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Make Art That Sells Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Nathalie Taylor

Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Nathalie Taylor

We are so proud of our Make Art That Sells Alumni, that we are pleased to continue a series of spotlight interviews showcasing their successes and artwork. We also ask them to share how the MATS courses have helped them learn and grow. You can see more Alumni Success stories here Today, we have an interview with Nathalie Taylor. Nathalie has taken MATS A/B, Assignment Bootcamp and our Creating Collection for Home Décor. Tell us a little about how you got started in art and design I always liked to draw. As a child, with my three brothers, I was constantly tinkering something, our house was always upside down filled with one or another’s artistic project! My mother was an artist and my father a press photographer. I studied industrial design and earned a degree in graphic design. I worked in this area for almost 25 years, but something was missing, I


reason 300 07 Make Art That Sells Reason 7 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 7 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

All the Make Art That Sells experiences are special, not only because of what you learn and how you grow, but because of who you share the experience with. Each course offers you the opportunity to join a private online community of artists just like you – others who want to make it as a professional, who also have growing pains, successes to celebrate, and advice to share. Often class participants form strong bonds with other artists in class, organizing local meetups, becoming friends and even exhibiting together at trade shows. This class is just like that—you will share the experience with a community of artists from all over the world. You can be part of something amazing, and that is something to be treasured. MATS manifesto by alumnus Annabel Tempest Gone are the days when art school was the only place to learn how to make art and get


reason6 thumb Make Art That Sells Reason 6 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 6 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

At the beginning of the course you will be provided with three cutting edge trend boards. These have been put together for you by art director Margo Tantau who knows exactly what is hot and what is not. You will choose one of these trend boards as your guide and inspiration for the entire course. Each week you will get a mini exercise to loosen you up, and then a full Assignment to help you develop a professional-level portfolio piece. Each Assignment will be inspired by the trend board you choose, to ensure that the work you produce is on trend or ahead of trend. Class work by Sandrine Monnier, inspired by one of Margo’s trend boards After the full five weeks, you will end up with an outstanding, commercially-viable and very current presentation of a full home décor collection, featuring products made from the five most popular substrates of


reason 300 05 Make Art That Sells Reason 5 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 5 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

MATS classes are generally not technical classes, but in the case of MATS Creating Collections for Home Décor, we include technical guidance on how to mock up your collection ideas onto innovative product templates. ‘Happy Together’ collection by course graduate Sophie Dufresne Top art director and co-course leader Margo Tantau provides you with a host of interesting product templates for each of the five most popular materials used in the home décor market—fabric, metal, glass, ceramics and wood/MDF. As a class participant you have permission to use these rights free in your portfolio, and they will spark a ton of ideas for creating your own templates too. Furthermore, through participating in the class, you will see the work of many other talented artists, which will inspire you to dream up new ideas and present your collections in innovative ways. There is NOTHING else out there quite like this. Feel like


reason 300 04 Make Art That Sells Reason 4 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 4 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Attracting clients is hard work. Often they will buy or license a single design from you, and then perhaps give you repeat business in the future. Wouldn’t it be better to land an entire product line or collection deal in the first place? MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor is your key to selling more to each client. Why? Because the course teaches you how to think differently, and see your art in three dimensions instead of two dimensions—think ‘art on products’. And then it teaches you to see your art on multiple products, which work together. This isn’t about taking one pattern and putting it on several different products, but about presenting coordinating art pieces on complementary products, so your client, and their customer, wants to buy more than one thing at once. Concepts developed in class by Sam Osborne The course will make you think differently about materials,


reason 300 03 Make Art That Sells Reason 3 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 3 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

We all have dream clients. Maybe you swoon every time you walk into Anthropologie, your heart races when you see a new home collection in Crate & Barrell, or you daydream about seeing your work on Land of Nod bedding. The clearer you are about your dream client, and the more you understand what they want and what their customers look for, the more chance you have of landing work from them. However, dreaming is not enough. You need to demonstrate to them that you have the concept ideas they want, and attract them with compelling presentations. Home collection by course graduate Patricia Lebedel MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor will teach you exactly how to template your work onto product ideas, and present these as exciting collection concepts which will make potential clients notice you. Each week of class you will create a presentation board for a series of


reason 300 02 Make Art That Sells Reason 2 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 2 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

One of the main mistakes artists make when showing at Surtex and other trade shows for the first time is not having enough work in their portfolio. Clients want to see diversity, but they also want to see depth. To understand what you are capable of, they need to see a host of pieces. All of the MATS courses can help you build your portfolio, but MATS Creating Collections for Home Décor goes one step further by teaching you how to present your work as collections, showcasing your ideas for product concepts, making your work instantly more appealing to art directors, and therefore more commercially viable and valuable. Not only are they more likely to notice you, but they are more likely to buy more from you, and work with you for longer because suddenly you know how to speak their language. Class graduate Diane Neukirch’s ‘Field Flowers’ collection Career


reason 300 011 Make Art That Sells Reason 1 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

Reason 1 of 10 Reasons to join MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor

“This course is teaching something desperately needed in the industry. It’s a gamechanger.” – Margo Tantau, Creative & Design lead MADISON PARK GROUP MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor has been developed in collaboration with top art director Margo Tantau in response to something she saw lacking in the industry. Time after time talented artists were showing their portfolios to her, but only demonstrating what their work looks like in two dimensions, as flat art, such as patterns and illustrations. However, as a Creative Director, Margo needed ideas for products, and felt that if artists could only show concepts in their portfolio, it would make them stand out because: She would know that they have great ideas that could be developed together She would immediately see the potential applications for their art on products She would know that they get what she needs, so will probably be good to work with


junebootcamp Make Art That Sells June 2017 Bootcamp Gallery is now Live!

June 2017 Bootcamp Gallery is now Live!

The fourth gallery from our 2017 Make Art That Sells: Assignment Bootcamp class is now live! I really want you to see the magnificent work that the students (of all levels) have created. The gallery features beautiful pieces of original art inspired by the June class assignment… to design HAIRSTYLES OF ELLIS ISLAND FOR A COFFEE MUG. There was so much fabulous work submitted in response to this brief, and we love the ongoing supportive energy in the Bootcamp community. What a generous, talented group of artists they are! You can see their beautiful art here as we reveal this month’s Assignment Bootcamp 2017 Gallery. Xo Lilla


we are hiring mustard blue Make Art That Sells We’re hiring! Are you the Manager we are looking for?

We’re hiring! Are you the Manager we are looking for?

Are you looking for an inspiring role that will allow you to help creative people succeed in the art industry? Are you positive, self-motivated, service-minded and super-organized? Would you like a flexible role in a friendly team, based out of the UK but internationally connected? If so, you might just be the Make Art That Sells (MATS) Project Manager we are looking for! This is a rare opportunity to be part of Make Art That Sells (MATS), one of the world’s leading online educational experiences for artists wanting to make their work more commercially viable. We provide industry insight into the top ten hottest markets for art, and show artists exactly what they need to do in order to license and sell their work to clients all over the world. And we are looking for a Manager to be the hub and heartbeat of our team, working directly with MATS