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| INTERVIEW | Sunday, 19 August 2007 Home is where the art is… “Sistina Art is my life but I have managed to find a balance.”
Louise La Rosa is a hands-on kind of person, and believes success in a business is when a person is present and aware of everything occurring in the shop. I ask her what her role is within the shop, and she tells me she does everything from ordering new stock to pricing to keeping the shop in order. “My office is located within the shop itself so I can continuously keep my eye on everything that is happening. I like to know I am in control of the shop.” We sit in her office as customers and suppliers come and go. It is a busy morning and Louise has a constant eye on everything throughout our meeting, having to leave every now and again to make sure everything is in order in her bustling business. “Sistina Art was initially my father’s idea. This shop originally belonged to my uncle,” Louise continues, “He used to run a duty free tobacconist shop. Sistina Art Ltd started off as a very small art shop with very little stock and I started working here when I was 20 in 1985.” She did not choose the name herself but was told that the word “sistina” means six and they are six shareholders in total. So the name represents her mother, brothers and Louise. “It was funny because they used to think my name was Sistina so they would walk in and call me Sistina. Sistina Art Limited is a registered name now so no other business can use it. After all this time, it is not worth losing it all because someone else decides to use our name.” Louise adds that she made it a point to “always satisfy the least demand.” If someone came to the shop to buy something they did not have in stock, her mother would buy the item from another shop. “Whatever the price we paid for it, the client would pay the same amount. The idea was to always satisfy the client’s request.” “I enjoy my work, because it is challenging. We are always expected to reach a certain amount of sales, which is not easy, but that is what makes it challenging. It is not boring and there is never a dull moment in here. We always have something we have to do. One always has to invent new things, otherwise there is a tendency to get stuck in a rut and customers can become bored of seeing the same thing.” She never considered herself as a career woman but circumstances changed that. At 20 she says she was naïve, but feels the shop has changed her in quite a big way. “My plan at 20 was to meet someone, marry, have children and become the traditional housewife. In a way I became part of the shop because I have spent half of my life here.” I ask her how much time she has invested in the shop and she replies, “A lot of time is invested into the shop but I try not to exaggerate. I am definitely not a workaholic and work never goes home with me. I come to the shop and do my best but I will not lose sleep over any problems that happen here. I am happy to be here and I have no plans to expand. This is quite enough for me.” Since the shop is a family-run affair, I am curious to know whether she has any children and if she plans to pass the shop down. I am told she only has one 13-year-old son and so is still young. “I encourage him to study. I do not want to give him a reason to slack at school and think he can fall back on the business. I want him to study and have a career. In today’s world, education and qualifications are very important.” Louise says competition is strong in Malta and they are continuously being compared to other art shops. “You constantly have to be on your toes and aware of your competitors, which makes your shop better and better. If there were no competitors, there would be no incentive. It is the competitive gene in human beings.” “One memory that stands out is when we pulled the shop down,” she says when I ask her about her most memorable experience since working at the shop. They had another smaller shop in the Plaza Shopping Centre but preferred to invest in one big shop. “I remember being on the roof and dropping the first stone. Watching the whole shop come down was quite an experience. Nothing remained of the whole building. All one could see was a hole which was below sea level.” The shop has been as it is today for five years and is much bigger than before. They now have a gallery and art lessons are given upstairs by various artists. Jeni Caruana is currently one of them. Louise tells me she used to paint herself and was encouraged to paint using watercolours by her father who always painted using watercolours. Time constraints and responsibilities restrict her from painting as often but she says, “I do tend to find time to splash paint around every now and again. As a child I used to go to private art lessons with a nun from the school I attended. She taught me how to mix colours and I can still remember everything she taught me. I still remember the smell of oils in her studio. It is a distinct smell which I love and will never forget.” Knowledge of the various products in the shop is valuable according to Louise and finds that the number of courses she has done, including a course for an architecture assistant and interior design, help to a great extent since, “People expect you to know a certain amount about the products sold in your shop.” When asked about the local contemporary art scene she replies: “There is a lot of variety and most artists are very talented.” She shows me a few cards with paintings printed on them. “James Vella Clark is currently one of my favourites. I am not a big fan of abstract art although I can be swayed if I like the colours used. I have a more traditional taste I must admit but I love bright and bold colours.” Finally I ask Louise what it is she does when she has had a stressful day at work and needs to unwind. She replies, “I either go out or I talk to my cat, Cookie. I can understand what he is thinking and I believe he can understand me. He is another family member and I sometimes forget he is a cat. On one occasion I even bought him a cinema ticket!”
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