Janet H Walker on thu 8 jan 98
Marie Gibbons comments:
...understanding of how consumers act and react. How to
"advertise", sell, and educate about a "product"...
Indeed. I'm in a small cooperative gallery where we are doing a
dismal (read nonexistent) job of educating our visitors about fine
crafts. I would like to see us do SOMETHING.
Do you have some specific "low-budget" recommendations for studio
potters? I'm sure any info that you have would be useful to those
of us doing open studio sales also. Please! Anything concrete
would help!
Jan Walker
Cambridge MA USA
MGibb21521 on thu 8 jan 98
Jan Walker asks:
Do you have some specific "low-budget" recommendations for studio
potters? I'm sure any info that you have would be useful to those
of us doing open studio sales also. Please! Anything concrete
would help!
Jan,
My feelings are a little bit of insight, information about the "product" can
go a very long way with a "consumer"
We understand the blood - sweat - tears - (not to mention $$ for materials,
space, commisions etc. that we pay) however, most of our "customers" don't
give any of that stuff a second thought! Little things can get a point
across, like having demos lined up on the weekends, let people see how work is
produced, maybe even let people try to produce a piece themselves. Talk
about, and / or have typed information available to customers to read about
the process, the labor, the time. All of this helps people understand the
worth of something they may otherwise take for granted and just look at as an
asthetic object, "oh how pretty - wow, that much!" I always make a point of
educating my students, friends, and anyone who asks about the commisions paid
to galleries, most people don't realize that an artist will only receive 50 -
65% of the ticket price of a piece. Too many people still want to think an
artist is someone who conducts their own "therapy" sessions at home by doing
art, and not that they are a business person, trying to make a living, trying
to be fairly paid for their time, talent and the cost of doing business.
I create all of my own promotional materials, simply but I think
proffessionally. I have an inexpensive but pretty good color scanner, scan in
photos, and at times have scanned actual pieces (flat -1/2 -3/4" width pieces)
then import them into a word processing 3 column format to create a brochure.
I show 2 -3 images of current work, list the specific shows I will be
participating in, list my year round venues, and always not that work can also
be seen privately in my studio as well. Group situations could also do this
featuring several different artists every 3 months. Bring these brochures
everywhere you go, hand them out, leave them around, mail them to you mailing
list etc. etc. etc. If you don't have a scanner you could go to Kinkos (or
some other copy service place) and use their scanner, it is not that expensive
for what you can walk out with, save your images as a BMP then you can import
from your floppy disc (bring lots though, as images take up alot of space and
you may only get 2 - 3 images per disk)
Well, there are afew ideas, hope they are helpful. The key is do as much as
you can to educate people about what is involved with your art!!!
Marie
Wendy Rosen on fri 9 jan 98
Dear Marie,
This year The Rosen Group is focusing in on educating consumers
about both the process and the community of craft. It is our goal to make
an important contribution in the area of "Nuturing Customers Into
Collectors".
It's time we all looked for ways to "fan the flame" and bring more
consumers and collectors into our community. Today we are fortunate that
most affluent or educated people can have access to the craft community
through a local arts organization or gallery... but few of these
organizations have taken the necessary steps to educate their visitors.
Many galleries are searching for ways to expand their audience to
younger collectors, yet they are "stuck" in an atmosphere of elitism and
high end work that does not appeal to young collectors.
On the other hand, production galleries are growing to meet the
needs of yound collectors who are seeking work that begins at $40 and goes
as high as $5,000.
Understanding the culture of the Baby Boomer Generation is
important to our survival and our success as a community.
Here's a short lecture that I often give to students in University
Art Departments.... I'd love some feedback from ClayArt Subscribers!!!
***The New Collector***
What is a collector?
Some of us define collectors by the value of their purchases, others might
define collectors by the number of their purchases. The dictionary defines
the word as "one who obtains specimens or objects". However you define
your customers... they serve a very important purpose in your life as a
parent, spouse or partner and in your career as an artist.
Without collectors, artists must find other sources of income to meet the
basic needs of life. Collectors are the fuel that keeps you as an artist in
the studio. Without customers you are forced to compromise your life as an
artist and find other ways to make a living.
Waiting tables in a restaurant is no way to grow as an artist...
In todays' world, conspicuous consumption is a tonic for societies ills.
In the last decade the pursuit of "quality" was neglected by mainstream
America. Today things are turning around as more and more baby boomer
executives, D.I.N.K.S and other upscale couples in their forties purchase
large homes in surburbia.
