THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman:
This is episode number two of the Inspiration Place podcast. This week, I’m joined by my friend and professional artist, Blenda Tyvoll, and we take listener questions about how much art do you really need to sell at an art fair, and how to make room mock-ups. Plus, we share what we’re working on right now in our art business. So, for that, stay tuned.
It’s the Inspiration Place podcast, with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast. An art world inside a podcast, for artists, by an artist, where each week, we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now, your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman:
All right, this is your host, Miriam Schulman. Today I have a special guest. She’s going to help me cohost the podcast. Today I have with me Blenda Tyvoll. Blenda is a professional artist and illustrator, based outside of Portland, Oregon. Her art has been included in the set designs of Amazon’s Just Add Magic, and Girls, season six. Her art is also licensed. She is one of the top sellers on Etsy, with thousands of sales over there. She also illustrates stationary, children’s books, and designs home décor products. Blenda and I actually know each other in real life. We’ve been really good friends for over 10 years. I always go to Blenda whenever we have to talk about something related in our art business. So, that’s why I’m super excited to bring her on as not just a guest, but a cohost today, so that we can dig into what it’s like behind the scenes in our art business.
Miriam Schulman:
Welcome, Blenda. Blenda, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from the Inspiration Place Facebook community, which is my free Facebook group, which anyone can join, by the way. I’ve been getting a lot of questions and I would love to have your help in answering them, because I really value your opinion.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Sure. Let’s get started.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So, the first question I have here is from Barbara. Barbara says, “I have been considering getting a booth at a local art fair. How many paintings would one want to have on hand, not including prints or cards, to have for sale?” Now, I know you don’t do a lot of art fairs, but it’s not different than an open studio, right?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right, and I have done them in the past, so I can totally give her some-
Miriam Schulman:
All right, so what do you think? The thing is, Barbara, it totally depends on how large the paintings are, because it’s like, if you have six… And I don’t know how large your booth is. So, let’s pretend she has a 10 foot booth space, which that’s pretty typical.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s kind of typical, yes.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay, so you have 10 feet wide and eight feet high, and it’s three walls.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
So, that’s 240 square feet of space.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I would think between 10 and 15 paintings, because you can fill the walls with paintings. Then, you also have maybe a couple of easels that you put out in front to get people’s attention.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Because they’re all kind of… You want to have something standing out away from the booth, if they allow that kind of thing. If you make some sales, you want to have a little bit of backup, too. So, I would have a little bit, a few extras on hand. I would also vary the size of the paintings, because not everyone can afford a really large painting.
Miriam Schulman:
I think it’s really important, though, to have, for the center panel of your booth… Or, if it’s not a booth, because sometimes when you’re at an art fair, they give you a fence.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Mm-hmm.
Miriam Schulman:
So, whatever your display is, that you center a really large painting in the middle.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. Kind of like an attention-grabber.
Miriam Schulman:
Exactly. So, just like when you go to the jewelry store, they’ll put out this gorgeous, whatever, statement diamond necklace. Maybe not diamonds, but they’ll put out the huge necklace, which is not what they expect people to buy, but it grabs everyone’s attention.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
It draws people in. So, assume that you’re going to have one big one that you put in the middle that draws people in. Then, I always make sure I have prints on hand of whatever that statement piece is, because that’s the one that people are going to want to buy, but they can’t afford it. But then they want a print, and they’re going to ask you, “Do you have any prints?” So, you absolutely have to have prints.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes, totally agree. Another thing I’ve found out that in addition to prints, greeting cards with your artwork on them really sell well. At least in our area, they sell really well. It’s just something that if people can’t afford a print, they will at least pick up some greeting cards. Just recently, I sold a painting because someone had bought some greeting cards with the image on it. She just fell in love with the image, and then came back a couple of months later, and bought the painting. So, there’s a lot of advantages to having different price points.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, but I also feel it’s real important not to sell individual note cards, sell them one at a time, because-
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes. That’s something that I followed your advice on that, because I was selling them individually. I have actually seen an increase in my card sales, because they’re now in packs. Yeah, it hasn’t slowed the card sales down at all.
Miriam Schulman:
No, because if somebody wants to spend a couple dollars on a card, they would just as happily spend 20 dollars on a pack of cards.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Exactly, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
So, I only sell them in packs. In case you’re wondering, I only sell them in packs of six. I take six of my folded note cards, with six envelopes, and I package them in a clear box. Do you do it the same way, in a clear box, that I do? Because we talked about that.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I do. Then, I have two different sizes. I have note cards. They’re smaller, they’re like note card sized. Then, I have the five by sevens. Do you have two different sizes?
Miriam Schulman:
No. Where do you get the five by sevens done?
Blenda Tyvoll:
What size do you do?
Miriam Schulman:
Just the four by six.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay, those are note card size.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, so where do you get the five by sevens from?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Five by sevens, let’s see. I get them from Fine Art America, because you can just have a big image just printed right on the outside. I don’t know. I’m kind of looking around, though. I’m not sure. The thing I don’t like about Fine Art America is that they put their big logo on the back of it.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, I wouldn’t like that.
Blenda Tyvoll:
People don’t seem to care, though. They-
Miriam Schulman:
No, but I care, because when people turn it over, I want it to be my logo or my website.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Exactly, right. I like that so much better. So, I’m kind of shopping around right now, but that’s the ones I have right now. People seem to really like them. But there’s lots of places you can have them done, right?
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Okay, so that’s good. I’ll have to check out the prices on Fine Art America. But I’m pretty happy with my four by six. Nobody ever said to me, not even once, “Do you have a bigger size?”
