What are the most important lessons you have learned about being an artist and selling your work?

One of the lessons that I’ve learned in the past year is that I’m the only one in control of my career and nothing and nobody is going to make it or break it except for me. I kept getting these excellent opportunities where everyone said I’d do really well, and nothing happened. It also taught me that success is really, really boring. I succeed the most sales-wise when I’m just doing my thing and focusing on what’s important to me – connecting with my audience and creating great work.

I’ve also learned that I need to create work that’s important to me. I have to dig deep. When I do that, I create work that’s meaningful to me and meaningful to others, and that’s my job at the end of the day – to create meaning. And those are always the pieces that I can’t keep around – they fly off the shelves.

One of the lessons that I’ve learned in the past year is that I’m the only one in control of my career and nothing and nobody is going to make it or break it except for me.

Focus on what you love first. That way whatever you decide to do,  will come from the right place.

Are you helping other artists, especially emerging artists, develop their voice?

It’s not something I do in an organized kind of way, but I certainly have an open door policy on my inbox. Other artists have emailed me asking for help and I think they’ve always ended up with more than they bargained for – I have a tendency to write novels in response. It’s a topic I’m pretty passionate about.

I’m also still an emerging artist myself, so I think more than anything I like to offer support to others in the same boat. It can be a difficult place to be in, so sometimes having a cheerleader can be really helpful.

If you could pass on one gem of wisdom to other artists, what would it be?

Don’t think you have to conquer the world by tomorrow by teatime. Everything in our culture is about faster, better, easier. Tips for being an overnight success, ways to build your career faster than ever, and how if you don’t do x,y and z, you’re going to fail and nobody’s ever going to pay you any attention.

It’s perfectly okay to let your art career grow organically. You’re allowed to take your time. It doesn’t mean you have to go slow – you can go as fast as you want to. But whatever you decide to do, do it for you. Don’t waste your time living up to society’s expectations of where you should be when.

Focus on what you love first. That way whatever you decide to do,  will come from the right place.

About the Author:

Sarah Lacy is a regular contributer here on the blog. She is an amazing young artist who drips wisdom and passion, for life and art, so much that she clearly is an old soul. She is representative of the energy, self insight and passion we desperately need in the generation of artists and creatives who will replace us.

Sarah makes “art that reminds you to dream, to breathe, to laugh breathlessly in the rain”, in doing so she hopes help people learn “to feel again”.

Sarah’s passion and love for what she does has been challenged by the her constant companion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a person who knows all to well the challenges of living with a debilitating chronic disease I was impressed with her courage, openness and unwillingness to surrender. She has a lot to tell us not only of art but also of life…

You can find Sarah here:

Web site | Twitter | Facebook

 

What non-traditional methods do you use to market and sell your art?

I think almost everything I do would be considered “non-traditional” by very traditional artists, but I don’t know how much of it is really “out there”. I try to see marketing as another creative outlet, where I can experiment and try new things.

For a while I was live streaming from the studio for an hour a week, which went really well and I got some new fans from that. The other day I live streamed for an entire afternoon and auctioned off the piece I was working on, which was a lot of fun. I try to keep my marketing as fun as possible, or I’ll get bored!

My art is available in prints and will also be available as greeting and note cards in the near future. I’m currently planning on having an entire section of my site dedicated to small sketches so that people can get original art at an affordable price and it’ll force me to stay in practice.

What do you do differently to get your work out to those who want it

I’m constantly trying to think of other ways to get my art out there to people who want it. I’ve had affordable art sales where I’ll sell small sketches from around my studio, or some of those older pieces that didn’t quite fit my body of work but were still good paintings and needed a home. I want to make sure that there’s a way for everyone who loves my art to have access to it. I’m definitely not elitist when it comes to people getting my art. The more the merrier, in my books.

Do you have a community of followers/buyers?

I think this is something I’m evolving slowly. I think it has to come organically – you can’t force people to love your work. I do have a small community supporters and buyers, and it seems to be growing as the months go past. These are the people who read my blog, leave comments, respond to my newsletters, hang out with me on Twitter and just generally cheer me on. Not all of them can afford my work, but they do what they can to support me in their own ways – promoting my work on their blogs and Twitter etc.

What methods do you use to build your community?

My secret weapon for building a community is being yourself. It’s like shining a special kind of light from your house – all of the right people flock to it and the ones who aren’t a perfect match may come for a bit but eventually leave.

