Thursday, June 28, 2012

diversifying the portfolio

Sons, oh Sons. I have been a thinking' of late and have thunk great thoughts. Or at least thats how it seems to me. A new business venture beckons. Another string to my bow. Another thing for me to do that might not make me any money. But its something I want to try.
What? I hear you cry.
What?
This.
I am going to have those lovely sketchbooks that I use made with my company name embossed on the back, and start selling them all over these here United States. I believe in them, I've used them almost exclusively for 20 years and I've never found anything better.....and you can't get them in the States. I've been talking to the UK suppliers and they are going to produce the books with my name on....which they also do for the Tate Gallery in London.
Kings of London.
Thats my company name. Sounds Royal. Sounds Old. Sounds expensive.
So here's what I am asking of you guys. I want to put together a website for Kings of London to showcase the books. On the webpage I want to feature testimonials and images of work done in the books.
You'll click on the testimonials tab and up will come all these gorgeous thumbnails of watercolours and collages and writing and pen and ink drawings and pencil work, each with a short one or two sentence testimonial saying how great the paper is or how nicely made they are, that there is nothing else as good on the market in the usa etc etc. Don't mention Seawhite of Brighton (the manufacturer, and you don't even need to mention Kings of London. Just "this sketchbook" or "these sketchbooks" or whatever. Doesn't need to be an essay. Just a sentence or two that I can quote. And a 72dpi image that I can post, something that you love that you did in a sketchbook that you got from me.
Then, when its all set up and running.....I'm going to ask you to tell everyone you know to use Kings of London sketchbooks. They will only be available from me, not in stores so I'll need to advertise and rely on word of mouth recommendations.
OR.....if you think I'm headed down a blind alley with this or you think the sketchbooks aren't as good as I think they are, I would value your opinion. 
Boldly going where no man has gone before, MBK
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11 comments:

  1. Kristen KernatsJune 28, 2012 at 4:39 PM

    Brilliant, I'll help with the web campaign. Anything you need.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diana TerryJune 28, 2012 at 4:48 PM

    Okay, I need a sketchbook now. Do you have any extras I can buy or can you send me a link where to order one?

    And of course, I will help with anything. Design, logos, fliers, etc. I've been wanting to work on something classy but modern, somewhat "feng shui"... etc. Let me know if I can help! Will the manufacturer pay for the website design and hosting?

    How far are they taking the labeling of Kings of London? Will there be a cover wrap or sticker of some sort with info and leading to the website? Sorry, I get excited about design.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kristen KernatsJune 28, 2012 at 4:55 PM

    Tumblr is going to be flooded with pictures, ads, and gifs of MBK Kings of London Sketchbooks! Send us mock ups/preliminary ideas soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Matt StantonJune 28, 2012 at 5:32 PM

    I've never had the privilege of using one, but I must try it. I definitely need one. Id be happy to spread the word in NYC and get people at school to use them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MatJune 28, 2012 at 6:48 PM

    this is all fabulous stuff People. Thanks for affirming me in this venture. I shall be taking up all your offers of help. Diana, yes I have some and no you cant order them from anyone else. Thats the beauty of this, they dont sell to individuals, they dont sell to retailers in the states so I am THE only way to get one! Genius! Matt and Diana, I need to get you one asap. Give me a few days to work it all out. MBK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diana TerryJuly 5, 2012 at 10:05 PM

      Awesome. Excited! I need to stop by the studio sometime anyways to pick up left-over artwork, and my sketchbook, and my paper parasol... Whoops.

      Delete
  6. ElishaJune 28, 2012 at 7:31 PM

    Of course. I would also like to purchase one of the first embossed sketchbooks. I will try to get you a pic this weekend, but if I forget remind me. I'm pretty swamped right now so don't think it is because I don't want to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MatJune 29, 2012 at 10:51 AM

      Fantastic. Thanks E. I am going to start building the website and marketing materials so please send jpegs and testimonials to my email address when you have them.

      Delete
  7. Lucas DurhamJuly 5, 2012 at 10:12 PM

    Been using your sketchbooks again recently for work, and I've found them to be amazing for my underdrawings. I wouldn't mind spreading the word!

    Any way you could give us a SOT discount for future purchases, or a free sample for our recommendations/testimonials?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MatJuly 17, 2012 at 6:39 AM

      Absolutely, Lucas. A fine suggestion. I am looking at the costs of everything and of running the business and packaging etc, so I'm still not quite certain of my final numbers but I will definitely work on a deal for you. Testimonials that I can post to the website will be a great way to show the world what these books can handle. I shall probably be able to do a free book for every testimonial that ends up on the website but right now I have thirty books which I want to sell through the Internet marketing strategy ( not to personal contacts) to see how the product and the marketing strategies work. So the answer is yes, but not immediately. I'll post something about this on the blog

      Delete
  8. Diana TerryJuly 9, 2012 at 9:08 PM

    I remember that Jerry loves your sketchbooks. I will start bugging him on FB to send you a statement. Haha.

    ReplyDelete

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