Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Pru & Brooke Nelson.
Brooke Nelson and Rachel Pru created Curate Art Group in their 20s; over six years ago, it started as an idea and a meeting every week; they both loved the arts from a young age. They desired that all their projects showcase meaningful art, story-telling pieces by local and emerging artists. As expected, there were many ups and downs in the beginning and was easy to lose faith at times. Many mentors in their first office (FOCUS Innovation Studies) and in the WBENC (Women Business Enterprise National Council), along with support of family and friends. Their partnership also held the company together. The biggest lesson was learning to have faith in the process and in ourselves. They met weekly with other entrepreneurs and were fueled by the inspiring stories and belief in them. Now six years later, they’ve hired full-time employees, are a preferred vendor for Fortune 500 companies such as MGM International, Starbucks, and Federal Home Loan Bank.
Brooke studied art for over ten years, consulting for the largest names in the country including: Wells Fargo, iHeartRadio, Farmers Insurance, and many other clients in hospitality, corporate, media, healthcare, and celebrity residential. She flourished in a major art-and-fashion gallery in Santa Monica, excelled in the diverse market of Los Angeles and San Francisco with Kevin Barry Fine Art, and now directs her own firm. Brooke’s world-class taste and sophisticated use of space reflect her extensive travel and mastery of all genres — from the classics to contemporary and new inventions.
Rachel began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers auditing financials for SaaS, VC, manufacturing, and non-profit companies; she transitioned to big data analysis for One Kings Lane and then moved to Salesforce in data and project management roles. She’s worked in the art realm for the Emmy-winning foundation, Advancing Women Artists, in Florence, Italy; there she studied the classic periods and created Wikipedia articles to increase awareness on many unrecognized female artists. She is also a published writer and photographer; Haute Living has featured her work.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As young entrepreneurs, for us the biggest struggles were mental! We also didn’t know a lot of people in our industry, and had to make friends! There’d be many days where we’d call each other crying. We slowly learned how to become comfortable with the uncomfortable and with the unknown. Now, it feels like second nature. We also had to learn how to get our own healthcare, which seemed so foreign! But now that’s also easy.
Learning sales was also interesting; we asked 30-50 people to watch our presentation, including people in our industry, people in finance, people with backgrounds in acting and stage presence and practiced it constantly. We both love learning. and grew a lot.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We specialize in making meaningful artwork for hospitality, banking, healthcare, and other commercial! We make art in all mediums and love working with emerging artists. For each of our projects, we present local artists to our clients. For example, we’re working on a hotel in the Bahamas, and we found local painters, graphic artists, and basket weavers to create custom pieces for the hotel.
For the Omni Downtown Austin, we worked with other local artists such as Tom Jean Webb for the elevator landings and commissioned UT students for unique originals and sculptures for the suites.
For healthcare, we loving using the science behind colors and art to improve the patient and employee experience in places such as hospitals and senior living.
We also use sustainable materials and have written articles on Sustainable Art. We partner with One Tree Planted to plant 1-20 trees per project, depending on the size.
As a certified-women-owned business, we celebrate diversity of all kinds! We add at least 20 diverse artists to our portfolio each year and include diverse artists in every art package.
We also believe in the power of kindness and lead with compassion for our artists, clients, employees, and all we encounter.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Our parents are huge supporters! Our mentors at our first co-coworking space helped us a lot! Jessica Baker here in Austin is a huge support with learning marketing, content, etc.! She owns Glass Staircase and is a force! WBENC (Women Business Enterprise National Counsel) has been such a huge source of support, and we recommend all women-owned businesses selling to Fortune 500s to join. Our family and friends are so lovely!
Contact Info:
- Email: brooke@curateartgroup.com
- Website: curateartgroup.com
- Instagram: CurateArtGroup
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFlXP-cxklpOOqTtkyRzBBg