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, I think that just having just the note card size is-
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, you know what? I take that back. I’m never going to look on Fine… I’m not going to do the Fine Arts…
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right.
Miriam Schulman:
Because, first of all, how much more can you charge, anyway? It’s certainly going to cost me more. Then, how much more can I possibly charge for a pack of cards?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right.
Miriam Schulman:
It’s hard to charge more than 20 bucks. Sometimes people complain about the 20 bucks, but tough. They do buy it, though.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I put fewer of the five by sevens in a pack.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, I put like six different… By the way, what I do, Barbara, since you’re wondering… Well, I’m sure other people are wondering, too. Let’s say I have a camel. I don’t put six camels in a package. I will put a camel, an elephant, giraffe. I’ll put six different images in one package. I’ll put an additional six images in a different package. What people like to do is then, instead of spending 20 bucks, they often will spend 40 dollars, because they want to get both sets.
Blenda Tyvoll:
So, you do a separate image. Like, you do six different images. Sometimes, I have-
Miriam Schulman:
You don’t do that?
Blenda Tyvoll:
No. Sometimes I’ve done two of each.
Miriam Schulman:
No, so what I do, and it’s all with the calendar. So, I have the calendar out, with the 12 images, and then I put six of the images in one set, and the other six in another set. So, people feel like they don’t have the complete set unless they buy both.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, I love that. That’s even better. It is.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Then people feel like… because when there’s only three, they feel like they have to be in love with those three, and it’s definitely more of an incentive for them to buy it when they know they’re getting all six.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, I like that better.
Miriam Schulman:
They’re not getting all six. They need to get both packs to get 12.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Mm-hmm.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I also… See, I haven’t gotten it down quite to the science like you have it. I think that’s brilliant, though, to do the calendar and then the images in the card sets, because right now I’m just randomly doing the ones that people really like, and putting those in the cards. So, they kind of don’t all tie to the calendar.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay.
Blenda Tyvoll:
You’ve got it down. That’s even-
Miriam Schulman:
No, I always theme it, so this year I’m doing garden flowers. It’s a garden flower calendar, and two different garden flower note card sets. Then, a lot of people, if they like it, they get all three. They’ll get the calendar and both sets of note cards.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. That’s really good.
Miriam Schulman:
Now you have… So, instead of making a five dollar sale on a single note card, you’re making like 60 dollars, because they’re buying the calendar and two sets of note cards.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, that’s brilliant.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. Okay.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Good way to market it.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. One other thing I would say to Barbara is that so you have your statement piece, and you wants prints of the statement piece. But what you should do is with your prints, only put out one of each print for the customers to see, and put the duplicates where they can’t see them.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes, that works. It really does.
Miriam Schulman:
Until it sells. Then, after the customer walks away, then you can put the second, whatever it is, sunflower, into the bin. Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. You know, Miriam, do you do different sizes? Do you have eight by tens?
Miriam Schulman:
No.
Blenda Tyvoll:
What size do you put out, then?
Miriam Schulman:
I only do the 11 by 14, with the 14 by 18 inch mat. That sells for 68 dollars.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay, so you don’t do the eight by tens at all?
Miriam Schulman:
No.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Because it seems like that’s my big seller. I frame that… I don’t frame it, I mat it, and then sell it matted, so it’s 11 by 14.
Miriam Schulman:
How much do you sell that for? 36 dollars, 39 dollars?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Mm-hmm. Probably not enough.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, I used to do that, but then I discovered that the people who wanted the prints… It’s the same thing as the note cards. So, just like the person who was willing to spend five dollars on a note card was just as happy to spend 20 dollars on a pack of note cards, the person who would spend 40 dollars on a print would also very happily spend 68 dollars on a bigger print. They’re very happy with those, because they’re substantial sized prints, then. They’re not so big, though, that people think, “Oh, where am I going to put it? I have to put it over a sofa.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes.
Miriam Schulman:
But they really feel like they’re getting a good value, and I make a lot more money that way, because it’s 68 dollars every time. Usually, they’ll buy two or three. If they really like it, they’ll get a couple to put together.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Mm-hmm.
Miriam Schulman:
All right, so I hope that helped you, Barbara. Now we have another question, which I think kind of goes along with this whole selling in person idea. Anna wants to know how to close a sale in a way that they will come back.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Ooh.
Miriam Schulman:
I’m not quite sure what she means by “they will come back.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
A return customer?
Miriam Schulman:
I guess, Anna, the main thing is that whenever you sell something, you want to make sure you stay in touch with them by adding them to your email list.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. And sending them a little note card, after the sale, especially if it’s an original.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. And this has worked for you, Blenda. Tell our listeners about what happened with your last open studio, with sending out stuff ahead of time.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. Send out a postcard. Well, first of all, you do the emails. So, make sure that they’re on your email list, and let them know about your open studio with emails. But then, a lot of the people that have come to the open studio will leave their address. I have them sign up, if they want to sign up for the email, then they’ll leave their address too, if they want to get a postcard. Because I tell them that, “I’ll send you a little postcard in the mail for the next open studio.” I was just amazed at how many showed up because of the postcard. Then, just putting some kind of a little greeting on there, like, “Looking forward to seeing you.” It seems like a lot of money to pay for the stamps, and then you have to get the postcard made. Then, another tip that Miriam and I always do, this is Miriam’s tip, is always put it into an envelope to make it so that they have to open it up.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, because when you send a postcard, you don’t want it to be lost with the other third-class mail. You want it to feel like an invitation, special.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. And I always have either my assistant or myself, we hand-write the envelope. I think that really makes people want to open it, because they feel like it’s a personal card that way.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
So they’re more apt to open the card. All those small things make a difference. I think another thing that seems to work is when you’re making the postcard, to put one image on the front of the postcard, so that they’re more apt to pin it onto their fridge or to their bulletin board, because there’s just this one impressive image that they can see.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, I usually do that. This last time, I didn’t, and I regret it. I had three images on the front, and that never does as well as the one image.
