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Many young creatives and aspiring artists face immense difficulty in selling their products to a wide, commercial audience. Yes, there is the opportunity to sell such wares either at markets or online via specialist web stores like etsy.com… but seriously, how many people actually shop at markets or specialty art websites? Truth be told, malls are where the majority of Australians shop, with Westfield Carousel clocking 183,000 patrons each week.
Enter Pearl Toh and Michael Lim, two aspiring young entrepreneurs about to revolutionise how artists sell their work with the introduction of an Australian first: Shop In A Qube (SIAQ). SIAQ presents self-created products in a high traffic environment, giving creative individuals a greater opportunity to promote, display and sell their works to a mainstream audience. Using Shop In A Qube, artists display their work in a self-contained, lockable series of glass fronted cubes in the main thoroughfare of a mall (like a kiosk, but much, much cooler).
SIAQ’s creator Toh explained the impetus behind SIAQ, as ‘Not everybody would know where to go to find beautiful self-created products. So why not make it accessible to them within their comfort zone. Why not create awareness with those who are unaware that such products are actually available and easily accessible.’
Come June and SIAQ will be a reality in Westfield Carousel. With a series of artist specials underway, Toh has high hopes for this venture and aims not only to take SIAQ national via Westfield Shopping Centres, but also to sell directly to an international market.
‘I have approached Sydney International Airport,’ confided Toh, ‘and they have expressed an interest in introducing this concept within their plans for the retail expansion of T1. I believe it will be a huge benefit for our local artists to be able to promote themselves and their work to international patrons coming to and leaving Australia.’
SIAQ is a new shopping experience – not only for the buyer, but for the seller too. Cubes are available for hire with costs varying depending on said cube’s visibility. Cubes are booking out fast – more information available online at http://shopinaqube.blogspot.com or by calling Pearl Toh on 0413 941 718.
