Adobe Gallery Blog

The following is an interview of AL Anthony by Stephanie Tafoya, a great granddaughter of Margaret Tafoya on Tuesday, May 31, 2011:

Dear Mr. Anthony,
My name is Stephanie Tafoya, and I'm currently a student at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, CA. I selected you for an informational interview as a class assignment because I admire you and your gallery, as I see you hold numerous pieces from my great grandmother Margaret Tafoya and her children after, and also have been a trusted gallery in Northern New Mexico for many years. I am interested in hearing your point of view about the Santa Fe Art Industry and have prepared eight questions if you would be ever so gracious to take time out of your busy schedule to answer, I would greatly appreciate it. I have included the questions below, and can be reached by email at: [email address hidden]. Thank you for your time.
-Stephanie Tafoya

To: STEPHANIE TAFOYA

1. What do you find most interesting about Southwest Indian Pueblo pottery and fine art to acquire such a collection over the years? 

Response: I find that even though the process for making pottery is so laborious and time consuming, the potters have continued the original process even into the 20th century when much easier techniques could be used. I appreciate the determination to stick to tradition regardless of the work involved. I have always been impressed that potters a couple hundred years ago, and even earlier, would spend so much time decoration daily utilitarian vessels that were for their own use. It demonstrates their love of beauty and their determination to have such beauty around in their daily lives.

2. What is your decision process when selecting items to sell in your gallery?

Response: I select only items that are authentic to each pueblo or tribe and that are made in the traditional manner. Condition is important on contemporary pottery but not so much on historic ones that exhibit use as utilitarian wares.

3. What have you found most fulfilling in your career as a successful art dealer?

Response: It gives me much pleasure to be surrounded by beautiful objects daily and to be able to explain the importance of such items to potential collectors. I truly take pleasure in helping clients build a meaningful collection and learn about the importance (tradition, history, beauty) of each object. This knowledge helps them in the selection process as each collection is unique to each individual collector's taste and budget.

4. Have these rough economic times had an effect on purchases made by consumers? If so, what has your gallery done to survive in the art market?

Response: Sales were off in 2009, picked up somewhat in 2010 and have been back to normal for us (so far) in 2011. We have been more actively marketing through our website. This effort seems to have been successful for us as we are seeing about 85-90% sales through the website. As a result, we have invested and launched a brand new website just last week. Our goal was to create a website that showcases the beauty of each art object.

5. Being that there are over 100 galleries located on Canyon Road, what do you do to set yourself a part from your competition?

Response: We do not wait for walk-in clients to come to the gallery. We actively market our inventory on a daily basis by sending emails every morning (1am MST) on those items that are new acquisitions and that the client is interested in (target marketing). Oftentimes, these items are sold (or have several clients interested in) by the time I wake up in the morning.

6. How is your gallery keeping up with trends, such as social media, phone applications, and other technological advances?

Response: We maintain and build relationships with clients via personal phone calls and snail mail (post cards, etc.), most of our clientele are familiar with this means of correspondence; however, in addition to these traditional forms of advertising we are always wanting to learn and utilize social media to the best of our, and its, ability. Recently we attended a local workshop designed to introduce small businesses to the benefits of social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, and Blogging); we have connected our Twitter account to our newly developed Facebook Fan Page, as a result. You can also find us on YouTube-we have a four minute video clip of the gallery that is paired with an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot. You can find us throughout the internet, in sites such as ATADA (Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association).com and SantaFean.com (a site for Banner Advertising), as a reference tool. A large majority of our business is actually done online, via our website.... On March 18th, 2011 we launched a brand new site that also includes a blog for two-way communication between us and our members. With the site we are able to do Target Marketing, a tool that allows us to send a daily email to our members who have expressed an interest in a particular artists, category, or pueblo; they are then capable of responding to these emails as an inquiry about an item and close a sale all with the click of a mouse.

7. As you know, Santa Fe, NM is one of the top tourist attractions and the second largest art market in the nation. Do you see any expansion in the future where Santa Fe could possibly be number one?

Response: As much as I would love to see Santa Fe become number one, I seriously doubt that we will ever overtake New York City. New York has traditionally been the home of fine art galleries and major auction houses and that will keep it as number one in the foreseeable future.

8. What advice can you give young artists trying to make their name in the art market?

Response: I would encourage ANY artist, regardless of age, to:
• Develop a web site of their own and actively promote their art through it
• Take the time to describe each piece and what the viewer should be looking for or see.
• Always update your website and add new content and correct any mistakes.
• Develop a Facebook FAN page and keep it updated.
• Tweet with Twitter about what's going on, every day.
• Join and network with other artists and galleries using sites such as LinkedIN.

-Alexander E. Anthony, Jr.