Art is everywhere—from the logo on your coffee mug to the pattern on your rug or the screenprint on your favorite band t-shirt. If you’ve got art or design skills and an entrepreneurial spirit, you can launch a profitable art business.
If you’re wondering where to start, here are 30 art business ideas, plus tips on how to ensure the success of your own art business.
28 art business ideas
- Calligraphy
- Furniture and decor restoration
- Greeting cards
- Embroidery
- Knitting and crocheting
- Specialty frames
- Art handling
- Wedding photography
- Tote bags
- Curated shop
- Art consulting
- Book illustration
- Pet portraits
- Digital illustration
- Jewelry
- Art lessons
- Pottery
- Candlemaking
- Caricature artist
- Wreathmaking
- Art supply store
- Rug making
- Handmade Paper
- Custom books, dust jackets, and sleeves
- Mural painting
- Holiday decorations
- Screen printing
- Lampshades
As you consider different art business ideas, lean into your artistic skills and art industry knowledge. For example, if you’re a seasoned illustrator, it might be easier to launch a book illustration business than an embroidery business. But if embroidery is your passion, look for ways to tie your portfolio and skills into this venture.
Keep in mind that running a business goes beyond creating art—you’ll also need to create a brand identity, develop a marketing strategy, keep track of inventory, process payments, and more.
When it’s time to sell your first products, consider creating a social media profile and an ecommerce site. To help drive discovery of your products, you might also list your goods on platforms like Etsy and/or Amazon. But as you start to build an audience, consider encouraging purchases directly from your site to forego third-party fees.
Here are 28 art business ideas for inspiration:
1. Calligraphy
If you find yourself drawn to language, consider learning the art of calligraphy. Historical societies from China to Greece to Tunisia have prized calligraphy throughout the centuries. Modern applications include party invitations, greeting cards, personalized artwork, and more.
To build your calligraphy practice, attend in-person classes in your local area (most of which require no experience), or teach yourself through books or online courses. You’ll need supplies including calligraphy pens and ink.
2. Furniture and decor restoration
If you’re passionate about the circular economy and love working with physical goods, consider starting a business that offers restoration services. Source and rehabilitate items like furniture, jewelry, lamps, and picture frames, or offer restoration services to individuals with items that need some love.
Note that restoring fine art, such as paintings, is a specialized skill: There are post-graduate programs dedicated to fine art preservation.
3. Greeting cards
If you have a knack for illustration, try applying your skills to handmade greeting cards. You could handpaint your cards, or use printing methods like wood block and linocut to create sets and collections.
If you opt for printing, consider starting with linocuts—you’ll carve your designs into linoleum, which is softer and easier to carve than wood. You’ll then roll your linoleum block in paint and transfer your image to your card. You can buy a linocut set online for less than $30, then purchase additional linoleum blocks as you create more designs.
4. Embroidery
Embroidery might conjure memories of your grandmother’s house, but it can be a very modern business. If you have a high attention to detail and strong fine motor skills, consider embroidering designs on textiles like pillow cases, tea towels, or sweatshirts. You could also accept commissions for personalized products—think embroidered pet portraits or even branded merchandise for small companies.
5. Knitting and crocheting
If you have a penchant for fashion, consider taking up knitting or crocheting. Follow knitting and crocheting patterns to create scarves, gloves, hats, sweaters, vests, and more. Experiment with different colors and yarn types to create unique pieces. You can even dye your own yarn for truly one-of-a-kind pieces. As you become more advanced, you might develop and sell your own patterns.
6. Specialty frames
Art frames don’t have to be generic. You can make unique frames for photos and larger artwork using decoupage, fabric, even searshells, or by utilizing any specialist skills you may have—like woodworking or metalwork. Sell your products to consumers looking for unique frames for everything from small family photographs to large oil paintings.
7. Art handling
Fine art is fragile and expensive, so artists, galleries, and museums hire professional art handlers to hang, store, and pack artworks. You can learn the trade from art handlers in your area, then work as an art-handling contractor.
8. Wedding photography
The average American wedding costs a whopping $33,000 in 2024, according to data from the wedding planning website Zola. With that kind of money on the table, brides and grooms want to make sure their wedding day photos are as perfect as the day itself.
If you’ve got photography skills and want to put them to work capturing people’s nuptials, try launching a wedding photography business to capture weddings, engagements, and even marriage proposals. Keep in mind that wedding photography requires a lot of time on your feet, and you’ll need to have a reliable mode of transportation to travel to different venues.
Help people discover your business by optimizing your website for local SEO, encouraging clients to write reviews on platforms like Yelp, and build a social media presence to show off your style to potential clients (who might follow you for inspiration as they plan their special day).
9. Tote bags
Try starting your own creative business selling tote bags by buying ready-made bags of canvas or recycled materials, then decorating them with stencils, embroidery, or handpainting. You can even take commissions from customers looking for specific designs.
If you’ve built a following for your design work, create customized tote bags for individuals or brands. And if you know how to sew, create your bags from scratch, which gives you more control over fabrics and design.
