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

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Juniper Rag art and lifestyle was founded to elevate artists on a global platform. Founded in 2017 by Payal Thiffault and Michelle May, our mission is driven by our ability to connect people. Art lovers and artists can connect through artists features, print and digital marketing campaigns, curated exhibitions, juried shows and many collaborative projects that we present annually. Juniper Rag also focuses on new and exciting technology that is evolving every day.

Juniper Rag has built a strong reputation in presenting high-caliber art in all media by some of the region’s best emerging and mid-career artists, and we have juried, co-curated and curated some of the highest attending shows for our partners. We have had some wonderful collaborations with CUSP Gallery in Newport, New Art Center in Newton, ARCK Boston, Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Fountain Street Gallery in SoWA, The White Room, and Worcester Center for Crafts, and most recently, the Mayor’s Office of Art and Culture in Boston for The Fay Chandler Emerging Artists exhibition doubling their submissions and presenting a generous $9K in awards from the foundation. We attend important art events and conferences like Basel Miami, Scope and Untitled as well as Ignite Broward in Fort Lauderdale. CODASummit at MADarts in Dania Beach, Florida was spectacular and offered keen insight into public art impacts and the landscape of digital art, Blockchain and the NFT landscape, as well as introductions to major stakeholders in the public art and design space.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Payal Thiffault and I are career artists and designers with a unique perspective coming from decades in the world of weddings and fine papers, working for one of the top invitation companies in the US. Our company was cutting edge and an early adopter of the internet and e-commerce, and we wore many hats, educating us for founding our marketing company Atelier ID Global.

When the pandemic hit, we made a commitment to use our skills and contacts to build a community for artists around a magazine we named “Juniper Rag”. We offer artists a new platform to share their work, virtual and live shows with guest curators, enabling artists to be exposed to new audiences around the world. Art exhibitions are very expensive and cost prohibitive to many. The pandemic set everything back years, so our vision and our reach has helped artists reach more people, meet stakeholders and engage with offerings that we establish through collaborations and marketing their work.

Proudly, we have become a worldwide destination for art, culture and insights into art at the crossroads of a new frontier with in depth features of today’s most talented, innovative and ambitious creatives. Our collaborations and reputation for excellence and organization as well as aggressive marketing for all of our undertakings has earned us some prestigious guest curation spots for international annual exhibitions and for The Fay Chandler Emerging Artist Exhibition at The Boston Mayor’s Gallery of Arts and Culture. We are also very proud of the amazing collaborative community we have built over just a few years. We feel very fortunate that organizations seek us out year after year to partner with because they value of working with us.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Success for Juniper Rag resides in the energy generated by our community of artists that benefit from our marketing services. Juniper Rag is a project of Atelier ID Global using social media marketing, to promote artists all over the world. When an artist Julia CR Gray applied to one of our shows the first time, neither of us knew the magic that would come of it. Her story is why we work to promote artists we believe in. Julia submitted to a call for art. As a result of that call, all accepted artists were then qualified to enter for a solo show at a gallery in Provincetown. Julia entered both. When the curator selected his winner for the solo show, he chose artists Robin Reynolds. Julia’s work was so strong and such a great fit for the show, we all collaborated, Robin included to share the gallery and include Julia. The kicker? Julia was based in San Diego and in just a couple months, packed her car full of sculptures and drove across country to be a part of the exhibition. None of us will ever forget that show, the people who drove hours to come and meet the artists and most of all, the lasting friendships that have been developed from Julia’s choice, just to submit her work to Juniper Rag. Elevating the work of artists and creating a community for them to thrive is driving our mission.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Everything we have designed to build Juniper Rag has been shared on social media. From our launch of a print magazine, to live and virtual exhibitions with hundreds of submissions, social media has been a catalyst for our growth. We have built an authentic and trustworthy brand that has formed hundreds of personal relationships, many of which began on social. Social is a tool to share, but behind the browser and the accounts have to be real people who are invested in the success and the heart of the projects. So much of what we do at Juniper Rag goes on behind the scenes of our pages. Artists directly contact us for services beyond what is shared on social media. We build marketing strategies and offer our help to artists daily. These artists become an essential and loyal part of our community as a whole. We can’t do any of this without artists that believe in our capabilities and professionalism, on and off screen.

Contact Info:

• Website: Juniperrag.com
• Instagram: @juniperrag
• Facebook: @juniperrag
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/juniper-rag
• Twitter: @juniperrag
• Other: atelieridglobal.com

Image Credits
Michelle May