GUILD: SHE KNOWS IT BY ‘ART’
Wisconsin State Journal
By Judy Newman
NEW GUILD CEO HAS BEEN A LONGTIME CUSTOMER OF THE MADISON ONLINE ART DEALER
Lisa Bayne folds down her laptop screen and looks around her small, airy office at The Guild.
At her feet is a handmade woolen rug with bold, playful circles of orange, green and blue surrounded by checkerboard squares. In the corner of the room sits a tall, narrow cabinet in painted birch next to a large, scarlet hand-blown glass vase.
They are all pieces of original art.
“Am I lucky or what?” Bayne says, with a warm smile.
Bayne is the new chief executive officer of The Guild, the Madison company that sells the original, handmade works of 1,200 artists through its Web site, The Artful Home (www.artfulhome.com ) and through The Guild sourcebooks, used to order custom artwork.
Appointed Jan. 16, Bayne is the first person to take over the company’s top spot from Toni Sikes – other than the few months in 2001 when The Guild merged with and then quickly uncoupled from online retailer Ashford. Sikes founded The Guild in 1985 and built it into a business that now has 50 employees and more than $10 million in annual revenue.
“I’m thrilled,” says Bayne. “Toni has created something that is unique.”
Bayne has been on The Guild’s board of directors since November 2006, but she’s known about the company since it began selling original art online in 1999. She is a longtime customer, starting with three bowls made of recycled traffic signs, by artist Boris Bally – “They are on my living room wall” – and continuing to make hers “an artful home.”
A New York native, Bayne, 55, moved to San Francisco when she was 19 and has lived there ever since. Her resume includes executive positions at apparel merchants J. Jill Group, Eddie Bauer and Gymboree, and at Smith & Hawken, a gardening and accessories retailer.
She is also a fiber artist, with a bachelor of fine arts degree from the California College of the Arts in Oakland. She describes herself as a serial knitter, quilt maker and former costume designer.
“Lisa is an incredible woman. She is the very best choice, the person I wanted to succeed me,” says Sikes.”She has had the phenomenal experience of taking consumer brands and making them great brands.”
Sikes, 55, will be The Guild’s “public face” and will leave daily operations to Bayne and Michael Baum, whose role will shift from president to chief operating officer. They will develop a “third channel” for artwork sales “that will let people actually see and touch our products,” says Sikes. “That is a whole new business, one that I don’t have any experience in.”
Bayne will split her time between Madison and San Francisco, where her husband, Stephen Bayne, is a classical music composer, their son, Nick, 22, is an actor and their daughter, Susannah, 19, is in art school for fashion design.
Q: Will you get to meet more artists now that you’re CEO?
A: Absolutely; I’m really looking forward to that. Every time I meet an artist, and understand who they are and what they are thinking, it gives me the opportunity to better express that to our customers.
Q: How does the company decide which artists to include? Art is so subjective.
A: There is a jurying process, led by Michael Monroe, former curator of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. We have work submitted to us by hundreds of thousands of artists. The quality of art and aesthetics are what we look for; we stand for the finest artwork.
Q: The Artful Home sells such a wide range of artworks, from glass perfume bottles to furniture. What are some of the most popular items?
A: We sell a lot of glass. The “pale blue bowl” made by Nicholas Kekic is one of the most popular items. It is gorgeous as well as utilitarian. Another very important category for us is tables, things you can use in your daily life that are so original. There’s also a wonderful bed by Brad Smith, with a cherry headboard and cast-steel birds perched on the bed’s four posts. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to that?
Q: How do you plan to grow the company? You have online sales, The Guild Sourcebooks, and recently began a “third channel” of retail, with an Artful Home show in New York last fall.
A: It was held for three days in November in the SoHo neighborhood – several thousand people came and many of our artists were there. We were quite thrilled with the turnout, and a lot of purchasing took place.
We could have more shows or other unique, outside-the-box retail ventures. There are also so many categories of art we do not touch, like chandeliers.
Q: What does The Guild really need at this point?
A: What it does have is an outstanding relationship with our artists and an acute appreciation of art. What it needs is some acute knowledge of our customers. We highly value our current customers and we need more like them.
Q: With the economy’s current problems and talk of a possible recession, people often cut back purchases of luxury items. Are you worried about The Guild’s sales?
A: The economy is a factor that could hamper anyone’s business. It is a concern; I’d be foolish if it wasn’t. Many of our customers are people buying and furnishing second homes and giving gifts. I won’t say we’re not vulnerable, but we serve a number of different purposes in our customers’ lives and needs.
The artful living concept is so relevant, particularly in these times of mass commodities. People want to connect with the growers of the food they eat, the creators of their furnishings.
I really do believe there’s an emotional connection, a passion, with the purchase of art.
Q: With a $7 million infusion from investors two years ago and another small amount of financing now, is the company profitable?
A: Not yet, but we’re so close.