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, I think they like that little gift of getting a little card.
Miriam Schulman:
They do.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I mean, some people even frame those little postcards. But just make sure that all your good information is on the back of it, like-
Miriam Schulman:
And the front. On both sides.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. You could put your… Yeah, you could put your-
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, because I feel like if they pin on the board, you don’t want all the information hidden on the back side, because they pin it up and then they forget to come to your event. What’s the point of that?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right. That’s true.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, so I always want to make sure the date, at least, is on the front.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Mm-hmm.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. I mean, not all the information, but the most important. All right, so do we have other advice for Anna about closing the sale? What’s your go-tos to close the sale? I have a few.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think you just need to be friendly, and just give them advice. I don’t think people are apt to find out, maybe, where they’re going to hang it in their house. Just… I don’t know. You don’t want be too-
Miriam Schulman:
See, I’m way more aggressive than you are.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, I know you are. You probably make more sales than I do. But I’m kind of more-
Miriam Schulman:
Well, you’re Portland, I’m New York. I’m pushy. No, I think that asking a question-
Blenda Tyvoll:
You probably give better advice on this than I could, because that’s kind of where I struggle a little bit. I really do. It’s just hard for me to… I’m an artist, come on! I’m not a salesperson.
Miriam Schulman:
No, but I think the one thing you did say you did is very good, is ask them where they want to hang it, because what you want to do is start getting them to imagine the future of owning it, and start thinking that way. Once they start imagining… Like you said, “Where do you want to hang it up? Where do you imagine hanging this in your home? Is this for you, or a gift?” These things, you start getting them to imagine the future of owning the painting. It’s really important.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right.
Miriam Schulman:
And you do need to ask for the sale. So, I will say-
Blenda Tyvoll:
You do, and I struggle with this.
Miriam Schulman:
It’s not that hard. It’s just like you ask them, “Where are you going to hang it?” You don’t say, “Buy this painting,” or “Get out of my house.” You can say to them, “How would you like to pay for this?” You basically assume that they want to buy it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. So, think about the things that are on your website that lead them to a sale. PayPal or credit card? So, “How would you like to pay for this? Cash or charge? Do you want a-”
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think that’s a good strategy. I like that.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. “Do you want me to wrap this up for you,” if you’re not sure they’re going to buy it. “Do you want me to wrap this up for you?” The other thing I found really helps is that if it’s somebody who is local, and they’ll say, “Can you put this aside for me? I don’t have a check, or my checkbook.” I’ve actually just let them take it home, and tell them, “Mail me a check.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
I have done that, too. I think that’s a good strategy, I really do. For local persons-
Miriam Schulman:
I’ve never been stiffed. Never.
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, they don’t. No. They really don’t. Then the thing of it is, once they have it in their possession, and they see how it fits with their home, it’s just like they can’t let it go. They want to have it. I’ve also done, where people do, they make payments on them too. So, it just depends on how you feel about that. But I’ve always had good experience with that, too, where it’s always worked out well.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, okay. All right. So, I hope that helps Anna. Okay, we have one last question before we wrap up. This question is from Coren. Coren wants to know, “What software or app can I use to make mock-ups of my wall art, in a mocked-up room, for website listings?” What are you using now? Are you still using Photoshop?
Blenda Tyvoll:
I do. I do a lot of Photoshop.
Miriam Schulman:
Me too.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But not everybody can do that. There’s… So, what was the question again? What website?
Miriam Schulman:
She wants to know if there’s a software she can use to…
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, I know there was an app for it that people were using. But anymore, there’s so many places that you can go to see your artwork on a wall. For instance, even Fine Art America or Imagekind, if you upload the artwork, then they’ll have it in a room view that you can just take a screenshot of that, and use that. Or, for instance, with those… I think Imagekind is the same way, but most of those places where they do the POD. Society6, I think, also has some little mock-ups, and Redbubble does too. So, you kind of almost don’t need to do anything. You just upload your artwork to those places, and then look through, and you’ll see-
Miriam Schulman:
But I don’t feel right using an Imagekind mock-up unless I’m sending people to Imagekind. Do you know what I mean?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Well, I send them lots of business, though, so I’m not…
Miriam Schulman:
That’s true.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It doesn’t bother me that… I guess, I mean, if you upload your artwork to it, why can’t you show that as a… Okay, so you think maybe that wouldn’t work?
Miriam Schulman:
No, I’m not saying I haven’t done it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay, well, Photoshop is a really-
Miriam Schulman:
But I really think that the problem is you’re limited to the style of the rooms that are there on those sites. It may not go with the colors, exactly.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s true.
Miriam Schulman:
It may not be the aesthetic, so I think Coren, or whoever wants to learn how to do this, it’s not hard to learn how to do some simple things in Photoshop to put your art into a room. I do offer a class on that, so I’ll definitely put a link in the show notes.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, okay.
