The Benefits of Having a Blog

'Warm Winter Field' by Jacquie Gouveia

One of the best ways to ensure poeple see your work is to send people to your page directly, and a blog is a great way to do that.
Jacquie Gouveia blogged nicely about our view in a room feature. One of the extra benefits of blogging, is that other bloggers will link to your post. (like i just did) Or even better, as an artist, you can link people directly to a place to buy your work like Jacquie's BoundlessGallery Profile . :)

We recommend trying one, even if you write once a week, you may learn something about yourself, your work, or find some interested / interesting people to send to your Boundless Profile, :)

-Luke

We're helping get the word out about your events

Hi there, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that when you post an event on Boundless, we're not just letting it sit there until someone finds it, we're pushing them out to people. We are pushing them out to Google Events (a category of Google Base) every day and they also show up on user account home pages now in a special "art events near you" box where you can search by zip code. I wanted to especially let any artists who are reading this know since we'll be talking about it in the August newsletter and of course the more events that are in the system, the more useful it will be for users.

Just as a side note, all Boundless products are pushed out to Google Products each day, which means anyone searching there will see them.

We have so much going on at Boundless, hold on to your hats!

Cheers and hope you have a nice Monday:)

As if we hadn't done enough...

Todd just added an awesomely handy addition to the tagging feature.
Now your most popular tags show up under the text box where you (providers) add tags, and you can add your popular tags to new pieces just by clicking on those.

Please let us know if you like what were doing or have any suggestions,

BoundlessGallery always getting better;)
-Luke

The Next Improvement

Now the custom categories that were once reserved for individual artists' sites are displayed on the public profile page. Sharon Cummings has a great example of how to use them, as she sorted her black & white series.

For now in addition to the default 'ALL' and 'SOLD', 4 can be displayed.

To use the new feature: providers need to log into their account and click on Inventory then "Manage Categories" to make some custom categories if you haven't, and then "My Folders" to select which ones are displayed on your profile page.

Please let us know what you think about the latest innovations at BoundlessGallery.com, and as always be prepared for the next upgrades soon!

-Luke

The Night the Lights Went Out at Boundless

Early this morning as Nolan was answering customer support emails and the programmers were busy punching code, BAM! There was an explosion...across the street at the AmerenCIPS (electric company) transformers. It was pretty loud and there was a large plume of cool orange smoke?(it was kind of artistic). So if you've had any problems reaching us this is why (our phones need electricity).

We didn't waste our time lolly gagging, during the 2-3 hours it was out we managed to load two truck beds full of trash and dead shrubbery from the street side near our office. It was very Green of us :), but probably should have been done before.

We all need showers after trimming, raking, bagging, and pulling weeds. So it might be a long lunch day here.

Just thought I'd share our little story of the day.

Hope your day is as exciting as ours has been :)
-Luke

Latest Addition to BoundlessGallery - Search Tags

Todd, co-founder and programmer, sums up our thinking on the new addition in the tag 'help' pop-up window. We have to wait for enough tags are set before it can go on the customer side but that won't be too long.

*EDIT* WE ADDED AN EASY TAG INPUT PAGE TO MAKE ADDING TAGS SIMPLER

Why are you introducing tags and why should I use them?
Feedback from our artists and other sellers, has told us that some of our categories are too restrictive and that your work may not be found because the pieces are lumped together in broad groups. Tags allow you to create your own "virtual category" within each category which in turn allows buyers to narrow down their search and find your work more easily.

This is just the first of many improvements to come in the next few days and weeks, thanks to everyone who has taken the survey, a lot of your thoughts are priceless.
We are listening and working hard :)
-Luke

The 'New' Art Blog

Okay so its not really new, but it is improved and properly branded^^^. Hope everyone likes it...

Your thoughts, comments and concerns always welcomed and appreciated.
-Luke

Art Sellers Survey

Just putting up a reminder, asking all providers to please take the boundlessgallery survey. We value your input. You should see a reminder when you log into your account.
Thanks in advance,
Luke

P.S. We are considering redesigning the blog, so if anything appears broken please be patient as we should have everything running smoothly shortly.

'Squeezed and Tied'

Don't ask me how, but my morning journey into the depths of the inter-art-net lead me to an interesting article from the East Hampton Star
Its about an artist named John Chamberlain from the late 60's whose category was sculpture and his media; car parts.

