Colours May Vary

Today we went for a trip to colours May Vary and saw a presentation by the owners. They brought up some very important and interesting points about how they run the business, what inspires them and what they look for in products to stock in the shop. One of the owners also works in the library in the college and talked about his jobs informing each other and benefitting both. This highlighted the importance to me of having a diverse practice, not only to open up a wider range of opportunities and make myself more appealing to potential suppliers but also to gain a greater understanding of my work from a variety of perspectives, understanding where my work fits within the creative industries.

They talked about having to adapt and evolve with changes in trends, economy and location, constantly trying to find ways to improve the business. They described their experience of opening and running the shop as a steep learning curve that never stops, this is something that applies to anyone who runs their own business and wants to be successful. They talked about their experiences when they first opened, realising that nobody knew where they were, having to try and understand marketing having never done it before which is a problem I am facing at the moment. They sell beautiful well crafted items that doesn't matter if nobody knows where to find you.

Talking about what they look for in the products they sell they mentioned that mocked up books are much more appealing than a in design document. being able to see and feel the quality adds to the impact of the book. They talked about books they had been shown in the past that had good content but had been made to a poor quality and just how off it is. They also mentioned the importance of making the product suite the subject matter, an idea that would work better in a zine that has been stretched out into a full book will raise costs and lose potential customers and have a negative effect on the work itself. It is important to take into account the costs of making a book and what you would be able to sell it for. It is nice to put a lot of time and effort into a one off project but if a book is designed to be printed and sold there is no point making it so expensive to make that you price out a large number of potential customers.