Mind Your Art Business: Andrea Rosenfeld of Detroit Art & Business Institute helps artists help themselves
Story by Jill Lorie Hurst | Photos by Bernie Laframboise
Assignment: Cover Andrea Rosenfeld Founder of the Detroit Art & Business Institute, “Where artists, craftsmen and designers come to learn targeted business strategies that allow them to find their passion and increase their value.” Yay! This article will write itself….
Not so! Andrea Rosenfeld is an amazing force of nature but, like a butterfly, or maybe a firefly, it’s hard to capture her on paper. You all need to meet her even if you’re not an artist! In the meantime, a few words: Mixed media artist, consultant, model, business coach, teacher, mother and, my favorite word for her, “Connector.” She connected me to the sweet potato cake at “Good Cakes and Bakes” bakery on Livernois! Yum. The conversation started as she walked into the bakery: First, about D*FINDS, a “consignment shop for the creative community” which will open soon. She’s looking at space in Hamtramck, an area she finds to be very artist-friendly. D*FINDS will be a community space but offer something unique: the ability for creatives to sell their used studio supplies and buy from other local artists. Profits from donations will help fund a student scholarship to help them purchase art supplies.
The Oak Park and West Bloomfield native attended U of M School of Art & Design and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. She studied fashion, but taught herself merchandising so she could run a business. She stayed east for close to 30 years, married, and raised three children. Motherhood is a consuming job, but eventually Andrea started creating bench jewelry. Work style? “Hands-on, curious. I love to learn.” She sold her work through stores like NYC’s Bloomingdales, Henri Bendel and local art galleries, no small feat.
Andrea loved the East Coast, but felt drawn to the visible resurgence whenever she visited her parents. Two years ago she made the leap and came home to the Detroit area, full of energy and ideas. She started a unique business that would help artists help themselves: Detroit Art & Business Institute. There are so many people who do wonderful artwork but have no idea how to get their pieces out there, where to get grants, legal advice, how to price and profit from their art, budget and speak to potential clients. Andrea is here to help.
“I’m privately coaching artists who want to quit their day job and succeed with their business,” she says. Her average student / client ranges from age 30 to 65, but she’d like to broaden that. Rosenfeld is determined to reach out to students. “Art schools should include business classes in their curriculum.” Agreed. As a start, Rosenfeld partnered with ACCESS Growth Center to teach a first-of-its-kind, eight-week business course crafted specifically for the creative community, “Mind Your Art Business,” at the Arab American Museum starting June 9th, 2015.
She is on numerous advisory boards and committees. In her “quiet time” she models for artist John Hegarty; her time to sit still and engage with her community outside of exhibitions “on the other side of the canvas.” Her mother was a fashion model. In August, Andrea’s jewelry and her mom’s work will be on display at the Historical Museum.
Andrea Rosenfeld is determined to keep the creative community in the Detroit area growing, exciting and profitable. She is open to working with all artists. “I don’t segregate.” She smiles. “It’s all about building healthy relationships. The better I can educate artists in business, well, everybody wins.”
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Find Andrea Rosenfeld at www. thedabi.com or email her at andrea@theDABI.com
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