Artist and business owner Amanda Beard Garcia on shaping meaningful local collaborations
Creative entrepreneurs – artists, designers, performers, makers, cultural innovators – are business owners who generate revenue, employ workers, pay taxes, and strengthen local and state economies. As part of our series on Creative Entrepreneurialism, we spoke with Amanda Beard Garcia, a muralist, brand designer, illustrator, and cultural worker based in Dracut and Lowell, MA.
Tell us a bit about your work.
I own and operate a creative studio, Likemind Design, that specializes in handpainted murals, signs, branding, and design services for small businesses. I’m also a practicing studio artist. My work tends to be bold, colorful, sometimes painterly, and is often contextually shaped by the community in which it exists.
How do small businesses find you?
Small businesses find me in all sorts of ways. The most rewarding projects tend to come by word of mouth, whether it’s from a friend, client, or collaborator. Sometimes it’s a connection made by a public art initiative. Sometimes they just find me through Instagram!
How do you balance your process/vision with the client’s needs?
My favorite part about working with small businesses is that, as part of the design process (whether it’s for their logo, a mural, a sign, or other services), I get to know them, learn about the things that fuel them, and figure out a way to infuse that joy into their visual brand.
Developing these products is a highly collaborative practice, an ongoing conversation from kickoff through delivery. Every decision, from content, to colors, to copy, is well-considered. I think it’s safe to say that the end result often shows!
What advice do you have for visual artists thinking about working with small businesses?
Small businesses pour their heart and souls into what they do. So do artists. Our capacities and budgets are often limited compared to our wider-reaching corporate neighbors, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t deserving of fruitful relationships and stellar work. There are so many opportunities to build and grow together.
Mass Cultural Council is working with Mass Restaurant Association and Mass Lodging Association on bringing the local artist community to the hospitality community.
As part of this effort we’ve created a Partner with Local Artists Toolkit, with practical advice for businesses interested in forging connections with visual artists in their community.
The toolkit also offers an introduction to businesses to take advantage of CreativeGround.org, a dynamic regional directory that celebrates the vital work of New England’s creative people and places. A project of New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), CreativeGround is a free, community-generated tool.
We encourage artists who aren’t already listed to create a profile on CreativeGround.org.
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