Miriam Schulman:
Called Print Apprenticeship, which gives tutorials in Photoshop on how to show your art in a room, because you could definitely learn how to do it yourself. It’s not that hard, and that way, you have more control over how your art looks.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I agree. I think that’s really good advice. It’s not that hard. Then, the thing with-
Miriam Schulman:
All the professional artists that we know who sell online, don’t they all do it themselves with Photoshop?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes. Yeah, I think so.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Then, you can also, if you have walls in your house, you can also just take a picture, doing it that way. But you’re asking about mock-ups. So, there’s places like, I think it’s Yousplash.
Miriam Schulman:
Unsplash.
Blenda Tyvoll:
There’s places where you can get room views.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, yeah, so use those stock photography sites.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right, stock photography. So, you need to have those room views in order to do it in Photoshop, right? Is that what you’re…
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. You can do that, or another thing that I was told to do, which I think is good advice. You take a picture of your mantle with no painting on the wall. You take a picture of your couch with no painting on the wall. You use that over and over again, in Photoshop, to put your art on. You don’t have to actually hang up the art every time. You just, in Photoshop, you hang it up. But I do prefer using stock photography or professionally photographed rooms, because it’s really difficult to photograph interiors.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It is, and there’s a lot of them out there. There’s all kinds of places that you can go. I think it you just google it, you can find room views where you can put your art on the walls.
Miriam Schulman:
So, I hope that helped you, Coren. I think we are out of questions.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, by the way, Miriam, I have to tell you. I thought you did really well in that interview with Ashley.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, good, I’m glad you think so. I thought I blew it. There was so much I felt like I criticized. I haven’t even listened to it yet.
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, it’s really good. You know what? I feel that, by the end of the interview, I think that the questions that you asked sounded so intelligent and like you were so informed, that… Yeah, I think she kind of seemed like she sat up a little straighter by the end of the interview.
Miriam Schulman:
I think so, too. But also, I think she would have sat up straighter in the beginning if I had properly introduced myself, and that was on me. So, from now on, when I’m bringing in somebody who I don’t have a relationship with, I think I have to set us up a little better. I was just so damn nervous, and she just… Her assistant sat her down, kind of like the secretary getting the boss on the phone type of thing. So, at first it was like I wasn’t seeing anything. It just said the name Ashley Longshore, and there was silence. Then, finally, it went to fuzz. Then I could hear them talking. Then, I heard her talking to her assistant, saying-
Blenda Tyvoll:
What was she saying?
Miriam Schulman:
“What is this, again? What is this?” So she gets me, “Oh, it’s a podcast.” “How long is it going to take?” She said, “30 minutes.” So then I was like, “Damn! I only have 30 minutes!”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh no! That’s funny.
Miriam Schulman:
Then I felt I had to keep it to 30 minutes, but I felt like she would have gone on a little longer, but I didn’t want… I was like that insecure girl who kind of wants to end it before the guy ends it. I wanted to be the one to break up.
Blenda Tyvoll:
You did really well. You didn’t come across as nervous at all, so I think it went really well.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, good. I’m glad you liked it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Definitely. The only thing, it’s too bad that her audio seemed a little… Maybe you can, I don’t know.
Miriam Schulman:
I don’t know. I was too lucky to have her on to-
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, no, no, I don’t mean-
Miriam Schulman:
If it was somebody else, I would have just said, “This isn’t working.” But…
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, I was wondering if you can do it in post.
Miriam Schulman:
I don’t know. Sometimes you can.
Blenda Tyvoll:
No? Just leave it. Yeah, it’s totally fine.
Miriam Schulman:
The main thing you can do in post is, let’s say your audio ends up louder than my audio? That’s something that’s easy to do, or if there’s some sort of extra background noise, sometimes they can edit that out. But the overall quality, it’s really hard.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
It’s kind of like you take a picture of a painting. If it sucks, it sucks.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Right, that’s true. Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
She has really nailed it. She’s got-
Miriam Schulman:
I know, she really has.
Blenda Tyvoll:
She’s got so much going on. I really admire her. It’s just amazing, the things that she’s got going on in her life. And it’s all because of her artwork. Wow.
Miriam Schulman:
She hustles. Have you gotten a chance to read her book yet?
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, I would love to get it.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, my gosh, you have to get it. Okay, it says You Don’t Look Fat, You Look Crazy.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh!
Miriam Schulman:
It has a picture of her in a Wonder Woman costume, reaching into a bag of doughnuts with that, like from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what are they called? The Oompa-Loompas? Is that what they’re called? Holding up the doughnut box.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Her imagination is just incredible. That’s so-
Miriam Schulman:
Unbelievable. Anyway, so the book, it starts off being kind of like how she became an artist. Then, towards the back, it’s mostly just talking about different pieces, and what was the inspiration behind each piece.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh.
Miriam Schulman:
So, I did read the book in preparation for the interview, which was really helpful. I loved it. I loved it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
So, she hasn’t interviewed a bunch of people. It’s just about her artwork, kind of a collection of her artwork type of thing? Is that what it is?
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, so it starts off memoir-style, but it’s all illustrated with her art throughout. It’s a very easy read, because every other page has a painting or a saying or something. Then, it’s a pretty short book anyway. Then, towards the end, she slips into just talking about different artworks and what was she thinking when she made it. So, for example, there’s a painting that she calls the Gucci Pig. Then she talks about what inspired her to make the Gucci Pig was that she had ordered very expensive Gucci boots, 6000 dollar boots, that she actually probably was wait-listed for. She was all excited, and when they arrived, and she took them out, and tried to put them on and zip them up, she couldn’t zip them up over her calves, because they were made for skinny size zero socialites. So, anyway, that then inspired the Gucci Pig. Then there’s a lot of-
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s hilarious.
