Helen Stevens, founder of surface design brand Surfacephilia, and social media enthusiast, talks us through how to start using social media to market your new business.

ARTS THREAD has teamed up with ARTQUEST to bring you professional career advice. Here we look at writing an artist’s statement.

An artist’s statement should not be confused with a CV. An artist statement is a short piece of writing about your work, practice and wider intellectual concerns, and should not include information about your career as an artist, exhibition history and work history.

Although you may not think you need a business plan yet and feel it’s only for larger-scale businesses, as you will see below, it is an essential tool to starting any business.

Our Q&A with Doug Richard, serial entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den member, asks how to identify the business, professional and personal skills needed to launch a new business. With his School for Creative Startups recently opening its doors in London’s Westminster, here is someone who knows all the answers.

ARTS THREAD’s guide to market research explains what market research is, what it will tell you, how to work out who your target customers are, who are your competitors and how to promote your work to your best advantage.

Our Q&A with Tessa Damer of Craft Central explains the best way for a recent graduate to find the studio space that’s right for them, from where it should be and how big should it be, through to insurance, health & safety and the 10 key questions to ask when viewing a studio.

The price you charge for your product or service is one of the most important business decisions you make. Setting a price that is too high or too low will – at best – limit your business growth. At worst, it could cause serious problems for your sales and cashflow.

ARTS THREAD’s guide to writing the perfect press release.

A press release is an essential communication tool, one that is used to provide information on a graduate show or when launching your own business or at any time after graduation. 

You use it when taking part in exhibitions and also for promoting your work outside of exhibition times.

ARTS THREAD’s guide to the best way to use images to promote your work.

High-quality images are important for marketing. This includes images for use on your own website or blog and for printed materials such as flyers or postcards. They are also a key marketing tool for the press, to send to prospective clients and for applications for exhibitions, galleries and grant bodies.

The idea of selling skills can seem an alien concept to many designers, but a lot can be learnt by applying simple social and life skills to the basic premise that in a sales negotiation it is essential to ensure that both parties are happy with the agreement.