Bloglines and Can One Retail & Wholesale?
Now, I’ve almost subscribed to all my blogroll via bloglines and I’m a very happy camper. I can login to my account and bloglines tells me who has a new post and I can take a looksie. If I’m moved to comment, I can transport myself painlessly to their blog and come right on back. I can’t recommend this service enough. A++
As far as the question of retail & wholesale, that may be a question for later – unless you want a super long post? Okay, well here it goes… I’ve had a couple of glasses of wine from the now glazed cup you see above (photo to be posted later) so I’m feeling a bit verbose, if you will… it is Friday night after all. I just got my first wholesale order yesterday – very exciting stuff. The buyer orders, I make. Pretty painless. Now, as a fairly new artist, I’m not making a ton of money on either wholesale or retail from my pottery. I make more money teaching clay to be honest. I’ve been reading some posts on the WSC website forums, which unfortunately you don’t have access to unless you are a member. Retailers don’t like artists having a foot in both fronts. If you’re retailing and wholesaling, some argue that you become their competitor. As an artist, I feel like if I were making a living wage from wholesaling, I would stop retailing. But, I’m not there yet – and I’ve got bills to pay. So, I’ve decided to do both. I’m not alone in this – there are several artists who both retail and wholesale.
I sell online via Etsy and I do a limited amount of in person sales at art festivals. I think the trick lies in creating a happy retail price point for myself that doesn’t undercut the retailer. I personally believe that people who shop online are not necessarily the same people who shop galleries and fine craft shops at various locales across the globe. I know I personally like to touch pottery before purchasing someone else’s work. I would have to know the potter’s work before buying something touch unfelt from someone online – pottery is a tactile experience for me. So, in that sense, an in-person gallery is ideal. I’ll take this moment to thank the folks who’ve purchased work from me online based on just a photograph or two.
I understand that with our current economy, galleries and shops are struggling since disposable income is limited for a lot of folks. So what are artists to do? I’m not at a point in my career where I can turn off selling in person just yet. I would, personally prefer to pay a higher percentage to wholesale an item than to consign one – consignment carries a risk to the artist, whereas, wholesale shifts the risk to the gallery. One has to totally trust the gallery or shop to which one is consigning work. What if they go out of business and keep the work? What if it doesn’t sell, and sits there indefinitely? So, with that said, I’m not keen on consignment other than for a special exhibit.
What do you think? I’m really interested in your opinion, as I’ve been thinking heavily about the topic. I haven’t posted new work in my Etsy shop recently as I sort out my dilemma – but I am committed to a special exhibit that includes a sale, the potter’s guild bi-annual sale and the Summer Art Market in the next few months.
Have a good weekend,
~Cynthia
Jean Levert Hood
March 21, 2008 at 7:07 pm //
I did enjoy the eye candy!
I love bloglines. It’s one of my home pages. I use Foxfire, and so that tab just stays up. It’s wonderful, and I wouldn’t want to be without it.
I personally feel that we, as artist, must do what works for us individually. I am represented by Galleries. However, I also sell my own work through my blog, and my Etsy store. (I have a website as well) I sell smaller works and studies on Etsy.
Galleries are a tough road, and I wonder how many people can get enough Gallery sales to suit them. (not even going into the economy issue here) It’s not enough for me at this point in my career, and I enjoy promoting my own work and selling my product. I also teach workshops several times a year. I find that several focus areas bring the most income, instead of relying just on Galleries. That doesn’t work for me.
Yes, you are right, I love to touch and hold pottery before I purchase it. I have collected it for years, and love it. But here is another purchase point – I “know” you – an e-friend, and so knowing you, I can much more readily purchase a piece of pottery, a piece of Cynthia, without that touch.
OK, there are still more questions in your post, but I know I have never had a blog comment anywhere near this length! So, I’ll sign off, and leave the unanswered parts to someone else!
