Business Action | June / July 2019

NORTH DEVON
A job in New York would be
a dream come true for many
people, so how does the Big
Apple compare with North
Devon? For Stacey Ferguson,
who grew up in Woolacombe,
working in New York was a
fantastic experience, but the
attraction of North Devon
compelled her to return home.
“You get a perspective on life
and realise what’s important,”
says Stacey. “This is what life is,
not New York.”
Stacey developed her career
in the art sector in roles with
Bonhams and Momart in
London and for six years with
Cadogan Tate in New York.
Now she works remotely
from Ilfracombe in business
development for Articheck, a
digital art condition report tool
specially designed for galleries,
museums, auction houses, art
shippers, and conservators.
Built on an app running
on smart phones, tablets and
PCs, Articheck enables users to
create reports on the condition
of paintings, paper art works,
sculptures, antiques, books,
photographs and other objects
easily and quickly. It saves paper,
saves time and eliminates many
of the headaches of creating
accurate, verifiable reports.
Users create reports which
record an item’s name, artist or
From New York
to Ilfracombe
What is it that attracts business people to or back to North Devon?
In this issue’s Magnetic North Devon feature editor Robert Zarywacz
talks to Stacey Ferguson who returned to Ilfracombe from New York
maker, creation date and other
details, along with photographs
which can be annotated. Information
can be entered using
dictation, typing, copied from a
database or uploaded in bulk via
Stacey Ferguson with Polly
CSV files. Once uploaded to the
web portal, each report is locked
for editing to provide a legally
verifiable audit trail. Updating
details creates a new version of
the report so that changes to
the item can be recorded and
assessed through comparisons
with previous reports.
Condition reports are
essential in the art world for
cataloguing, insurance, shipping
and other purposes, and
Stacey works by phone and
email with clients across the
world, from Hong Kong and
Singapore to the USA. She also
travels to London every week
to attend events and art fairs
and to meet colleagues.
Stacey is grateful for her
experience of working in
New York, and loved the
city’s 24-hour heartbeat, the
opportunity to see and hear
great music, and being part
of the ex-pat Brit community,
although she warns that everything
there comes at a price.
“I would encourage
young people to explore, but
remember what is back home.
Remember the quality of life
and simplicity here. This is
really living.”
Stacey now enjoys walking
with her daughter and dog on
Woolacombe beach before a
day of connecting with clients
in the UK and internationally.
She is also a keen supporter of
the arts in the South West and
would like to see North Devon
develop and attract more high
profile artists and exhibitions.
■■Details articheck.com
What attracted your
business to Magnetic
North Devon?
Share your story to
news@business-action.co.uk
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29 Trinity Street
togetherfinancialsolutions.co.uk
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16 business action | June / July 2019 | business-action.co.uk