tillystudio.com

What tillystudio.com does

Tillystudio (tillystudio.com) is a sole proprietorship run by artist Tilly Strauss from a home studio on a maple sugar farm in Hudson Valley (Amenia), New York. The business sells original acrylic paintings across themed collections (Wolf Paintings, Lunar Collection, Tree Conversations, Nocturnal Highways, Whimsical Cakes), handcrafted ceramic Oracle Cups and mugs, self-published art history zines documenting overlooked female artists (the 'Who Is She?' and 'Artist's Artist' series), and related merchandise (magnets, stickers, prints via Pixels.com, books). It also offers a 6-week virtual Art Accountability Coaching workshop capped at 5–6 participants and priced at $150, plus custom painting commissions ($500–$800) negotiated via email.

The technology stack is a standard Squarespace e-commerce storefront for direct-to-consumer sales, supplemented by Pixels.com for print-on-demand fulfillment and a Squarespace-hosted blog/journal. Distribution is multi-channel: the DTC website, Substack newsletter, YouTube presentations (via the Inspiration Arts Group International channel), Instagram, craft fairs (e.g., Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn), and gallery exhibitions (Vassar Palmer Gallery, Noble Gallery, El Barrio's Artspace PS109). The unit economics are micro-scale: paintings priced $240–$1,200, zines $7–$12 (bundles $38), cups $35–$75, and coaching $150 per 6-week session held three times per year.

Revenue mechanics rely on individual art collectors, gift buyers, and workshop participants purchasing through the online store, with episodic institutional and municipal commissions (MetroNorth Railroad 2007, Miami Parking Authority 2017–2018) layered on top. The business has been featured in the New York Times and Barcelona Periodico, recognized by the Dutchess County Legislature with a Citation Award for the 'Who Is She?' project, and listed in Dutchess Magazine's 'On the Radar' for 2025. Tilly Strauss operates as the sole full-time operator, supported part-time by stated firmographic headcount of 5, and the business is self-funded with no external investment.

Name

tillystudio.com

Website

https://tillystudio.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tillystudio is a Hudson Valley, NY sole proprietorship run by artist Tilly Strauss that sells original paintings, self-published art history zines, ceramic Oracle Cups, and related merchandise via a Squarespace DTC storefront, while offering a 6-week virtual Art Accountability Coaching workshop for individual artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Original Fine Art

NAICS

Art Dealers (45992), Art Dealers (459920), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAGAA

Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Personal Enrichment & Hobby Learning (Arts, Crafts, Music, Cooking)

Keywords

• Original fine art
• Art history zines
• Ceramic art mugs
• Art coaching workshops
• Custom painting commissions

Headquarters

HQ city

Hudson Valley / Amenia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Original Art Sales: Sale of original paintings on paper and canvas, wood panel moon paintings, and whimsical cake/nature paintings. Prices range from $240 to $1,200 depending on size and series. Sold directly through the online store.
2. Art History Zines and Books: Sale of limited-edition, self-published full-color biographical zines focused on overlooked female artists (Who Is She? series), artist profiles, and a family autobiography book. Zines priced at $7–$12; bundles at $38.
3. Art Accountability Coaching: Six-week virtual group coaching workshop capped at 5–6 participants, priced at $150 per session. Held three times a year. Includes check-ins, artist presentations, mantras, and a 1:1 recap zoom.
4. Custom Commissions: Custom painting commissions on paper (11x14 or 9x12 inches). Single head: $500; two heads: $800. Customers contact via email to initiate.
5. Merchandise and Consumables: Sale of Oracle Cups and mugs ($35–$75), magnets ($3), stickers ($5), prints viaPixels.com, notecards, puzzles, calendars, and maple syrup gift sets. Some items feature artwork from Tilly's paintings.
6. Print-on-Demand: High-quality prints available on metal, wood, paper, and canvas via Pixels.com (external print shop linked from the store). Customers choose size and budget.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Tillystudio is a solo-run artist studio that sells original acrylic paintings across themed collections, handcrafted ceramic Oracle Cups, self-published art history zines about overlooked female artists, prints and small merchandise, and offers a six-week virtual art accountability coaching workshop. Sales are made primarily through a Squarespace e-commerce storefront with USA-only domestic shipping, supplemented by craft fairs, gallery exhibitions, and an external print-on-demand partner. The business also accepts custom painting commissions negotiated directly via email.