More practically, I make sure I’m present, around and responsive. I try to respond to emails promptly, I reply and retweet lots on Twitter and when I can, I respond to blog comments. I don’t do any of this perfectly and it’s always a work in progress.

About the Author:

Sarah Lacy is a regular contributer here on the blog. She is an amazing young artist who drips wisdom and passion, for life and art, so much that she clearly is an old soul. She is representative of the energy, self insight and passion we desperately need in the generation of artists and creatives who will replace us.

Sarah makes “art that reminds you to dream, to breathe, to laugh breathlessly in the rain”, in doing so she hopes help people learn “to feel again”.

Sarah’s passion and love for what she does has been challenged by the her constant companion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a person who knows all to well the challenges of living with a debilitating chronic disease I was impressed with her courage, openness and unwillingness to surrender. She has a lot to tell us not only of art but also of life…

You can find Sarah here:

Web site | Twitter | Facebook

 

A really obvious one actually, but I can be dense sometimes.

When I do something for me and my own reasons, I succeed. When I do something to prove myself, or get approval, or from a sense of guilt, I never get anywhere.

Really simple, but it explains a lot of my life. I’ve been baffled for months with the ease with which I can achieve some goals, and the way I only seem to run in circles with others.

I’ve finally realized what the key ingredient is – my motivations for doing it.

Rejoining an online forum that I adore but costs $400? I found that money easily.

Paying off my credit card because I feel incredibly guilty and silly? Struggling to make it happen. No matter what I do, the total just builds itself back up again. No matter what, I’m always hovering around $1000 in debt. Not a huge amount, but it’s a month’s living expenses. Big enough to feel insurmountable to me.

But what would happen if I changed my motivation?

What if I wanted to pay it off not because “Oh my god, you have debt, you financially irresponsible little girl!” (In my defense, it’s business debt. It’s not like it’s clothing.)

What if I paid it off because I wanted to free up that energy? Because I wanted to have a fresh slate financially? What if I did it for me?

I think that’d make a huge difference. I’d actually be motivated to do something about it instead of just making the minimum payments. Right now, I’m avoiding it because I’m embarrassed. My parents always taught me that you don’t talk about debt, that it’s shameful. You don’t tell people that you have debt, because oh my god, what would they think of you?

Or what about buying a new computer? I wanted to get one because I felt so guilty about using my boyfriend’s (and somewhat destroying it.) I didn’t want it because it would make my life 8 billion times easier and I could do things like web design without crashing it, or continue my live streaming painting show. I wanted it so I wouldn’t feel so horrible about myself.

Do you know how far I got?

That’s right. Nowhere.

And I look at so many other parts of my life and I can see why certain goals – as admirable as they might be – go nowhere because I want them for the wrong reasons. I want them for someone else, or to alleviate some sense of guilt, or because it’s “what I’m supposed to want.”

It’s so easy to fall into that trap, to forget who you really are, and to not run your life according to you. To run around after things you think you’re supposed to want. To forget what it is that you really want.

I’m taking the next week off to recuperate from my painting madness, and I’m going to be spending a lot of time thinking about what I really want. I’m going to be examining my life and making sure that I want things for me, because they’d bring me joy, not because I’ll look better to others. (Like getting in shape because it makes my body happy and I hurt less, rather than because I’m ashamed of myself and not looking exactly like some Photoshopped Victoria’s Secret model. Don’t even get me started on female body image in the media. That’s a rant for another day.)

Do you find yourself setting goals for things you think you’re supposed to want? How do you remember to set goals for yourself and your needs and not just to keep up with the Jones’s? (Whoever your personal Jones’s are.)

About the Author:

Sarah Lacy is one of our featured artists and  a regular contributer here on the blog. She is an amazing young artist who drips wisdom and passion, for life and art, so much that she clearly is an old soul. She is representative of the energy, self insight and passion we desperately need in the generation of artists and creatives who will replace us.

Sarah makes “art that reminds you to dream, to breathe, to laugh breathlessly in the rain”, in doing so she hopes help people learn “to feel again”.

Sarah’s passion and love for what she does has been challenged by the her constant companion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a person who knows all to well the challenges of living with a debilitating chronic disease I was impressed with her courage, openness and unwillingness to surrender. She has a lot to tell us not only of art but also of life…

You can find Sarah here:

Web site | Twitter | Facebook

 

Tell us about your marketing journey. How did you start?

