KERRY GOLD
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Published on Monday, May. 05, 2008 2:08PM EDT Last updated on Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 3:38PM EDT
- Founder and president, Farmboy Fine Arts Inc., Vancouver
Todd Towers credits his upbringing on a ranch outside Red Deer, Alta., for his success as founding owner of Farmboy Fine Arts. His Alberta roots run deep: the Towers family has owned the ranch for 100 years, and his grandfather, Gordon, was a long-serving MP in the 1970s and lieutenant-governor of the province in the '90s.
Todd, who moved his business to Vancouver to be closer to international markets, credits his father for his own business drive: "I think my dad's an artist. He grew up on a cattle ranch and is very creative, the way they do things. So having that entrepreneurial spirit, I always thought I could make a go of it in the fine arts."
His eight-year-old company develops site-specific art for corporate environments, including internationally owned hotels such as Starwood, Trump, Hyatt, Caesar's Palace, MGM and Wynn.
Mr. Towers, who is engaged to Jasmine Kamel, graduated with a degee in fine arts from University of Calgary in 1996 and converted a warehouse space into a gallery. He worked at odd jobs(model, actor, building doorman) while building his art-making career.
A light bulb went off when he realized there was a niche in the hospitality market for customized artwork. "When I started the gallery space, you could only make as much money as you could make with your own two hands. You sell one piece in a private residence," he explains, "but in a hotel environment you multiply that times 500."
A year after he started Farmboy, the company suffered a setback because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Not much was happening in my industry; people weren't buying art and they certainly weren't staying in hotels."
He rebounded when he was awarded a six-figure contract with luxury hotel chain W Hotels. Today, Farmboy, which emphasizes technology and an online presence in its business plan, licenses work by more than 150 photographers, artists and illustrators.
The company has grown to a staff of 16 and Mr. Towers, who also sits on the foundation board of Vancouver's Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, has two active business partners.
Farmboy is now broadening its reach and negotiating a deal for a line of home décor products, he says. "As my dad always said, I would rather have 10 per cent of something rather than 100 per cent of nothing."
Special to The Globe and Mail
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