Artisan Direct Ltd Jayson Samuel Jayson Samuel scams artists Pittsford, New York

Recently I entered into a contractual agreement with one of Jayson Samuel's galleries.  Jayson Samuel is the Marketing Director for Artisan Direct Ltd.  His manager asked for $1025 in exchange for a 2-page spread in a magazine and for the placement of my art piece "Magic Chair" in Red Dot Miami December 2012.  I paid the money and the magazine was printed.  On the day of the opening of Red Dot Miami, his manager called me to tell me that Jayson Samuel had changed his mind and that he would not be putting "Magic Chair" in the show.  I called Jayson Samuel, who laughed at me when I asked for my money back.  His manager immediately reimbursed me $450 for the gallery membership that I paid to be in Red Dot (per his instructions from Jayson Samuel).  The magazine was printed with errors that I had corrected and resubmitted with revisions.  The errors were obvious so the publisher does not proofread the layouts after the artist spends $575.

I researched further and found that the phone number on the Artisan Direct Ltd website pulls up on anywho.com as totally separate and different people in Penfield, New York.  I also find that, though the scams are not widely spread on ripoffreport or BBB, there are several artists with similar stories on LinkedIn and other affiliate groups.

I am asking for all of my money back paid for the magazine spread, since my payment for the magazine spread was contractual and contingent on my art piece (matching the magazine article) was win Red Dot Miami.  I made it explicitly clear in writing and verbally that I would never pay $575 for a magazine publication about a specific piece of my artwork unless that artwork was actually on display in the event.  The fact that the magazine publisher did not proofread the article before publishing further calls for a full reimbursement.  I did not receive the product that I paid for.