More functions on Art Life Collective

Blair just sent out a mass email to all our custom t-shirt designers at Art Life Collective. New features and new colors on the way. If you have not done so, got to the Art Life Collective forum and vote on what color shirts you want us to add.

Here is the update from Blair, the real brainpan behind ALC:

Greetings All:

Well, the company is reaching all sorts of new milestones these days, the most important of which involve our ongoing efforts to streamline the site to help customers find your work. The first of those big steps has already been taken, and the artist database is now entirely searchable by name and includes a drop-down menu for quick browsing. The next step in the development of the site in terms of directing customers to your work is to make the database of images searchable by keywords. We are now ready to do this, and to do so will require that you guys update your accounts. Here's how it works:

1. Log in to your account.
2. Select an image by clicking on the thumbnail.
3. There is a new field on your admin page that says, "Description." Write a SHORT paragraph or sentence that best describes the image you selected. Information such as genre, media, and ESPECIALLY subject matter are important. Keep it straight and to the point. Do your best to summarize in words what you think the image is about. The search engine will do the rest.
4. Click "save layout." THERE IS NO NEED TO DELETE YOUR OLD IMAGE OR RE-UPLOAD IT. DO NOT DO THIS! Remember, you're just adding some new info for the search engine.
5. Repeat for each image.

Another feature that is now, alas, working properly is the fact that artists are all instantly notified via auto-confirm when one of their images sells, so there can be absolutely no confusion about whether your work is selling or not. Also, artists may now use an alias instead of their real name if they choose to do so, and may also edit their account settings and update information once they have logged in. As you guys can see, especially those of you who have been here since the early days, we are making tremendous strides to make this site the premier place on the web to accomplish the company's fundamental mission statement, which is this: To provide artists a good place to get exposure, market their work and profit substantially from the sales of their designs. We are truly a collective, working towards a common goal - though our ideas and perspectives on self expression are unique - to share our creative efforts with others and hopefully not starve in the process.

Also, be it noted to all of you now - Two-sided designs are now $24.95 each. This is a simple matter of business and finance and must be done, particularly with those of you who choose to cover both sides of a shirt with an 11.5" x 17.5" image. By the way, let me give a design tip here - they don’t sell well at all. Good elements of design incorporate the use of negative space. Smattering a shirt with ink is not often the best way to go! No business model, however good-karma the intent, could fly with the profit share we give and the cost of ink as well as the time it takes to print a double-sided shirt of that nature. Please understand this is not punitive, but is a matter of ALC remaining profitable. If you really have a good, solid two-sided design, GO FOR IT! It will still sell. It was my personal decision on this one, and was a matter of the bottom line. Thanks for understanding. The customers will also "get it" that two-siders cost more.

Finally, we are adding a new shirt color to those currently available. We have narrowed it down to two colors based on both customer and artist feedback. The final choice is being left up to you guys. You will all have a vote on the new color. Your choice is brown or army green. To vote, all you need to do is log on to the forum, register and then cast your vote. The address for the forum is www.artlifecollective.com/bb. The address for the specific string to vote is under General Discussion, but is located at http://artlifecollective.com/bb/index.php?topic=97.0 - just to make life easy. There are images of models wearing each of the shirts, so you know exactly what you are voting for, and yes - the colors will be the same for women and men even though it's a male model ala Derek Zoolander. I think this look was Blue Steel, but it's hard to tell with the crop.

Oh - coming soon…2XL sizes.

Thanks everyone for being a part of the Art Life Collective. We really are doing things like no other company out there on the web, and are proud you are a part of this experiment in capitalism with a conscience. Best wishes to all!

Sincerely,
Blair Hadley

President
Art Life Collective