Jane-Davenport-squareWow! I can’t believe the Institute of Cute has spun off on to its own trajectory! When Angus and I concocted the store, we didn’t really think much further than, “Wow, lets make a happy space!”.

The Institute of Cute has become so popular. People literally squeeeeeeeel with delight when they come in to the store. It feels special, because it is special. Everything is unique and precious! And to add to the delight are the prices. We really try to make sure we give EXTREME value for money on all of our design-driven goodies.

The Institute of Cute has developed over time. It all started with my first solo exhibition. I wanted to create a special ’something’ that visitors could take home with them if they enjoyed my artwork, but couldn’t take a piece away. My first creations were books and postcards. I then moved on to commemorative T-shirts and a ladybird pen.

What I discovered is that in today’s highly commercial world, ‘merchandise’ is an important fundraiser for the venues that hosted my exhibitions. And if I did not create ‘merchandise’ to accompany my exhibitions, then the gallery would organise their own – and some of it was awful!

So, I designed lovely treasures that I could be proud of, that were useful, beautiful, and …well…cute! Over time with more and more exhibitions, we added more books, jewelery, badges, magnets, bags, windmills and even a mini ladybird vacuum cleaner! If you have any of these original pieces, make sure you hang on to them as they are almost as collectible as my artwork!

When Angus and I moved to Byron Bay ( which really is heaven on earth), we had a fuzzy goal of opening a Gallery for my artwork. The space we found was HUGE. And really quite lovely. So we decided that we should incorporate all of my “brain-children”. The Artwork, the fashion design, the exhibition merchandise and my licensed ranges.

The Institute of Cute has been a joy from the get-go. We have worked with some absolutely divine people and we love our enthusiastic, charismatic,bubbly customers! Most of my time is spent on creating my artwork, but I cherish the time I spend giving flight to my design imagination and creating all sorts of cherishable goodies.

And now the IoC,as we call it, has become a force of its own! Maybe more will open. Maybe we will conquer the world with cuteness! Whatever happens, we will smile and enjoy it with our customers and colleagues!

x

Jane

www.janedavenport.com.au