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Lately, I have been hearing a lot of chatter about ShopColumbia.  ShopColumbia is a student art store that showcases original artwork crafted by Columbia artists.  You can find all types of art that span all types of media.  ShopColumbia is an excellent resource for students who are trying to sell their artwork.  Since opening in fall 2008, ShopColumbia artists have earned over $150,000 in sales from their works.

Weichin's Buttons!

My friend Weichin Cheng has been selling her magnets there since June.  It provides her a professional environment to sell her art.  Weichin has really enjoyed her experience at ShopColumbia.  She was really impressed with the help she received from management about pricing and marketing.  Initially, she was going to sell her magnets individually but management suggested to sell them as a set.  She was also very appreciative that they only take 25 percent of her sales since most galleries take around 50 percent.

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Some of my fellow graduate students are taking an entrepreneurship class this semester, which I took last year and would highly recommend!  One of their class assignments is to work with ShopColumbia to work on a business plan for them.  The class has divided up into several groups and each group will present their business plan for ShopColumbia.  As you know, a business plan is quite extensive.  Each group will develop strategies, analyze competition, build brand recognition, crunch financials, think about risks and rewards, study customer segments, and develop promotional tactics, along with many other business plan components.

ShopColumbia is gearing up for their third annual Holiday Market event that will be taking place on December 9 and 10 to celebrate their grand reopening.  This past summer, ShopColumbia revamped their space, creating more space for Columbia students and alumni to showcase their work.  During their Holiday Market event the Shop has extended their space into the Quincy Wong Center for Artistic Expression to showcase artist collections.

During the Holiday Market, students and alumni artists will be making appearances to talk about their works.  There will be a reception on Friday, December 9 to get the Holiday Market event started.  No need to be fashionably late, there will be warm beverages and tasty holiday treats.  The reception will take place from 4 – 7 p.m.

If you can’t meet me at the reception, ShopColumbia’s normal business hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Thursday from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.  Columbia has so many talented artists, so come out and support!

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