Everything Is Your Business When You Are an Artist
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Everything Is Your Business When You Are an Artist
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started in the craft business as an artist full time in 1962 and by 1964, knew I needed help. My first mistake was to give 50 percent of my business to a friend and let her be president and treasurer of our new company.
She assured me she had the same mission for our company — make and sell beautiful, high quality artwork for a moderate price.
Right away, my salary was cut and she told me that we needed to expand. She was the business person so I went along with her decisions. I wanted to see the company grow and knew there would be sacrifices. Within a year she wanted to move the company out of my studio and out-of-state to where she lived. The deal was that I would go to the company once a week, but things always came up and I was slowly cut out of what was happening. I really didn’t notice and didn’t care because I was working on the art.
I was getting more and more recognition for my work — awards, books, articles. But I was also watching myself go deeper and deeper into personal debt. I was receiving no salary at this point because my business partner said the market was down. I was also told I needed to make cheaper products.
Things continued downhill and I wasn’t involved in company matters. The employees were signing my work, my work was being copied, and the factory locks were changed. My trusted partner started making cheap products with employees and whomever else she could find. I had no access to my originals or any of my work that she was still selling.
I knew I was in trouble but was in such debt that I couldn’t hire a lawyer. I went deeper and deeper into a hole. No matter how much money came in, according to the books, there was never enough. It always looked like the company wasn’t making money. I couldn’t do my artwork because anything I created or sold belonged to the company. I spent two years working at Home Depot until I finally was connected to Volunteer Lawyers For The Arts. The lawyer got most of my artwork back, but that’s about it. A lot of the originals are missing. The company records are incomplete — client lists, suppliers, cost of goods — anything that could have made getting my company back on it’s feet isn’t there. I lost a whole line. My business partner walked away with a company completely financed by my artwork.
The final blow came recently when I was shut out of a major wholesale show because my business partner is still selling my designs using my name.
I was very naive and handed over control of my whole business thinking this would allow me to concentrate on my art. I’d like to share some of the lessons I’ve learned from my unfortunate decision:
1. Hire your own independent lawyer to act as your advocate when signing binding business contracts. One or two words can change the whole meaning of a phrase or paragraph. Only sign after review by your attorney and take your time.
2. Have a board of three to five people you trust to establish a budget and approve expenditures. Have the board review the books quarterly.
3. Maintain complete ownership and copyright of your work. Don’t allow your work to be owned by the company.
4. Don’t be lulled into compliance with health insurance and a car lease, especially if you’re being told there’s no money for salaries. When you wake up you’ll discover the fox ate the chickens.At great financial and emotional expense, it took three years to regain ownership of my art (and not all of it). I came away with nothing else after 12 years of hard work. I’m starting over again and ready to move on.
Marsha McCarthy
From My Hand to Yours
Bolton, Conn.