About Karen Berelowitz and Karmabee
Karen Berelowitz doodled through three decades of school and an international development career before launching Karmabee in 2007. She prints her hand-drawn black & white designs on notecards, baby clothes, kids and adult T-shirts, cork coasters, tote bags, buttons, and more. Karen sells her work online on Etsy and Amazon, at the weekly Kingston Farmers Market, at local holiday fairs, and in stores around the Hudson Valley and beyond. She also teaches art and business, licenses her drawings, and creates custom logos and designs. From 2011-2016 Karen ran her Karmabee studio and retail store in the historic Rondout waterfront district. She currently lives, works, and runs an Airbnb out of her home in Uptown Kingston, NY.
Karen is also Producer & Studio Manager for Blauweiss Films, a small independent film company focusing on artist profiles and documentaries about the arts and community history. In 2015, she was a featured artist in one of Blauweiss Films’ artist profiles that aired on PBS. Karen has a masters degree in International Development, and was previously a manager at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck from 2007-2011, co-director of the DC-based Riecken Foundation building libraries in Central America from 2001-2006, a consultant at the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank from 1995-2001, and a volunteer English teacher in a small village in Costa Rica from 1994-1995.
Get in Touch:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Our Conversation
This time around we take a bit of a break from food/health to talk more about creativity and business.
Karen and I have met several times at the Hudson Valley Women in Business mixers and each time she did her elevator pitch, I was interested in talking with her on the show. I was always intrigued by her description of what she does. If you’ve ever been a creative type, but you were lacking in the ego or sales side of things, this episode is for you.
In the show, we discuss:
- the evolution of confidence all artists must go through in selling themselves
- Karen’s approach to selling visual art
- Brick and mortar stores – when to do it and when to close
- The online component to running an arts business
- Selling on Amazon vs selling on Etsy
- The mechanics of running a pop-up market business (farmers markets, craft fairs)
- How to get exposure to the right people
- Licensing your work… how to.
- The keys to monetizing your creativity
- and so much more!
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