Firebox Tile and Preparing for a Press Feature

Today was a milestone for me and given the New Moon, the time is right. I’ve just spent the last 6 days scrambling to create and gather content for a new website. It’s a website designated specifically for one of my products - RFG Firebox Tile, a fireproof ceramic tile and the only one of its kind in the world.

Rewind back to last summer when Morgan Stanley’s Mosaic Magazine expressed some interest in possibly doing an article about my work. I was elated…this would be a very good opportunity to have my art seen by a unique group of people who I wouldn’t know how to otherwise reach.

Kips Bay interior by Stephen Miller Siegel, zoom into see my firebox tile:

I’ve learned over the years to value certain kinds of press for different purposes and it’s important to have the right mix of visibility over a period of a few years. I love having articles featured prominently on my website from the biggies like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal which offer prestige and credibility and there’s always the hope that someone might see my work and 3 years later buy something when I cross their path again. An article, mention or a photo in an art magazine or some kind of trade publication valued highly by my peers like cfileonline.org raises my standing in the community and ultimately helps me to get into galleries as well as other publications in the future. This can also lead to speaking engagements. Again, credibility.

Then there are publications that target one’s customer base. For me, these are lifestyle magazines like my local Portland Monthly magazine which has brought me at least one project with each of the 3 articles/mentions I’ve had. I’ve always wanted to be in a high-end “weekend magazine” that has customers who are completely outside of my socio-economic class and social circles and Morgan Stanley’s Mosaic Magazine offers exactly this. While it’s tiny, it is very focused and sometimes that’s more important than numbers of readers. It’s a lifestyle magazine offered by the brokerage to its clients and aims to bring topics, products and personalties that may be of interest and maybe not otherwise readily available to its readers. My work is an example of this since I’m very niche and not someone who has a big enough name to be thrown around most households (or any households for that matter, lol!) and for me, this visibility is worth its weight in gold. I depend on people who can afford my work and while they may not be big supporters of the arts, they could be if something sparks an interest. I hope to be this spark for someone or several someones.

As you can imagine, I really hoped this general interest last summer would yield an actual article. Sometimes interest is just interest and can lead to nothing or an article in 2 years.

Months passed by with no word but 2 weeks ago I got an email to do the interview within a few days. I of course jumped to the plate and gave the interview. Knowing that there could be many more views to my website when the issue released at the end of January, I wanted to be sure my website featured an aspect of my work I wanted to highlight.

I created my firebox tile in 2000 and each year I’ve made a few fireplaces but it’s not a product that’s ever really flown. This is partially because it was so new that people didn’t really understand how to use it and partially because I didn’t know how best to sell it. Lately I’ve had a lot of interest in this product and I’ve realized that my potential customers need a go-to resource to gather information, see examples and possibly to order product from. Currently I have a page on my website with photos and general information but it’s designed for custom orders and I now see that these days, people just want to know what the choices are and to pick what they want.

Therefore after my interview I put together plans for a designated website including a shop for my RFG Firebox Tile product. This was MUCH more work than I hoped. Oy vey, I’ve created a color palette which required testing to make sure each color will work consistently enough to offer for a product, photographing and creating information that is organized in a cohesive and accessible way. And what took so much longer than I imagined was hunting and going through 17 years of photos to pick out a few choice options for the website. My usual go-tos for this product represent stylized custom designs which aren’t what this website is about so the photos I’ve needed were a bit buried and on several different computers.

My work in the studio has come to a standstill while I’ve been doing this and when it comes to Steemit, thank goodness for the Black and White photography challenge! It’s been a perfect way to stay connected on Steemit with posts only taking 15 minutes or so. There’s no way I could manage my usual several hours a day of content creation during this past week! I’ve also squeezed in 15 minutes here and there for curation as breaks. Thank you @ashleykalila for your infinite patience while waiting to receive content for a Humans of Steemit post she’s putting together.

Last night was nearly an alnighter but finally I’m finished. Whew. I know there will be more odds and ends as my dear and talented friend Lubosh Cech (who also designed @ericvancewalton’s A Perfect Pause book on meditation last year) is putting my website and shop into a form that is beautiful and works well.

This time next week it will be up and running and in the meantime, I’m back here and to my other projects like the Dogwood Mosaic and Poorhouse mural.

Your support of my art and my blog makes it possible for me to continue making art, THANK YOU!