Mary Starosta
March 22, 2008 at 2:14 am //
The TIGHT ROPE or dance if you will. I think when your focus shifts from ART as enjoyment pure un touched creativity to making a living,etc you must make different choices. So my question to you is this…..if you take out the money and making aliving, what would you be doing with your work? Where would it be appreciated and how would you market it if money was not an issue?
Ok now put in reality and having to make a living. Where can you market your art and make a living? These to me are 2 very different issues and ways to go about art. Making a living requires PRODUCTION pottery,period. Volume and sales or in another way getting paid for your time like teaching,etc.
ART in a pure sense, is to me enjoyed,savored like FINE WINE or that first bite of desert,etc. So if you need to walk the TIGHT ROPE or the DANCE your work should reflect these 2 very different roads. If you are not comfortable with the making a living production pottery, teaching ia a nice blend, you can have a pure heart and still make a living. Why alot of folks who do not believe in production pottery ( volume and sales) opt for teaching as a compromise to making a living but still creating art in the pure sense.
Wholesale seems to be focused on making a living,etsy seems to be focused on ART or retail, or even galleries if you will. If you must live in BOTH worlds why not make it easy on yourself? View making a living as Production pottery,wholesale,volume,sales,or teaching (getting a regular check for your time and efforts). Retail is more about one of a kind,gallery,touching tasting,creating for enjoyment,etc. Art if you will.
So create both, a line of pottery or ceramics that you can produce in volume,etc. for sales and a line of art, just one of a kind,doesn’t have to do or sell,you create it just becasue you are inpsired,etc. If is sells so be it, if not you enjoyed the process and inspiration enough that it doesn’t matter.
And hope that one day, your name alone will bring you fame and fortune in making art and not production. That is a gift that only time will tell. Very few artist’s are allowed the opportunities to JUST create without having to walk the line of making a living as well. So make is easy and shift your focus into each role and hope for the best!
Cynthia
March 22, 2008 at 6:58 am //
I almost edited this post this morning – thinking that maybe I was over the line on this one. But, when I woke up and there were comments, I decided to leave it.
Jean – you’re right, it’s difficult to rely on gallery sales alone, which is why teaching has become an unexpected and rewarding part of my career. Selling pottery and fine art is different though – If you sell one large painting, it might be like me selling 20 nice pots. There’s a volume aspect to craft that doesn’t exist in fine art. Unless of course you are a super star ceramic artist and command 100$ a cup. I think wholesaling pottery could be attainable and have seen several artists on WSC who have 100-200+ accounts. Part of this post came out of not wanting to shoot myself in the foot before I even get to the starting line.
Mary, you bring up great points. I’ve been considering having a separate wholesale line and retail line for online/etsy. I would sell the wholesale line at retail shows in person, however. It’s a good way to meet prospective gallery/craft shop owners. At this point, I’m not interested in production pottery and am more interested in small run ceramics. I would have to get invest in a way to be able to produce my work in more quantity via slip casting or jolly jiggering or something to reduce the physical toll that I just know production would require.
As to the question of “if money were no object?” I’ll have to think about that one.
the lone beader
March 22, 2008 at 7:27 am //
I use Google Reader, and I love it. I think I’m up to 128 subscriptions and counting. I subscribe to a lot of beading blogs only to share them on my Push My Buttons page in a shared list. I think it’s cool, cuz the list updates automatically whenever I add a subscription to my reader.
And, I hear ya on consignment. I could try it here at a few shops, but it’s not worth it to me. One in particular takes 50% commission! I don’t know how they manage to keep the same artists selling in their shop! I am just starting out, and am participating in a special exhibit in Sacramento, CA next month. But it’s only a few weeks long. When my pieces don’t sell, they’ll ship them back to me. I think that’s the only way I will do it, too.
Cynthia
March 22, 2008 at 9:26 am //
I had google reader – actually still have it, LB – but haven’t used it like I’m using bloglines. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it then. I’m sure they’re similar.
I would think that especially for your work consignment would be terribly difficult, unless it were local, since your fantastic beaded pieces take quite a long time to create.
janvangogh
March 22, 2008 at 11:21 pm //
Separate lines is the way I would go.
