We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caitlin Blomstrom a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caitlin, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I approach the artist’s practice with the understanding that they are essentially running a one-person business – they are responsible for creating, marketing, and advancing their own career. However, many artists don’t have the time, resources, or expertise to manage administrative tasks, goal setting, and project management all while creating their own work. That’s where I come in.

I think that the industry standard assumes artists need to be represented by a commercial gallery to advance their career. While I believe this is a benefit to some artists, gallery representation is not always feasible for everyone. In that case, my business exists to ensure that those artists still receive the administrative support they need to advance their work. I happily share the tools and systems I’ve learned while working in commercial and non-profit art spaces with my clients.

Caitlin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an artist and arts professional with experience working in nonprofits, gallery administration, and creative project management. I have a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA and I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee.

As an artist, I have found Nashville to be a very open and welcoming place! Within the first year, I found friends in the arts community through Coop Gallery and by going to the monthly WeHo and Downtown Art Crawls.
As a professional art studio manager, my mission is to support artists by managing projects, setting goals, and implementing strategies that help advance their practice. At the heart of this work is a desire to amplify their creative voice and research. In practice, my role is a blend of project management with some coaching if needed. The coaching element usually comes into play when I help artists clarify their priorities, build momentum, and move past internal roadblocks. Of course, I do not have all the answers, I let my clients know I am here to work through tasks together and to hold them accountable if that’s what they want. Some of my more established artists need less coaching and more long-term project management. Ultimately, whatever the needs are, I aim to create an environment where artists feel supported to take their practice to the next level. If I were to define my “brand” in a few words I would say: straight forward, reliable, collaborative and kind.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Like many artists, I’ve always found myself collaborating with friends—sharing feedback on work, editing each other’s applications, helping install exhibitions, and navigating the ever-changing art world together. That spirit of mutual support has carried over into my professional life. I never imagined that I’d work for myself – I don’t have a business degree, and I used to think that was a requirement. But what I do have is a lot of hands-on experience working with artists, galleries and curators and building systems to make processes run more smoothly. Recently, what started as labor of love—helping artist friends stay organized and move their projects forward—turned into something more. I realized there was a real need for this kind of work, and that I had the skills to fill that gap. Now I am continuing to build my career in the arts, just in a different way. I am just starting out but I am excited to see where it goes from here.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth has been a great source for new clients. After building a strong working relationship, I often ask my clients to pass my name along to friends or colleagues who might need support. It feels like a natural way to grow. My clients are the best advocates because they can speak directly to the work we’ve done together and the results they’ve seen. I think personal recommendations go a long way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://caitlinblomstrom.com/studio-services
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blond3storm/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-blomstrom

Image Credits

Ashley Holstein
Virginian-Pilot