ArtJamz, a public art studio and lounge in Dupont Circle, has announced its first international licensing agreement. The company, which was founded in 2010 by Michael Clements, has signed a one-year agreement for
ArtJamz Pakistan in a suburb outside of Islamabad. The Islamabad location held its first pop-up event this month.
"There has been a lot of interest [in ArtJamz] overseas," explains Clements. "We're [having initial conversations] with people in Vienna and in South Korea. People are finding us."
In another milestone, the company, which is fully bootstrapped, just surpassed $1m in revenue over its four-year lifespan; $500,000 of that came in the last year. "Domestically, we're growing slowly and organically," Clements explains. He holds local restaurant
Sweetgreen up as an expansion model to follow. "I'm a big fan. I like what they've done."
ArtJamz models itself on a restaurant, offering a
menu of set and a la carte offerings. For example, the "O'Keeffe" package is $32 for 90 minutes of studio time, an 8" x 10" empty canvas and one alcoholic beverage of choice. Studio time and access to ArtJamz's "weapons of mass creativity," plus drinks, are also available a la carte.
In keeping with the restaurant model, creative enablers act as servers and visit each easel during a given session, checking in with the artist. "They're floating around, giving you tips, guidance and suggestions," says Clements. The studio plays music and allows patrons to paint on the walls. "It's a living, breathing art studio."
Clements started ArtJamz as a pop-up, "a roving art party in an empty retail location," he says. The decision to rent a permanent space came two years later, and in March 2013, the company moved into its current Dupont space.
He hopes to expand to a second location by the end of this year, either in Maryland or elsewhere in D.C. National Harbor, Rhode Island Avenue and Bethesda Row are all possibilities. "I know we're small potatoes in D.C., compared with restaurants that do a million in a week," Clements says. "But we started from nothing. We have no investors and no debt…and we're growing."