I’ve always instinctively known that art was a business, and that I needed to learn those skills. My first “marketing advisor” was another entrepreneur that I knew, but he worked business to business with huge corporations, so everything that he told me just confused the heck out of me. Then I paid $1000 for marketing consultants, and I think that just confused me even more. We were trying to figure out my USP and I won’t even tell you what we came up with. It’s just way too embarrassing.

Hope came in the form of Naomi Dunford, from Ittybiz.com. That’s when I started to get it.

When did you discover that you needed to market?

When I was 16, I was already itching to run my own business and I gave it a shot and failed miserably. I never really got anywhere because I didn’t have any way of getting myself out there. I’d fallen for the “Build it and they’ll come” myth. That’s when I realized something had to change.

Do you have a marketing plan/strategy if so please summarize?

You know, I wish I could say I’d learned my lesson and I’ve got this awesome, mind blowing marketing plan, but as of yet I don’t. Or at least, it’s not as strategic and cohesive as I’d like it to be. It’s more like a work in progress.

However, I do try to do a few things on a regular basis – I try to post to my blog a few times a week, I hang out on Twitter every couple of days, and I send out a monthly newsletter to my mailing list, and also whenever I finish a new piece so that they’re the first to see it.

I’m also working on what you could call my “sales funnel” although that word just makes me cringe. What I’m really doing is making sure that my art is available at lots of different price points so that it’s accessible to the most people possible – from cards through to prints, to small pieces & sketches, and then on to full sized original paintings and commissions and portraits.

What is your greatest challenge as an artist/business person?

Hard question. I think where I struggle the most is in valuing what I do – I get bogged down by “What’s the point?” and “Nobody wants it!” pretty frequently. I’ve learned to ignore it. I think it’s something a lot of artists struggle with. And it makes promoting my art with a concerted, cohesive effort harder because you just tell yourself that nobody wants it anyways. It’s sneaky like that, but I’m finding ways to combat it as I get older.

What do you wish someone had told you when you started out?

That it was okay to be authentic, to want to connect with my collectors and my fans. I thought I had to turn myself into a corporate drone when I first started reading marketing books. Eventually I realized that being myself was way more important and that I’d be a lot happier that way. It’s helped a ton.

What venues do you sell your work?

Mostly online, but starting in May I’ll be represented by the Pilar Shephard Gallery. I’ve had shows in galleries before, but I usually do much better selling online. I think up until recently, I hadn’t found the right galleries to work with.

Is there a particular marketing channel you have found useful more than others?

I find that the trio of blog, Twitter and newsletter to be very useful. They all feed into each other. I hang out on Twitter to meet new people, promote my blog posts to get new readers and eventually entice them to sign up to my newsletter. And of course, the purpose of all of my marketing is to get more people to look at my art on my site.

Who buys your work?

Really excellent people. I would say that of course.

They don’t really fit into a definable category, but if there’s one unifying feature, it’s that they’re all people searching for more in life – they’re either creatives in a different profession (writers, designers etc.) or people who just know that there’s more to life than the rat race. They get my vision and so we connect. I consider all of my collectors friends.

How do you keep connected with your buyers?

Like I said before, email newsletters, the blog and Twitter are my main points of contact. And sometimes I’ll just drop them an email to say hi – ask how they’re enjoying their painting, how life’s going. It’s just nice to keep in touch with them.

About the Author:

Sarah Lacy will be one of our featured artists in the coming weeks and she will also be a regular contributer here on the blog. She is an amazing young artist who drips wisdom and passion, for life and art, so much that she clearly is an old soul. She is representative of the energy, self insight and passion we desperately need in the generation of artists and creatives who will replace us.

Sarah makes “art that reminds you to dream, to breathe, to laugh breathlessly in the rain”, in doing so she hopes help people learn “to feel again”.

Sarah’s passion and love for what she does has been challenged by the her constant companion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a person who knows all to well the challenges of living with a debilitating chronic disease I was impressed with her courage, openness and unwillingness to surrender. She has a lot to tell us not only of art but also of life…

You can find Sarah here:

Web site | Twitter | Facebook

 

How did you get started?

