Old Girls News

Megan Anderson (’86) worked as a journalist for more than two decades before making a career shift into illustration six years ago. Her love affair with dogs was simmering away in the background, and when she turned her hand to painting, it was canines – and their people – that grabbed her attention. From here, her online print shop, Hangdog Art, was born!

Tell us about your business and how it began. 

Hangdog is an online shop selling fine art prints by me, as well as some merchandise featuring my dog-themed designs. Select retail outlets around Australia also stock Hangdog cards and artworks.

Hangdog began when I was looking for a career shift. I’d been working as a journalist for a couple of decades, writing about all kinds of people doing interesting things with their lives. I fancied doing something stimulating and fun, with a flexible lifestyle. I’d never run a business and to be honest I never really meant to start one. However, I got hooked on the process of creating new products and putting them out into the world via the wizardry of modern technology. Suddenly, I had a business.

What was your biggest break getting into this business? 

Probably a random conversation on the dog beach one morning. A local gallery owner told me an artist had cancelled at short notice. She knew I’d been dabbling with some painting, and asked if I had any artwork I’d like to hang in the gallery rather than have it sit empty. I’d just left my job as Editor of Scoop magazine so I didn’t have anything suitable for a solo exhibition, but I did have a bit of time on my hands. So I put together the world’s quickest collection of ink drawings – about 30 of them, all of dogs. When it opened to the public, they all sold. Dog people came to the gallery and chuckled over the wry titles, and tried to identify their own pooches in the wonky faces. It was a bit of a gift, being reminded of how many people are dotty about dogs, and how much they make people smile. I realised that was the kind of business I’d like to be in - one that makes people smile.

What makes your business special, unique, or different? 

It’s a business hinged on emotional connection – dog lovers just get it. I don’t do typical dog portraits. My work is all about character and essence, rather than anything photo-real. I’m all about the feelings that dogs evoke and what we project onto them.

I paint on a digital platform, so all my artworks are prints. I’m a bit old school about quality, so I have them professionally printed with archival quality inks on beautiful paper. I don’t produce masses of any one design, because I want buyers to feel they’re getting something special.

Because of my writing background, words are a really big part of the offering. The titles are brief but they’re often the thing that seals the deal for people. I’ve expanded on that with my new book, Word of Dog, which features interviews with the dogs. As an exercise in creative writing that also flexed my journalism muscles; it was a bunch of fun to put together. I also have a blog that dabbles in similar territory. You can take the journalist out of the news room but you can’t stop her from penning stories and drawing dogs in the margins of her notepad.

What is the best business advice you have ever been given?

Don’t race to the bottom! A clever marketing person reminded me that a business doesn’t need to please everybody - it just needs to find its tribe and serve them well. It’s been helpful to remember that when feeling overwhelmed by all the great businesses out there, especially the ones with the enormous reach and the economies of scale. Staying niche and nimble and true to the vision feels about right. I think people appreciate a quality product with a personal, made-local touch, and one that isn’t everywhere you look. World domination can wait.

To learn more about Hangdog Art please contact Megan via Facebook, web or email.

Meg’s new book, Word of Dog, is available to purchase from Fremantle Press, click here.

Each month on the Old Girls' Facebook page we feature an Old Girls' business so you can find out about the great products and services offered by familiar faces. As part of this, we delve a little further and ask our Old Girls to answer some questions relating to their businesses and how they got started. If you would like to be included, please contact us at oga@stmarys.wa.edu.au with your business details so we can add you to our features list. If you are a customer or friend of an Old Girl with a great business that we should know about, please send us the information.