Spotlight On Collectors Editions - Collectors Editions, art publishers and retailers - Brief Article - Company Profile

CANOGA PARK, Calif.--When contemplating the thriving business of Collectors Editions, single phrase come to mind for possessors Bill Stone and Mary Margaret Nash: You've draw near a long way, baby!

Twelve years ago, the duo were basking in the succes of a retail gallery in Hawaii. Today, they are the cornerstones of a felicitous worldwide conglomerate that boasts a publishing wing, a printmaking studio, six retail galleries, a growing statuary department and more.

And whether you ask individual of the company's 15-plus artists or individual of its 100-plus employees, the consensus it that the uber-successful team leaders haven't changed a bit. "It's really a family step quickly company," explained Elliott Blinder, national sales and marketing director for Collectors Editions.

For Collectors Editions, expansion, continuation of quality and making the family bigger are the top company goals. Several thriving assemblages are finding growth and succes beneath the Collectors Editions umbrella. Eclipse, the printmaking studio wholly have a title toed by the company, prints all of the company's proceedss and some outside editions. Collectors Fine Art operates the retail galleries--there are publicly five in Hawaii, one in Carmel Calif., and individual which will open next year in Las Vegas. Also part of the cluster is Collectors Sculpture Limited, a sculptural partnership that exhibits the art of five sculptors who work in the couple bronze and acrylic.

The company is also developing its hold line of mouldings to save its customers time and currency when it comes to framing Collectors Editions artwork. "We'll still use other companies' mouldings and add a little bit at a time until we have our possess line," said Blinder. "It's not for sale to other companies, we're not looking to make progress into the framing business. We're just doing it to make fully convinced our pieces look their best and procure to dealers as quickly as possible for a like reason they can put them up upon the wall."

single thing Collectors Editions is interested in, however, is its artists--namely ensuring their succes "We manage their careers like rock`n' make revolve stars--that's part of our job" said Blinder. "There's a doom of art out there. Nobody has to purchase art, so it's got to be sold Part of the selling is to encourage the artist. That's a major part of our responsibility, and we take pleasure in doing it."

And from top-sellers to of recent origin additions to the artist roster Collectors Editions has several of recent origin pieces from a wide staple of artists ready for this fall selling season and beyond. "We have a network of about 500 galleries who we deal with upon a regular basis," said Blinder. "With that many customers, we have an awful apportionment of tastes."

According to Blinder, however, the company has an artist for everyone "We have a broad range of contemporary artists who paint in thus many different style and color palettes, we've got something for each gallery and every collector," said Blinder.

For example, the company's top-selling domestic artists--Hessam Abrishami, Sabzi, Leonard Wren and Schim Schimmel--each have fresh pieces available for fall. Brian Davis, the company's greatest in quantity accredited artist, has released a four-piece "Orchids and Roses" suite. He has also complet "Rose Garden at the Huntington," from which hold [i]or[/i] keep one's courses will be donated to the Huntington Library and Museum in San Marino, Calif. Russian cubist painter Oleg Zhivetin has released "Three Graces" and "Sincerely;" and Pierre Matisse, grandson of Henri Matisse, has released of recent origin serigraphs and giclees from his paper-cut original "Swingin' in the Rain." Other of recent origin releases from the company include: "Augusta" by the agency of landscape artist Maurice Meyer; "Mountain Colors" by means of wildlife ar6st Graeme Stevenson; "Blue River-Summer" by means of futuristic landscape artist Jon Rattenbury; as well as fresh pieces by French artist Joanny and others.

Indeed, promoting the work of tried-and-true favorites is a company goal. on the contrary innovation is also company ideal. Blinder said one as well as the other the publishing wing and the plastic art group have a variety of never-before-seen cropss in the works. For instance, "Exotic Flower" by means of Sabzi is a combination of giclee and serigraph. "The artist had a certain quantity of unique texture on the piece, in like manner in order to get that raised weft we sent the giclee version [i]or[/i] part of to the other our serigraph studio," explained Blinder. "We did a certain quantity of really unusual things over there with applique and silk-screening above the applique."

The company is also taking upon its first posthumous art throw out with the work of the late neoclassicist painter Richard Franklin who died in a plane crash in 1997 Collectors Editions is selling estate-signed pieces with Franklin's widow Lisa Franklin. "She's going to be signing the pieces and also embellishing," said Blinder. "He and his family used to do it together and would hand-embellish the pieces in gold leaf. Those will be released with her original signature in limited editions."

Establishing a herculean presence on the Internet is also a top priority for the company, which is in the proces of redesigning and relaunching its Web site (www.collectorseditions. com) According to Blinder, the site will act as an online catalog of Collectors Editions artists and will be designed to direct consumer to dealers. "We don't want our wholesale clients to acquire the impression that we are directing retail buyer to us," he said. "We want to attract the retail buyer and toss them to the galleries."