It’s funny, I’ve always drawn but it was never my main focus as a child. Up until I was 12, I was a ballet dancer & a pretty good one at that. Everyone thought it was going to be my career. Then when I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I had to give it up and I desperately needed another creative outlet. Art just kind of fell into my lap.

What is your artistic vision?

You know those moments when it feels like your spirit is dancing? When you’re almost painfully full of life and joy and everything in between? That. That’s what I want to capture every time I put brush to canvas. Sometimes I get it across, sometimes I don’t. But that’s my focus every single time.

Describe your evolution as an artist.

It’s a pretty short one! It took me a while to find my artistic voice and figure out what I was trying to express. It came to me in drips and drops. I always felt it, but it took me until this past year to really find the words for it. It feels really right to me right now, although I’m sure that it will change as I grow as an artist.

Who and what influenced you the most in developing your vision and voice?

Velasquez was my first major influence. I’d borrowed Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces of Western Art from the library, and it featured the Water Seller. He painted it at 19. It was a pivotal moment for me – I knew that if I could eventually paint even a fraction as well as he had, I’d die happy.

Aside from him, Sargent, Manet and Frida Kahlo have been influences on me — Kahlo especially. I can really relate to her. She reminds me to paint and live with passion. Her story is tragic, but there’s so much hope there, so much of a life well lived. That’s what I want.

Sarah is an amazing young artist who drips wisdom and passion, for life and art, so much that she clearly is an old soul. She is representative of the energy, self insight and passion we desperately need in the generation of artists and creatives who will replace us.

Sarah makes “art that reminds you to dream, to breathe, to laugh breathlessly in the rain”, in doing so she hopes help people learn “to feel again”.

Sarah’s passion and love for what she does has been challenged by the her constant companion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a person who knows all to well the challenges of living with a debilitating chronic disease I was impressed with her courage, openness and unwillingness to surrender. She has a lot to tell us not only of art but also of life…

You can find Sarah here:

Web site | Twitter | Facebook

 

There’s such a fine line between the two. On the one hand, you don’t want to put crappy artwork out into the world. You want your best stuff out there representing you.

On the other hand, perfectionism can be crippling – I should know. I’ve got an awful case of it.

Keith Bond wrote a guest article yesterday on Fine Art Views called “The Wiper” and that’s what got me thinking about it. He wrote about attending a workshop given by Matt Smith. They watched him paint a beautiful demo and then found out the next day that he’d wiped it out, because it wasn’t up to his standards.

On the one hand, I can completely appreciate this – there are many works I’ve painted that have been gessoed over a month later because it just wasn’t working. Keith Bond quotes him as saying:

“He explained that when he first started out painting, a huge percentage of his paintings were ‘wipers’. He didn’t want mediocre work out there. He continued to wipe off anything that he wasn’t completely excited about.”

This is where I start to struggle.

If I wiped out every painting I wasn’t completely excited about, then I’d have no paintings. In every single piece, I hit a stage where I think I’ve screwed it up completely, and that there’s no hope. Sometimes I’m right, but a lot of the times I’m wrong and a very nice piece manages to emerge from the wreckage.

So where do you draw the line? Where do you just let your creativity run free and where do you cull the lesser pieces? At what point do you bring in that critical eye to decide which pieces are to be shown and which ones should be burned or painted over?

I think that the answers lie with the individual. Unfortunately, I don’t think there can be a blanket, one-size-fits-all solution to this.

Some of us are apt to think everything we do is marvelous and never cull anything because we never look at our work with a critical eye to see where we might learn and improve. Then there are those of us who are so self-critical that unless it looks like a Velasquez, we consider it trash. (Who, me?)

Obviously the end goal is always the best quality that you can produce at the level your at – something I need to remind myself quite often.

I think that if you lean towards perfectionist tendencies, it might be best to cull a few weeks after the completion of a piece. Often when a piece is finished, we are at our most self critical – we remember the pain of unreached perfection and we’d like to take our frustration out on something. However, I find that a few weeks of ignoring it allows me to mellow somewhat and I can see the piece with a fresher eye. Occasionally it still needs work, but most times, I find the painting is just fine the way it is.

On the other hand, if you shy away from critiquing your own works (I can hardly blame you – it’s a distinctly unpleasant feeling), then maybe you might take the opposite attitude. Wait a few weeks and then see what’s missing from a piece before you send it out into the world. I think you’ll find that most of the time, your work is still just fine, but maybe there are one or two pieces that you can touch up a little bit, and add those little finishing touches that pull a piece together.