10. Curated shop
If you love perusing antique stores, estate sales, galleries, craft markets, or online marketplaces like eBay, consider building a webshop with curated goods. You could build your shop around anything from vintage concert posters to antique paintings to a specific style of glassware.
To effectively position your offering in the market and differentiate from similar businesses, you’ll need a strong brand story that emphasizes your eye for design and knack for finding hidden treasures.
11. Art consulting
Art consultants sell their expertise to interior designers, homeowners, business owners, and investors looking to decorate their spaces or start collections. If you have an expertise in art world trends, consider setting up an art consulting business advising clients on which pieces to buy from galleries and auctions.
You might also set up a consulting business in which you connect artists directly with collectors and interior designers. This model has the added benefit of helping lesser known artists gain visibility.
12. Book illustration
Illustrations can make or break a book, whether it’s the cover art of a novel or the interior drawings of a children’s bedtime story. If you’re an artist with a knack conveying stories in your work, you can collaborate with authors—especially those who are self-publishing books—as an illustrator. Start by creating a portfolio that demonstrates your signature style.
13. Pet portraits
Dog and cat people might have their differences, but you can sell your services to both as a pet portrait artist. Offer formats such as photography, drawing, or painting, making your work realistic or stylized, depending on your artistic style. Consider creating both realistic and fantastical interpretations of your subjects and their surroundings—for example, you might paint a dog into an outdoor scene, even if you’re working with an indoor photo.
14. Digital illustration
As a digital illustrator, your customers could be everyone from ecommerce brands to local restaurants. Businesses use digital art for website landing pages, branded merchandise, menu illustrations, and more. Consider selling your digital art services as a freelancer, and look for clients on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.
15. Jewelry
Consumers with a laid-back, more DIY personal style are the perfect audience for handmade jewelry. You can start a jewelry business that appeals to them, offering wire-wrapped, beaded, or clay pendants.
16. Art lessons
If you’re an accomplished artist, try selling your technical know-how through virtual or in-person lessons. For in-person classes, consider hosting in your home or studio space (if you have one), or in community centers or libraries. To generate demand, create an SEO-optimized website, advertise in your local paper, and ask host venues to include your class in newsletters or on social media.
Whether you’re selling online or in-person lessons, consider marketing your offerings using video content or blog posts. These formats give prospective customers a taste of your expertise and style—but make sure to clearly communicate the value of your lessons so visitors are incentivized to pay for them, rather than relying solely on your free content.
17. Pottery
Pottery is a creative, relaxing activity. If you’ve mastered the art of throwing pots, plates, cups, or bowls on a wheel, you can monetize your hobby by selling your work. Don’t have access to a pottery wheel or kiln? No problem—pick up air-dry, epoxy, or polymer clay from your local art supply store, along with paint. Once you have your supplies, create fun decorative pieces like jewelry holders, candle sticks, or Christmas tree ornaments.
18. Candlemaking
Secure wax, wicks, and molds, and you’ll have everything you need to start making candles. Experiment with fragrances and essential oils, but to make your candles stand out from mass produced options, try marbling, decorating with objects like pressed flowers, and designing your own sculptural candle molds.
19. Caricature artist
Caricature artists might evoke images of packed tourist hubs, but if you have a knack for drawing, try starting an online caricature art business. Develop a pricing system for portraits of varying sizes and complexity. For example, you might charge more for an eight inch by 10 inch drawing of a customer against a detailed background (like a cityscape) than a five inch by seven inch drawing of a customer against a single-color backdrop.
20. Wreathmaking
Christmas celebrants have been lugging evergreens home since the 16th century. To make holiday wreaths, you’ll need wire frames, twine, and real or artificial evergreen branches. Also consider making wreaths from materials like seashells, thistle, dried flowers, and pinecones to appeal to customers looking for year-round home décor.
21. Art supply store
No matter the medium, artists will always need supplies like paint, brushes, canvases, and clay. Try selling art supplies online through a dropshipping model. Analyze your competition to make sure you’re selling in-demand products, and if you’re an artist yourself, consider curating your store to sell the products you know and love.
22. Rug making
If you’re interested in home décor, consider making rugs. There are various methods available to you, each requiring a different level of skill and investment:
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Braided. You can make braided rugs with reclaimed fabric, like old t-shirts or sheets.
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Tufted. Rug tufting involves threading loops of yarn into a fabric like burlap or linen to create intricate designs. You’ll need to buy a tufting gun and a frame to stretch your underlying fabric. Starter kits run around $200-$300.
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Woven. For weaving, you’ll need yarn and a loom, which you can find online for around $100. Durable cotton, wool, and linen yarns are popular options.
Sell your rugs online, offer them through local boutiques, or develop relationships with interior design professionals to place your work directly in customers’ homes.
23. Handmade paper
Handmaking paper isn’t as difficult as it might seem. You’ll need a toolkit with items like screens and molds, which you can buy online. For your base material, use scrap paper, newspaper, or premade pulp specifically designed for handmaking paper. Blend your paper scraps into a slurry, press them onto a screen, use a mold to shape it, then wait for it to dry.
