My "Eureka!" moment
I have spent a large part of my adult life being in complete awe of people who set up their own businesses, with their innovations often improving the quality of our day to day lives. I am especially intrigued to know what their defining “Eureka!” moment was, the point they started down a entrepreneurial path from which they never turned back.
There are so many amazing founder stories to take inspiration from, but my favourites are:
AirBnB - started out in a small San Francisco flat, where founder Brian Chesky rented out his mattress as a way to subsidise his lodging costs; planning to float on the US stock market next year with a suggested valuation of $35bn
WhatsApp - Ukranian Jan Koum came up with “what’s up” in his kitchen with a friend in 2009 as a way of keeping in touch with his relatives back home; he had a year earlier been rejected for a job at Facebook; fast forward 5 years later, and Facebook bought What’s App for $19bn
Body Shop - Founder Anita Roddick, after time spent on a kibbutz, decided to launch ethical beauty products, which were both refillable and not tested on animals, being one of the first companies to do so. Body Shop was sold to L’Oreal in 2006 for £652m
As far as my own business Artfully Sorted is concerned, my “Eureka!” moment happened two years ago. I had decided to hold an exhibition for my mother Fereshteh Stoecklein, a talented and award winning artist, at our home in London. My mother has been painting for over 40 years, in differing mediums, such as chinese brush painting, watercolours, and abstract acrylics. I wanted to showcase the extent of her acclaimed work in one show. We held the evening in aid of the children’s charity, Children in Need, donating a percentage of any art sold to this very worthy cause.
The first seed to plant in my mind was how warm our home still felt with all her lovely art on display, but with not a single piece of furniture or soft furnishing to be seen, as we had cleared the house to make room for all the easels. I was absolutely thrown and moved by the effect these paintings had on the space around me. Often in interior design, the art is treated as an afterthought. People doing their own homes can spend ages deliberating over their sofas and rugs, but then leave their walls bare. Yet, here was only the art providing such richness in texture and colour to my bare rooms. It hit me there and then, that in fact art is the critical element in turning a “house into a home”.
During the course of the exhibition itself, I noticed that many of our guests appreciated art and enjoy its many faceted mediums, but struggle to find the time in their busy schedules to look and source the right piece for themselves. It is a big decision choosing art, often husband and wife have differing viewpoints. Many people commented that they had been to this art fair, or that art fair, but either found them too busy to really take their time to deliberate on the art, or just couldn’t find the right piece to suit their home. So, I felt a service coming direct into homes sourcing art was very welcome for this type of person, namely professionals with homes.
Lastly, being able to give back to Children in Need from the sales of my mother’s art was simply a wonderful thing to do. I vowed then to support a charity with any business I embarked on, ideally children and arts related. With Artfully Sorted now well underway, we are delighted to be supporting the UK children’s arts charity Artists in Residence through our sales. AiR bring professional artists into schools across the UK, where exposure to the arts may be limited due to pressures on school budgets. So thrilled to be able to help AiR continue their valueable work enriching the lives of children today.
That was my “Eureka!” moment two years ago at my mother’s art exhibition. Such a pivotal moment in time for me and Artfully Sorted. Today, we have curated a book of excellent artists, with whom together we source art for private residences and offices. Through technology, we can help clients visualise our selected artworks direct in their home. Every project we complete leaves us very fulfilled as we have found some beautiful art a new home.
If you would like ideas or advice in finding that finishing touch to your home, you can find more information at:
www.artfullysorted.com or contact charissa@artfullysorted.com