Miriam Schulman:
It’s really funny, I know.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, and then I was listening to the podcast. She talks about how what she would do if she sold the painting, someone bought the painting, right? Then she went and purchased another pair of Gucci boots that fit. Is that right?
Miriam Schulman:
Did she say that? I have to go back and listen to it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think-
Miriam Schulman:
I was so wrapped up and so nervous.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Something like that.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, I’d better go back and listen to my own podcast.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think that’s what she said.
Miriam Schulman:
I also love how she collects artwork of other artists.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I do, too. I think that is so amazing. You know what? That has to do with the law of attraction, which you and both love.
Miriam Schulman:
Totally.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Because it works. It really does.
Miriam Schulman:
It does, it does. I mean, I’m still buying little paintings that I collect, but you know, I’m buying in proportion to the kinds of paintings I sell.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s okay.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s right. But I also liked how she-
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s what I’m doing too.
Miriam Schulman:
So, she didn’t understand at first, when I said, “I hid it under my bed.” She thought I was hiding it from my husband in the sense that I didn’t want him to know that I spent money. But it wasn’t so much that, because, like she said, I make my own money too. I don’t care about him. He can go stick it. It’s just that, for me, it’s not even about hanging it on the wall.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It’s just about having it in your possession.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes! The ownership.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s spot on. Yes.
Miriam Schulman:
So, when I bought that gorilla painting from August Wren, which I’m so happy I got that, by the way. But it’s still unframed. It’s just in a plastic thing, and I just stuck it in my kitchen like it’s kid artwork.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I got to see it, remember?
Miriam Schulman:
Yes.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I was there. You showed it to me.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes, and now I’m particularly happy I got that one, because did you hear about Koko the gorilla?
Blenda Tyvoll:
She died.
Miriam Schulman:
I know.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That is so sad.
Miriam Schulman:
I know.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I love that story. I used to look for YouTubes. I don’t know, what did we watch back then? Back when it was… Was there a book written on it, or a documentary, or something?
Miriam Schulman:
I don’t know, but I have to find it. But, last night, Ron and I went to see the Mr. Rogers documentary. Have you seen it?
Blenda Tyvoll:
What did you see?
Miriam Schulman:
The Mr. Rogers.
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, but I’ve heard about it.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes, yes.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Is it a happy documentary, or what?
Miriam Schulman:
I wouldn’t say it’s unhappy, but I did cry a lot during it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
What?
Miriam Schulman:
Yes. Well, first of all, I’m so sad about what’s happening right now with his children. He talks about, I forget how he put it. Like, there’s only love in the world. It’s either the love or the absence of love, and about loving children. You think about it. If he was alive right now, how devastated he would be that this is happening to these kids. There was that, but then there was so much that happened during our generation, and most of this was my childhood, because he started filming in 1968, which was when I was born. So, there were so many things that he was dealing with, that happened during my childhood. Some of it during my teenage years, like the Challenger exploding. That was in there. That part, I was just, I just had tears.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That was devastating. Do you remember that? I think that’s one of those moments where I think everybody that was alive and was old enough to remember knows where they were. Don’t you think?
Miriam Schulman:
Definitely. My generation, that was my Kennedy assassination, for people my age who weren’t alive during that. The Challenger, everybody knows.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
I know, I was in high school. They had the TV set up in the library.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes, I was in school, too. I was taking classes.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, really?
Blenda Tyvoll:
To go back to school, yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Wow.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It was… Oh, my goodness. That was just, it was terrible. Unbelievable.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But I also remember the Kennedy assassination. I was in school for that, too.
Miriam Schulman:
Right, I know, because you were… I always forget you’re a bit older than me, because you look so young and beautiful.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh. The teacher left the room. I don’t know. She went into the teacher conference room, I think to have a cigarette. Teachers used to smoke back then. They’d go into the teachers lounge and have a cigarette.
Miriam Schulman:
Right.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But she came back in the room, and she was crying. We were all just like, “What’s happened?” Then she wrote on the chalkboard, “President Kennedy has been assassinated.” And we were just like, “What’s assassination?” We didn’t know what that was.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, that’s what was in the Mr. Rogers documentary. They had this one scene where the little lion puppet comes out, and he asks, I forget the human person who’s actually in the Land of Make Believe, this woman. First she goes, “Would you help me blow up the balloon?” Then while she’s blowing it up, the tiger goes, “What does assassination mean?” And it was just such a poignant moment. Just the way Mr. Rogers knew that this is the way children need to deal with it. They’re hearing this word, and they don’t know what it means. Just like what you said.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. So, that was another moment in the movie where I was like, “My god.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh.
Miriam Schulman:
Where’s Mr. Rogers now, when we need him?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, I know. So, is this a documentary? Because I’ve just heard people talking about it, and I haven’t actually…
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, and Koko the gorilla is in it. Koko the gorilla, she came on his show. They’re hugging each other. Then the gorilla, in sign language, says to Mr. Rogers, “I love you.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh!
Miriam Schulman:
Then I cried again.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, my goodness.
Miriam Schulman:
When she mentioned that the Tisch woman was having the exhibit for her, did you know who that was?
Blenda Tyvoll:
The what woman?
Miriam Schulman:
She was saying there was a woman having this exhibit for her in the Hamptons.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, in the Hamptons.
Miriam Schulman:
Did you recognize that name, Tisch?