You’ll notice the procedure is exactly the same for each type of artist, but I think it’s the attitude that you approach the situation with that’s key. We all get so emotionally involved in our art that it can be so hard to see with a clear and objective eye – it’s why I suggest waiting a few weeks. Maybe you only need a few days, who knows? Whatever time period is necessary to come back to the piece and see it with fresh eyes, as though you’ve never seen it before.

You need to let the painting speak to you, tell you what it needs. Maybe it needs to be framed and sent out into the world. Maybe it needs tweaking. And maybe it just needs to be gessoed over. It happens. And I don’t think there should be any shame in destroying a piece – you learned while creating it and it was there to serve a purpose. It’s just a stepping stone to greater works.

But I’ve been known to be full of hot air, so I turn it over to you – how do you cull your good works from the bad? Are you a perfectionist or do you struggle with critiquing your own work? Leave ‘er in the comments!

About the Author:

Sarah Lacy will be one of our featured artists in the coming weeks and she will also be a regular contributer here on the blog.  She is an amazing young artist who drips wisdom and passion, for life and art, so much that she clearly is an old soul. She is representative of the energy, self insight and passion we desperately need in the generation of artists and creatives who will replace us.

Sarah makes “art that reminds you to dream, to breathe, to laugh breathlessly in the rain”, in doing so she hopes help people learn “to feel again”.

Sarah’s passion and love for what she does  has been challenged by the her constant companion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a person who knows all to well the challenges of living with a debilitating   chronic disease I was impressed with her courage, openness and unwillingness to surrender. She has a lot to tell us not only of art but also of life…

You can find Sarah here:

Web site | Twitter | Facebook

 

Artist Robin Maria Pedrero presents works of art that infuse color and design to illustrate the timelessness of nature and love. Using opaque and transparent painted layers and selective ink drawn contours she shows how thoughts triggered by senses can take us on a visual journey connecting present perceptions, past experiences and future musings. A “Meet the Artist” wine/cheese/jazz reception will be May, 13, 2010 6 to 8 pm. Admission is free.

STEINWAY PIANO GALLERIES

303 E. Altamonte Dr. #1225
Altamonte Springs, Fl 32701
407–339-3771

 

I didn’t apply early enough to get a lot of advance mailers and/or advertising spots purchased to let the buyers know I was coming. But, as soon as I was aware of my booth number, I did let folks know via email, twitter, and my blog that I would be attending the event. Brochures and stickers were provided by BMAC. I put my booth number on the stickers and applied these to my postcards. That way, buyers were sure to know at what booth they saw me. (It can get confusing in such a large place!)

I also created a profile on the NICHE Marketplace to let the buyers of American Craft know that I was coming and at what booth they could find me. This service was provided with my booth fee shortly before the event. Again…if I had applied earlier, I would have had more time to create the profile. So….word of advice. Apply early!!! This will ensure that you get the advanced mailers, your name printed in the catalog and adequate time to promote your wares via NICHE Magazine, etc.

Some buyers stopped by my booth and told me that they had seen my artwork in advance of the show. One of the nice features about the NICHE Marketplace is that it tracks the visitors to your site and tells you if they are buyers or vendors. And, it’s incredibly useful to vendors in the event that a buyer doesn’t make it to the show. (You might recall that Philadelphia got hit with a blizzard just days before the 2010 BMAC show started. Several vendors and buyers were unable to attend due to canceled flights or weather-related delays.) I’ve had inquiries from galleries who were unable to attend the event, but who have accessed my information from the NICHE Marketplace.

Booth Etiquette

Sounds funny, but I think this is important. You want to be professional and polite at all times. You are making a first impression and it’s important that your behavior reflect the quality items that you are selling. I was extra careful to not be seen eating or drinking while buyers were in my booth. (These trade show events are exhausting…but I tried to nibble on food or take a drink only after buyers left my booth.) I greeted everyone who entered my booth…..buyers, guests, visitors, other vendors. I figure that even if the person isn’t a buyer, they are still someone who is showing an interest in my artwork and deserves to be treated as a potential customer.

I noticed that a couple of vendors used empty vendor space to make a little lunch area behind a curtain. This was a good way to take the ‘lunch’ off the selling floor. I was the only person in my booth for the 4 day event, so I had to be there the majority of the time. But, I was fortunate to have awesome neighbors who could keep an eye on my booth in the event that I had to take a quick break.

