What exactly does a top art agent and born educator do all day?
Having had the pleasure of staying with art agent and Make Art That Sells co-founder and teacher, Lilla Rogers, for several days in October, I can say for sure that she lives and breathes art and teaching: she is constantly thinking about what her artists and students need to know in order to thrive, both professionally and personally, and how she can break it down for them. It’s this ethos which underpins Make Art That Sells, which she describes as “an organic feedback loop”: always listening to her artists and students and thinking about what they need, and creating new courses in real time to meet those evolving needs.
Much as you’d expect, Lilla’s studio is full of color and whimsy.
Lilla’s day starts with ten minutes of meditation, daydreams, and checking email in bed – though she says she’s trying not to do this.
Her New England garden is full of color even in fall, and she is often found outside first thing in the morning, cutting flowers to bring into the house, where they decorate multiple surfaces in both her home and the studio. She’s been known to use plants and flowers in her teaching work too – check out this incredible tutorial on kick-ass composition, for example – and she tells me that while she was collecting the days’ flowers, she was thinking about artists and students and color, and maybe making a color palette.
Flowers from Lilla’s garden, which is as colourful as her house and studio.
Lilla speaks to her close friend, Schiffie, every morning, and then her husband brings her a coffee, which she drinks while getting ready and listening to a comedy show on the local radio station.
Her mail arrives mid-morning: several checks, including one for royalties for six books from Chronicle Books; a contract for one of her artists; a Lilla Rogers Studio postcard showing some of the gorgeous products her artists have created; a thank you from an art director following her recent artists’ retreat; a CB2 catalog; and a circular for a political action committee called Emily’s List, which campaigns to elect more women to political office.
The checks go in a designated box for studio staff to deal with. Lilla says that when she was starting out, she had to do everything herself, so she knows every job in the studio; but now, she says, “I have an amazing team and so I just do what I do best!”
What does a top art agent get in the post?
There’s a call with Jitna, our manager, from Make Art That Sells back in the UK to discuss all the pretty banners needed for the huge cyber sale in November and all the courses which will be running in 2020.
Lilla checks her email, from a vertical position this time. There’s an email from senior agent, Susan, discussing some of the agency’s artists’ work and making plans to pitch to top children’s book art directors, plus questions about a contract, a fee for a job, and an artist’s book pitch and whether it needs more comparables. Every Monday, Joanne from the agency sends over their artists’ images and Lilla picks the best ones for her to send out to art directors. Plus there’s a Lilla Rogers Studio newsletter to review, and some discussion with Kim, an agent at Lilla Rogers Studio, about the agency’s Instagram feed.
Make Art That Sells co-teacher, Margo Tantau, texts about the Facebook Live event that the pair are doing that afternoon for the first day of their new live home décor course, Home Décor PLUS, and the two of them spend some time working on the details, to make sure that everything goes smoothly for the main event. Then Lilla picks out some vintage Vera wallpaper samples from some sample books she has to show students during the live review.
Technology is fun!
We grab some nutritious lunch and another coffee and it’s time for the live event. Despite everything working perfectly in the practice run earlier, the technology won’t cooperate and Lilla can’t add Margo to the session, but Lilla’s professionalism doesn’t waver as she chats with students, answers questions and shows off some stunning vintage eye candy, all while we furiously fiddle with the tech in the background. She doesn’t even need the Calm Down Chairs – a designated area of the studio where you can go to chill out if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Lilla fills the afternoon with photographing various of her artists’ products to use in her agency’s newsletters and promo, such as Zoë Ingrams’ beautiful ceramic home décor products which were designed in Make Art That Sells courses and ended up being made as part of a collection. She says that her top tip is to keep a selection of rolls of fabric on hand to create different backdrops for your products – but it’s possible she’s just trying to justify her fabric obsession.
Lilla photographs some gorgeous products by Zoë Ingram for a Make Art That Sells newsletter. These products were designed in class and actually made!
After dinner, we catch up on the day’s news along with Lilla’s husband, and she checks the Instagram feeds for Lilla Rogers Studio and Make Art That Sells.
A couple of weeks after I arrive home from Boston, I get an email from Lilla. The purpose of me going to Boston to visit her was to spend a few days working intensely on content so we could free up some of her time. She has used that free time … to create five new worksheets. Obsessed. She is obsessed.
Lots of love,
British Jennie xxx
