Can I gloat? Just for a few minutes?!? Please? No, seriously, I recently received a long letter and a series of photos that really just “nails it” as to what I have tried to create and achieve for the decorative finishing and design communities as an artist/entrepreneur, and through our 6 year old company Modello Designs. The letter came the other day from Mia Pratt, principal of Old Pratt Studios….

“As the founder of Old Pratt Studios, an artistic services guild located in Scottsdale, Arizona, I have spent the past decade offering various artistic services to a unique local client base. Having delivered everything from production glazing to large-scale murals on canvas, I can identify two key factors contributing to increased profits and expanded market share for my business in the past few years: targeted marketing investments, and the ‘Melanie Royals factor’.”

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“Much of our current success in the artistic services arena is the result of expanding our use of the Melanie Royals product and service offerings through her companies, Modello Designs and Royal Design Studio, as part of our survival and growth strategy.”

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“Many local competitors can glaze walls, but few can compete with our more exotic creations. Many of these creations are dependent upon the production capabilities that Modello Designs provides to us for creating large-scale stencils and elaborate, multi-layered designs for our most challenging projects.”

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“Until a few years ago I only offered original art and hand-painted design motifs to our clients, because I viewed stencils as something reserved for use by non-artists. But as the demand for larger-scale projects increased, it became apparent that we were not taking advantage of the most up-to-date design, production and application tools available – and that was costing us profits. ”

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“At first we only placed small orders for border stencils we used in our model-home projects, but once we discovered the benefits of the Modello decorative masking method, we quickly realized its potential value. The artistic possibilities were endless! I had to correct my former limiting opinion of the role stencils could play in our studio, and re-define our service offering.”

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“We now consider Melanie Royals’ Modello Designs studio as an outsourced extension of our own art studio, and we consult with her design and production team as a routine part of business. We forward our design concepts to them based on sketches, photos, tile or fabric samples, and the team responds with detailed black-and-white graphic representations of how those concepts translate into finished designs. We then use those graphics as visuals for our client presentations, helping us close the sale. ” 

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“This design and production expertise has not only allowed us to expand our capabilities in decorative art, but has also enhanced our capabilities in the large-scale murals arena. In addition to offering original fine-art murals on canvas, we now create contemporary murals using a variety of stencil overlays and design components, including lettering and logos for commercial projects.”

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“This is a tough time to be supporting ourselves as artists, but I believe the key to success in times of challenge is not to look at what has been lost to us, but to instead dig deeper within ourselves to discover what it is we have not yet found. When we do this, we push beyond our current limitations into the realm of who we are becoming, and our world changes to accommodate that new person. In that moment of transformation, whatever limitations existed in the past cease to exist and our world becomes a reflection of who we are right now, in the present – the realm in which all things are possible and our creativity flows freely into the world.”

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“I just have to look at who we are and what we create as a community of artists, to remember that artists of all kinds have been at the forefront of societal transformation since the beginning of time. I never forget that we are continually teaching each other, serving each other and creating opportunity for each other, every time one of us is inspired by another’s beautiful work.”

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“One of the ways Melanie has served our community is by providing a wonderful resource to help us create things we couldn’t possible create alone; hers is that magical paint-box of exciting tools and new ideas we can use to redefine our businesses and create a more prosperous tomorrow. This represents an important contribution to our community, by one of its most talented entrepreneurs. Thanks, Melanie!” -Mia Pratt

Thank YOU Mia!!! For your lovely words and even lovelier work! We basically “exist” to provide this service to the design community and your appreciation is sweet music to our ears!

5 Responses to “Old Pratt Studios of Scottsdale”

  1. Heather Says:

    Wow, the work she is showing is really quite beautiful! Nice job everyone.

  2. Fauxology Says:

    Wow! Gorgeous work! …and what an amazing letter — it really sums up how we all feel about you, your products and your continual inspiration. I’m so glad Ms. Pratt sent it along to you. It’s good to show our appreciation in such a positive manner.

  3. JulieArt Says:

    Mia Pratt’s work is fabulous and her words hit home to all artists who would like to contribute to making the world a better place. Kudos to you Melanie for inspiring so many talented folks! You truly do make a difference!

  4. Renee Says:

    Stunning!!!!!!!! Melanie, I so agree with Julie because you do inspire so many people with your energy, talent and your willingness to share. You should gloat…lol

  5. Melanie Says:

    You girls are making me blush! Thanks for all the sweet sentiments….

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