A Conversation About Life Regrets Leads To A Path Of Art

Miriam Traher is an abstract artist based in Middlesex County, Ontario. She started practicing and learning painting after a discussion with a friend on their 55th birthday. They asked themselves: “What would we regret that we haven’t tried?” For Miriam, painting was on that list. She had always wanted to paint since she was a young girl, but didn’t know how or where to start. She began taking lessons and found her passion. Miriam wants to share her story with as many people as possible and part of that process was getting her work online.

Miriam has channeled her creative spark in avenues such as children’s clothing, building her dream home, and gardening. However, something always drew her back to painting and she felt the need to be herself and express her thoughts through a canvas and some paint. She has also now extended her artistry into mixed media.

By nature, Miriam nurtures, using her hands to garden, grow, and create new patterns, shapes, and colours. She uses organic shapes in her paintings. Colours, movement, brush strokes, and mark-making is how Miriam tells her story and how she expresses her thoughts and feelings day by day. Sometimes, she ditches the brush and finds her hands smeared with paint, too impatient to pick up the brush.

The thought of creating a website to showcase her work was daunting to Miriam. She felt she needed the time to be practicing art, exploring, and growing as an artist. Miriam signed up for the ShopHERE Powered by Google program to help her build an eCommerce website and was incredibly grateful for the experience.

“I am not sure I would have found the time or patience to have learned and set this up myself.”

With the help of her eCommerce Coordinator, she has a website that she loves and doesn’t think she could have replicated on her own. She is up and running with an online presence and can pursue new business opportunities by having a website.

“Without this website I wouldn’t have a small business that would be visible. With COVID-19, artwork just wouldn’t be seen for a year or so. I didn’t know how to reach people to show them what it is I do and sell.”

Miriam was pleasantly surprised by her eCommerce Coordinator. When she signed up for the ShopHERE Powered by Google program, she was worried it’d be gimmicky with staff that had little knowledge or training. She found herself highly impressed with the work. Her eCommerce Coordinator listened to what she wanted and found creative solutions to make the website work better through iterations. Miriam got support in writing her about page, learning how to run the website on her own, and had all of her questions answered.

“The sheer time it would have taken me would have frustrated and discouraged me.” 

Miriam feels the ShopHERE program is a wonderful opportunity for new businesses to get online when their time is already fragmented trying to get products off the ground. She never felt rushed, but was kept on task with regular follow-ups from her coordinator. There were sections of the website that Miriam had to do on her own, but she knew she had her eCommerce Coordinator to help if any hurdles came up that she couldn’t resolve. 

As an artist, Miriam knows that sales are not instantaneous. Having an online presence allows Miriam to do promotions and contact galleries with online presences. With no brick-and-mortar public space, Miriam’s website gives her a space to direct people to when they express interest in her artwork.

Miriam’s advice to other business owners is to figure out how to remarket yourself. The internet and online sales are here to stay, so learn to do it and navigate the new world of eCommerce. Having an online storefront is a phenomenal opportunity and with the help of the ShopHERE program you get a website, a knowledgeable coordinator, and marketing training at no cost.

Check out Miriam’s abstract paintings on her website miriamtraher.square.site.

If you’re looking for help creating your own eCommerce website, you can sign up for the ShopHERE Powered by Google program here.