The article below appears in the July/August 2011 issue of artsee.
Becoming artsee
by Nase Nyber, photos by Donn Young
People have been asking who is behind artsee magazine. What better time to share with you how artsee came to be than our 1-year anniversary?
The success of a magazine is based largely on those who run the operation. It is a team effort where editorial, design and sales must come together for one purpose: to bring a quality, informative product to its readers.
artsee is the brainchild of CEO/co-publisher, Sean W. Byrne. Being an illustrator and artist himself, Sean says he noticed a need for a place where the visual arts community could come together on a regional, rather than local level. His experiences as a volunteer with arts organizations also taught him that a large part of the creative community preferred being reached through good, old-fashioned print media. “Although I think it’s changing,” Sean says, “Electronic publishing is still not the first choice of a large segment of the creative community…which responds better to a tangible product, the tactile experience of a printed magazine.”
Sean shared his idea for artsee magazine with Dan Early and Van Early, owners of Early Design Group, a graphic design firm in Raleigh, NC. “We already had a great working relationship—I’d been working with them for years,” Sean explains. “We first started talking about this project in December 2009. Sometime around February 2010, Dan came up with a name: artsee. Once the magazine had a name, the project started to feel more real.”
Both Dan and Van saw artsee as a niche that was being underserved in the community.
“It is an educational resource for the community, a place for artists to be showcased, and also a place for all members of the creative community to share their expertise: artists, collectors, gallery owners, museum directors…the list goes on and on,” says Dan. “We provide information for everyone who loves and appreciates art. We knew we could serve a very diverse demographic.”
Bob Doster, CMO/co-publisher for the magazine, worked with Sean on various arts committees. “I’ve known Sean for a long time,” Bob says, “We work well together and we both share a love of art and community.” In March 2010, Sean approached Bob about becoming involved in artsee. “I asked him to give me his unvarnished opinion on whether he thought he could sell advertising and help make the magazine sustain itself, while providing a valuable tool to the arts community.”
“I loved the idea from the start,” Bob says. “I saw this magazine as having the potential to really take the place of what the state and federal government used to do: they used to promote the arts, and spend money on arts education. With the way budget cuts are, we knew we needed to come in to fill the void, foster the arts community and get the message out to the public.”
By late April 2010, the team, now equal partners in DWEEB Inc., parent company to artsee magazine, was now in place. (sidenote: DwEEB= Doster Early Early Byrne) Each knew they all had to bring their unique talents to the table because everyone would have a role to play.
“May and June of last year were really a blur,” Van says, “Lots of meetings. Proofing. Editing. Sales calls. Everything started happening so quickly, at times it was hard to believe.”
“I was out there pounding the pavement for advertising,” laughs Bob, “for a magazine that didn’t exist yet! I had a few printouts of sample layouts in hand, to convey the look and feel of the magazine, and that was it. This was—and still is—truly a grassroots endeavor. We are doing it because we love it. Every day is a challenge, especially in this economy. And we thank all of our advertisers who encouraged us in our first year and continue to support us.”
The first issue of artsee magazine came out on Tuesday, July 6, 2010.
“It was kind of shocking, how many boxes it takes to hold 10,000 copies,” recalls Dan (current circulation is now 20,000). We mailed to galleries and art dealers in North and South Carolina. The rest we either delivered ourselves or drop shipped to distribution points, such as arts councils, that we had made arrangements with earlier.”
“There was a whole lot of hauling of magazines on hand trucks,” Van recalls. “Which wasn’t so bad once we got into the fall and winter, but last summer, when it was a 100 degrees outside and we’re driving around with trunks full of magazines, I was asking myself ‘are we nuts?’”
“I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard ‘are you nuts?’” Sean agrees, “and ‘You’re starting a magazine now? In this economy?’ We like to think of it this way: if we can make it now, then it’s only going to get easier. And we firmly believe art is important, in a down economy or an up economy… in some ways even more so when times are tough.”
“We are all part of the Editorial Board, and we make decisions as a team,” says Bob. “We talk every day about content for the magazine. We are all pretty knowledgeable about art and have a good feel for what’s going on in the community.”
Bob has an English degree from Clemson University and, through his work as an art consultant and former gallery owner (Raleigh’s Glance Gallery), has a solid sales and marketing background in the fine arts. He is also the son of noted South Carolina sculptor, Bob Doster.
Both Dan, who serves as co-president/senior art director for artsee, and Sean are graduates of the East Carolina University School of Art and Design with degrees in communication arts. Following college, Dan worked with Rockett Burkhead & Winslow ad agency for many years. Sean has worked as a designer, illustrator and marketing manager for corporations such as Fujitsu and IBM.
Van, co-president/production chief for artsee, is a graduate of NC State University School of Design with a degree in visual design. He also worked with Melissa Peden of the Peden Gallery during his college years, then was with McKinney & Silver advertising agency for 19 years working on various publications. He opened Early Design Group in 1998 with his brother Dan.
Moving into the future, the DWEEB team wants artsee magazine to be THE source for arts in the Carolinas.
“We have started moving into South Carolina and the response has been good; we would like to see that market continue to grow,” says Bob. “We are continually working on being the central point for information for the arts community in the Carolinas. We want to continue to offer more and more to the community through the magazine and our online presence.”
Dan says the magazine has done an excellent job of becoming a centralized voice for the arts community, but believes it still has a way to go. “I think if we can get over the hurdles of the first year or two and continue to expand our coverage area, we can be the ones who bridge the gap and bring everyone together as one creative entity,” he says.
What else does artsee magazine’s second year bring? “Our circulation has doubled,” Bob says. “We also have plans to become a monthly to get information out in a timelier manner.” To help accomplish this goal, DWEEB Inc. is adding a managing editor, T. S. Donahue, and a vice president of sales and marketing, Kathryn Schnabel.
Van says artsee will also place more emphasis on its online calendar, making the magazine and its website a place where people across the Carolinas can go to find out what’s going on in the arts community. “It is difficult to gather all the information out there and put it in one place in an easy-to-read, organized fashion,” he says. “But it needs to be done.”
Bob says that, most importantly, the magazine must always be a platform for the Carolinas’ arts community to share everything it has to offer. “There is too much good artwork being produced in this area that isn’t being showcased by other publications,” he says. “We aim to change that.”
Nase Nyber is an artist and writer living in Raleigh, NC.
