Interview with Creative Art Box

Earlier this week, I shared my April Creative Art Box unboxing, materials demonstration, and my Challenge.  In addition to being fortunate enough to receive a box, I was also lucky enough to interview the founder for your enjoyment.  If you enjoy these subscription box interviews, please let me know, and I'll arrange for more!

Would you mind introducing yourself to the readers of Nattosoup Studio Art and Process Blog?
My name is Lena. I have my masters in new media from Full Sail university. I reside in MN but I'm originally from NY...it sure is cold here!

What inspired you to start Creative Art Box?
I have always had a passion for being creative. It doesn't matter what medium I'm using...it just makes me happy. I took to social media and began to see all of the other creative minds out there and decided that I wanted a way to help others explore beyond their comfort zone and to share their creative minds.

What's the history of the company?
The company itself is new. My strongest medium is graphic design, so before this I was assisting new small business' with logos, websites, and stationary.

What's your history with art supplies?
I believe it started with crayons :) Anything can be considered an art supply really. Now a days even tape is being used to create beautiful decorations in homes. I feel that you can never have enough art supplies either...there is always more paint, more paper, new brands. For me it isn't about the most expensive tool, it's about how you use it.

April Creative Art Box Premium Image from the CreativeArtBox site

What sort of creative team does Creative Art Box have?
Everyone who works with us is creative in their own way. Some can draw, some can paint, some build things wood, and some work with children. It allows us to have a broad term of the word 'art supply' and to show people that anything can be done with a little creativity.

What sets Creative Art Box apart from other supply subscription boxes?
We strive to not just give what people are expecting.. We want you to have the unexpected so that you can try something new. The best thing we can hear is "I have no idea how to use this!" Because we will show you. We have a strong force of bloggers who will experiment and show you how they use the products each month. We also try to include something for you to use your new products on. Because if this is something that is new to you we don't want for you to have to go out and get a whole new pad of paper just to try it, so we give you a sampling of paper so that you can then go out and get more if you really liked using this months medium. We also don't just offer 1 or 2 colors of items, we give the whole array of colors or items that go with the theme. We also offer FREE shipping, which is a huge plus!

What can I expect my monthly boxes to look like?
Each month there will be a new theme. Your box will contains items pertaining to that them and there will also be tools to aid the product. For example if the box's theme is Acrylic you would receive all of the colors needed to create a painting, the brushes needed for the painting and also a small canvas to do the painting on. If you order the premium box, you would also receive something extra like more paint colors, brush cleaner, or an extra canvas.

How much will each month cost?  What about a 6 mo subscription?  A year subscription?
The one time box is $29/Box. The 3 month plan is $26/Box. The 6 month plan is $23/Box. The 12 month plan is $20/Box. All plans including FREE shipping, and the plans do not renew.

January Creative Art Box.  Image Source

In general, what should each box include?
Each month there will be a new theme. Your box will contains items pertaining to that them and there will also be tools to aid the product. For example if the box's theme is Acrylic you would receive all of the colors needed to create a painting, the brushes needed for the painting and also a small canvas to do the painting on. If you order the premium box, you would also receive something extra like more paint colors, brush cleaner, or an extra canvas.

Do you have any plans for rewarding longterm customers?
I do! For long term customers who do repeat subscriptions I will reward with extra supplies in their boxes. they won't know until they get the box so it will be a great surprise.

What's involved in the art supply selection service each month?
You wouldn't believe how  much work goes into picking the supplies each month...I still can't believe it. You want to try to please as many people as possible while still trying to push the boundaries of creativity. You have to find the right supplies at the right price, and then work with the suppliers on quantity and shipping times to ensure that you have everything in hand for the 1st of the month box release.

What are you goals for Creative Art Box?
I want to see our social media pages explode with the creations people make using the box supplies.

Who do you see your ideal customer as?
Ideally they are anyone. They can be young or old, male or female to find enjoyment in our supplies. They could have never picked up a drawing pencil in their lives. They can be artist, carpenters, bankers, or stay-at-home moms...they will find enjoyment in what they receive.

Since you have a broad demographic in mind, how does Creative Art Box plan on offering something for everyone?  How will Creative Art Box appeal to both the absolute novice and the seasoned pro? I like to think that anyone can create. The items in the boxes will never be so advance that a child can't use them, and will never be so novice that a pro would dislike them.

February Creative Art Box- Image Source

How involved do you expect your customers to be in future boxes and projects?
My hope is for each subscriber to be very involved. I always love to hear what supplies people want to try and also what they don't like. I love to see what people create and have them as featured artist on our website. Our social media pages are there so that everyone can share their creativity.

What are some of your future box themes?
Guess you'll have to subscribe to find out now won't you ;)

Do you have anything set up for customers to share their artwork with the community?  Does Creative Art Box have plans to promote customers who share unboxings via Twitter, Tumblr, or YouTube with other customers?
All of our social media pages are there for people to share their art. Anyone who shares and un-boxing or their artwork make from their supplies is also entered into a drawing to get an extra supply in their next box. We will always promote all of our subscribers.

What are some of the brands customers can expect to see in their upcoming boxes?
We try to get people to try things they may have not tried before, but some known brands would be Prismacolor, Copic, washi, and   Winsor &Newton.

Do you have any exclusive deals worked out with companies?  If so, can you give the readers a little taste of what they can look forward to?
Right now no, but we are working on negotiations with a few. If we can work these out then we can include more items in each box.

Do you focus more on retailers or manufacturers when working on professional relationships? It would be more of retailers because then I can get discounts on most brands that I'm interested in. Most large manufactures will give discounts but on products that people don't buy often or in large mass quantities.

Can you give us any insight into what it takes to develop relationships with companies?  Can you provide any examples?  Any advice for individual artists who'd like to form relationships with their favorite companies?  Most of the companies I work with are local art stores. Because I'm a local business for them we work together to promote one another an in return I can get discounts to allow me to put more items into boxes. So my suggestion to artists is to go local. They can even work out deals to teach classes or get their art featured.

Image Source

Do you have any plans for artist partnerships to create tutorials for boxes?  Any plans to include a little inspiration in your boxes?
Of course! This won't be too far in the future, but we do hope to include more how-to-videos and also a how-to-guide in each box

Who are some of the bloggers Creative Art Box is working with?  I'm sure my readers would love to check them out- they're very passionate about art education, and I love to recommend new sources of inspiration for them. Every month I will be featuring a new artist and it's a good place for inspiration: http://www.creativeartbox.com/#!featured-artists/cee5 I have a few bloggers  that I would highly recommend as being great inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwbYqZ7Z9GA. She makes amazing line art that people can color in. Fun for ALL ages! I have a few more lined up for next month so I can always comment and let everyone know of their great work.

How might artists who are interested in working with Creative Art Box, either through consulting on products, creating tutorials, or promoting the service, get in contact with you? inspiration@CreativeArtBox.com I believe in strong customer service and I personally handle all social media and the website to ensure that all customers questions or comments are answered.

What types of artists would you be most interested in working with? I'll work with anyone, but I especially love working with people who are new to the creative world and are trying to explore their creativity and possibilities.

Ways to Get Involved

Email
Site: http://www.creativeartbox.com
Instagram:  instagram.com/creativeartbox
Pinterest: pinterest.com/CreativeArtBox
Twitter:  twitter.com/Creative_ArtBox
Facebook:  facebook.com/CreativeArtBox

Videos Recommended by Lena and Creative Art Box

Creative Artbox Unboxing and review +April 2016+   MsVenomousCupcake


CREATIVE ART BOX Unboxing and Review-edwardsuoh13