Daswulf Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 A small local "hand made for the hollidays" event. Ayana is going to be great at selling. She is way more social than her dad. Liz brought them down for a bit and they got to see santa. Ayana was having a conversation with santa before they headed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 She looks like she had a ball with dad today!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Yesterday, and yeah, she did. The things that she says are entertaining and these are all just toys but she knows to talk to everyone and she pushes sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 What fun! That photo with Santa Clause is priceless. I hope you sold out.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Those moments are priceless. That particular even is a small local event that is still trying to gain traction. I did do better this year than I have in the past. They only ask for a donation to toys for tots for the space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Can I say I feel like I sold too much at a show? With my limited time to make more, I feel like I sold too much to do another show any time soon. I am very grateful. A friend I met who sells cigars at another show a few years back invited me to share his space at the pittsburgh auto show last year. I couldnt make it so he said he would take some of my stuff and sold a bit. This year with the invite I accepted. It was three long days but it went great and the reception to my work was unbelievable to me. It is hard to describe and I could not be more warmed in the heart to what I do. I consider myself fortunate to have a friend share such a large venue with me and my work. Met a lot of great people and have many potential prospects from it. I was also informed the home and garden show would be killer for my kind of stuff. Anyway they are open tomorrow as well but upon the option and my limited stock left, I opted to not do tomorrows show. Time to work on commissions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Aric, you have reached the point where you have to decide how much you can do, commissions, shows, internet sales, etc. on top of your day job and family commitments and still have it be fun and not burn you out or cause family problems. Even if the money is good mental health, your girls, etc. are not worth over committing yourself. It is possible to do a show nearly every weekend and work like a dog to rebuild you inventory during the week and burn out pretty quickly. As, David in Indiana says, you have to keep it fun. Sometimes you just have to say, "no, I have too much on my plate to take on anything more." I suggest that you limit yourself to a few events per year, ones you enjoy and where you sell enough work to justify the time and expense and no more. A hobby is supposed to be something you enjoy and look forward to doing and which is a release of the grind of your day job, not a second job which brings more stress. BTW, did you sell the guitar and, if you don't mind saying, what did you get for it? What about the jelly fish? Your stuff is good enough that you might start looking at fine art shows and galleries. There are some serious $$$ in that particular market. GNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 good work. enjoy the "luxe" you have. I can imagine your stuff selling good at autoshows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Thanks for the great advise as always George. It is well recieved. The guitar I had priced at $700. I sold it for $650. The jellyfish I sold for $220. These are prices that I feel are fair to me for my work. In the right setting I feel they could be worth more. Thank you Gewoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Glad it went well, and glad that you're comfortable with the money you're getting. One of the advantages of pricing high is that you get more money for the same amount of time and material invested, which means that you don't have to grind as hard for a given amount of return (just as long as you don't price yourself out of the market, of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 George is giving good advice (as usual). In my experience the quality and type of the work in a craft show can have a great bearing on what sells as well as pricing... Juried shows, at minimum, are my recommendation. Of course show fees go up, but sales should as well. Back in the day I used to travel all over the East Coast, and even as far west as Ann Arbor Michigan to get to the better shows. If I recall correctly, there is a good one in State College PA and the 3 Rivers show in Pittsburgh used to be good also (not to mention the associated free concerts). If you go for the higher end shows I would certainly be prepared for commission work, and don't underprice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 PS If you start working with a gallery take a good look at their contract, some of them are VERY pro gallery and anti artist. Some have non compete clauses which prohibit the artist from selling to anyone else or at any other venue except the gallery. You may want an attorney to take a look at it (me or someone local). If the gallery wants to front your work (and they will take a significant portion of their retail price, often 30-50%) they wil be willing to negotiate on some of the more oppressive clauses. GNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 I have run into over pricing, under pricing and also investing too much time in an item that only bears a price lower than the investment in making it. The latter is something that in time would eventually sell at the right price, but the time and effort of lugging it to show after show diminishes that. So I find it best to just sell that one off and not make another. That doesn't include really unique sculptures but more the larger decorative pieces that I try out to see if there is interest. And that is rare. With such a broad array of people at this show it certainly was an eye opener as to what people are drawn to whether they purchased or not. Many mentioned never seeing something like it there. I really think the home and garden show would be a bit more broadly interested in all I make. The next one is too soon to have enough to make the investment in stock. Maybe next year. Thanks for your perspective Latticino. I agree those focused shows would be good for sales. I have wanted to do the pittsburgh or 3rivers art show as well as some others. In all honesty I haven't made enough stock to make the price of the spot worth selling. But with my new focus I might work towards it in the future. I agree commissions need to priced right. I try to avoid some at the moment due to lack of shop time but it will be inevitable. I haven't looked into any galleries yet