(Stuffed Dog 10)
I was immediately struck by the image and the article by Janet Goleas was equally interesting.

I guess I'm the kind of person who thinks anything can be 'art'
T.C.C. always welcome
-Luke

Wood Whisperer update

I wrote a little something here about The Wood Whisperer, way back in October of last year. I went back and found him again to see how he is doing. Looks like he has gained an association with Fine Woodworking Magazine (the premiere mag. in the woodworking space) and has advertising from a big tool manufacturer. He is going to demo tools in the biggest woodworking trade show in Las Vegas soon for a different tool manufacturer. Seems like he has done a lot of work, but earned himself a real marketing niche.

In the interesting only to geeks, he seems to have switched from publishing his movies on youtube.com to using pod casts (iTunes store) and his own website. Wonder if that is because of size restrictions, speed problems or something else?

More on Bottled Water

A few weeks ago I blogged about an artist who takes pictures of massive collections of garbage. One of the pictures that stuck with me was a massive number of empty bottles. I was reading the business geek press tonight and ran across an article in Fast Company about plastic water bottles. From the Fast Company article -

"Bottled water has become the indispensable prop in our lives and our culture. ... We--a generation raised on tap water and water fountains--drink a billion bottles of water a week."

That is a whole bunch of garbage, oil use (both for making the bottle and for trucking them around) and pollution from an item that no one really needs.

Since Fast Company says that water bottles are a fashion accessory, I thought I would include this picture of a stunning Nalgene bottle from the REI website. For just $8.50, it is possible to have cool water bottle, for life. I liked in the previous thread where a commenter called the bottle "pacifiers." That was right on.

I'm counter the current trends and use the drinking fountain at the gym and a glass at home. At work, I have an English beer stein that a friend bought me long ago (it has been on my desk at work since 1988, I think) and in my wood shop I have a plastic cup from my favorite pizza place. We are blessed with the best water in the world here in the USA, maybe we can help save the world by using it straight from the tap?

Of course, your comments are welcome.

The New 7 Wonders

I was drawn to these pictures of the 21 places, up for vote to select a new 7 wonders (I don't get the vote part). The photography is wonderful and the list thoughtful. It made me realize that I want to visit Easter Island sometime.

More Reason for Artists to Social Network

If you thought the Facebook crowd was too young to buy art, think again.
The biggest group on Facebook is 35 and older...image from TechCrunch

...surprising isn't it.
We at BoundlessGallery knew this a little while ago
(hence the BoundlessGallery facebook group ), but heres a story about it from TechCrunch a pretty good blog about internet business and such.
You'd be surprised who you can find on Facebook, and I know you sm-art-ists like every free marketing oppurtunity.
join the boundlessgallery group and I'll be your Facebook friend :)
-Have a great weekend,
Luke

Inspiration

There is an ongoing post on the message board of an art related Facebook group Which art is your life? about what inspires artists and what is their medium of choice.
*you have to have an account on Facebook to read it.
Thought I'd share because I enjoyed reading it, especially because so many people are sharing their personal preferences. Its really nice seeing so many artsy people chatting, guess that's why the social networks are popular. Ironically, it inspired me :)
For those that cant see it and don't want to join facebook, it basically goes something like this:

Hi everyone I'm Luke, I'm from IL and am mostly inspired by great films and those little quirks in life that often aren't talked about but always observed. My creative tendencies lean towards writing, design, and photography...

Please feel free to share your mediums,inspirations, or whatever you like.
-luke

My Collections Contest is On

Throughout the month of July we will be keeping track of affiliate sales made through My Collection's lists and naming two winners, one customer and one artist(provider). The winners in each category will have their earnings doubled!

1.) All it takes is any kind of account on BoundlessGallery.com
2.) Register as an affiliate in our program
3.) Use My Collections to build lists of your favorites, or pieces that have a common theme.

You can then send links of your lists to every art lover you know or post them on all your other web spaces.

Additionally, your lists will show up in the list finder, see
Member Collections on the homepage, this way even visitors you don't know can see your lists.

*the rules of the affiliate program must be followed :)

Lists are another great way for customers to search for the art they want without having to browse through pages of random work, and with the affiliate program they can be a great way to earn a little more from boundless.

Let us know your TCC (Thoughts, Comments, and Concerns)
-Luke