Richard Aerni on thu 29 may 08
Hello folks!
I'm sending this via email, as it seems to be impossible to access clayart
through the archives...
I was just wondering, as my show season is about to get going, if anyone is
willing to share reports on their recent shows, either publicly on clayart,
or privately with me via email. I have heard from a couple of friends
who've just done shows in areas not hit as hard economically as my upcoming
shows have been, and their reports have not been good at all.
Sorry to inject a downer note to the list, but I'm thinking long and hard
about how to revamp the business given the changing economic climes.
Richard
Richard Aerni
http://www.richardaerni.com
http://richardaernipottery.etsy.com
146 Eastland Avenue
Rochester, NY 14618
585-473-5579
Studio
1115 East Main St. Suite 106
Rochester, NY 14609
585-429-0211
Paul Herman on thu 29 may 08
Hello Richard,
I have no report on street shows, as I've quit doing them. But I did
recently have my spring show here at home, and it was quite a success.
I was apprehensive about sales, because I've been reading about the
shaky economy, and the Reno area (where most of my customers are from)
has been hit hard by the foreclosure morass, high fuel prices, and the
attendant inflation.
It seemed there were fewer customers, but the ones who showed up spent
with abandon, more than making up for the missing folks. It was a
better than normal spring show. Several groups arrived by carpooling
with friends, as it's 36 miles to town.
The last couple of weeks it seems like there are less drop-in
customers than normal. In my opinion the economy is in deep dookie.
I'm working on an expanded vegetable garden this year, and plan to cut
as much wood as possible this summer too.
Best wishes,
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
www.greatbasinpottery.com/
On May 29, 2008, at 4:56 PM, Richard Aerni wrote:
> Hello folks!
> I'm sending this via email, as it seems to be impossible to access
> clayart
> through the archives...
> I was just wondering, as my show season is about to get going, if
> anyone is
> willing to share reports on their recent shows, either publicly on
> clayart,
> or privately with me via email. I have heard from a couple of friends
> who've just done shows in areas not hit as hard economically as my
> upcoming
> shows have been, and their reports have not been good at all.
> Sorry to inject a downer note to the list, but I'm thinking long and
> hard
> about how to revamp the business given the changing economic climes.
> Richard
> Richard Aerni
Neal on fri 30 may 08
The Triangle Potters Guild has had a large tent at Raleigh's
Artsplosure for more than a decade. I've taken part in at
least the last six shows. It was the weekend of May 17-18
this year--the weekend between Mother's Day and Memorial Day
weekend.
My sales this year were good--better than ever. But I've
learned that a lot of people who come to this show will buy
things priced from $10 to $20. A few are willing to spend
more. I aim for the masses. The woman beside me, however,
probably ended up with a higher sales total (judging by
the number of pieces sold), and her pieces were priced $35
to $95, generally. She does more sculptural work, whereas
my work is functional--vases, bowls, baking dishes, etc.
There were 18 potters from the guild participating this year.
Some of them were complaining that people weren't buying. I
ended up almost selling out of my ikebana vases on Saturday.
I ended up taking my teabowls home on Saturday and bringing
them back with flower frogs attached and arrangements in them
on Sunday. They all sold.
My other big sellers were salt pigs and cheese plates. These
three items accounted for about 70 percent of my sales. One
potter who primarily had flower pots sold a ton of them.
The guild has one central payment table. We take credit cards.
About 57 percent of my sales were credit card purchases. I'm
glad the guild's treasurer handles the money for us. Everyone
who participates has to work two shifts during the weekend.
The choices are the payment table, throwing demos, and the
kids clay table. I did both of my shifts at the kids table.
The guild is made up of potters of all skill levels. I don't
think any of the ones participating this year are full-time
potters.
During my walks around the show, it seemed like some artists
were selling well. Others not so good. I have not heard yet
what the guild's total sales were and how they compare to
previous years.
Neal O'Briant
Raleigh, N.C.
Darlene Yarnetsky-Mudcat Pottery on fri 30 may 08
Richard:
I don't think you are really injecting a downer note, so much as an
echo that I am hearing everywhere.
I haven't done any shows myself this year, but a few people I have
spoken to tell me they are down. I can tell you that the merchants
in my area are struggling - even the ones well established who have a
long term customer base. One said it is just that their regulars are
spending much less than usual per visit. Others are seeing much less
of each customer. No one is content and many are nervous.
In my shop, I am seeing most of my regulars spend less at a time, and
less people than usual for the weekends. I have made more of the
smaller items and this helps with the impulse purchases, but not
enough to make up for the slowing of sales we are seeing in general.
I too am debating options, but it is complicated by being more
limited in output due to health issues. We dropped shows a few years
back and have debated which way to go since. Leaning towards pushing
the online end more (and going to try etsy since people ask me if I
am there) and beyond that I am still debating.
I love your work, and hope you find ideas quickly. In my opinion,
your work should be flying off the shelves. I think this year is
going to be a challenge for all of us.
Best wishes!
Darlene Yarnetsky
mudcatpottery.com
Paul Lewing on fri 30 may 08
On May 30, 2008, at 12:57 PM, Darlene Yarnetsky-Mudcat Pottery wrote:
Richard: I love your work, and hope you find ideas quickly. In my
opinion,
your work should be flying off the shelves. I think this year is
going to be a challenge for all of us.
Couldn't agree with you more there, Darlene. Too bad it doesn't
always work that way.
I have not done any retail shows so far this year, but I did my main
event, a home improvement show, back in February. I have a show
special where I give people a discount on custom tile murals if they
give me a deposit at the show. It's my only real gage at the show of
how well I'm doing. There are always other people who show up later
who have not given me a deposit, of course. I figure I'm doing well
if I get an average of 1 per day at this 9-day show. The most I've
ever gotten was 17, two years ago. This year I got 5. There were
other factors than the economy working here, though. It was the
nicest weather of the whole winter, and the other really big show of
that time of year conflicted with this one, which almost never
happens. So I was bummed.
However, since that time (can you hear me knocking on wood here?)
people have been calling and ordering murals at about the normal
pace. Maybe even a little better than normal, and so far (another
knock here) they have been bigger more interesting projects on
average than usual. I think this just is a measure of consumer
confidence. They just weren't willing to commit back in February.
So so far I'm doing OK. I just hope it continues. But I've been
doing this through a number of economic downturns, and I've never
noticed that there was that much correlation between the general
economy and what I do.
Paul Lewing
www.paullewingtile.com
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