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Kevan Seng - Capulet Art Consulting

Posted on 08/22/2011 - 11:37am Last Modified 38 weeks 2 days

Kevan SengA chance encounter at a bus stop with Raymond Chow, one of Vancouver’s most prominent artists, was the starting point for entrepreneur Kevan Seng. After trading business cards, the artist contacted Seng to invite him for a tour to his studio; an opportunity Seng immediately took advantage of. 

“While looking at Raymond’s artwork I came across a thick stack of Chinatown prints on his floor.  I asked Raymond what he was planning to do with them.  He said he didn’t really have any idea.  After discussing the various options available we decided to create a use for the images to create a calendar,” says Seng. “That was when my career as a Chinese medicine supplier changed to becoming an art broker!”
 
Although he did not know a lot about art, Seng felt that if he could appreciate Chow’s artwork, then the rest of the population would as well; so he moved forward with one idea in mind: uncover the hidden gems of the art world. 

Drawing Up a Plan

After identifying the niche market in becoming an agent/broker for artists, Seng got to work creating Capulet Art Consulting; building the bridge between art lovers and artists. It was not an easy path for someone new to the industry. 
 
In search of information on how to get started, Seng stopped by Small Business BC for support. Following a meeting with one of the Business Advisors, he got an idea of what it would take to launch his new business idea. 
 
“I learned that you can’t ‘just do it’ without a bit of thinking,” says Seng. “Thinking and writing down those thoughts as well as having an organized and structured plan is invaluable.”  
 
Market research played a big part in that planning process. In order to understand his clients, Seng felt the need to better understand why people buy art. 
 
“I studied the Vancouver market and recognized that most Vancouverites, including myself, love to spend money of entertainment: food, drinks, and more.  However, most people would not spend the dollar value of a month’s entertainment on a nice work of art. I wanted to know why.” 

The Golden Brush

Focusing on his own love of sports, Seng knew that Vancouverites spend big bucks on hockey, but didn’t know how to translate that entertainment value to art. In analyzing behaviors and spending patterns of those attending the games he discovered that the combination of excitement, crowd energy and competition is what really pulls people in. 
 
Using this knowledge, Seng decided to create the Golden Brush Painting Competition; a live painting competition between multiple artists, each placed into different teams with different styles of painting to compete for one purpose, the Golden Brush! 
 
“I used the Stanley Cup as my model for the competition and figured, rather than using a shiny silver cup, I’d use a shiny golden brush.  The only problem was that gold kept rising so I opted to a big wooden brush with gold metallic paint.  As my competition grows, I will eventually have a golden brush made of gold!” laughed Seng.  

Portrait of Success

As someone who’s followed his own path, Seng feels that anyone who does what they want to do in life is a success. He wanted to bring art into the lives of those who weren’t previously open to it, while showcasing hidden talent, and he’s done just that.
 
“I just like to do things that have meaning and can help people; I wanted to show people the hidden gems of the art world,” acknowledges Seng. “After figuring out a way to do it, mixed with some fun and party, it seems to be working more and more each day.”  
 
Based on his experiences over the past four years, Seng says these are the five top success tips that have helped him build his business:
 
  1. Make sure you have a part-time job to cover expenses.
      
  2. Get out there and tell people about your business in a non-intrusive way , through networking groups like BNI.
      
  3. Be flexible. The world changes and so should your business model. 
      
  4. Ask a millionaire how to become a millionaire.
      
  5. Smile because happy people meet happy people.  

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Website: www.capuletart.com

Twitter: @capuletart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capuletart

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