Blenda Tyvoll:
No.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s okay if you didn’t. It’s a very New York thing. No, that’s why I’m asking you. If I thought you should know, I wouldn’t even bring it up. I’d be like, “Of course you know.” No, so wait, let me tell you. So, I don’t know what the Tisch family does, if they’re a real estate family or whatever, but there’s a whole school. So, NYU, university, has all these schools, like the Steinhardt School. Well, one of the schools is the Tisch School. It’s like a whole college. I should look up what this Tisch family… Hold on. I’m going to do it right now. It’s a rich person. The rich family.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Rich is good.
Miriam Schulman:
Yep.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I love her ambition. I just love it. I just think that she’s…
Miriam Schulman:
She’s invented a whole word.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Huh?
Miriam Schulman:
She invented a whole word for that. Did you hear this?
Blenda Tyvoll:
No.
Miriam Schulman:
She calls it ambitchous.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Ambitchous, I love it.
Miriam Schulman:
I know.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I love that she just puts it all out there. She just lets her whole personality show, and she doesn’t give a flip.
Miriam Schulman:
I know. She doesn’t. She doesn’t care.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, she’s such an amazing person.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, did you catch that part when I asked her if she was an extrovert or an introvert?
Blenda Tyvoll:
She said she was an introvert.
Miriam Schulman:
She did.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I don’t believe it.
Miriam Schulman:
No, I do believe it, because what I asked her is what she puts out there… Because people don’t think of me as an introvert, because I’m so loud and I’m not afraid to go on camera.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, you don’t seem like an introvert.
Miriam Schulman:
But I am an introvert. So, there’s people who, you can put things out there, and you know it’s part of your act. Not that you’re not being authentic or genuine, but you’re putting out your extroverted self. But you still need to get power from being alone and your alone time. So, I thought that was interesting, that she said that.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, I’m definitely an introvert. Big time.
Miriam Schulman:
Me too. I actually went to a march yesterday, and I had to leave because there was too many people.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I get that way too! Like if I go to… I don’t know. I mean, I like it when- I enjoy the people and everything.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It’s just, when I get home, I’m so exhausted. I just feel like, I have to crawl into my shell and get rejuvenated. It happens every time.
Miriam Schulman:
That’s actually the difference between an introvert and an extrovert. A lot of people think that it means that you don’t like people, or you’re not social. That’s not it at all. All that it means is whether being around people gives you energy or drains you of your energy.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It drains me.
Miriam Schulman:
Me too. So, when I go to a party, I like to find just one person to talk to.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Exactly. I’m exactly the same way. So, one-on-one, it energizes me.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But when it’s a big group of people, it just sucks everything out.
Miriam Schulman:
Also, I can’t do it. I’m not good at three-way conversation.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Like, if I’m at a party and I’ve started the conversation and I’m one-on-one with somebody, then the third person comes up to the conversation, I will usually let the other two people take over. Then, it’ll be like-
Blenda Tyvoll:
I do that too.
Miriam Schulman:
“All right, I need to refresh my drink now.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Uh-huh.
Miriam Schulman:
I’ll slip away. It’s like, “You guys got this. You don’t need me anymore!”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah. It’s the way we are.
Miriam Schulman:
I was listening to a podcast, and I have to find out who this person was, but she talks about how, it was a guest on someone’s podcast, how, if you are an introvert, how to use that to your advantage. She was saying, “Well, you’re not the person who’s going to work the room, or at a dinner party, you’re not going to be the person that everyone remembers. But you are going to be the person that listens carefully, so that you might pick up on something. Then you’ll be able to follow up with people, and say, ‘You know, you mentioned about your son, and here’s an article I thought you would like.'” I found that to be really helpful, just to use our listening powers to make more valuable connections, rather than worrying about-
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, I like that. That’s a good point.
Miriam Schulman:
I like it too, yeah. So, back to the interview. Did you notice when I asked her about, “Well, do you have your moments of self-doubt?” Did you hear that?
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, I forgot… I missed that part.
Miriam Schulman:
She was like, “Well, maybe you missed the question,” because I might have been talking over her.
Blenda Tyvoll:
“Do you have moments of self-doubt?” I want to hear this, because she seems like someone that never has any self-doubt.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, no, she said she absolutely has her moments where she doesn’t know if she has it all together. So, that made her more real for me.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I like that she’s started this whole business around her art. Like, she has what? Over 20 people working for her? Is that right?
Miriam Schulman:
Well, first of all, she runs a gallery, which you have to see. Which I have to go back to. By the way, I asked Ron if he wants to go to New Orleans, and he was like, “We’ve been there already.” I’m like, “So?”
Blenda Tyvoll:
We might have to go by ourselves.
Miriam Schulman:
I know, we should.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Maybe Jack, my husband, will go.
Miriam Schulman:
We should. We should make an art weekend out of it, because there’s a lot of really good art galleries down there. So, she has an art gallery, so you mentioned-
Blenda Tyvoll:
I would love to see it.
Miriam Schulman:
…just to run a brick and mortar art gallery, that takes a certain amount of staff right there. So, even dinky old me, I have a couple of people working for me. Maybe not full-time, but… You have people working for you, too.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I do, my assistant. She’s wonderful. Love her.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yep.
Miriam Schulman:
Are you running out of takeaways? Were there any other takeaways?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Let’s see. What else about Ashley?
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But the thing I want to bring up about Ashley Longshore is how I know her the best is through Instagram.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes.
Blenda Tyvoll:
And on her account.
Miriam Schulman:
Let’s talk about that.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Absolutely love. And you forgot to ask her, but that’s okay. I’ll forgive you.
Miriam Schulman:
No, I asked her about that dancing guy you told me about.
Blenda Tyvoll:
You did?
Miriam Schulman:
I did. I said, “Where do you get the videos?” And she was going on about that guy, and how much she loves him.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Wait a second. I need to go back and listen to it.
