We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Morrow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Art has always been my passion, so going to art college was a natural step, but as a student I had various part-time jobs in retail which I really enjoyed.  Working was never a chore – I loved selling, helping people find what they were looking for, meeting interesting characters and the nuts and bolts of running a shop. When I left art college, the draw of merging art and retail was greater than becoming a full-time artist and I was very lucky to find a job in a West End gallery and set about getting as much experience as a could.  20 years later I was well established in a successful gallery which I loved being part of. Then I had my son and I lost my job. It knocked me sideways, but it gave me the drive to start AC. I had always wanted to run my own business but was too comfortable to take the leap.  You have to take the positive from bad situations and looking back it was actually the best thing that could have happened.  Challenge is good – it makes you reset and look at things differently.  I think that’s important when you’re running a business – keep looking ahead and pay attention to the bigger picture.  Working with greater flexibility is also a huge plus point.  My husband’s day job is in a completely different field, but he is self-employed so now and again he jumps in to help with fairs and exhibitions and people respond well to us fronting the business together.  It’s good fun to work together and I think it also gives people a greater sense of trust in the business knowing that it’s family run.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We have a really diverse stable of artists and the price points range from as little as £50 to above £10K. Showing emerging artists alongside established ones gives greater visibility to the ones starting out and if we can help elevate them then that’s great. It also means we can offer something for everyone which is so important to us.  The art world can be stuffy and we are definitely not one of those galleries. We also don’t have a permanent space and at the moment we have no designs on looking for one.  There was definitely a stigma around online galleries pre-covid, but that’s completely changed.  Art fairs and pop-ups work well for us as a model and we are finding that in between those, clients are very happy to buy online.  We also take pieces directly to clients to try at home, which is probably more effective than them looking at works in a gallery space. I like the fact that one week you can find us on the Kings Road and the next week we may be popping up somewhere else.  It keeps things fresh and means we’re constantly meeting new people.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Mary Portas and her book ‘Work Like a Woman’ had a huge impact on me – particularly at a time when I needed the confidence to start my business.  I really admire her ethical approach to business and her massive determination to achieve whilst making sure everyone else gets taken care of along the way.

But above all (sorry Mary…) is my family for helping keep the show on the road.  Without them the wheels would have most certainly have fallen off – or possibly the show wouldn’t have started in the first place!

 

Website: https://www.air-contemporary.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aircontemporarygallery/

Image Credits
Photo credit: Polly Geal @ Little Kin Photography

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