LoveFromTheArtist.org CIC is a British not-for-profit Community Interest Company that offers an ecommerce technology platform for visual artists to encourage them to create commercial business opportunities for themselves and their work. It aims to open access to technologies that artists would otherwise find either too complex to use or too expensive to implement.
LFTA as a service to artists has been piloted as a ‘proof-of-concept’ in the UK with the public trading website LoveFromTheArtist.com and it has established itself as a valid model for the use of ecommerce technology in visual arts. LFTA artists have been selling work in simple printed forms and shipping products all over the world.
LFTA is the invention of and is managed by social entrepreneurs Ian Lacey and Lynda Harvey. It is intended as a means to contribute to the visual arts around the world through the development of mini “economies” that allow artists to trade with the public and earn income to support their artistic works.
LFTA is based on fair trade, is non profit making, supports a wide range of artists and artistic styles and provides an open and fair opportunity for visual artists, photographers and illustrators, for whom it is free to use.
LFTA focuses on helping small shops, often community organised ventures, to find and support artists in their local communities as well as allowing artists to sell work directly to the wider public through their pages on our trading websites.
Ian Lacey and Lynda Harvey are both Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
If you are thinking of applying to join LFTA's membership, here are a few things you should note...
LFTA is not a social networking platform for artists nor is it an online printing service. It is a community programme run by volunteers that aims to provide practical technological support for artists developing commercial activity around printed products. LFTA is currently only available to artists based in Britain/UK and the USA.
It is a programme run at our cost on a not-for-profit basis, but membership is not automatic. There are no membership fees or charges, but we do look for some level of commitment from joining members that they will be active in their use of the LFTA service.
If you apply to join our programme, our process starts by our finding out a little about you and your work and we may then ask you for more information about how you plan to make use of our facilities and services. During this process you will find out all about us and how we work, as well as the pricing for the products and services we can provide to you (at cost).