Starting an art studio can feel a bit daunting. You might think you need to rent a huge space and spend a lot of money to make it successful.
You’ve spent years improving your craft, and it’s time to create the perfect art studio, and you can even do it on a budget.
However, before you go all in and start working on your art studio, it’s important to break down the important steps you need to take to help budget, collect, and spend your fund wisely.
Keep reading, and you’ll quickly find out exactly why Braid is the perfect tool to help you set up your new art studio on a budget.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What are Braid Money Pools?
- How to plan your art studio on a budget
- Different ways you can fund your art studio
- What you can spend your money on for your art studio
- How to set up an art studio on a budget
What are Braid Money Pools?
Braid Money Pools are a designated place where you can collect, manage, and spend money for a specific goal or fund, in this case, your art studio fund. It’s super easy to set up and start adding money to your pool.
Keeping your art studio fund in a pool means you can keep all of your savings and expenses in one organized place. You can manage the money that is contributed to the pool as well as the money spent each month. It’s easier than using your regular bank account or having to set up an entirely new bank account just for your art studio.
Because Braid Pools are versatile, you can actually use them in various ways to help fund your art studio.
How to Plan Your Art Studio On A Budget
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the things you should look into when setting up your studio, we need to tackle how you’re going to plan your art studio.
1. Research
Make sure you do extensive research on all the different types of art studios you can create such as:
- A rented office space in a building
- Taking over a whole room in your home
- Using a smaller space, like a closet to turn into your tiny art studio
- Renting a co-working space you’d share with other artists
You can have a large space or a small closet in your home you use. Whatever it is, you need to decide what type of studio that’ll work best for you.
2. Budget
Make a list of all the things you’d need to buy to make your art studio work. This will help you figure out a goal to complete your space, like renting a place, decorating, and buying supplies, and also how much to ask for when sending out your Pool Links for supporters to help contribute to your dream space.
3. Funding
Before you actually start contributing money to your Braid Pool, make a list of ways you’d like to receive funding for your art studio. Maybe it’s just you saving up your own money. Perhaps you’re selling art and adding all the profit to your pool. You could choose to host classes, events, or charity funds to help raise money if you have enough of a fan base to do so. Once you figure out what you want to use your Braid Pool for exactly, it’ll be much easier to start.
Ready to start your Art Studio fund with Braid? Click here for a step-by-step guide.
Different Ways To Fund Your Art Studio
Contributing your own money to start the fund
Using the Braid app, you can contribute money to your own pool, creating a nice fund to handle any future expenses or investments. If you’re worried about maintenance or monthly fees, you’ll be happy to know that your pool is completely free. (Only contributors who add money via credit cards are charged a 3% fee by Braid.)
Have other people contribute using the Pool Link
Using a personalized link, you can have supporters, fans, friends, and family contribute money to your art studio fund. You just need to send them your Pool Link via text messages, newsletters from your website, social media, etc.
Host classes
You can use your Braid Pool to collect fees from people who want to take one of your classes.
Start collecting money to fund your art studio! Click here to get started.
What To Spend Your Money On For Your Art Studio
The best part about using Braid Pools is that you can spend the money easily by using the debit card that comes with your pool. Here are a few 5 things you can spend your new fund on:
1. Materials
Such as brushes, paints, canvases, notebooks, pencils, organization tools, etc.
2. Marketing
Such as signs, online advertising, banners, and posters
3. Fees
Such as venue fees to sell your art in person and continuing education fees for classes you want to take.
4. Rent & Utilities
If you decided that you wanted to rent a space to start up your art studio fund, you’ll need to make sure rent is covered. Additionally, this can help cover a portion of your utility bills at your own apartment if this is where your art studio will reside.
5. Software Programs & Subscriptions
Like Adobe Creative Suite to hone in on your craft or our yearly website hosting. Schedule Recurring Add $ in Braid to make sure your monthly subscriptions are always covered.
How To Set Up An Art Studio On A Budget
You don’t need to rent a large space just to start your own art studio. If you’re working with a tight budget, you have to learn ways to be a bit more resourceful.
Picking A Place
With Braid Money Pools, you can even set up a pool to specifically fund your art studio space, and not the specifics, like materials and marketing. You can have fans, and loved ones contribute to your space by using a Pool Link.
If you’re looking to eventually rent out a space, you can make that clear in your description of the pool that you’re looking for donations to cover the cost of rent, security deposits, first and last, and any additional fees required to rent a space.
Alternatively, you can raise money to redo a specific area in your home if you have the space and use that as your new art studio. If you’re really tight on space, consider sacrificing one of your closet spaces and making a really neat little art studio nook without having to deplete your contributions from your Braid Pool so quickly.
Getting Organized
Having all of your supplies neatly organized in your space will make it easier to see everything you own and help you decide what you may need to buy. You can use the funds from your contributions to your Braid Pool to buy organizational products, such as baskets to store books, jars to store brushes or full-on units where you can organize all of your paints in a clean and easy-to-see way. Don’t forget to label everything!
Lighting
If you’re lucky to have a space with natural lighting, then you don’t even need to worry about this part. But if you’re trying to set up your art studio on a budget, a great investment would be the lighting. You need to make sure you have the proper lighting for your art. Additionally, if you plan to host virtual classes as a way to generate more income, you’ll want your students to see you and your work clearly.
There can be a lot of start-up costs you’re unfamiliar with. In 2023, the reported minimum cost to start your own art studio is $2,242, with the maximum being $19,815. However, starting with a Braid Money Pool is a great way to get a jumpstart on finally owning your own art studio.
Is Functionality Key?
When you’re trying to set up an art studio on a budget, sometimes you won’t have the luxury of being super functional. For example, you may not have direct access to running water to quickly wash your brushes in between your work or the class you’re hosting. While it would be essential to have a sink at your studio, if you can set up your art studio nearby the kitchen or bathroom sink, that should be able to work just as well.
It can feel very overwhelming when you’re trying to start something completely from scratch, like your very own art studio. However, breaking it down into simpler, more manageable tasks will help you tackle each part of the project until you have your own studio to use.
Additionally, having a Braid Money Pool allows you to continually fund your art studio, so you can make necessary updates as time goes on and you develop a larger customer base or are able to save more of your own money in your pool.
