Janet H Walker on thu 4 dec 97
Jon Anderson wrote to tell us about his sale at his home. This reminded
me of another kind of "home sale" that a person in my coop did recently.
Caveat: she did decoupage; she was not a potter. But listen...
One of her friends decided to host a "home party" for her. She took her
whole line of stuff, her friend invited a whole bunch of her friends etc.
It was like a Tupperware party. They all talked, ate, laughed, drank
(ahem, white wine, lots) and at the end of the evening, she had sold
a lot and taken orders for a lot more. One of the people there was an
interior decorator who ordered a lot and wants to hold ANOTHER party
of the same kind for her customers.
This person is kind of overwhelmed by the suddenness of the whole thing
BUT she has tons of orders to fill right now for Christmas and she is
thrilled. Or will be, when all the orders get delivered!!
Has anyone else done this kind of thing? Any suggestions, hints,
caveats, for the rest of us?
Jan Walker
Cambridge, MA USA
Jon Anderson on fri 5 dec 97
I guess I've tried this also , I would hand out promotional literature
out at the renaissance and get maybe 6-7 people interested in having pot
parties at their different houses, I would supply a door prize or two and
the wine (very important for pot parties)and give them 20% in pottery (not
money) against their total sales.
One of every three sales made it worth doing so you had to sit though
some interesting groups to get to the honey. It was fun but it can be
replaced with a couple off good sales(non pot parties) every year. God I've
tried a lot of silly stuff through the years.
Jon Anderson
----------
PurpleLama on sat 6 dec 97
Jan Walker wrote about a friend who does decoupage:
One of her friends decided to host a "home party" for her. She took her
whole line of stuff, her friend invited a whole bunch of her friends etc.
It was like a Tupperware party.
My reply:
I used to import used Japanese textiles (kimono, etc) from Japan and sell them
on the east coast. We called them semi-antique! My partner and I would go to
Japan and pick them out one-by-one. At first we did both retail and wholesale
-until we found someone else to do the retail business. (There are only so
many hours in the day.)
One of our methods of retail sales, especially around the December holidays,
was to sell the textiles at parties using the Tuypperware party model. We were
very successful. It was up to the hostess to provide her(usually) friends and
munchies. We would give a little show demonstrating how the various items were
worn, some history, and explanation of the various textile techniques. The
models were the party goers. I think a similar thing could be done with
pottery. Describe different items, techniques, etc. Educate the audience in a
fun, participatory manner.
In return, the hostess received a discount on the textiles she bought.
Depending upon how much was sold at the party, the hostess would also receive
"free" textiles. The more her friends bought, the more she received free. Her
choice of the items, of course. There was also a bonus for the hostess if one
of her friends decided to hold a party as a result.
Hope this helps.
Shula
PurpleLama@aol.com
in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
California dreaming on this cold (almost) winter night
Eleanora Eden on sun 7 dec 97
Hi Jan,
Just remember that business can be even more complicated with friends than
it is with strangers. My code for this is to not make exceptions, smile
broadly, and remember it is business and the way to keep it workable is not
to bend the rules.
Hope this help. E.
At 12:18 PM 12/4/97 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Jon Anderson wrote to tell us about his sale at his home. This reminded
>me of another kind of "home sale" that a person in my coop did recently.
>Caveat: she did decoupage; she was not a potter. But listen...
>
>One of her friends decided to host a "home party" for her. She took her
>whole line of stuff, her friend invited a whole bunch of her friends etc.
>It was like a Tupperware party. They all talked, ate, laughed, drank
>(ahem, white wine, lots) and at the end of the evening, she had sold
>a lot and taken orders for a lot more. One of the people there was an
>interior decorator who ordered a lot and wants to hold ANOTHER party
>of the same kind for her customers.
>
>This person is kind of overwhelmed by the suddenness of the whole thing
>BUT she has tons of orders to fill right now for Christmas and she is
>thrilled. Or will be, when all the orders get delivered!!
>
>Has anyone else done this kind of thing? Any suggestions, hints,
>caveats, for the rest of us?
>
>Jan Walker
>Cambridge, MA USA
>
>
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 eden@sover.net
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