SHINOM@aol.com on thu 14 nov 96
Clayarters -
A friend of mind here in WV is involved with a struggling crafts cooperative
- not a studio, but a craft shop. She has asked that I solicit the dispersed
community on her behalf.
Basically, she is interested in how other such coops around the country are
organized and structured. Are member juried in? Is there a basic membership
charge? What is the commission on sales? What is required of members in
terms of work, sitting, serving on committees? Is there a sliding
commission scale depending on work? What is the leadership? Is there any
paid stafff?
I will be happy to pass on any information that you who are involved in such
coops might share. TIA
Malcolm Davis ......
in wvbygod where it's snowing for the 6th straight day.
Lee Glass Road
Route 1, Box 394A
Tallmansville, WV 26237
304-472-7043
Dave and Pat Eitel on fri 15 nov 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Clayarters -
>
>A friend of mind here in WV is involved with a struggling crafts cooperative
>- not a studio, but a craft shop. She has asked that I solicit the dispersed
>community on her behalf.
>
>Basically, she is interested in how other such coops around the country are
>organized and structured. Are member juried in? Is there a basic membership
>charge? What is the commission on sales? What is required of members in
>terms of work, sitting, serving on committees? Is there a sliding
>commission scale depending on work? What is the leadership? Is there any
>paid stafff?
>
>I will be happy to pass on any information that you who are involved in such
>coops might share. TIA
>
>Malcolm Davis ......
>in wvbygod where it's snowing for the 6th straight day.
>
>Lee Glass Road
>Route 1, Box 394A
>Tallmansville, WV 26237
>304-472-7043
Malcom--We run our shop as a quasi co-op. We own it, but it is staffed by
people who exchange space in the shop for staffing. We jury the work and
try to choose people whose personalities mesh with ours and with our
shop's. They work from 4-8 days per month and pay a 10% to 15%
commission on all their sales. We pay all the bills--rent, utilities,
advertising, etc., etc. We have been using this format for 20 years and it
has worked well for us and for our participating craftspeople. This is a
perfect situation for ksomeone who wants a year round place to sell their
work, but don't have the quantity to fill a shop of their own--or who don't
want to or are unable to spend the time and effort of having their own shop.
Later...Dave
Dave Eitel
Cedar Creek Pottery
Cedarburg, WI
pots@cedarcreekpottery.com
http://www.cedarcreekpottery.com
Janet H Walker on fri 15 nov 96
I belong to a coop shop. It hasn't been lucrative but I've learned
a lot which makes it worthwhile.
There is a jury committee which reviews work once a month. If the
jury committee likes the work, then the full membership has to vote
on whether to accept the new member. The vote takes place at the
monthly meeting, which all members are expected to attend. We are
currently discussing adding a personal interview to this process
in order to impress upon prospective members what the responsibilities
of membership are. This is very important because a cooperative can't
work if it admits more than a few people who turn out not to be very
cooperative.
The "initiation fee" is $100. It is added to the general funds for
capital expenses.
We do not take a commission; the artist gets 100% of the take (minus
the credit card fee if any.)
The admin duties are shared and rotated. We have a chair who is
responsible for running the meetings and "everything else",
treasurer, publicity committee, supplies chair, schedule chair (for
windows and special exhibits), secretary. What else? It is fairly
loose. People change jobs every 6 months or so. (Some coops have
a board of directors but we are not that formal.)
The monthly dues fluctuate, depending on membership level and expenses
like advertising. It has been $55 - $65 per month in recent times.
This is cheap. It is only that cheap because we have cheap space in a
not ideal location (in a city not known as an art buyers mecca...).
Every member is required to put in gallery sitting time. This is
monitored closely and there is a fine for not showing up. (Oh yes,
there's a chair for this schedule as well. This person has to make
sure that all the slots get filled.) Currently we have to work one
day a month but as membership will drop after the holidays that will
probably go to one and a half. We are not open Sundays or evenings
except during the December season, which limits our customer base.
People are expected to show up for meetings, gallery rehangings,
openings, and window setup. (We have two windows and change each
every four weeks, with the schedule overlapping so that something
visible changes outside every two weeks.)
This gallery is now in its 7th year or so. A few of the original
members are still there, which is essential because the history is
all oral. There is a art vs fine craft vs hobby craft tension and
there was a committee to work out guidelines about quality and
originality. It's a pretty good group (compared to some of the
other coops I've heard about). Seems to be a lot of mutual respect
and tolerance. Some people sell a lot and others don't ever cover
their dues but find that having the public exhibition space is worth
it to them.