Miriam Schulman:
Good lord. Now I’m worried it didn’t record.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, anyway. Okay, so yeah, her videos-
Miriam Schulman:
I’m so nervous, like, “Did it cut out?”
Blenda Tyvoll:
Her videos just crack me up. Her sense of humor is hilarious. She has, I don’t know what, about every third or fourth post on her Instagram are these hilarious videos. I don’t know if she gets them off of YouTube. Did you ever find out where she gets them?
Miriam Schulman:
She just told me who it was. But I didn’t want to embarrass her, like, “Well, you have 20 people working for you, so is one person in charge of your Instagram channel?” You know what I mean? I not-
Blenda Tyvoll:
No, I totally get that. I gotcha. Yeah. She’s not-
Miriam Schulman:
And I did call her out on something, though. She was talking about how she doesn’t like giving galleries 50 percent, and I said, “Yeah, well, you have 20 people working for you. What percent is that of your…” Do you know what I’m saying?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Did you say that to her?
Miriam Schulman:
I did, I did. She got a little prickly over that. I didn’t need for her to tell me her margins or anything. But it is true, that it’s not like we keep 100 percent by representing ourselves. It costs a lot of money to represent ourselves.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Well, that’s not… You’re right on that. And also, galleries, it takes a lot of money to run a gallery.
Miriam Schulman:
It does. Especially, like her gallery is prime real estate on Magazine Street in New Orleans. I’m sure it’s less than Bleecker Street or Greenwich Village, or whatever, Scarsdale. I don’t know, maybe it isn’t less. Who knows? But yeah. I mean, I don’t need to know what her margins are, but I imagine she would be doing well if she was keeping 50 percent of what she makes. She’d be doing very well.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But the really good news is she’s helping to support a lot of people, which is pretty cool.
Miriam Schulman:
Correct. Which she was very quick to point out, so…
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah. That’s pretty cool. Anyways, back to those videos. They’re just hilarious.
Miriam Schulman:
They really are.
Blenda Tyvoll:
She usually makes some joke that just has to do with her or something. I don’t know, but-
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, it does. For example, she showed this guy who does not look like a ballet dancer. He’s probably 240 pounds, you would say?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Uh-huh.
Miriam Schulman:
Maybe more.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Or more, maybe more.
Miriam Schulman:
More, because it’s a guy and he’s tall, yeah. And he’s a ballet dancer. Then the caption says something like, “This is how I feel when I know I’ve just ordered ice cream,” or something like that. Then you see this fat guy pirouetting across her Instagram.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think he had tights on or something. It was just so hilarious.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, I know, right. He does all these pirouettes. He’s actually a very good dancer. It’s very joyous.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, it brightens your day. It really does.
Miriam Schulman:
I enjoy her Instagram. Although, the other thing I have to say about Ashley is that it was a little bit of an acquired taste for me. Like, I love her art, and I get it now. But when I was first shown it, I was like, “Huh.” It took me a while to get it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, I think so. I think it does. But that is the case, a lot of times, when you find an artist that you’re kind of crazy over, at first.
Miriam Schulman:
It’s true. Remember how I reacted at that art gallery when I ended up buying the art? I didn’t even like her at first. Then, I ended up buying it. I don’t remember her name, which is bad. I should go get the artwork. What was her name? C. Bost or something.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, that’s right. Yes. Yeah, that was a good piece. I like that.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. I’ll definitely put a link to her name in the show notes, because I like supporting other artists, so I’ll make sure everybody knows who that is. I am interviewing the gallerist, actually tomorrow.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, tomorrow I’m interviewing her. But I have not taken the art out of the bag.
Blenda Tyvoll:
You haven’t taken it out of the bag?
Miriam Schulman:
It’s still in the bag? I told you, when I first got it, I put it under my bed. Which, oddly, made me very happy, knowing I had this art under my bed. Then my husband was looking under our bed for something, I’m not sure what, maybe the cat. He’s like, “What is this?” He thought it was the cat. Then it’s like, “No, that’s the art I bought.”
Blenda Tyvoll:
That was so much fun, walking into that gallery.
Miriam Schulman:
It was. Then he thought it must have been way more expensive than it was, since I bought it at a New York gallery. But it was actually pretty reasonable.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, not only a New York gallery. That was in Greenwich Village, wasn’t it?
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, yeah. That was, was it on Bleecker, actually?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, that was a lot of fun.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s a fun place. It was just one of those places that you just walk into, and the whole experience was so much fun, and it had to do with the ladies that were there, and our interaction with them. It was really fun.
Miriam Schulman:
I know. I learned a lot going into that art gallery. I learned a lot, actually, by buying that piece. So, that was worth it. And now I actually have an artwork, if I ever take it out of the bag. I’ll take it out of the bag after this conversation, go hang it up. So, Blenda, I do want to wrap up, because I’m schvitzing here, because I turned the air conditioner off so that it didn’t interfere. But let’s talk about what we’re working on now, and what we want to accomplish this week.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay, sounds good. Okay, well, the last week I have been doing a… This is one of my goals, is to do a Skillshare class. Oh, my goodness! It is so hard to do. Then, I thought that the actual videoing was going to be the hard part. That took a couple of days, to set it all up and get my little project videotaped. Then I did a little introduction, like a headshot. But then the hard thing is just getting it into the editing and editing everything. I’m trying to make it sound right, and clipping it down so that it’s not boring, getting rid of all the boring stuff.
Miriam Schulman:
So, it only needs to be as long as it takes for you to explain it.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay.
