The new way to find artists.

There’s certainly problems in the artist/gallery world caused by the limitations of lockdown. Gone are the weekends away to visit a trade fair, with all the expense it brought with the accommodation, travel expenses, parking charges etc. As well as time lost away from the gallery. A similar story can be told for the artist. A solution has been devised however.  Introducing a new, free to list for artists, free to search for galleries, website to introduce high quality artists to the gallery/retailer: www.meet-thy-maker.co.uk

Matthew Warburton, an ex Toyota Quality assurance engineer, craftsman  coachbuilder  and teacher as well as an artist himself wants to do things a little differently. Having had the heartache and astronomical expense of attending a trade fair some years ago he realised that there have got to be better ways of doing things. Putting the customer first and applying world renowned Toyota thinking skills was fundamental at the heart of the new project.  Bring a lockdown into the mix and every man and his dog is turning to the internet.

After a week of teething problems, tweaks and a great deal of web building learning, meet-thy-maker (MtM) was off the ground with 80 artists listed. Hundreds of galleries were then invited by email with the free password to access the site. The password is used to only allow gallery/retailers to view, not the general public, so that artists can use appropriate language to pitch to accordingly.

How it works. The gallery owner enters the site (can sign up if they wish) and go to the search or filter functions. They can filter by region and/or material area after applying the password. The artists are then listed with high quality photos of current work, descriptions, biographies and contact details linking to the artist’s own website. The gallery owner can then make contact and begin discussions all from the comfort of the armchair. A mini trade fair online but completely free to the artist.

An engineer will always seek out a way to do things better and easier. Having struggled himself on how to get started the website also boasts a resources page for new and existing artists, an events page with upcoming art or craft fairs and artist call outs.

On the strength of feedback from artists Matthew sees another avenue and is currently investigating having a sister website set up for the general public. This will be announced to artist that have already signed up when up and running.

Treat yourself to some wonderful artwork at www.meet-thy-maker.co.uk


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