How Else Gullestad turned a proven experience into a launched venture — with fully booked pilot sessions and a new studio opening in August at Holtet
By the time Else reached out, she'd already proved the most important thing. She'd been hosting painting sessions for friends and colleagues — people with no artistic background at all — and something kept happening: they walked in hesitant and walked out having made something they were proud of, already asking when the next one was.
It wasn't just about learning to paint. People left feeling more capable than when they'd arrived. That's a different thing — and a harder one to manufacture.
The idea of turning that into a real venture — art workshops and team-building experiences for private groups and corporate clients — had been sitting with her for a while. She knew what she could offer. She just needed the first push.
We ran a Lightning Decision Jam to get quickly to what actually mattered: what was the offer, really? Who was it for? What made it different? The format is built for exactly this — clarity fast, without letting perfectionism take over.
We landed on a name: Blanke ark til mesterverk — blank canvas to masterpiece. Four words that said everything about the experience. Not just a name; a philosophy, and the foundation everything else was built on.
Else took the online side — Instagram, Facebook — and had it up in days. My job was to open the right doors and get the first sessions filled. Then we tested the experience with real people, twice, with two very different audiences.
The first prototype was with Webstep — a corporate team looking for something beyond the usual team-building formula. It was a proper test of whether the magic translated into a professional setting. It did.
The second was at CAG30 — a characterful collaboration space with good food and the kind of atmosphere that makes people want to stay. We invited a group of women, gave them the full Blanke ark til mesterverk experience, and the room came alive. People left buzzing, canvases under their arms, already asking when the next one was.
The pilot sessions were fully booked. Word spread quickly. Else's venture has continued to grow from there — with a new studio opening in August at Holtet.
Whether you have a clear brief or a hazy feeling something is off — a conversation costs nothing and usually clarifies everything.
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