder, a wonderful place to find affordable art. curator suzanne shade has made her site even more robust now with a few additions: the virtual marketplace, where artists can set up shop and sell their work independently of gallery commissions; a featured guest curator each month; more ways to search; and, a new way to save your favorite pieces in your file. here’s a taste of what’s going on over there right now:

oil paintings by michelle armas

gouache on paper works by mike monteiro

watercolor paintings by rick caruso

mixed media works on paper by luke ramsey

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design sponge redesign

i’m a rogue and quite possibly the last one to post about design sponge’s redesign, but i don’t care — i’m doing it anyway! it’s as if the site is bionic. virtually overnight (at least to the end user) it has seamlessly become bigger, faster, and stronger, chock full of myriad posts, photos, editors and contributors for new features and guest bloggers.

i’ve enjoyed watching the evolution of design sponge, and am moved by grace bonney’s savvy, dedication, consistency and talent. we should all be so lucky as to aspire to her levels of enthusiasm, and be capable of housing as much passion for our own interests, both personal and professional.

for now, though, just go to the site.

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