It certainly is more help to have an extra person with you, but this isn’t always feasible. (And makes quite a long day for your helper.) I did notice that BMAC allows vendors to hire help. You could purchase an extra helper for ½ hr. increments throughout the day….just in case you wanted to take a lunch break, etc.

Try not to be sitting down when buyers enter your booth. Stand up, be enthusiastic and don’t cross your arms. Be ready to welcome them and answer any questions they might have. It’s also a good idea to be holding onto your purchase order book (on a clipboard). Many were ready to write an order right away….and they work quickly!

Layout of your booth

Again…I have a lot to learn about booth displays and what will work best for my artwork. But, when designing your layout, make sure customers can comfortably walk-around within your booth and see your items clearly. Have prices easy to read without having to move things, turn things over, etc. If you have a wide-range of prices, you might want to put some of the more affordable items up front to draw the buyer into your booth. There were all sorts of displays at this event. Some had very elaborate, professional booths…others had simple tables showing their wares. Many vendors also had banners and photographs showing what they offer. They displayed the banners or photographs on the wall behind them, and then had the products on display on the tables or podiums.

Did the show live up to my expectations? Yes. Overall I’m thrilled with my first BMAC show. I made it through the 4 days and wrote several orders with new galleries and boutiques. I also exchanged cards with several other potential buyers. I didn’t notice many buyers from museum shops and catalogs, although other vendors confirmed that they were there. They just didn’t visit my booth. But, that gives me incentive to try harder next time! The show lived up to my expectations, but I was hoping for it to be really busy with barely any time to think! Several vendors commented that attendance was down from years past. I suspect that the attendance might have been affected by the massive snowfall just days before the event and the tough economy. But, overall….I’m happy with the results given my first show. I met some incredible artists and wonderful new buyers and am hoping to keep in touch with them throughout the year.

If you have specific questions not addressed in Parts 1, 2, 3 or 4 of “Surviving My First Wholesale Show”, write to me and let me know. I’m happy to answer a question if I can.

About the Author

Kristen Stein was one our first Featured Artists while she focuses on two dimensional mediums she has also spread out to jewelry and photography. Although her work is exhibited widely she has courageously embraced the challenges of a working artist in the 21st century. This series is the result of one such embrace and leap of faith. In it she chronicles her experience as an exhibitor in one of the countries top wholesale shows the Buyer’s Market of American Craft. Being accepted into this show is no small thing, and it represents the extent of Kristen’s artistic and business growth over the past year.

You can find Kristen here:

web site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Store

 

Order forms/ contracts (in duplicate):

Although several vendors had their own custom-made purchase orders with the information they needed, I did not have time to pre-print my order forms. So, I decided instead to invest in Purchase Order Books from Staples. These books had 50 order forms as 2pt carbonless forms.

I printed my terms on small labels and attached these to the yellow copy of the form. (This form was given to the buyer.) I kept all my information on the top white form. The information I needed included: phone number, ship to address, contact name, date ordered, date requested, payment type, shipping preference, items purchased and amount. You will also want to determine shipping costs. (Either include it in the wholesale price, ask the buyer to pay shipping, or offer some sort of shipping discount for the size of their order.)

Something else to consider: Get reseller numbers for purchases within your home state. (This is because there will be no tax charged to the buyers within your home state as long as they have a valid reseller license.) In the future, I’ll also get the buyers to sign the purchase order. This would have been useful when one of my orders exceeded my credit card limit. (I had to request an increased limit to authorize the customer’s credit card and they requested the customer’s signature which had to be faxed. A signed purchase order would have been sufficient.)

Define your terms

Minimum Order

Determine if you will have a minimum order. I requested minimum order of $200.00.

Payment terms

For wholesale orders, Net 30 appears to be the industry standard. Although I talked to several vendors that charge to credit cards upon shipping the order. I decided to request credit card information for the initial order and offer Net 30 on repeat purchases. In most cases, the buyers gave me the credit card information at the time of writing their order, or asked me to call for credit card information prior to shipping. A few galleries requested Net 30 and provided credit references or names of other vendors in my aisle with whom they have worked in the past. This was a quick way to achieve references for galleries/shops that wanted to place their order with Net 30 payment option.

