Changing canvases: agility has been crucial to the survival of Ed Marin's fine art business, whether changing its entire strategy, its location or simply getting something done fast. (Small Business).

WITH a recession taking hold a decade ago, Soicher-Marin Fine Art was getting slammed.

Its business slowing, the retail-oriented gallery that had once boasted Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and John Cassavetes as clients was forced to reinvent itself.

"Out of desperation, I started looking at where else can we put a picture," said President and Chief Executive Ed Marin.

Walking around a department store one day, he noticed paintings on display, but not for sale. Main soon became acquainted with the old Broadway's "visual presentation" department, and when the chain remodeled, Soicher-Marin got the gig. Later, the company landed Nordstrom and Robinsons-May.

Here was an untapped market, in offices and stores, where Soicher-Marin's art could be used as visual presentation. It's become the lifeblood of the Hawthorne-based business, driving a three-fold increase in revenues, to $6.5 million in 2002.

Need an oil painting for your corporate office? Soicher-Marin will commission it.

Want the same lithograph in every chain store? Soicher-Marin will source and reproduce the art using the latest digital imaging technology. The firm works mostly with dealers or directly with artists, and can bring in anything from a photograph to a framed mirror.

"He has everything together in one company. That's unique," said Mara Light, a Santa Monica figurative painter who produces fine and commercial art. "Ed has a very strong eye and a strong sense of design. He knows what the market likes."

Artistic evolution

An example of Soicher-Marin's agility: Just before Robinsons-May's 140,000-square-foot store was to open in Irvine, designers were in a bind. The artwork they had ordered didn't work once it was placed on the walls, said Laura Kirkpatrick, divisional vice president and creative director for visual merchandising for Robinsons-May.

"We had to make a last-minute decision to change 90 percent of the artwork originally planned," she recalled. "Soicher-Marin turned around a tremendous amount of artwork in just a few days."

Soicher-Marin opened in 1957 as Harry Soicher Corp., a custom frame shop on La Cienega Boulevard's Gallery Row. In 1960, Soicher hired Eduardo Mann, Ed's father, who arrived from Buenos Aires with only $100.

Main had owned a gallery in Argentina, and urged Soicher to expand the product line to include original oils, vintage prints and paintings. When Main was made a full partner in 1972, the company was renamed Soicher-Marmn and expanded into private-labels (developing furniture pieces, for example, to be sold under a client's name) and publishing (licensing and reproducing art). Soicher died in 1974, leaving the elder Main with full ownership.

"My dad was the logistics guy and Harry was the charmer," Main said.

The younger Mann joined the business in 1980 after a five-year career as a fine-art photographer and photographer's assistant. "I realized I was starving, so my dad invited me to join the business," he said.

In 1989, he stepped in to lead the company. His father still comes in two days a week as a consultant. His sister, Maria, handled inside sales for the company until 1992 when she became one of the firm's independent, multi-line representatives.

Future plans

Marin says he has no idea whether the business will continue to be a family affair. "My three boys are all going to (go to) college, unlike their dad," he said. "I encourage them to seek what makes their hearts happy."

He is more focused on growth than succession. "The magic number is to break the $10 million (revenue) mark," he said. While there are several lines of credit available, Main feels he can grow the business by managing costs and developing new lines.

He's already held down costs by moving to Hawthorne, where rents were about half what he was paying in Culver City. This enabled him to get four times the space to accommodate additional production and a gallery. Administrative offices also occupy the 50,000-square-foot facility.

Soicher-Marin plans to increase his presence in sectors other than retail. The company is already active in the hotel chain, home furnishing and interior design markets.

Landing Hirsch Bedner Associates, a top international hospitality design firm, helped Soicher-Marin recently gain access to Marriott International Inc., Peninsula Group, Regent/Four Seasons Group and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.

"Ed is the bridge between fine art and the mass market," said Brent Smith, brand general manager for Barbara Barry Inc., the Los Angeles-based design firm currently redecorating London's Savoy Hotel. Barry features 50 Soicher-Marin custom art pieces in its showrooms at any given time, each priced between $350 and $6,000.

"He really understands the business and the price points," Smith said. "We can buy anything from anywhere and we choose to buy from him."

RELATED ARTICLE: PROFILE

Soicher-Marin Fine Art

Year Founded: 1957

Core Business: Fine art consulting, custom framing, creative design and in-house publishing services

Revenues in 2002: $6.5 million

Revenues in 2003: $7 million (projected)

Employees in 2002: 47 full-time employees, plus 23 independent commissioned sales representatives

Employees in 2003: 52 full-time employees, plus 23 independent commissioned sales representatives

Goal: Become a $10 million company

Driving Force: Flexibility to meet the needs of constantly changing design tastes and a discerning customer base