Miriam Schulman:
Does that make sense?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Mm-hmm.
Miriam Schulman:
I talk the whole time.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I talked the whole time.
Miriam Schulman:
They liked that, yeah. I talk the whole time. How long does Skillshare want their videos to be? Did they describe them?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Well, the minimum is 10 minutes.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah, that’s good.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think mine is, I think I got it down to like 20. But I had, oh, my goodness, I had hours and hours, maybe eight hours worth of video that I had to put down. I’m working on that right now. I had no idea it was going to take me that long! It’s just… Ugh, it’s going on and on and on. So, hopefully, I can learn a few tricks and tips on how to get this done quicker, because…
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It’s a challenge.
Miriam Schulman:
Well, you learned a lot by doing it. You know how I always say, “Done is better than perfect.” Look at all that you’ve learned in this process.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Thank you for that. I’m thinking that with each one, I’m going to get better, because I’ve seen it with you. Oh, my goodness! You are such a pro at this now.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, yeah. I shudder thinking about my first videos. I think I have to redo those so I can watch.
Blenda Tyvoll:
But what I want to figure out, I want to know how-
Miriam Schulman:
-really good, but I want to redo some of those earlier videos, because…
Blenda Tyvoll:
Well, you know, you’ve just got to start somewhere. It’s all there is to it.
Miriam Schulman:
I know.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay, so Miriam, what are you working on right now?
Miriam Schulman:
Well, you know how last year we put out our calendars in August?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, my goodness! Yes! We have to do that.
Miriam Schulman:
So, aren’t you doing that?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yes, I’m going to. Have you started?
Miriam Schulman:
Well, yeah. Well, I haven’t started the calendar, because I have to finish the paintings, but I decided this year I’m doing jungle animals.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, that’s perfect.
Miriam Schulman:
So, I have giraffe. I have a panda. I have two elephants. I’m working on a sloth.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I saw that.
Miriam Schulman:
I think I’m going to put in my camel from last year. It’s okay to reuse an oldie but a goodie.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Is that a jungle animal?
Miriam Schulman:
No. No, it’s not. That’s a good point.
Blenda Tyvoll:
That’s okay. That’s okay.
Miriam Schulman:
Can I just call it exotic animals, or wild animals, or?
Blenda Tyvoll:
Wild animals.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. All right, fine.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay, don’t forget to do Koko the gorilla.
Miriam Schulman:
Oh, yes. I have to do a gorilla. Good idea.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I love gorillas.
Miriam Schulman:
I know. All right, so that’s what I’m working on, is that I’m trying to knock off a painting a week. So, since we’re at the beginning of July, I hope by August to have all the paintings I need for the calendar done. So I can create the calendar and pre-sell it, because last year when I pre-sold it, that worked really well. I want to do that again.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It did. And those calendars, yeah. I think we both sold a lot of them.
Miriam Schulman:
That was my biggest selling time, also, was the pre-selling. You always think calendars are going to sell in December or January, and by then, people have moved on.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Yeah, they really have. So, August and September, because they’re kind of buying them up for Christmas gifts and that kind of thing.
Miriam Schulman:
Yeah. All right, Blenda, so this was really fun talking with you. You have to come back and cohost another episode.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, I’d love to. Okay.
Miriam Schulman:
Then, we’ll talk about that and anything else that’s inspiring us at the moment.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Okay. We’ll think of something. Stuff always comes up, right?
Miriam Schulman:
We don’t have to think of anything. We’re full of ideas.
Blenda Tyvoll:
I know.
Miriam Schulman:
Anyway, Blenda, thank you so much for joining us today. Blenda, where should my listeners go to find you?
Blenda Tyvoll:
I think right now I’m the most active on Instagram, so @blendastudio on Instagram.
Miriam Schulman:
Perfect. I love your Instagram feed.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Oh, thank you.
Miriam Schulman:
Yes, for sure. All right, Blenda, thank you so much. We will talk soon.
Blenda Tyvoll:
All right.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay.
Blenda Tyvoll:
It’s been really a pleasure. Always a pleasure.
Miriam Schulman:
Okay. Bye for now. Well, that wraps up another episode of the Inspiration Place podcast. I would love to know what you thought of that, so join me in conversation over on Instagram. You can find me @schulmanart on Instagram. Send me a direct message there. You can find me on Facebook, also, Schulman Art. I even have a free Facebook group, the Inspiration Place. I hope you’ll join me there. Write to me and let me know what you think. So, thanks so much for spending this time with me, and I’ll see you next time.
Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram @schulmanart, and of course, on schulmanart.com.
Miriam Schulman:
Tune in next time for the Inspiration Place podcast, when I’ll be talking with photographer Jeffrey Shaw, and we’ll be discussing how to price art for the high-end market. Here’s a little clip of what you can expect:
Jeffrey Shaw:
So, the same thing is true if you go walk in a Walmart, you walk into most of your typical department stores, there is a lineup of cash registers. Yet, if you go to a high-end store, Bergdorf’s and Neiman-Marcus, you’re hard-pressed to find a register, right? It’s going to be discreetly tucked away. Bergdorf-Goodman does an amazing job by completely making it impossible to find a cash register. And the difference is that whether you are speaking the language of relational or transactional to your customers.
Miriam Schulman:
So, join me next time, for the Inspiration Place podcast.
Blenda Tyvoll:
Hey, there. This is Blenda Tyvoll, from blendastudio.com and you’re listening to the Miriam Schulman podcast. What’s it called again?
Miriam Schulman:
You got it totally wrong. It’s the Inspiration Place podcast.
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