We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Anton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

The Art Jamboree was created to be a safe place for artists to sell their art work. After doing dozens of craft shows with my art and handmade products I realized it’s incredibly difficult to compete with direct sellers at those shows. A few friends and I had attended an art show where that’s all you could buy, art. We decided the art community needed more of that, a space where people who appreciate art are coming to look at it and purchase it. It very clear that it would not be a one time show as soon as the first show finished. It has since become a monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, show that allows artists to not only showcase their art but also network and meet artists alike.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into art when I was in high school, taking many classes that then lead into college. I didn’t become serious about it until 2016 when I started offering my painting for sale online, not realizing the amount of support there was to follow. I did my first craft show in 2017 and only sold one thing so it was something I gave up on and continued to sell online. In 2021 I branched out to crocheting and doing murals. I gave craft shows another chance in 2022 and that’s how the Art Jamboree started a few months after. It quickly became a place where artists could sell their art and connect with the community. One of the best parts are hearing about new opportunities that our vendors get from attending our shows, seeing artwork that you may not find anywhere else, and meeting so many new people who all share a common interest every month.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy to me is simply talking to people. Making conversation with the people who could potentially being spending their money on your products is huge. The customer is getting to know the person who is responsible for making their item, which is always a bonus on both ends, but it also helps build a relationship. Once you establish that relationship, the customer is likely to follow you on social media, share your posts, refer you to their friends, and 9/10 times come back.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

We were all friends, or friends of a friend. We all had attend the same art show together and decided it was something we wanted to continue to do. After time we have brought a few other artists into the hosting portion to help reach more of an audience for customers and vendors.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Smokinghookart
• Facebook: The smoking hook art

Image Credits
All photos are mine