Once you’ve perfected your papermaking process, add elements like pressed flowers, stenciled designs, and stamps to convey your artistic style.
24. Custom books, dust jackets, and sleeves
Bibliophiles are the perfect audience for handmade book accessories. Create protective sleeves for hardcovers, paperbacks, and even e-readers. Source fabrics that thematically align with different genres or embellish plain fabrics with custom flourishes like embroidery or screen prints.
25. Mural painting
Murals adorn everything from exterior walls to restaurant interiors to children’s bedrooms. You’ll need a portfolio of past work to launch your mural painting art business, so consider volunteering for community murals if you need a few more projects under your belt.
26. Holiday decorations
If your house is always in the holiday spirit (whether that’s Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween), consider starting a holiday decoration business. Use your crafting skills to create ornaments, tree toppers, figurines, stockings, and table centerpieces. Keep in mind that consumers will mostly likely buy your products around the holiday season, so time your marketing efforts accordingly.
27. Screen printing
Custom t-shirts, mugs, and posters are always in demand. If your passion is the design, outsource the production to a print-on-demand service. Print-on-demand services will relieve you of the need to store inventory, which can be costly, and will also ship your products directly to your customers. If you prefer to be hands-on with the entire printing process—and you have the budget—you can buy your own screen printing equipment to do everything yourself.
28. Lampshades
An artistic lampshade can freshen up even the most dated décor. Make your own lampshades with a kit (which you can find online for about $15), or buy premade shades and add upholstered, printed, embroidered, woven, felted or handpainted designs. Sell your work to interior designers or homeowners looking to add handcrafted elements to their space.
Tips for succeeding with an art business
- Understand your target audience
- Pick a pricing strategy
- Establish an online presence
- Develop an effective marketing strategy
- Engage your community
- Provide top-notch customer service
Once you’ve chosen a creative business idea, make sure your products and services are both high quality and consistent. Consider these tips to ensure your art business succeeds:
Understand your target audience
Defining your target market will help you focus your marketing strategies to reach a dedicated audience. To identify the target audience for your art business, ask yourself:
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Where would my art look at home?
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What purpose might my art serve (i.e., is it a gift or a design choice)?
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Who can afford my artwork?
Use the answers to find your niche. Let’s say you start an art business selling handmade jewelry. You live in a beach town and decide tourists are your target market. You might create jewelry with materials that evoke your specific area, like seashells and sea glass.
Pick a pricing strategy
To determine a price for your work, you’ll need to factor in the cost of your time. Do this by setting an hourly rate and keeping careful track of the time spent on projects. Add in the cost of materials to calculate your product price. Here’s a formula:
Number of hours worked x hourly wage + cost of materials = product price
Research competitors to ensure your prices are in the appropriate range. Keep in mind that if you have a highly technical skill set (like weaving complex rug designs on a loom), you can charge more.
Establish an online presence
Encourage conversions with a great website. Make sure the website design is visually compelling and has informative product descriptions with high-quality product photographs. You can also sell your artwork through marketplaces like Etsy and promote your work on social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram.
Remember that third-party sales channels will charge you a percentage of your sale prices.
Social media strategy and planning templates
Ready to get started with your social media strategy? These free, customizable templates give you tools to plan and execute a strategy that connects you with your target audience while keeping your content calendar organized.
Develop an effective marketing strategy
Invest time into developing a clear brand identity. Make conscious choices about color palette, typography, brand voice, and more, and use those elements across your marketing materials (print ad, email newsletter, social media). Consider aligning those branding elements with the style of your work. Create brand guidelines that define these elements and use it to design an online presence that reflects your identity.
Leverage social media marketing, and share educational content about your chosen medium. Consider posting about your personal artistic journey, which can help viewers build a personal connection with your art.
Engage your community
Digital advertising can be expensive, so consider partnering with local artists and craftsmen across different areas of the art industry to leverage word-of-mouth marketing. Participate in events like pop-up galleries and craft fairs to increase brand awareness.
Additionally, partnering with local artisans helps you tap into other markets (and vice versa). Working closely with another artist can also unlock your creativity.
Provide top-notch customer service
Even the best art business ideas can flop without customer trust. Encourage conversions with personalized, high-quality customer service.
Provide quick responses to customer questions and consider offering add-ons like personalization, handwritten notes, and expertise on supplementary art services like framing and installation.
Art business ideas FAQ
What business can I start with art?
You can start a range of businesses using your artistic skills, from pet portrait businesses to art consultancies to greeting card businesses. To determine the best art business for you, consider your skill set, art industry knowledge, and market demand.
What type of art is most profitable?
Many types of art can be profitable. Although original works of art fetch the highest prices, you can build a profitable business by selling serial items like prints, holiday decorations, and stationery.
What makes an art business successful?
A successful art business caters to a specific target market and establishes effective pricing and marketing strategies. Help your art business succeed by engaging with the art community and providing high-quality customer service.
