At 61, business owner Donna Bishop has launched ArteBella, an online art gallery and web store.
By Iris Winston
There’s no expiry date on creativity or entrepreneurship. Just ask graphic designer and artist Donna Bishop.
It is 40 years since she founded Creative Effects Design Studio, the Kingston-based advertising agency that she still heads. Now, at 61, she has added a second career in the form of ArteBella, an online art gallery and web store, selling her own paintings, prints and merchandise such as notelets, bookmarks and her best-selling Message in a Bauble.
When she started painting a decade ago, she intended it to be a relaxing hobby, “a creative outlet and stress reliever after years of building brands for others,” she says. But, after displaying and selling some of her works at art shows, she recognized the possibility of developing a new business. And the main spark was her Message in a Bauble ornament, which began with her wish to give her daughter, Michaela, a special memento.
“I wanted her to have something with my handwriting on it,” says Donna, adding she believes that handwritten thoughts connect loved ones even more than photographs. “I regretted that I didn’t have anything that my grandmother had written. She had the most beautiful handwriting. I wanted my daughter to have a very personal message from me that she would want to keep.”
Donna decided that a small, handmade ornament, which would also be a container for her letter to Michaela, would be easy to store, display and move. It also had to be unbreakable, so would be made of wood. It should be very attractive, so it would be painted and coated with liquid resin. A metal capsule at its centre would provide the resting place for the message. With all this in mind, she created the first Message in a Bauble.
“When Michaela showed it around, other people wanted one,” says Donna. “So I started making them for family and friends and took some to an art show where I was selling my paintings. They sold out immediately.”
It became difficult for her to keep up with the demand, even with her family involved in various stages of their production, she says, adding that preparing each batch of baubles is a three-day process. “They really are a labour of love that is very labour intensive. It’s now a family affair.”
From this point, Donna, who says she was “always an entrepreneur at heart,” launched ArteBella Studio as an online business that is growing fast. Her paintings, she says, “are inspired by my love of animals and European culture.”
“My style is to paint animals with a playful celebration of curiosity, creativity and character, usually incorporating Europe’s rich colour palette. I also offer commission paintings for those who want a piece of artwork that captures a memory, a beloved pet or a cherished place.”
Just as ArteBella Studio sprang from building on an idea—to give her daughter something especially meaningful —her foray, at age 21, into running her own business was almost accidental. She had completed her studies at St. Lawrence College and had begun work in the design department of a local print shop.
“I was not enjoying the job and quit,” she says. “Two days later, one of the print shop’s clients called me.”
An architect who also designed games, he suggested that she should start her own company. “He offered me a small office space for free, provided I continued doing the designs for his games.”
She gave her new company a name, printed her first batch of business cards and Creative Effects Advertising Design Studio was in business. Nine years later, the Kingston Chamber of Commerce named Donna Businesswoman of the Year.
Her inspiration as an entrepreneur was the example set by her grandparents, immigrants to Canada from Italy. They built a small startup into one of eastern Ontario’s longest-running family businesses: Tony Deodato & Sons Fruit & Vegetable Wholesalers.
“Watching my grandparents work hard to build something from nothing left a lasting impression on me,” says Donna. “When I was in my 20s, I wasn’t worried about taking risks. Starting a business in my 60s, I have a lot more life experience to guide me. And it’s never too late to follow your dreams and start a new career.” artebellastudio.com
