Artist Update
Sarah Rowley
Sarah Taylor
The road so far...
As many of you will know by now, if you have read the email sent out by Sarah and Sarah, the current model for the Fox & Crow is unsustainable. For both of them, the gallery has always been a platform to promote and sell beautiful artistic products, by a host of talented local creatives.
What you may not know is this has been an endeavour fuelled only by their love for the arts — and not for the profit it makes. The small commission they take pays only for the room, internet, and other associated overheads, but not for their time.
They have attempted in the past to shout out for volunteers to assist in keeping the shop open 5 days a week (6 when there are Sunday supplements) but there was little uptake.
This year, they started paying out of their own pockets for extra staffing support, so they could have their weekends back, and keep the gallery open for everyone.
Finally, they came to the decision they could no longer sacrifice so much time for free, regardless of their desire to promote local artists, so were ready to close the gallery.
For those of you who don’t know, my name is Wayne O’Keefe, I am Sarah Rowley’s fiancée and the owner of two other businesses. A Marketing Agency and Business Growth Consultancy.
Over the years, I have watched, and felt the sacrifices made by Sarah and Sarah to keep this Gallery open. I remember the core motivation when it all began, and the desire to help artists and aspiring artists generate an income doing what they love. I was also witness to these two very talented artists slowly abandoning their own creative pursuits, to ensure the shop remained available as an outlet to other talented artists.
After observing their selfless sacrifices over the years, I absolutely could not blame them for deciding to close the gallery. Considering how much of their time the gallery demanded, for no compensation, I’m astounded they lasted this long.
Nevertheless, I remember what drove them. A desire to spend their time being creative, and helping to promote other artists unable to start their own galleries, or artisan gift shops. When they finally decided to focus their time on their art, and other pursuits that will generate them a more appropriate income, I decided to step in.
About me
A little personal insight.
I am not an artist, I am not particularly creative (in the traditional sense), and most of my outfits are grey. I have a great appreciation for art, since meeting Sarah, my home and offices are full of art now. I love the outdoors, forests, and nature. For a year after COVID-19 I had a top knot, and wore cardigans for several months, before returning to my flannel shirts and cutting my hair.
What I do.
I am a singularly focused individual. Every business I own is dedicated to growing other people’s businesses. My marketing agency is a collection of experts in digital design, marketing, and website development. We are one of the best agencies around, and we have had numerous other agencies outsource their client work to us because they wanted to ensure top results. I now spend most of my time working in my Growth Consultancy business, where I go into other companies and help them restructure, and significantly increase profitability.
Why the Fox & Crow?
Quite simply, I have taken on the Fox & Crow for two reasons. The first was to ensure all the years dedicated to keeping it open were not wasted. The second was to use it as a brand to bridge what I do, with what Sarah & Sarah hoped to achieve — a way for artists with limited time and money to have a platform to sell their work, and make money from their talents and passion.
What comes next?
Change!
The Fox & Crow will remain as a brand, and as a platform for artists to sell their work, but the structure of the business will be changing immediately.
- May 2025 will be the last month the gallery takes a commission for selling your work.
- There is no longer a requirement for creators to provide exclusivity of their products to the Fox & Crow.
- There will be regular paid promotions on Social Media to promote the Fox & Crow members to an audience wider than the existing followers.
- There will be a new webstore infrastructure, where creators can upload their products (with no item limits) and sell under the Fox & Crow brand.
- The new website will benefit from volunteered SEO hours, by my team at Encapsulate, to help it rank higher and appear in more Google searches.
- From June, there will be a flat £50 a month membership fee for all artists who remain with The Fox & Crow.
- Creators, who would like their items available in the physical shop, will be required to do 1 day per month behind the counter.
- The physical shop will only be open on days when creators are available to work behind the counter.
The above changes will be the most immediate and significant ones. However, part of my Growth Consultancy process is to work on site with my clients, learn from them, better understand their business and sector, then combine this gained knowledge with my skills, and those of my team of expert marketeers.
My general intentions moving forward will be to harness the resources of my existing businesses to expand the Fox & Grow, help promote more artists, and other local artisan outlets. I can only do this effectively by learning from all of you. I know marketing, and how to grow businesses, but you know your industry. So I actively encourage any/all of you to reach out and help me better understand what would be most helpful.
Please fill in the form below and advise which of the 3 options you will be choosing.
- You will be signing up for membership to the Fox & Crow for £50 a month. (online only)
- You will be signing up for the £50 membership, and you will be able to volunteer 1 day per month. (online & shop presence)
- You will be collecting any products you have in the Gallery before 1st June.
