About
BC Artisan
Our goal is to be the premier site showcasing BC's artists and artisans to increase visibility and appreciation of their art form,
thereby increasing sales of their artistic creations.
Artisan defined...
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to the craft of hand making food products, such as bread, beverages and cheese. Manufacture by hand and with hand tools imparts unique and individual qualities to artisanal products, in contrast to mass produced goods where every one is nearly identical. Artisans traditionally work in media such as wood, ceramics, glass, common and precious metals, basketry, textiles, esparto grass and leather.
Who Is Behind BC Artisan?
BC Artisan is the creation of Cindy Matus, an experienced graphic artist and business administrator. Cindy's interest in self expression through art stems from her family influence. Her parents, siblings and extended family have artistic talents ranging from music, painting, crafting, jewelry making, sketching, carving, photography and more. Cindy's own artistic interests lie in writing and photography.
Why Create BC Artisan?
Over the years it has become obvious that BC has an extremely high number of talented artisans throughout the province. Some artisans have their own websites or are advertised in directories, but finding them on the internet through searches can be time consuming. There is no single venue that is the "go to" source for finding these artisans.
BC Artisan seeks to be unique in providing actual pages for each of its artisans, regardless of whether they have their own site or not, to inform visitors about their art form and to make a connection so they will be more inclined to seek out the artisan. Have you ever had a weekend where you wished you could visit a local artist in your area but couldn't find one? The cost of traditional advertising prohibits artists from listing in the phone book or advertising in a newspaper. BC Artisan is the solution where they can easily be found by area or art form.
Personal Reasons behind BC Artisan...
There was also a personal reason behind why Cindy created BC Artisan:
"In 2009, I was diagnosed with cancer and was off work for three months while I underwent surgery and treatment. This time was a real wake up call for me as I readjusted my priorities and focus in life. I have always been involved in different charities helping people and animals, but I had a strong desire to do something new and different... something close to my heart and interests... something that celebrated life! BC Artisan is the result."
How can you get a web page on BC Artisan?
Client web pages are free to artisans. Artisans must complete the "Registration & Client Information" form and agree to our terms of service to have their pages designed and published.
BC Artisan Statistics
BC Artisan was first posted on the internet in May of 2009. The number of new visitors has been steadily increasing and averaged 200 per month in 2009. In 2010, the daily average of NEW visitors (those who have never before been to the BC Artisan website) has tripled from 2009 numbers. In February of 2010, a total of 443 new visitors visited our site.
Why are these numbers important? Growth in the numbers prove that BC Artisan is becoming recognized. It means we are promoting our site well so that we appear in search results. It also means that those unique visitors WANTED to find information about artisans. Visitors are pre-screened, qualified prospects who are interested in our artisans. What better advertising could there be? And its FREE!
© 2009-2010 BC Artisan. All rights reserved.