In
this interview, we got the chance to sit down and interview the humble
co-founders of Pencils n Brushes and the Hive Academy. Meet Ayokanmi and Tolu Binutu,
creative artists with shockingly non-art related backgrounds. Ayokanmi is an
economist and Tolu is a medical doctor. It is amazing to see that they kept
their artistic skills sharpened enough to open a creative startup while also
sharing their knowledge from their business experiences in Nigeria with their
students at the Hive Academy. They were inspired by the famous Disney brothers namely Walt who was a
cartoonist and Roy was a naval officer with the US Navy as kids. Enjoy the
thought provoking conversation on the Nigerian art scene and doing business in
it below:
Ayokanmi Binutu and Tolu Binutu
Photo Credit: The Hive Academy
DMSB: Kindly tell us a bit about yourselves and your background.
PnB: Hi. I’m Tolu and my brother over here
is Kanmi. We are visual artists and are the founders of Pencils n Brushes
Artworks (www.pnbartworks.com.ng)
and The Hive academy. Art has always come naturally to us, but the idea of
starting an art and Design Company came to us in 2010. At that point, i was in
medical school (training to become a Doctor). I’d advertise art to my friends
who wanted to woo babes and tell them that i could get a portrait done, a
portrait that would tilt the scales in their favour. Then I’ll give the
contract to Kanmi to do because med school didn’t give me enough time to draw.
That’s how we started.
DMSB: What inspired starting up your creative venture?
PnB: We started Pencils n Brushes artworks
and The Hive for two purposes only. The first was to beautify the world with
the most spectacular visual art and design to be made by Man. You see, Art and
Design are very remarkable, in that they are tools that can be used to
communicate and to entertain in a way that no other tool could. They go beyond
portraiture and fan art. They are our default means of expression, a way that
our befuddled minds try to make sense of the world we live in and the world we
carry in our minds. That’s why as kids, we all loved art. We all wanted to
draw, paint, mold, carve, trace, you name it.
The second reason we had for starting
was to correct the negative stereotype attached to visual art and artists. Art
currently isn’t regarded by many as a valid profession. At best, it’s seen as a
talent, a hobby for the less intelligent or the bored. The worst part is that
many artists and designers have come to see themselves and their craft in this
negative light. We want to correct this issue and let everyone, starting with
the artists and designers themselves, and see that their abilities are valid
and necessary. That the world needs what we have to offer because they can
create beauty out of nothing.
DMSB: When was it founded?
PnB: Pencils n Brushes artworks started in
2010. The Hive started in 2014.
DMSB: Brief describe your journey as entrepreneurs in the not so
always business friendly clime of Nigeria since 2010.
PnB: To be honest, we have failed a lot
while gathering remarkable successes along the way. Initially, we struggled
with the notion that a lot of Nigerians do not see art and design as a product
that should be paid for. To them, our being able to create was a talent and as
such, shouldn’t be paid for. To God be the glory, we don’t get a lot of those
anymore. Then there was the issue of hiring the wrong people. That gave us a
bit of a headache too.
A Coloured Portrait of Jon Snow from
Game of Thrones in Native African Attire of the Yoruba Tribe of South-West
Nigeria Called “Agbada” Rocking a Bead Necklace with a Fur Coat
Photo Credit: Pencils n Brushes
Artworks
DMSB: PnB Artworks offers a diverse range of services. Please kindly
take us through what is offered.
PnB: OK, this should be fun! (Chuckles).
Like I said earlier, our products and services either pass a message across or
they entertain. In the category of products and services that communicate, we
have pencil art, paintings, digital art and visual communication (Logo design
and corporate identity).
As for entertainment, there is a
package we introduced last year called “A Pencils n Brushes
Artworks Event”. It’s for events like birthdays and weddings.
The products and services in this category are Live paintings (where we paint
things happening live at an event), Live sketches (we draw people and places at
events), Designs (we design Invitation cards, banners, table top cards,
caricature guest boards etc.) and Glitter paintings. The glitter paintings are
awesome man, you should see them!
DMSB: Running a business with family is usually dreaded but you two
make it look so easy. What is the secret behind this?
PnB: (Laughs) It isn’t easy. Running a
business with a partner isn’t easy. That said, i think it helps that I’m in
business with my brother. Plus, we live together right now, so we discuss ideas
that come to us at odd hours of the day. As long as we both continue to have a
strong desire to grow the business, i think we will be fine.
DMSB: Speed paintings at wedding events and creating silhouettes with
glitter is considered intricate and dicey. How did you discover a market for
it?
PnB: I love this question. OK, so at a
point, we wanted to create a product especially for live performances. This was
before we developed “A PnB Event”. We did our research and found out that, with
sufficient practice and such trade secrets; we could speed up the process of
creating live art at events and do them in minutes. We introduced these
products into the entertainment sector in the latter part of 2015 and it has
grown in leaps and bounds since then.
DMSB: A campaign for the Hive Academy is currently online on Facebook
and Instagram. What necessitated giving the training service more visibility
with an identity of its own?
PnB: A lot of artists and designers do not
know what they have and as such, abuse is inevitable. An artist does an artwork
of a celebrity, gives it to the celebrity for free and without the celebrity
asking for it, then the artist goes on social media and thanks the celebrity
for giving him the honour of accepting the artwork. You see, this is an example
of abuse that results from a poor knowledge of the potential he/she possesses. Art and design are exhaustible. We haven’t
even begun to scratch the surface. And yet, it seems we have made the least
progress of all the sectors.
The Hive looks to correct this and
many more mistakes in our interaction with clients, while also helping creative
people make a living out of their crafts. The Hive is a school for artists and
designers. Currently, we run courses in Pencil art and Visual communication.
Live Painting Commission at a
Nigerian Wedding Event
Photo Credit: BellaNaija/Pencils
n Brushes Artworks
DMSB: You just finished with the 1st batch of students for
2017. We see they are also part of the current campaign. What was your
experience with them?
PnB: The last batch of students was a very
interesting one. We had lots of fun with them. They were very talented and
creative too. We learned a lot from them. Many of them had issues with the
fundamentals of visual art and it had limited their progress. In the end, they
each discovered their weaknesses and worked to get better at them.
They embodied the spirit of The Hive:
An energetic set of people who aren’t afraid to push their limits and have fun
while doing so.
DMSB: Most Nigerian artists are
not so business savvy. How do you address this problem at the Hive?
PnB: The one thing
that people want is Freedom. Freedom to experiment, freedom to travel, meet new
people, do what they really want to do. Money plays an important role in this,
because money gives you the opportunity and the means to explore. To me, that
is one of the reasons why every Artist should make money doing what they love
to do. At the Hive, we explore ways to be profitable, how to make money and
what to do to multiply this money once it is made. Money is important, very
important. That is why we must learn how to make more of it, legally.
