An introduction about myself:
I'm James Billiter. I created Billiter Studio to have creative freedom to create my own work — to explore themes of history, architecture, nature through the graphic arts and printmaking. As a Cincinnatian I was naturally drawn to our local culture and I have connected to the community and grown an audience through my work's celebration of our culture.
I am a DAAP graduate (Graphic Design, 2001) that started my business as a creative outlet nearly a decade ago. For the past two years it has been my sole income. My company has two main facets: I am an artist/illustrator who is commissioned by companies and I also sell my artwork in "retail." For artwork sales I have found that I have to rely upon a diversity of revenue streams: such as in-person retail at markets and events, wholesale retail, internet sales, galleries, licensing and passive income.
I practiced as a graphic designer for agencies for 17 years and when I started creating my artwork it showcased my abilities and illustration and lettering. Having a creative outlet making my prints has provided me with a venue to perfect and showcase my skills. Building up my artwork and brand helped me create a customer base that also enabled me to find a client base for my commissions.
1) Who would you say your customer base is? Do you have a target audience or did you start with a target audience? Has it shifted over time?
My mission has always been to provide quality artwork that is affordable and handmade. I love having a studio practice where I can create work with my hands, but I also embrace the aspects of design such as using technology and allowing scale to enable an affordable product.
When I started I would say that my customer base was more niche, a younger audience of college students and young professionals. As the events I participated in, as well as the communities I served became more popular my customer base grew and I would say it is definitely a little more mainstream now. Also, the lovely thing with social media is connecting with a modest audience of customers and other creatives around the globe.
2) How has Covid19 affected your business? Has there been a shift in what people are purchasing or who is purchasing?
First off, I want to say that I am taking this very seriously. Often in my work week I meet hundreds of people in a week, and the thought of potentially spreading the virus unknowingly is terrifying.
I create physical objects, they are at a studio and I use the postal service to ship these items. The gravity of the situation made me question would I want to risk the health and lives of others just to sustain only part of my livelihood. Having multiple revenue streams meant I could brainstorm and experiment with new ways to create revenue.
I have noticed that some people really seek a return to normalcy. During the quarantine a few people reached out and I felt uncomfortable because I was taking the quarantine and stay-at-home orders fairly seriously. Feeling some people were ready, I did re-open my online store in early May and letting customers know of the timeline they should expect to receive their artwork.
In-person retail accounts for about 30% of my annual revenue (online sales are 9% and passive income/ licensing around 1%), I immediately recognized that this is an extremely unsafe activity until there is a vaccine. Short term during the quarantine I made sure to emphasize products that are passive income, i.e., products that are digital downloads. I also created items that were of comfort and with so many people unemployed, I created digital items that were very inexpensive or free.
I really wanted to embrace the idea of what is "essential." Having experience in fashion as well as in ceramics I feel that those expressions are very utilitarian and they not only help cloth us and feed us but the expressive aspect of these mediums surrounds us with objects that we enjoy or become part of our personal self-expression. I would say overall that my medium is much more of a decorative art and is extremely non-essential. I immediately asked myself "why/how am I relevant now." I feel that once we are safe there is still a need to have hope and delight in our lives — these are aspects of my work that I’ve always clung onto and I have to hope that I can continue to provide these for my audience.
I did also ask myself, how can I be of greater help. I immediately began to create free artwork, typically coloring pages, to benefit other organizations. I’ve also been using a portion of my sales to help fund raise for causes that are affected by COVID-19. I am currently working to develop some items such as facemasks and other products that might help us navigate opening economy before having the safety of a vaccine.
For later in the year, I am ideating ways to provide a safer environment for my customers. I rent a studio space and potentially enabling shopping appointments and curbside pick up would be great ways to still provide my artwork to my audience without exposing them to events that typically feature crowds of thousands of people. If the economy does not rebound and the job loss is sustained, I also wish to connect with others through my art (either by providing free artwork or free, safe opportunities for individuals to co-create art).
Lastly, short term I am offering personal contact-free local delivery of orders to ease the burden on the US Postal Service.
3) What method do you use to reach current and potential customers the best? i.e. social media, galleries, art shows, etc.
I have not yet gauged customer confidence using social media — I could use Instagram stories to take a quick poll or have customers fill out a survey. I haven't done this yet, I suppose I have the luxury of
Speaking of social media, I am using IGTV and Instagram for longer form videos about my process, I also plan to use IGTV and a YouTube channel as possible ways to have free art classes. I am also ideating if there’s a way to create inexpensive art classes that could be downloaded from my website.
I would say that I greatly benefit from the popularity and audiences of the events I participate in. Like most of us, there’s so many ways to communicate out there that I often wonder how effective is social media (especially when I see data around the number of impressions to likes to visits to purchases — if 3000 people see an image it feels like sometimes I have 1 sale!). But I would say that it has really helped me build my career and I have been utilizing social media and my online shop much more now to communicate with my audience.