I have an artist friend who does the same art fair year after year back home. Some times she sells, sometimes she doesnt. But she told me that either way, it is cheap advertising. I usually remind myself of that when I have done art fair duds.
Heather
March 23, 2008 at 5:11 am //
I’ve quit doing fairs and art shows for the most part. (no money in it for me over the last three years of shows, not one sale!) The galleries are hard for me to even get to talk to me (self trained artist that paints outside the box…it’s like I walk in and tell them that, they hear your an artists with the black plague) let alone carry my work, although I have had many shows in galleries and sales during those shows, (one even sold out on opening night) but not one gallery has ever asked me to partner (stay and be represented) with them afterwards. I have enough inventory to go wholesale, but they are one of a kind works, I don’t do anything twice if I can help it. I do offer all my work at a wholesale prices to the public (even when I am not having sales like I am now) because the wholesale price is what I would get after the costs the galleries take from a sale, most take between 50-70% with commissions and costs). I did very well when I painted furniture all the time in consignment shops, actually that started my career off, consignment. But consignment for fine art is a risky thing that has not panned out for me when I have tried it before. I now sell everything from my blog or web site. I try to have a t least two solo shows a year in a proper gallery setting. I have few people who want to make an appointment and come see the studio…in all the times I have opened the doors, I’ve only sold 4 works that way…they really for the most part, wanted to see a working studio, and many were artists themselves looking for information or wanting me to show their work. I have learned a little secret about myself…I am happiest when my work is selling. I spent the last two years working really hard on getting into galleries (for representation)across the country, to further my art career, and hopefully establish some sort of fame or following. I’ve given up on that for now, I can take rejection better than most I think, but I find it’s no use to continue to do something that makes me unhappy, plus it’s a small mountain of rejections at this point) Like I said, I like selling art, I don’t care if it’s from a gallery or my web site or blog, I just enjoy making a sale. Makes me giddy and super excited inside that someone gets my work, it makes me feel alive and vital, it makes me feel successful. So, I forget about making a living from my art (becoming well known, represented in galleries so I no longer have to think about marketing and can just paint my heart out), and I concentrate on just making my own sales so I can keep working. That one little choice has made my sales jump this year like crazy (even before I started having sale prices). I am building a new web site (with help of a wonderful professional) that will make it easier for people to purchase online with a click of a button, where I don’t have that now…and it slows things down if people have to ask questions, then wait, then decide…by the time all that happens they’ve found another work that they can buy easier…so I am working on that. I think it’s totally great that you are starting to get orders, because you make functional art….it’s going to be a lot of work as you become more popular, but so rewarding! I am trying to build a group of true fans…right now I have 15 or so that love my work, own at least one (most have many more than that) and they will by from me online, because they know the quality is there, even if my picture taking skills are still forming. I want to have 200 true fans, then I can make a living from my work…and not have to have a day job too. If I had even 100 true fans, and they bought one work a year…there you go…I’d have it made as an artist and I would be super happy. I think it’s going to be very easy for you to have 1000+ true fans in no time! Great post, I’m glad you didn’t edit it, it really made me think this morning and I thank you for that. Love to you sistah!
Cynthia
March 23, 2008 at 8:47 am //
Janet – I think that’s where I’m headed is to have separate lines. That way there’s absolutely no conflict.
Heather, I’ve seen the 1000 True Fans tickle circulating around the blogosphere – I’m going to have to investigate a little further. I think the one thing that I’ve realized and what a lot of artists are realizing is that there is no one size fits all in regard to selling and marketing art. I think galleries are also realizing that the business model is changing too with the advent of widespread Internet usage. As you can probably tell, whether you are self taught or schooled in art, we are all at a similar place.
