Today we’d like to introduce you to Talia Morrison.
Talia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Born in 1986 in Tel Aviv. As with all Israeli citizens, at the age of 18, I began my service in the military where I served for 2 years. After finishing my service, I set off to see and live in other places – spend time living in both Europe and India being exposed to such colorful cultures which made an impression on me for life. During my travels, I really took up a love for photography and was introduced to such brilliant artists along the way. I always found it sad that such amazing photographers & artists in small towns in rural India would be challenged to be discovered. I wondered if maybe globalization and the internet would change this one day. I guess it planted the seeds for what was to come later.
At the age of 23, I decided it was time to begin my studies and registered for law school. 1 month before classes were set to commence, I decided to take a U-turn and elected to study business/marketing. A few years went by and on the very last day of school I met Brian who ended up being my husband.
He came from Miami to my cousin’s wedding in Israel and our beautiful story began. My English was very poor at that time, and I remember how Brian enjoyed many good laughs (at my expense) due to my mistakes in English. Not much later, I found myself in this beautiful country with endless opportunities and falling in love was inevitable.
Prior to establishing Artalik, I used to accompany Brian on his business trips and I got to see a lot of interesting places in the USA. It’s an absolutely beautiful country and each area has its own character. After seeing over 20 states, I decided Miami was the best city in this country. I enjoy the colors, the happiness in the streets, the different cultures, the beaches and weather. I feel very lucky and thankful for my life.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not only was this my first entrepreneurial mission, I was doing this in a language that is not my native tongue. Everything takes me a bit longer and basic tasks can be frustrating at times, so I really have to challenge myself to stay focused and power through. However, at the end of the day, I am so blessed to be living my dream of running my own company in a field that I’m passionate about. I feel unstoppable and determined to succeed.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Artalik story. Tell us more about the business.
I was inspired to start Artalik because I spent a lot of time seeking modern contemporary art to furnish my place, and was shocked at the crazy prices galleries were charging for basic photography It actually got me quite upset that you really have to be wealthy to afford anything, yet beautify should be appreciated by the masses. Was determined to open a business which could provide beautiful works of art at affordable prices by cutting out the middle-men and driving down the cost of producing such works. I then remembered the inspiration I discovered during my travels – seeing all the talented artists work going to waste, never being able to be seen beyond the walls of their small towns. I realized this was an opportunity to accomplish both missions at once. I could find a way to crank out unbelievably beautiful pieces on the one hand, and I could feature the works of worldwide international talented but undiscovered artists on the other. I started by contacting photographers in places I love and worked out different licensing deals for some of the most special pieces. Today we source many different images in different styles from photographers all around the world as we try to bring unique and inspiring images from different places into our gallery to have the answer to every space.
Since one of my goals was to make the art literally come to life and my customers feel as though they are looking out the window, I elected to utilize only glossy acrylic for artwork so customers would genuinely have this feeling.
When I started the company, I started small – mainly attending street fairs and art festivals in South Florida to get the word out about Artalik. I loved the interaction with people in those events, and I still do those events from time to time. Last year, I won 3rd place award in photography in the Chamber South, South Miami fine art fair. Today, I am working with some innovative businesses who retail our product, as well as with interior designers for both residential & commercial, hotels and other commercial business areas. I have a robust online gallery, and for now, have elected to not have a physical retail gallery.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artalik.com
- Phone: 786-200-5246
- Email: talia@artalik.com
Image Credit:
Elodie Bialais
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