What else? Oh yes. There's no way currently to "fire" someone from
the coop for uncooperative behavior. A new member is required to
commit to six months of membership (so they can't just join for
December and then take off!). If you are planning to leave, you
have to give two months notice, to give some time for figuring how
to cover the financial shortfall from the lost dues. Very
occasionally someone who is leaving will stiff us for the last
months dues and we're trying to figure out how to cope with that
without adding all kinds of mostly unneeded complexity. People "in
good standing" (still to be defined!) can take leaves of absence
(with two months notice) and reactivate their membership later on.
I guess that's the main points. I've heard of various other ways to do
this and maybe some other people will describe how their coops work.
Although I havent' sold enough to cover expenses, I've found that it is
sufficiently satisfying in other ways that I'll stay at least for awhile.
They say it can take a couple of years before the customers get used to
someone new...
Best,
Jan Walker
Cambridge MA USA (the coop is NOT in Cambridge)
Indianapolis Art Center on tue 19 nov 96
I was very involved with the formation pof Charleston Crafts, Inc., a coop
gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. We founded on a wing and a prayer-
fifty artists paid $25 each, and we opened on May 6, 1989. The coop has
moved four times, both because of Hurricane Hugo and growth of membership.
We were fortunate enough to have the support of the City of Charleston. In
September of 1988, Beth Molaro and I (a potter who now lives in West
Virginia) went on a road trip to Atlant and stopped in Athens Georgia along
the way. We met with some of the people at a coop in Athens, and discussed
how great it would be to have a coop in Charleston. After ariving back in
Chas. we mentioned this to a friend, who told Diane Abbey Lewis, then the
Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Charlestn. She called us in
for a meeting, and in a nutshell, offered us a free building if we could
open in time for Piccolo Spoleto Festival in 1989.
At 09:54 PM 11/14/96 EST, you wrote:
>A friend of mind here in WV is involved with a struggling crafts cooperative
>- not a studio, but a craft shop. She has asked that I solicit the dispersed
>community on her behalf.
>
>Basically, she is interested in how other such coops around the country are
>organized and structured. Are member juried in? Is there a basic membership
>charge?
Yes, we jury members in and have a waiting list for certain mediums. The
fee was $25.00 year, it might be more now- I have a lifetime membership as
one of the co-founders, so I don't pay dues.
What is the commission on sales? What is required of members in
>terms of work, sitting, serving on committees?
40/60 spilt if you don't work one time a month, 25% if you do. Everyone is
required to serve on one committee, such as membership, gallery prep,
Piccolo Spoleto Craft Fair, etc.
Is there a sliding
>commission scale depending on work?
No- see above. If a comission is recieved through the coop, on an honor
system it is requested that you pay 25%.
What is the leadership? Is there any
>paid stafff?
The gallery has an elected BOD, with officers and three members-at-large.
All members are encouraged to attend board meetings and to serve on either
committees or the BOD. We have progressed to paying one person as a
part-time gallery manager, who maintains the shop in its daily functions.
This has only been within the last three years, though.
>
Good Luck-
Stephanie Robertson
Exhibitions Assistant
The Indianapolis Art Center
>I will be happy to pass on any information that you who are involved in such
>coops might share. TIA
>
>Malcolm Davis ......
>in wvbygod where it's snowing for the 6th straight day.
>
>Lee Glass Road
>Route 1, Box 394A
>Tallmansville, WV 26237
>304-472-7043
>
>
Don E. Parker on tue 19 nov 96
A friend of mind here in WV is involved with a struggling crafts cooperative
>- not a studio, but a craft shop. She has asked that I solicit the dispersed
>community on her behalf.
>
A site that might be of help to your friend is The Artisans Commonwealth at
http://members.aol.com/sartisan/index.html. It appears to be a listing of
co-ops
etc and how they work. -Don-
Judy Pekelsma on wed 20 nov 96
I feel a bit shy, but i'll enter here. I belong to a co-operative gallery
in Silver City, NM and we jury members in, charge an entrance fee, require
two days gallery sitting per month, pay rent, and give 20% commission to
cover gallery expenses, Visa/MC, shipping. We also require new members to
sign on for at least six months so we don't get people coming in only for
Christmas or peak months and then leaving. It has been quite a learning
experience because we rearrange the entire gallery once a month and each
have a turn in the windows this way.. Making decisions regarding gallery
improvements, etc. can be quite involving since each member has their own
perspective on what's important. I've only been a member since July, but
now I am secretary. It is a great way to get to know other artists while
establishing yourself. But, I must caution that you must also respect your
own needs as an artist and now give up too much
Judy Pekelsma
20 Loma Verde Drive
Silver City, NM 88061
505 538 5837
jpek@zianet.com
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