FINE ART SHIPPING was established in 1982 by Eugenia Osmun, a pioneeering gallerist who recognized the need for competent private art handling services on the burgeoning west side of Los Angeles. Soon therafter the company inagurated its Los Angeles to San Francisco shuttle, which continues to this day. Under a subsequent owner the company expanded with the purchase of Beverly Delivery Service, adding handling of antiques and fine furniture to its core competencies. Headquartered in a 5000 square foot warehouse in Santa Monica just off the 10 freeway, the company prospered with the hot art market of the late 1980's, a period of time more colloquially descibed as "if you had a truck you couldn't help but make a buck" by one insider. As trends do , this one reversed and FINE ART SHIPPING struggled to maintain its identify and market share even while a roster of loyal customers kept coming back, luckily, for more.
Ron and Betsy Dorfman, the current owners, purchased FINE ART SHIPPING in 1994. Ron is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University. Betsy is a graduate of Barnard College with a (very useful, she insists) degree in English literature. After careers in the documentary and corporate film industry, they relocated from New York to Los Angeles and looked around for a business to buy that wasn't selling shoes in the mall or "some sort of crazy mail order scheme." The search was ultimately narrowed to FINE ART SHIPPING. Although the connection may seem tenuous, the film business which involves both writing proposals and organizing information (Betsy) and moving people and stuff around carefully (Ron) was seriously good preparation for their new endeavor. FINE ART SHIPPING needed some fresh thinking and a serious all around upgrade in staff, procedures and facilities in order to grow.
First, they tossed the Brother typewriters and Dickensian billing machinery and brought the company into the computer age. FINE ART SHIPPING had one of the first websites in the industry, and while rudimentary, it helped a new wave of customers discover the company. Making friendly customer service a priority and hiring an entirely new crew of experienced art handlers with degrees in fine art, the company regained its footing and reputation over the next several years.
Today FINE ART SHIPPING occupies three warehouses in a business park setting near LAX airport, with a capacity some 30,000 square feet and including temperature and climate controlled facilities. Customers continue to be loyal and the basis of growth has been primarily through referral and word of mouth. "We're too busy to do any marketing," Ron admits. "They won't let me," is Betsy's take on the situation. She fondly remembers once having sent out some postcards, getting through the mailing list from Aa to Ag before the ringing phone put an end to the effort. This expansion has permitted FINE ART SHIPPING to attract musem trained and industry seasoned professionals to the staff whose talents are, as Ron and Betsy freely admit "the reason we are where we are today."
STAFF DIRECTORY / Who we are and who does what
Joe Husovsky, General Manager phone: 310 807-9588 email: joe@fineartship.com
Joe joined FINE ART SHIPPING in 2005 as manager and customer service maestro. His museum career began in the 1980's as a chief preparator, registrar and then Director of Design overseeing the opening of the Huntington Beach Art Center. Prior to joining Fine Art Shipping, Joe worked as Operations Manager for Fine Arts Express. He was then drafted by U.S. Art as part of the team to open and establish their Los Angeles office, continuing on thereafter as General Manager. He received his degree in Art History from California State University, Fullerton.
Chris Barber, Crating Manager phone: 310 807 9584 email: chris@fineartship.com
Chris joined FINE ART SHIPPING as crating manager at the end of 2005, shortly after moving to Los Angeles. Before that he spent three years as a crater and packer at Artex FAS New York. Chris is an artist, currently working in mixed and new media, and sequential art. In addition to art handling, he has held a variety of arts-related positions in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and San Diego. Chris got an MFA at the University of California, San Diego; and a BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Daniel Bain, Warehouse Manager phone: 310 77 0011 email: danny@fineartship.com
Born in Yorkshire, England, Danny migrated to Santa Monica in 1987 and established a clothing design business which he ran with a partner for the next decade. During this time he joined Fine Art shipping part time as a driver and art handler. Learning quickly he was soon advanced to full time work and lead art handler/driver for the San Francisco art shuttle. In 2006 Danny came on board as warehouse manager, overseeing operations as the company expanded to a campus of three adjoining warehouses. Danny studied art and fashion design at Santa Monica College and Los Angeles Trade Tech.
Robert Thomas, SF Shuttle Coordinatorphone 310 807 9587 email: robert@fineartship.com
Robert learned the intricacies of shipping and customer service as Operations Manager for Jonathan Adler and Showroom Manager for CX Design in New York. He was drafted (Robert is a baseball fan!) by Fine Art Shipping in 2004 and jumped right in assisting with a number of art and design related projects for major clients. He has moved on to become our shuttle "guru" and all around "go to " guy when things need to get done. Robert holds a BFA degree from California State University Long Beach.
Maritza Meija, Customer Servicephone: 310 807 9585 email: maritza@fineartship.com
Theresa Olivero, Customer Services phone 310 807 9583email: theresa@fineartship.com
Lance Stacy, Dispatch /Scheduling phone 310 807 9582 email: lance@fineartship.com
Adam Moussa, Accounting, A/Rphone 310 807 9589 email: adam@fineartship.com
Diane Bircher, Administrationphone 310 807 9591 email: diane@fineartship.com
Ron Dorfman, President, Special Projectsphone 310 807 9590 email: ron@fineartship.com
Betsy Dorfman, Vice President, Special Projectsphone 310 807 9585 email: betsy@fineartship.com
