My Creative Space - Little Red

April Mawhinney of Little Red tells us about her creative space and her residency at The Arches.

"I design and make leather accessories and bags under the name of Little Red. When I first started, I was working out of an open plan one bedroom flat which I shared with my boyfriend. The flat was just too small to cope with my growing stash of fabrics, leather, zips, buttons and thread. Also the endless noise of the sewing machine in such a small flat turned home space into industrial space; so it really wasn’t a situation that could last forever.

"A friend told me about the Arches studios in Southampton which gives creative graduates residencies to start and launch their own creative endeavours. It is an amazing space, located under a bridge in the city centre with spaces for approximately 20 artists/craftspeople. I applied and gained the residency in 2006 and I am now just entering my fourth year.

"I have my own individual space within the Arches and 24/7 access. It is a wonderfully vibrant environment to work in; allowing me to develop my own practise while interacting with the other artists in the studio which is both inspirational and supportive. My studio is painted white and I try to keep it clean and practical. My cutting table takes up most of the space along with my ironing board and sewing machines.

"My creative practise has definitely grown as a result of having this studio space away from my home. It has allowed me to experiment with my materials, the size and scale of my work but most importantly it has given me a chance to work free of the distractions which I would suffer in my own house, such as house work.

"I have just been accepted for a two year extension on my residency at the Arches. I am really looking forward to pushing forward my design and making practise with a view to eventually spreading my Little Red wings and entering the big wide world with my own studio and boutique."

April Mawhinney.

Catch up with April on her blog Little Red Designs and follow her on Facebook too.

Business Plans for Art Businesses Part 2

Further to my previous post "Business Planning for Art Businesses" I gave an overview of the business plan and WHY it is important to write one. In this post I will show you the kind of information your plan should include.

Your business plan should be concise and easy to read. Not everyone who picks up your business plan will want to read the entire document through, particularly if they have 20+ other business plans to consider (usually funders or banks). The business plan should always start with an "Executive Summary" - a short list of key points taken from the entire business plan. The Executive Summary will show the key features of your business, giving the reader an overview of what you do. The reader should know, from the Exec Summary, exactly what you do and what you want, without all the dressing.
When do you write the executive summary? Although this is the first part of the Business Plan it needs to be the part you write last so that you can pick out those key points from the rest of the document.
Start with an opening sentence that tells the reader what the exec summary will show, for example:
"This business plan will show that (name of business) is a viable business and that it can develop successfully".

Now you need to list those key points of
1. What you are doing successfully now and
2. what you will be doing to take your business forward.
You will take these from the remainder of your business plan, which is why you write the executive summary last.

You can also include a separate list of key points showing the reasons that you can run a successful business. For example:
"(Name of Business) will be a successful arts enterprise because..." then list the opportunities that will arise in the future.
At the end of your Exec Summary the reader should know exactly what you do without being bored with the detail. In fact, the reader should be interested enough to want to read the rest of your report.

Also, as part of your Exec Summary, the bank, funder or backer will want to see an overview of your figures over the next three years. You will need to show the following overall figures in the Exec Summary: Income, Expenditure, Outcome. List these in a grid and calculate them over the next three years. Forecasting your finances for the next three years isn't going to be an exact science so increase your first year's calculations by a reasonable percentage but be realistic. This is called a "Summatitive Table of Costs".

Income: how much money is coming into your business (sales, funding, loans, teaching workshops, services)

Expenditure:how much money has come out of your business (purchases, overheads, costs, travel, materials)

Net Income: how much is left after you have taken all your costs out of your gross income(profit)

On the same page as your Summatitive Table you will need to indicate to the reader that there is a comprehensive breakdown of costs at the end of the report. This will be in the form of an appendix.

Setting out the Summatitive Table.

You can set your costs out in two sections: CURRENT and PREDICTED. They should be listed in columns so that they can be read across from left to right.

The first column shows your business activity (such as sales, workshops, craft fairs, design services, commissions, paid employment, exhibitions etc)broken down into headings.

The next column should show a breakdown of the income for each activity.

The third column should show your expenditure.

The fourth column should show your net income.

If you are applying for a bank loan or funding don't be concerned that your Net income is 0. If you can prove that you understand your finances and that all money has been ploughed back into the business you should look, on paper, like a viable investment. However, if you are spending more than you are making or using your own cash "invisible money" to fund your business you will look like an amateur and not worth investing in.

In my next post we will look at your business products and services and your future vision for your business.

Sign up for the Newsletter and...

Sign up to our March Newsletter before 5 March 2010 and you will be entered into a free draw to win these beautiful dangly earrings made by jeweller Ruby Spirit Designs.

About our newsletter: there are articles about arts business, features on different artists, updates and useful links too. The next newsletter will be "MUD" the Ceramics edition with information for ceramic artists and potters.

And the winner is.....

The winner of the illustrated magnets by artist

Lauren Alexander was Barbara of Earthy Elegance.