Specify your shipping dates. Allow 15–30, or 30–60 days depending on the size of the order and how much has to be created for the buyer. You definitely want to ship quality items by the dates they request. But don’t overbook yourself. Having a production calendar handy at the show is a great idea. Be realistic and plan out how much you can do over a given period of time. A production calendar keeps you organized and lets you plan out your days after the event ends. I noticed that many buyers had calendars with them too. Some had specific dates during which they wanted to receive shipments, others simply requested ‘asap’.

Damages/Returns

In your terms, mention how returns or damages will be handled. My terms requested that damages or returns be requested within 7 days of receiving shipment.

Shipping

Mention how shipping will be paid. (include in prices, buyer pays, split between you and buyer, etc.)

My  terms

Min order of $200.00. Qualified resellers only. Credit Card, COD or pre-payment for initial purchase. Buyer pays shipping costs. Most orders ship within 15–30 days of order date. Returns or damaged items must be reported within 7 days of receipt of package. Claims after 7 days will not be honored.

I printed these on labels and stuck them to the buyer’s order receipt.

Pricing

Show only wholesale prices. Don’t confuse the buyer by having retail prices listed. Show only wholesale prices, but be prepared to let them know at what prices your galleries or shops are selling the items. Also suggest bundled prices if some of your items sell well ‘bundled’.

Know your best-sellers

You know your items better than the buyer who might be seeing them for the first time, so highlight your best-sellers. Either put stickers on them letting the buyer know about your best-sellers, or show items that are exclusive to the show you are doing. The BMAC had small table cards that drew attention to “Buyer’s Market Exclusives”. This let the buyers know that they were purchasing something not available at other wholesale shows. I had a few buyers who simply ordered ‘assorted best sellers’. They let me decide which items to mail to them….but they specified a quantity. Many buyers were in a hurry to move to other booths….lots to see in the 4 days and time was of the essence. So, be ready to help and quick in writing your orders.

Promotional materials

Bring lots of promotional materials. I had canvas bags printed with my business name. Postcards and business cards printed by Vistaprint.com and small brochures printed by the UPS Store. I kept a few postcards on the table and some information about the artist. I left these with other promotional materials on the press table. (There weren’t any left at the end of the show, so hopefully all the members of the press got one!)

It was recommended to me to not leave the promotional materials out for people to just grab as they were passing by your table, but to instead keep them with you and share them with potential buyers as you also exchange information with them. Some vendors ran contests in exchange for getting business cards.

Other things to have in your booth:

Have a place for the buyer to sit down. They get tired too and having an extra seat is a nice gesture and makes them feel comfortable when writing the order.

Have candy, water, snacks, etc. available to the buyer. Understand that if you are tired from standing all-day on the trade show floor, imagine how exhausting it is to a buyer who is zooming through 800+ vendors. A bit of chocolate (thanks Lauren), or a bowl of candy from which they can grab a treat, or a bottle of water gives them a pick-me-up. One of my booth neighbors even had wine, music and martinis! How cool is that!!??

About the Author

Kristen Stein was one our first Featured Artists while she focuses on two dimensional mediums she has also spread out to jewelry and photography. Although her work is exhibited widely she has courageously embraced the challenges of a working artist in the 21st century. This series is the result of one such embrace and leap of faith. In it she chronicles her experience as an exhibitor in one of the countries top wholesale shows the Buyer’s Market of American Craft. Being accepted into this show is no small thing, and it represents the extent of Kristen’s artistic and business growth over the past year.

You can find Kristen here:

web site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Store

 

As soon as I knew I was attending the Buyer’s Market of American Craft (BMAC), I wrote a couple of notes to Wendy Rosen. She’s an amazing woman and a terrific advocate for the artist. She is the founder of the Rosen Group and the Buyer’s Market of American Craft. She immediately suggested requesting a mentor for the show and with Laura Bamburak’s help I was assigned two veteran BMAC sellers who were available to answer any additional questions that I might have. (I really didn’t use the mentors before the show, but I was thrilled to have one of the mentors visit my booth regularly during the show to check in and answer any questions I might have.)

Here were my initial questions about the show and my answers after the fact:

Will there be artists offering original paintings on canvas, or do most artists just offer prints of their work?

I wondered if my work would be hidden among the vast sea of ceramics, glass and jewelry as these seemed like the largest categories of work at the show.

