About a month ago, I wrote about a woman who had contacted me about possibly licensing some of my artwork to sell for her company, Wendover Art.  I decided to go ahead and license the work to them and see what happens.  We had a flurry of emails back and forth as we figured out which images to use, then I took the pieces to a company, Staples Fine Art, where they scanned the pieces - lots of hurry up, then wait!  The huge show, High Point, is happening this week, and I'm curious as heck to find out how my pieces are faring - if they're being picked up or not.

Barclay Butera is the designer who saw my ocean scenes and color studies and thought they could be the next big thing.  According to the woman who works at Staples, Barclay is very "trend forward" - i.e. he has a very good sense for what will be popular next on the marketplace.  He is focusing on blues and whites this year.  Hearing that (about "trend forward") made me giggle - I did these pieces a few years ago - just think how trend forward that makes me!  Actually, though, I think that's how it is with artists - they express what is in the culture which others might not be attuned to yet.  Often it takes decades for the rest of the world to catch up - that's probably one reason artists sometimes don't sell so well in their own lifetimes - people can't appreciate their work yet.

Below is an article from Home Accents Today about Barclay Butera's line at High Point this year.  I'll highlight the parts which I think have to do with my artwork.

Talkback

Barclay Butera Lifestyle and couture lines to debut new products and styles in High Point

Susan Dickenson -- Home Accents Today, October 8, 2010

New introductions from Barclay Butera for this month's High Point Market include lamps, rugs and wall décor, and new style category debuts for the Barclay Butera Lifestyle line, showing in HBeach Wicker Chair, Barclay Butera Lifestyle (HFI)istoric Market Square (330), and the Barclay Butera Home couture line, showing in IHFC Interhall (400).

Barclay Butera Lifestyle debuted at the High Point Market this past spring with a presentation of more than 300 SKUs in a new 15,000-sq.-ft. showroom. Developed in partnership with HFI Brands, Barclay Butera Lifestyle offers retailers "aspirational designs at an attainable price point." New to the brand's Town, Country, City, Plantation and Modern Beach style categories this fall is Classic Beach, 30 new SKUs of accents and furnishings in crisp blues and whites.

Rugs and portable lighting from new partnerships with Merida and Bradburn Lighting Gallery, and additions to Butera's wall décor collection with Wendover Art Group, will also be showcased in High Point.

With sustainable rug manufacturer Merida, Butera has created a collection of natural woven rugs in designs and colorways inspired by men's haberdashery. The collection from Bradburn includes more than two dozen floor and table lamps to accent Butera's Town category, in mahogany, reds and golds, and his Beach category, in hammered silvers, whites and blues.
Lamps from the Barclay Butera Lifestyle collection, developed with Bradburn Lighting Gallery
"These two crucial partnerships will round out our product offerings perfectly to allow key retailers to showcase a floor to ceiling Barclay Butera Lifestyle showroom," Butera said. "We have been very blessed to have aligned ourselves with the leaders in each respective industry and look forward to sharing our beautiful collections with our retailers this market."

Bradburn invites market attendees to a party Sunday afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in its showroom (IHFC G270) to celebrate the launch of the new collection.

Barclay Butera Home, the designer's couture line, will introduce the Park Avenue Collection in its Interhall showroom. New designs feature a tailored mix of rich tweeds, sleek pin stripes and lush velvets layered with animal prints, accented with a new collection of hand-painted linen pillows for The Hearst Castle Collection. A new extension of Butera's wall décor collection with art partner Wendover Art Group will also be showcased in the Barclay Butera Home showroom.
"I have always been a lover of the timeless color palette of black and cream awash with muted blues, greens, grays and silvers," Butera said. "By using these tones in an unorthodox way -- crocodile, zebra, leopard on top of classicPlantation Beach Chest, Barclay Butera Lifestyle (HFI) fabrics -- I was able to achieve the perfect balance of chic with a dash of wild, which was truly a labor of love to create."

The new wall décor collection, Park Avenue, adds more than 60 SKUs of artwork with a look reflecting "a sophisticated mix of modern sentimentality with a transitional appeal that is perfect for many residential and hospitality projects that are looking for fabulous alternatives for wall décor."

Later this fall, Butera will introduce accessories, candles and home fragrance through a new partnership with Zodax. In addition, the designer said 2011 includes plans for a new project from Barclay Butera Entertainment as well as a new licensing category, B Home.

I don't know anything about this whole business of home decor and am not used to having paintings be called wall decor, but I'm finding it fascinating.  There's so much to learn!

Wish me luck!  If these sales go well, it may be the thing which will enable me to move from doing art part time to working on it full time.  That would be an incredible gift and one for which I would be completely grateful.