KALAMAZOO, MI — “Chaos” is how Kalamazoo artist Olivia Mendoza described her business during the holiday season.
As the temperature drops, Mendoza said artists must juggle prepping inventory, packaging orders, attending art fairs and preparing custom pieces. Preparations begin in October or earlier, she said.
“You have to think about it much further in advance then ‘oh people are Christmas shopping,’ people start holiday shopping end of November, beginning of December,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza sells realistic illustrations of nature scenes. She began selling art independently in 2018 after graduating with a degree in medical illustration from Kendall College of Art & Design in 2016. This year she expanded her business to online retail after previously focusing on in-person sales.
“It’s daunting because you do all of the listing yourself, you do all of the manufacturing, packaging, advertising, organizing, all of it,” Mendoza said.
For local painter Shaquona Espinoza, sales increase as the holidays approach. She said the increase is particularly noticeable for custom pieces.
Espinoza said her paintings lean toward the abstract. For example, she said a custom ocean painting is less about what the ocean looks like and more about the feeling the client desires in the piece.
“I’m wondering if (it’s) based on a scene or a space where they feel safe,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza’s work can be found at Factory Coffee at 213 E Frank St. She also has pieces up at “The Space,” an art gallery at 320 E Michigan Ave.
To price paintings, Espinoza considers the canvas size and her budget at the time. If money isn’t tight, sometimes she’ll lower the price. She said she was recently able to sell 8 x 10 canvases for $25 instead of the $80 they are normally priced.
“If I do need (the money) then it’s like ‘okay, how can I use my artistry to stabilize my life financially,” Espinoza said.
Mendoza said she approaches pricing, similarly, noting that having wiggle room on pricing is harder as the cost of living rises. The cost increases affect consumer shopping too.
For example, she said when a trip to the grocery store costs more, there’s less money to spend on luxuries like art.
“The same person who frequents my business, last year they’ll buy four things, this year they’ll buy two or one,” Mendoza said. “Money is tight for everyone right now.”
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