Picture This: Artist Entrepreneur Chooses Arkansas as Home Base

Artist and photographer Aaron Gschwandegger spent much of his young life moving around the United States. Born in Jonesboro, his mother is a Walnut Ridge native, and his father, now retired, is an Austrian immigrant whose career in railroad equipment carried the family to Virginia, Texas, Utah, Nebraska and even as far as Montreal at one point.

In the years following high school, Gschwandegger made a career in retail merchandising, display and retail buying while earning multiple degrees, including a B.A. in marketing from Bellevue University in Omaha, and an associate’s in merchandising and buying from New York’s prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology.

Gschwandegger learned outside the classroom, too, developing skills in nature photography and woodworking. After years of working elsewhere, the young professional focused his accrued energies on a new venture – in Melbourne.

“Rural Arkansas may seem an odd choice to some,” says Gschwandegger of his choice to found his photography and artistic design company Fallen Pine, LLC, near the nature-rich foothills of the Ozarks. “I couldn’t ask for a better ‘muse,’ than the beauty that I see daily: mountainous areas, open fields and some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets anywhere.”

Family was another factor. “I wanted to be near my family and my retired parents, and I wanted a fresh start as an entrepreneur,” Gschwandegger says. “A person can follow his dreams and make his life into something new if he is determined.”

Fallen Pine’s product base began with fine art photography sold in original handcrafted frames. Early shots included some captured by Aaron’s father of 2009’s large ice storm and aftermath.

“All around, one could see fallen pine trees. A side effect of a devastating storm, they were also a sign of how nature renews itself,” Gschwandegger explained. “This sense of renewal was what the new company represented to me and why I named it Fallen Pine.”

AN ARTIST’S PACE
Though founded (on paper) in 2009, Fallen Pine started in earnest in 2010. Even then, Gschwandegger took his time. “This was not the traditional way to start, but it was necessary for me as an artist to learn and develop a product base,” he says of early months producing inventory, experimenting with new mediums and learning new skills.

Some products have proved profitable, while others he eventually put aside. Learning to tell the difference has been a process of trial, error and objective analysis.

Because of location, Gschwandegger has no choice but to follow the buyers. “Travel is one of my larger expenses,” he conceded. “However, having a website and participating in arts and crafts shows are great ways for me to get exposure. Shows equal marketing and a place to sell.”

It doesn’t hurt that he’s close to Mountain View, a crafter’s travel mecca and a great place for an artist to network with other artists and potential customers from all over the country.

“During the warmer months and into the fall, Mountain View draws many people from the larger cities,” says Gschwandegger, who has been a member of the Mountain View-based Arkansas Craft Guild since 2011 and now serves on its board. Since 1962, the Guild has been devoted to promoting member artists from all over Arkansas and their quality art. The Guild operates a gallery and hosts an annual Christmas Showcase at the Statehouse Convention Center.

As much as Fallen Pine is an artistic expression, it is also a business. To make it work, Gschwandegger sticks to a business plan, albeit one that is ever evolving. “My survival depends on my ability to adapt to the market and find my fit within that market. I have to look objectively at what I’m doing and if it is going to support me.”

Initially, he says, his “plan” entailed nothing more than finding his direction as an artist and marketing himself through art shows. He recalls how that changed with experience.

“As anyone who has done an art show can tell you, it is a lot of work. In addition, there is a lot of expense involved. Travel expenses and show fees add up quickly. After doing many shows, it became obvious that I was better off not doing some shows. Sales were not justified by expenses,” he said.

In place of some less productive shows, Gschwandegger improved his company’s bottom line – and reduced his stress level – by working his products into several key outlets. In addition to Mountain View’s Arkansas Craft Guild Gallery and The Homespun Gift Shop at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, Fallen Pine products have found a worthwhile home in other Arkansas stores such as The Velvet Otter (Eureka Springs) and The Lodge at Mount Magazine State Park (Paris).

The company’s online presence serves as an additional point of connection between artist and customers, who often reach him through his website (fallenpine.com) after shows to ask questions or purchase a Fallen Pine Miniature Picture, a dual-sided, hanging picture (a patented, Fallen Pine exclusive) or related items.

BUSINESS LESSONS LEARNED
There have been ups and downs. On the down side, Gschwandegger points to an entire year rather than one product or decision. “The year 2013 was a lesson learned,” he shares. “I became fixated on developing new things to sell. While this can be fine, the new things were taking my time away from art I was already selling. Re-finishing and re-purposing old furniture is appealing, and it consumed my year. The majority of my time was spent filling one location that ended up closing and my biggest show was cancelled due to weather. I learned never to lose focus on what you do well and never rely on too few places to sell.”

That would be enough for many to call it quits, but this artist has a stubborn streak. You need one, he says, in order to regroup and refocus after a fall. Gschwandegger was able to do that in 2014, a rebound year that allowed him to triple his sale of key products while investing in tools to move his business forward.

With those lessons behind him, Gschwandegger is working toward his current goal of expanding his company’s reach, sales and notoriety in the coming year and beyond. To do that, he is focusing on placing and promoting his art and merchandise in those Arkansas State Parks that operate gift shops, including state parks stores at DeGray, Mount Nebo, Mississippi River, Petit Jean and Woolly Hollow.

“This year will be a very important year to the long-term success of Fallen Pine,” says Gschwandegger, who is working on goals in 2015 that include product development in stationery and textile lines, original artistic fabric designs from his photography (for table runners, pillows) and stationery notecards.

“In an era of high tech, I like the intimate simplicity of a notecard,” he says. “I’d like to expand these types of products that promote the simple joys of nature and its beauty during the coming year. I want to make Fallen Pine into a brand that everyone recognizes in Arkansas and beyond.”

THE SELF-EMPLOYED SCHEDULE
Gschwandegger’s education and professional background helped prepare him to operate his own business. “Retail and merchandising gave me an advantage in presentation skills, while my background as a retail buyer gave me an understanding of how to track trends,” he says. “Real business deadlines helped prepare me for the constant ones that I now have as a business owner. My education helped in the sense of learning different types of marketing and product development. I create and sell art, but also find ways to develop the art I have made into other things people would like to buy. A great example is taking my nature photography and creating things like notecards and pillows with these images.”

Meanwhile, no amount of experience could fully prepare him, he indicated.

“Experiencing and living this is different from understanding it in the abstract. There are things that you take for granted when working for someone else – bills that need to be paid, inventory and expenses, deciding what to make and sell, etc. Nothing is pushing you to do those things but you.”

To stay motivated, Gschwandegger employs a daily regimen of sorts – plenty of sleep, time each morning to regroup and daily lists.

“It’s important for me to start my day before the sun comes up,” he says. “I plan what I am going to do on what day so that orders are completed. I schedule time for website, photography, phone calls, designing, restocking, etc. I sit down and think about all I’ve put into my business,” he says, comparing his thought process to pushing a stone downhill. “Once it starts, it is easier to keep it going.”

Through it all, Gschwandegger tries hard to keep his focus on his art, which makes the busy work worthwhile. “Obviously, the sales support me, but there isn’t a better feeling than creating something that makes someone else happy when they see it. That is success.”