Answer:

Honestly, there were all sorts of artists at this show. Jewelry and glass were popular categories and had many vendors, but there were all sorts of artists represented. Some were very large vendors with a great variety of items, others had only a few items to show. One of my artist friends asked “How big to you have to be to do this type of show?” After seeing some of what folks had to offer, I’d say size isn’t the most important thing. Having an item that the buyer wants, at the right price, is more important. I saw some vendors that offered only one item in slight variations, but they made incredibly beautiful pieces that had market value to the buyers.

Is mixed media the best category for me, or should I be in home décor?

Answer:

For this show, rugs, furniture, wall hangings, lamps, etc seemed make up home décor. So, I think Mixed-Media was an excellent choice for what I was selling. I loved the ecclentic blend of vendors that were included in the Mixed-Media group. Can’t imagine being placed elsewhere.

Do I mainly bring samples of my work and allow buyers to place orders? Do the buyers pay for items at the show? Is there cash-and-carry?
Answer: This event was an ‘order-writing’ event. Vendors write orders at the show and the buyers specify a time at which they would like the items shipped. I ended up writing orders from ASAP until September 2010. Some vendors did have a ‘cash and carry” section on their table and others offered to sell their floor samples on the last day of the event.

Realistically, what was this going to cost me? Beside the booth fee, what would I need to purchase to setup my booth?

Answer:

The Booth

I purchased a 10x10 booth $1875.00. This space came ‘piped and draped’ which essentially means that there were curtains dividing your space from your neighbor’s space. Electrical was purchased separately. And, since the lighting in the convention center was set on 1/3 power, (i.e., Each third light was illuminated) buying lighting was essential.

Hargrove Inc was the Official Service Contractor for the BMAC and provided booth rental options. I didn’t end up using their service. I had tables and displays already available from some of the art/craft shows that I’ve done at outdoor festivals. So, I didn’t purchase their flooring, tables, lights, etc. Although this is likely convenient for vendors traveling from ‘out-of-town’.

I’m far from having the perfect booth and many experienced vendors tell me that their booth changes from year to year. (It’s never finished!) But as a first-time exhibitor, I am pretty pleased with how my booth looked.(Will try to get a picture uploaded.)

I didn’t want to make a huge financial commitment, as I do not know how often I will attend shows such as this. So, my initial purchases were a few display stands that allowed me to hang my paintings (I hung them with s-shaped shower hooks) Initially, I hung these only on the display stands, but they were only 4ft high in a 10 ft. booth and difficult to see over the tables. So, after a recommendation from my mentor (thanks Stacy Simbrom of Angels with Attitude) and my booth neighbor (the amazingly talented Lauren Henry), we displayed a few paintings hanging from the booth’s top rails. I also had paintings displayed on easels($45 ea). Much like how they would look in my studio.

Lighting

I purchased track lighting from Lowes. Approx. $150 w/ bulbs. The recommendation was to have 10 lights for a 10x10 space. I ended up buying 9. I only displayed 6 of the lights and now wish I had included a bit more lighting. Buy lots of zip ties from the hardware store. These were so helpful in hanging the lights and securing the extension cords to the cross bars and the side poles of the booth.

Misc.

I purchased interlocking trade show flooring. (approx $185.00) I purchased these at wesellmats.com. I bought the premium carpet squares. The charcoal shows every bit of lint, dust, etc. So, perhaps a lighter color would have been better. But, if you choose the darker shade…keep a lint brush, tape, or broom handy. You might need it. From SoftTiles.com, I found a great carrying bag (under $30.00) that fits the 2x2 ft square floor mats. (You can also purchase the tiles from SoftTiles, but I wanted to use carpet, rather than foam.)

Total Investment

My fees came to about $3000.00 for booth fee, flooring, lighting and a few other booth displays.

About the Author

Kristen Stein was one our first Featured Artists while she focuses on two dimensional mediums she has also spread out to jewelry and photography. Although her work is exhibited widely she has courageously embraced the challenges of a working artist in the 21st century. This series is the result of one such embrace and leap of faith. In it she chronicles her experience as an exhibitor in one of the countries top wholesale shows the Buyers Market of American Craft.
Being accepted into this show is no small thing, and it represents the extent of Kristen’s artistic and business growth over the past year.

You can find Kristen here:

web site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Store