Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
You're IT HMVC Gallery
Four questions with Heini Mika, founder of HMVC Gallery.
Tell me about your art gallery
The HMVC Gallery journey began in New Canaan so it is very much part of our business' colour palette!
HMVC Gallery is an artist-co-founded and managed online art gallery by a husband and wife duo, Heini Mika and Vincent Chang.
Living in New Canaan at the time, Heini Mika, the professional artist of the pair, described to Vincent one night her experience with an online art gallery and how their group show was disappointing. Vincent, the business-savvy art lover, then came up with the ”crazy” idea of opening their art gallery. "We both felt that there wasn't anyone providing real upmarket quality in the online art gallery space so we decided to do it".
What is your best-selling product/service?
That's our monthly Group Show with changing themes. Artists all over the world apply to this show because it provides them with exposure that allows them to showcase their artwork to a broad and diverse audience expanding their reach beyond their immediate networks. The artists also get an insight into their peers' art practice and every month we promote the show on a billboard in Times Square, so that is very glamorous.
We are online so Heini Mika participates in other online galleries' shows frequently. We also work with ArtPlacer a virtual gallery platform provider, we use their products to host our monthly virtual shows.
Have you "reimagined" your small business?
Absolutely! The praise and love we get from our community has been truly magnificent. We are setting the gold standard for how to run an online art gallery. It is our pleasure to provide our artists with the following: A feature on our website and a spot in our Virtual Showroom on ArtPlacer, A Certificate of Participation, Cash Awards every month, Personalized promotional material, multiple marketing campaigns and we have just introduced Individual Artist Profiles on our website. We are a very young gallery, and there's much room to grow, but we are definitely on the right track.
Visit HMVC Gallery online here, and make sure to check out their Instagram page as well!
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!