but that is good advise as well and I will keep it in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 I just showed the photos of your table to Madelynn and she said that you need a website and/or an Etsy store NOW. She was a bit shocked that the guitar and the jellyfish went for so low. She estimated fair market price of the guitar at$2-3k. This would be particularly true in a high end gallery like Aspen or Jackson or some of the places in Florida where the rich folk congregate. I can also see some of your sea life sculptures being used is a private or public aquarium. Also, I hope that you are keeping a photo gallery of your work. Having a portfolio is important for commissions and galleries. GNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Really appreciate it George. I have seen similar styled works go that high online. I have considered starting an etsy account at least to list some stuff. Perhaps I am missing the boat. I tried having an actual website but it was beyond me to navigate and work. I let it go as I was paying for essentially having my name and some old pictures on a dot com. I've thought of starting a squarespace site but Etsy may be user friendly enough to manage and maybe could promote the pieces from my instagram. Being not so tech or business savvy doesn't help me one bit. And shipping and logistics make my head hurt but I might just over think that stuff. The right people are out there that love one of a kind quality art, I just need to find out how to get seen. I have seen similar actually sell for high prices just not in my local area that I know of. Thank Madelynn for me for the kind words and advise. I may start an etsy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Daswulf said: Being not so tech or business savvy doesn't help me one bit. And shipping and logistics make my head hurt but I might just over think that stuff. This is where you hire out Mr. Savvy and Mr. Logistics so you can concentrate on what you do best. Then hire an accountant to keep track of the paperwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Well, if I were to be able to make the kind of fine art money for my work, I might be able to afford the help of the tech and business savvy. Besides, I haven't found that person or people yet to hire. Most just want me to pay a little to sell at small shows or encourage me to pay big for big shows. A few love my work and invite me to set up for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 There are packaging and shipping services that take your product, package it, and ship it to the address you provide. They can work with one item or what ever you bring to them. Attach identification to each item, your business card, with the receivers address on the back, tied with a string to the item, so there is no question where it came from or where it is being shipped to. Write the check and walk away. Some services will pick up from your location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 How do you quote that cost before taking said item and going through the actual process to ship it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 One thing to consider is that frequently large show organizers are there to make money too. They make it by selling booth space to the vendors and charging admission. I have looked at a number of events that wanted way more for booth rental than I was willing to spend to just get in the door. If I have a feel for how much I might sell at an event I don't want to spend more than about 10% +/- of my gross sales on a booth fee. Some of the big events can charge $1500+ for a 10x10 booth and there is no way I am going to have $15k in sales. Another thing that I have started looking at when deciding whether to do an outdoor event is the weather, particularly the heat. At least in this region there are events that take place at fairly high and cooler altitudes. There are probably some blogs around about breaking into the fine art scene. Look for juried events and submit a portfolio pf your work. There are web sites which list all events in a state, some require a subscription fee. Look for ones that are 6-9 months out. Now is not too early to look at summer and fall '23 events. Just don't procrastinate about building up inventory. County fairs and similar events can be good and usually have free or low booth fees. Gun shows often have low booth fees. Try looking at fairsandfestvals.net and select Pennsylvania. That is only one of the site that list various events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 You are not going to be making a different product each time, so start a catalog with photos of the products, dimensions, weights, etc. and include shipping to east coast, west coast, and middle America. Keep a running total of how many were made and how many sold. The running total will help you with how many of each to make at a time so you have shelf stock to pull from. Shippers will provide you a cost estimate of packaging and shipping, which requires two trips to their shop, one for the estimate, and another trip and after the item is approved, funds clear the bank, and it ready for delivery. Other shippers have a flat rate system and provide you boxes to use. If it fits in the box, it ships for a flat rate. But you have to do the packaging, addressing, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 I believe etsy makes shipping in the us also simple. You can print out your postlabel and also the fee is fairly standerized for size and weight. Start with an etsy. You pay for what you get. They make it relatively easy as a seller. If etsy is a big success, you can always expant to cheaper and/or more freedom. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Black Bear Forge has an informative video about his experiences using Etsy. It's from four years ago, so some of the info may be out of date, but it's still a good watch: Even though the plug-and-play website services like Squarespace and Shopify have gotten a lot more sophisticated over the last few years, my own experiences with helping Lisa set up the online side of the yarn business would lead me to recommend that you NOT go that route, at least at present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 On 2/19/2023 at 8:41 PM, Daswulf said: It was three long days but it went great and the reception to my work was unbelievable to me. It is hard to describe and I could not be more warmed in the heart to what I do. Aric, I just wanted to say congratulations. It's great seeing someones talent and hard work reward them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Going online? Going on etsy? Going on the others? Care to explain in more depth? Asking for a friend :ninja: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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