I really wish the school I attended had a business class for its students that was required. It’s all fine and dandy to explore creativity, but what do you do with it when you walk out the door with that shiny diploma. It’s really no different than leaving with a degree in journalism or geology only our job hunt is so much different. Other people go looking for a job with various companies, we make our own jobs. Sure there are a few production pottery type jobs posted occasionally or maybe gallery or teaching jobs – but then you’re competing with the art history graduates or the art education ones.
I think this is what I’ve been exploring and figuring out the past couple of years. I’m fortunate that my husband makes enough money and that I’ve had the luxury to figure it out, otherwise I would probably be in a cube right now trying to make ends meet.
Mary T.
March 23, 2008 at 10:41 am //
It will be fun to see how you handle all of this and is very exciting to be a purcheser of your works. Yum-O!
Mary Sheehan Winn
March 24, 2008 at 11:54 am //
I’m glad you didn’t edit the post because it is a legitimate quandry for us all. I have no gallery representation but I do hold an annual Open Studio with a group. This is where most of my sales occur
.
My quest in building the blog is having that real time personal connection with the ‘fans’ if you will, and building on that. I’m tickled to death to be receiving encouraging and favorable comments from artists whom I admire. I’d also like to get into teaching and sometimes opportunities come about through networking.
I have never been that good at the business end of my art and so this is my current focus.
It is not about whether or not the art is ‘good’, because that’s too ambiguous to be assessed. I’ve long believed that there’s a buyer for everything. It’s up to me to make it happen.
I enjoyed perusing your blog and who doesn’t love beautiful ceramics?
little like sand
March 24, 2008 at 4:47 pm //
Hi Cynthia, for local consignment and we set the price at what we expect to get out of our pieces as if wholesaling. I do 3 fund raiser shows a year and 2 private garden shows. It`s up and down, but those are all retail pricing, not good to compete with our local consignment and retail outlets unless you`ve got a great product and huge demand. We also sell retail over the net on an associate site. Most of our retail outlets are 2.25 to as much as a 3 times mark up on wholesale and that`s what we sell at on the internet. Remember brick and mortar stores have huge over head. Never sell yourself short. That`s not saying you can`t adjust down with special offers. We do it all the time with our mailings ie; free shipping, discount prices on new items or a better price to try and ressurect an old item, etc. Do both, just carefully pick your markets. Remember a retail seller reaches a very limted number of people. There`s allot of space between stores. I`m amazed at how many of our retailers don`t sell over the net. We also direct end consumers that contact us for artwork to a local retailer if there`s one near them, if not a list of retailers with internet sales capability. LOCAL consignment and keep them well supplied. Until your well established, you`ll lose a good spot in a heart beat! If they don`t sell much, don`t be afraid to get your stuff out and keep after payment. Get a contract. Sorry to carry on, I`m going away now. Bye
Chae
March 26, 2008 at 3:56 pm //
Cynthia
On the consignment topic: my reactions are unusually negative for 2 reasons. (1) Had a bad experience with one gallery where i misjudged the (lovliest – she really was sweet) lady who obsconded with my pieces! and (2) If pieces are on consignment, you the creator are not earning the money to re-invest in materials to create more. And, if the consignee doesn’t actively market your pieces, they sit collecting dust. In this instance, they are not a benefit to either.
The wholesaler situation seems like a better avenue. For i think they pay upfront to purchase merchandise, don’t they?
My ideas on this subject are rather foggy, for as yet don’t feel as if my work is “good enough” to market so haven’t the background experience to offer (except for that one gallery and that was when i was creating jewelry).
As far as selling in several market arenas simultaneously – as long as they are not locally competing markets – what’s the harm? In fact, each market could be advertized to highlight and enable the other so all are beneficiaries – each receiving requests for your pottery from customers who came across your work via the other source (rusty thinking here but maybe the kernel of the idea is apparent?)
But i do think you’ve thought this through very well. And also think that your ideas are right on the mark!
Hugs
Chae
paul wandless
March 31, 2008 at 9:45 pm //
keep me posted on your printing on clay work. The linocut cup is nice. I’m writing another book so make sure I know what you are doing. I can include some of your works!
paul