Stephen Casey
02-27-2004, 05:09 PM
I had planned to do a medieval chess set and decided to bring into the project Dusty Worthington. A quality friend and man. Although his sculpting had been in a totally different medium, more carving than sculpting in soapstone. He already had interest in medieval armor and weapons.
Good, bad, great or lousy, I have decided to meld his effort with mine to make the best chess set we could. We decided that he would be best in the employee situation with promised benefits and good salary as I develop my studio. He is a man that I can count on when health or leisure demands long periods of my absence. He was the foreman of my licensed hauling business in the 1990s, so we already had a working rhythm together. I will give him proportionate artist credit for his effort as he can make available while working a full time job elsewhere. I am the owner of the studio and responsible for developing product and the processes of manufacture and marketing. Wearing all the hats of a small business owner is comfortable for me where it would be stressful for him. Also I intend to donate 65% of my profits to worthy causes, so he will do well to be paid in advance of profit dispersal.
Now comes the complication. I realized and accepted that we needed to do some simpler sculpture projects that will yield faster revenue in the short run. This lead me to decide to do some individual sculptures that can easily be marketed in a market that supports new work, the Garage figure kit market. (More info on this market in the Blue Fame thread in this Art Lounge Forum.)
The problem was this kind of sculpture is very rapidly conceptualized and completed by this individual. So how do I keep Dusty involved and excited about the studio and the job security that we both wish for him to have? Providing more than decent salary, comprehensive health insurance, and liberal vacation and work hours.
My solution so far is to parallel develop small pieces that can retail for $30.00-$150.00 a piece. Items that can be produced quickly and test marketed for very little investment.
This has led me to the decision that we will be sculpting jewelry from our media, polymer clays. This is already common and being sold in small amounts online. I think I have come up with a new twist in the design that might sell well. I do the most of the conceptualization, Dusty produces product and I market the product.
Hence we maintain constant contact and interaction as we do the jewelry and pick away at the chess set design. The jewelry will not make much money but has the potential for fun, activity, and maintaining enthusiasm. Until the studio has sufficient cash flow to keep us both afloat.
The larger single sculpture will be produced by myself with the majority and will require the majority of my efforts. The goal is to earn enough to support us both. Even if that was simply his resin recasting of my original garage kit sculpts. While picking away at the needs of the co-sculpted chess set.
I have long since decided I want Dusty involved no mater what it takes. There is beauty in producing art that is popular as well as unique. Making sure my friend and his family are well fed and safe from want is quite beautiful to me. If I tailor my sculpting projects toward already strong markets instead of just expressing my unique perspective for it’s own sake, I will make no apologies for following that path.
Good, bad, great or lousy, I have decided to meld his effort with mine to make the best chess set we could. We decided that he would be best in the employee situation with promised benefits and good salary as I develop my studio. He is a man that I can count on when health or leisure demands long periods of my absence. He was the foreman of my licensed hauling business in the 1990s, so we already had a working rhythm together. I will give him proportionate artist credit for his effort as he can make available while working a full time job elsewhere. I am the owner of the studio and responsible for developing product and the processes of manufacture and marketing. Wearing all the hats of a small business owner is comfortable for me where it would be stressful for him. Also I intend to donate 65% of my profits to worthy causes, so he will do well to be paid in advance of profit dispersal.
Now comes the complication. I realized and accepted that we needed to do some simpler sculpture projects that will yield faster revenue in the short run. This lead me to decide to do some individual sculptures that can easily be marketed in a market that supports new work, the Garage figure kit market. (More info on this market in the Blue Fame thread in this Art Lounge Forum.)
The problem was this kind of sculpture is very rapidly conceptualized and completed by this individual. So how do I keep Dusty involved and excited about the studio and the job security that we both wish for him to have? Providing more than decent salary, comprehensive health insurance, and liberal vacation and work hours.
My solution so far is to parallel develop small pieces that can retail for $30.00-$150.00 a piece. Items that can be produced quickly and test marketed for very little investment.
This has led me to the decision that we will be sculpting jewelry from our media, polymer clays. This is already common and being sold in small amounts online. I think I have come up with a new twist in the design that might sell well. I do the most of the conceptualization, Dusty produces product and I market the product.
Hence we maintain constant contact and interaction as we do the jewelry and pick away at the chess set design. The jewelry will not make much money but has the potential for fun, activity, and maintaining enthusiasm. Until the studio has sufficient cash flow to keep us both afloat.
The larger single sculpture will be produced by myself with the majority and will require the majority of my efforts. The goal is to earn enough to support us both. Even if that was simply his resin recasting of my original garage kit sculpts. While picking away at the needs of the co-sculpted chess set.
I have long since decided I want Dusty involved no mater what it takes. There is beauty in producing art that is popular as well as unique. Making sure my friend and his family are well fed and safe from want is quite beautiful to me. If I tailor my sculpting projects toward already strong markets instead of just expressing my unique perspective for it’s own sake, I will make no apologies for following that path.