This episode features Alex Foster, the owner and director of Caversham Picture Framer. Alex discusses his nearly ten-year journey in the industry, evolving from an art historian into a business owner focused on bridging the gap between academic art history and creative craftsmanship. He emphasises that successful business growth stems from embracing mistakes as learning opportunities and starting as early as possible to minimize life risks.

The conversation explores the expansion of his business beyond framing into the creation of the Caversham Print Club and an onsite gallery. Alex also explains his shift in measuring success: rather than focusing solely on immediate art sales, he prioritises growing a community through email newsletter sign-ups to keep customers in his ecosystem.

Finally, the discussion covers Alex's upcoming projects, including his major goal for 2026: opening a new gallery and retail space in Henley. He details his reliance on robust systems and processes to manage multiple locations and delegate tasks to his team. He concludes by encouraging listeners to join his newsletter to become part of a growing local arts community that offers everything from art classes to wine tastings.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Shift Your Success Metrics to Long-Term Assets: Instead of judging events or exhibitions solely by immediate sales, Alex redefined success as the number of new email addresses added to his newsletter. This "ecosystem" approach builds a community that drives sales months or years down the line.

Scale Through Systems and Delegation: To move from being a "craftsperson" to a business owner, Alex focuses on creating robust, repeatable processes. By setting up systems that allow staff in different locations to handle sales and administration, he frees himself to focus on high-level projects and expansion.

Don't Wait for "Perfect" Experience to Start: Alex advises starting a business as early as possible because "on the job" experience is the only way to truly learn. He emphasises that while you will inevitably make mistakes—such as his own "false start" with the Print Club—those errors are manageable as long as you learn and adapt your strategy.

TIME CODES

00:00 Welcome

00:32 Introduction to Alex

02:46 Alex's business advice to his younger self

04:27 Why Alex decided to start the Print Club and lessons learned

07:24 The creation of the galley in The Caversham Framer

08:27 Why Alex decided to start organising exhibitions

09:01 Identifying a measurement of success for the exhibitions

10:56 The importance of hiring marketing consultants to get input

12:42 How a frame changes the experience of a picture

14:56 Framing from an interior design perspective vs framing to enhance the artwork

15:39 How people are guided through the process of choosing a frame

17:04 Alex's role within his business

20:26 Alex's projects moving forwards

22:35 Why Alex is looking to establish a base in Henley

23:40 Alex's final thoughts