Dionna Collins With ComfiArt

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by on pay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Dionna Collins with comfiart. Welcome.

Dionna Collins: [00:00:33] Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:35] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about comfort. How are you serving folks?

Dionna Collins: [00:00:41] Yes. So comfy. Ah is an agency and a business incubator that provides visual artists with business resources and network opportunities through our four pillars, which are ecommerce, community events and partnerships.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:58] So how did you get involved with this? What was the genesis of the idea?

Dionna Collins: [00:01:04] Well, I’m originally from Boston, Massachusetts. I moved down to Atlanta when I was 11 years old. I always loved art, go into the Museum of Fine Arts, the Pops in Boston, and then moving here. I really love the you know, the community and the collaboration that Atlanta has. When I when I was younger, I went to the Art Institute of Atlanta and then went to Full Sail University for my Internet marketing and really was just so immersed in the arts and graphic design and stuff like that. So that’s where it really started with the love of art.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:56] So you started out with the love of art. Are you an artist as well or you’re an organizer of this incubator for artists?

Dionna Collins: [00:02:04] I am an artist myself. I love doing abstract art and also creating art like collages and all of that stuff. So me helping artists find their way through the business part of things was really a passion of mine because that’s something that I was always searching for.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:33] Do you find that a lot of artists might be good at their art, but they have a difficult time, you know, kind of making money from it and they, you know, fall into that trap of being a starving artist.

Dionna Collins: [00:02:43] Yes. And yeah, we don’t want to put that up in the air of starving artists. We really here at Coffee Art want to help them navigate through that. Like you said, we all know that some artists want to just focus on just the art, but not during COVID. I really saw that a lot of these artists weren’t prepared to get funding because they didn’t have their foundation. As far as like having that end have their business registered to the state and they really lost opportunities not having those foundational things to to help them through their their career and passion.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:27] So what happens if I’m an artist and I say, hey, I’m interested in comfy art? How does it work? Like, how do I get involved?

Dionna Collins: [00:03:34] Well, currently we have a membership, which is one of our four pillars where the artists can come on coffee art dot com and be part of our comfort community. It is free to apply where they can free to join, where they can come and get resources and different mentorships and have a lot of webinars that we have to help them guide them through their artistry and also help them with their entrepreneurship in art.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:14] So you can help take that struggling artist and really put them on a path to start making money and really kind of live that dream of being a successful artist.

Dionna Collins: [00:04:24] Yes, absolutely. We also work with partners, partners such as United Way and Ting Internet that is located in Canada, where we put them into opportunities with brands, where they create community incentives in their in their local areas that they serve.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:49] Now, having worked with artists for a little bit, can you share maybe some some advice for them so they can kind of get off on the right foot so they can give themselves the best chance of succeeding?

Dionna Collins: [00:05:03] Yes, absolutely. So as an artist myself, you know, there is a lot of resources out there that are community and nonprofit that they can join. I think that, one, you should always have some type of mentor to help you guide. And that’s also what we have here at Coffee Art. And then also, like myself, I like to go to do some free, you know, painting class or anything like that to get the juices going when I’m creating new art pieces.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:42] Now, what about any advice for budding entrepreneurs? Because being an artist, you’re an artist, but you’re also an entrepreneur, right?

Dionna Collins: [00:05:52] Yes. Yes. So with the entrepreneur, I think when you’re going to sell anything and it doesn’t mean it could be art, it could be, you know, your bags that you sell at vendors like. It’s really good to have your website, social media. A lot of the platforms that we have, like Shopify or Squarespace really have you to connecting to to those platforms for you to sell now. So those are the things that I would really focus on as an artist to start growing your connection with your own community online.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:37] Has there been a story you can share maybe the most rewarding story that has come about since you began doing this kind of work?

Dionna Collins: [00:06:46] Yes, I have an artist named Mariam Mama, and she has been with us for three years. We have a program called Design and Use that. We have an artist call which is now open if anyone wants to, to participate where they create their original artwork. And they and we put their artwork on all sorts of products, apparel, shoes, anything that you really think of, like plates, anything we can put art on. And with her being with us, we were able to mentor her and grow. And she’s been on. Her artwork has been on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air new show. She’s been on cover magazines for her artwork. So she’s really has grown in our community and we’re so happy to see that with our help.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:55] So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Dionna Collins: [00:08:00] Well, I mean, I would love everybody to just go to our website at WW Comfy Art or go to our social platforms with Under Coffee Art, ac0fiart and you can get more information and connect with us.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:21] So you’re looking for more artists, but you also need people that buy art, too, right?

Dionna Collins: [00:08:25] Right. Absolutely. With our Designer Muse program, we have new artwork every year and whatever you buy through us, it also the artist will also get their portion of the profits also throughout the year.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:47] And then what are you most looking forward to as you continue to grow this platform?

Dionna Collins: [00:08:53] I’m looking to build and expand into the United States and also international with our community and also connect with more brands to place some of our amazing artists on our in our community.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:10] Now, is the platform only virtual or is there an in real life place where people can see art?

Dionna Collins: [00:09:18] Well, we have our events where we do in the comfort zone, which is a panel event that we do in person and also stream live. We currently have two that we’re going to be doing next month, one in Charlottesville, Virginia, and then also a dinner, private dinner that we’re going to be doing at the end of the month for some key people.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:48] Well, congratulations on all the success. One more time. What’s the website?

Dionna Collins: [00:09:53] The website is wwwerc0mfiart.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:00] Well, thank you for sharing your story. You’re doing important work, and we appreciate you.

Dionna Collins: [00:10:05] Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:07] All right. This is Lee Kantor Cantu. Next time on Atlanta Business Radio.