Her Biz May 2021 Winner
Anois Art receives Her Biz prize for the launch of online art platform supporting female and non-binary artists.
Dee Haughney, Owner Anois Art
Dee Haughney, founder of Anois Art has won £500 from the Her Biz start-up programme after completing the free Ready for Business workshops for inspiring entrepreneurs, giving her a head start on her business launch.
Anois Art is an accessible and inclusive online platform to purchase the best and latest contemporary art, supporting female and non-binary artists to reach their potential and receive the true value for their creativity at fair rates for both the artist and the customer. Anois Art also offers a friendly consulting service to advise and help you ethically invest in art.
Founder Dee Haughney has worked with contemporary, international, and local arts for the last decade. After studying for a BA (Hons) in Photography, an MA in Curatorial Practice, and completing short courses in Contemporary Asian Art, and Creative Leadership at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, she has worked with Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall, The Photographers’ Gallery, and October Gallery, London, curating and managing exhibitions and international art fairs.
Work by Anois Artist, Georgie Fay
As she investigated the gallery scene, she noticed a gap in the art market for a service, and a space, that not only helps users to fill their homes with unique and affordable art pieces, but also closes the gender gap. Giving female and non-binary artists an outlet to sell their contemporary art, she knew she could make an demonstratable impact and give artists’ a voice as audiences seek more authentic perspectives. From this discovery Anois (a - nish) Art was born.
Anois comes from the Irish (Gaeilge) word for ‘now’, which eloquently emphasises Dee’s passion for the necessity of a service such as hers.
“Anois Art solves our customers need to make their house a home. A need to create a space that is truly theirs, an individual statement of their personality. A space they are proud to share on social media and on zoom meetings. Instead of having to find and contact artists directly, Anois Art makes filling their wall and home easy and accessible.”
To help Dee develop her business plan and take the next steps, she attended the Let’s Do Business Group’s Start Up Programme, ‘Ready for Business’. ‘Ready for Business’ is a series of free workshops tailored to help anyone thinking about starting a business in Hastings, Bexhill and Sidley. Packed with expert advice about topics such as branding, marketing and finance, the course gives you all the knowledge and tools you might need to successfully start your business. By completing the programme, Dee was eligible to enter into the ‘Her Biz’ business plan competition to win £500 towards her start-up costs. The ‘Her Biz’ programme, run in partnership with NatWest Bank, is a programme geared especially for female entrepreneurs across East Sussex and Kent providing business knowledge, skills and confidence through a series of workshops.
“Let’s Do Business Group is an incredible support system for anyone running or starting their own business in the area. I was lucky enough to get a place on their ‘Ready for Business’ which was the best kick start and support I needed to start my own business. The whole course was so well designed and brilliantly run, that I don’t know how I would have been able to make my dream possible without them! Forever grateful. Look no further for your business needs.”
Now ready to put her ideas into action, Dee has launched her website, www.anoisart.co.uk. and has begun her journey of bringing artists and consumers together in a safe, inclusive space.
Her plans include helping and representing a small selection of artists, exhibiting their work to avid art buyers who have signed up to a ‘first look’ monthly subscription service for new art to the market. Supporting the buyers and artists, Anois Art will also run an advisory service on what artwork will work best in your available space. She has already made fantastic progress, along with some excellent connections with local shippers, she has made inroads with local framers and art space to provide a seamless experience to her customers. We wish her all the best for the future.
Anois Artist, Patti Endo, in her Nairobi Studio
“ It was a pleasure to get to know Dee over the course of the workshops and it was apparent that she is passionate about her business idea and has a very clear idea of how the business will work. We were really impressed with the quality of her business plan in which she has thought of all the required aspects to demonstrate a viable business model.”