Welcome!
For as long as I can remember, art has been my constant love. I played with it as a child, and as an adult I celebrate it.
When living in the mid-west, I became the founding director of Quad City Arts, a bi-state arts council serving 34 communities in Iowa and Illinois. To fund community arts there, I was lucky to have a host of friends join me in launching the Quad Cities Festival of Trees which continues to thrive nearly forty years later.
After moving to North Carolina, I fell in love with fine craft and Southern Folk Art. This passion became the heart of Maddi’s Gallery, a shop I opened to showcase these works. That journey led me to direct CRAFT, a non-profit trade association supporting the handmade craft industry.
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As a gallery owner I traveled extensively - visiting artist studios and major trade shows where artists sold their work wholesale to galleries like mine. While I found many extraordinary pieces, I also saw artists struggle because they did not understand wholesale pricing and product development. Too often their time, effort and talent went unrewarded.
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Those experiences inspired me to develop seminars and webinars on “How to Wholesale” aimed at helping artists succeed in the wholesale marketplace. I also write the column, “The Creative Wholesaler” in every issue of Sunshine Artist magazine. Now I am pleased to put all this information in my new book, Selling Wholesale: The Essential and Concise Guide.
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Alongside this work, I’ve kept creating – making and selling jewelry, and of course painting. Until the pandemic, I was always "too busy" to paint seriously. But rediscovering the joy of color, texture and design became a turning point - and I haven’t looked back since.
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Thanks for visiting my site. If you are looking for guidance in selling your handmade art, click on the book. Or if you would simply like to enjoy my paintings and jewelry, I am delighted to share them with you!
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With joy and gratitude,
Diane