Product overview

Tillystudio.com is a personal artist e-commerce site selling original paintings, art history educational materials, and coaching services. The core offerings include original acrylic paintings across themed collections (Lunar Collection, Wolf Paintings, Tree Conversations, Nocturnal Highways, Whimsical Cakes), handcrafted Oracle Cups with inspirational messages, and self-published art history zines documenting overlooked artists (the 'Who is She?' series and 'Artist's Artist' series). Additional products include stickers, magnets, books, and print-on-demand items. The site also offers an Art Accountability Coaching service—a 6-week virtual workshop—and custom painting commissions. Products are sold through a Squarespace e-commerce platform with payment plan options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wolf Paintings Original acrylic paintings on paper featuring wolf themes depicting community, family, and strength, priced at $1,000 each. Sold to individual art collectors and gift buyers.
• Lunar Collection Original moon-phase paintings on wood panels in acrylic, sealed with archival UVA varnish, each accompanied by a meditative phrase on the back, priced at $250 each. Sold to art collectors and gift buyers.
• Tree Conversations Original acrylic paintings on wood featuring trees and nature themes, some incorporating poetry or meditative text. Sold to art collectors.
• Nocturnal Highways Large acrylic paintings on canvas depicting nighttime highway scenes and overlapping roads from the artist's Miami and return-to-farm periods, priced from $240 to $1,200 depending on size. Sold to art collectors.
• Whimsical Cakes Fantastical acrylic paintings on paper featuring whimsical cake, dessert, and confectionery scenes, priced from $350 to $400. Sold to art collectors and gift buyers.
• Oracle Cups Ceramic mugs and soup cups with custom messages painted in the bottom, designed as meaningful gifts with familial and motivational themes. Food and dishwasher safe, priced at $35-$75. Produced with kiln support from the Wassaic Project.
• Art History Zines Self-published full-color illustrated biographical zines about overlooked artists, including the 'Who Is She?' series focused on female artists and the 'Artist's Artist' series. Priced at $7-$12 each.
• Zine Bundles Curated multi-zine bundles such as the Adventure Bundle and Resilience Bundle that group three art history zines together, priced at $38.
• Art Accountability Coaching A six-week virtual group accountability workshop for artists aged 16+, capped at 5-6 participants per session and held three times a year. Includes weekly Zoom check-ins, creative mantras, artist presentations, group support, and a 20-minute 1:1 zoom recap. Priced at $150. Over 60 artists coached since launch.
• Custom Painting Commissions Custom painted works commissioned to customer specifications in 11x14 or 9x12 sizes on paper, priced at $500 for a single head and $800 for two heads. Customers initiate via email.
• Print-on-Demand Products High-quality reproductions of Tilly's artwork on metal, wood, paper, canvas, notecards, beach towels, mugs, tote bags, and puzzles, fulfilled externally through Pixels.com where customers choose size and budget.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60 artists coached since 2021, with many repeating for 2–3 workshops
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Inspiration Arts Group InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Tilly collaborates with Inspiration Arts Group International (IAGI) on monthly YouTube live presentations featuring overlooked female artists from her 'Who Is She?' zine series. IAGI, led by Bibiana H. Matheis, provides the platform and promotional support for these free 30-minute talks. The partnership has been ongoing since February 2023 and is central to Tilly's educational mission. A Special Citation from the Dutchess County Executive Arts Awards specifically referenced this collaboration as part of the recognition.
• Audubon NYminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Home Farm maple forest ('sugar bush') partners with Audubon NY during the off-season to protect songbird habitat. This is a seasonal environmental stewardship partnership that also influences Tilly's artistic subjects, as her painting series shifted from individual trees to bird species based on observations made during these habitat walks.
• Vassar College (Palmer Gallery)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTilly exhibited her work alongside partner Michael Gellatly at Vassar College's Palmer Gallery in a two-person show called 'Osmosis Experience' (September 2023). Curated by Amy Manso and Ed Cheetham. Upcoming show 'Address Earth: Art books in a Suitcase' scheduled for June 23–26, 2026 at the Vassar Lehman Loeb Museum.
• Iowa Writers CollaborativeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTilly is a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative on Substack, a community of writers that cross-promotes each other's work. This membership supports her Substack newsletter and extends her reach to a broader community of readers and writers.
• The Wassaic Project (Eve Biddle)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEve Biddle at the Wassaic Project provided kiln access and ceramic firing services for Tilly's Oracle Cup collection — a critical production partnership that enabled the creation of usable, food-safe ceramic pieces. This collaboration was essential for developing the Oracle Cup product line.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• 1stDibs: Online marketplace for high-end art, antiques, and luxury goods from galleries and dealers worldwide. Comparable because 1stDibs operates in the same online-art-collector channel as Tillystudio, but at significantly higher price points and with gallery/dealer intermediaries rather than solo artists.

Direct peers

• Society6: Print-on-demand and curated marketplace platform for independent artists to sell art prints, home goods, and apparel. Comparable because Tillystudio uses a similar POD mechanic (Pixels.com) for prints, mugs, and merchandise, competing with Society6 artists in the same buyer consideration set.
• Fine Art America: Print-on-demand art marketplace where independent artists sell prints, paintings, and merchandise. Comparable because Fine Art America operates the same POD infrastructure category as Pixels.com (Tilly's POD partner), serving an overlapping artist and buyer base.
• Artfinder: Online marketplace for original art from independent artists worldwide. Comparable because both Tillystudio and Artfinder operate in the independent-artist-to-collector channel, relying on storytelling, curation, and artist profile pages to differentiate commodity-like original art.
• Saatchi Art: Online art marketplace that connects independent artists directly with collectors for original works. Comparable because Tillystudio sells original paintings via its own storefront in the same way Saatchi Art enables independent artists to reach buyers, competing for the same collector attention.
• Artsy: Online art marketplace and editorial platform covering fine art auctions, galleries, and independent artists. Comparable because Artsy combines art sales with educational editorial content — the same hybrid model Tillystudio pursues through paintings plus zines and YouTube presentations.
• Redbubble: Global print-on-demand marketplace for independent artists selling art on apparel, stickers, prints, and home goods. Comparable because Redbubble competes directly with Tillystudio's Pixels.com POD line for buyers of artist-designed prints, stickers, magnets, and merchandise.
• Etsy: Marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique goods from independent creators. Comparable because Etsy is the dominant marketplace where similar small-batch creators sell zines, original art, ceramics, and merchandise — directly overlapping with Tillystudio's product mix and customer base.
• Pomegranate Communications: Publisher of art books, calendars, prints, and educational materials focused on fine art and artists. Comparable because Pomegranate publishes the kind of curated art-history content (books, calendars, prints) that competes for the same gift-and-collector dollars as Tillystudio's zines, prints, and calendars.
• The Other Art Fair: Direct-to-consumer art fair presenting independent artists to collectors across multiple cities. Comparable because Tillystudio's gallery exhibitions and craft fair presence (ArtEast Dutchess, Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn) operate the same DTC art fair model at a regional scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@inspirationartgroupintl
• Instagraminstagram.com/tillystrauss
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tillystudio.com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about tillystudio.com