The reasons your collectors will buy your work are numerous but all
purchases boil down to two basic segments.
Your customers buy your work either
1. For themselves.
2. For gifts.
Gifts.
Before language was written or money minted, humans exchanged gifts. Gift
giving is probably one of the oldest and most basic human behaviors.
The act of giving is a powerful act of communication. It enhances and even
changes relationships between us and others.
Gift giving is about obligation, when we give a gift we are responding to
an inner feeling of obligation, or a hope to create an obligation.
The average gift sold in a craft gallery sells for about $100 retail.
These are not casual gifts, they are offered to close family members or for
very special occasions.
Handcrafted gifts are special because of their uniqueness, but crafted
gifts are also special due to the fact that they were made by a special
person with care.
The Economics of Giving.
One sixth of all retail sales in this country are attributed to Christmas
gift shopping alone. For most shops and galleries more than 40% of their
entire years business sales volume happens during the last 90 days of the
calendar year.
Gifts to Ourselves.
For most of us, our lives are much alike. We parent, work, sleep, and
reside in a space called home. Each home is a set of rooms with flat
walls, doors and windows.
Despite the commonality of all these elements each home is different. It
is a private world created by an "individual" and it is that individuality
that separates us from each other.
Craft and art gives each of us the opportunity to be "more" unique, more
different. In todays world of mass production... we have to work harder at
our individualism.
When we are small children we begin to project values on objects and to
create powerful associations with them. From toys to food we create
opinions, likes and dislikes, in an every expanding environment until we
develop our own sense of self-expression through the environment we create
for ourselves.
Self-expression through the selection, purchase and arrangement of items
for our environment is in itself a healthy pursuit. It can help us confirm
our values and share our ideals with others.
What we know about craft buying habits...
Two years ago we were curious about craft collectors and their habits. We
surveyed gallery owners for their feedback about their customers habits and
we discovered some interesting things.
Although most craft consumers are female... they are desperately searching
for gifts for men! They are interested in art and sculpture for outside
placement in the garden.
Most craft purchases happen at shops and galleries on the eastcoast (81%).
It's easy to see why westcoast and midwest artists travel to the Northeast
and Florida to sell their works at retail fairs and wholesale markets.
What collectors tell us...
Last year we surveyed thousands of AmericanStyle magazine readers to find
out who they were... to that we could begin the task of expanding the
marketplace for contemporary crafts.
We discovered that todays collector is a woman aged 35-54 with an income of
$100,000. She owns a home worth well over $270,000 and spends weekends
gallery hopping and traveling to museums, art fairs and exhibitions
purchasing art along the way.
This new collector incorporates art into every facet of their lives,
wearing art, entertaining with art, and purchasing it for gifts.
They are the children of World War II parents. They are babyboomers...
and they were flower children of the sixties...
They are also the first generation of college educated adults. That
college education is what changed their view of the world. They have
expectations and demands that their parents never had.
In college they studied different cultures, history, art and design and
even architecture... they are the first generation to demand good design.
Now entering their 40's they are approaching the peak of their careers and
income potential.
The role of art in their lives is expanding... from paper and canvas to
household items, clothing, television, and CD rom. Today some of our
greatest art is not applied to any surface... it's online, in comic books,
magazines, videos and on t-shirts.
Art has entered the mainstream of American life. The art of the next
generation is not the art of our fathers!
Unlike their parents, the country club or church social groups are less
important... these educated/affluelnt new baby boomers are selecting new
and unusual identities that make them viewed by their familly, friends and
colleagues unique. They expected to find personal fufillment in their
jobs... but when that didn't happen they went elswere in persuit of
adventure and passion.
What makes a person you meet today interesting? It's probably not their
job, sports or even their religion... chances are they have something they
will share with you as an identity that separates them from other people
you may know....
They have "something" to talk about... they have a new "country club" it
might be traveling, scuba diving, hot air ballooning, short wave radio,
computer chat lines, woodturning or art collecting.
Today when most daytime college (non-computer) art classes are shrinking to
the point of extinction.... the evening continuing education classes are
filled with professionals with a passion, seeking a diversion from their
boring lives of law and accounting... they are returning to night school
to study jewelry making, ceramics and woodturning!
Are these new artists your future competitors... a few perhaps... but most
of them will be your future collectors. They will understand how much work
goes into each piece. They will honor and repect your lifestyle and the
choices you have made to create a career.
The Changing Marketplace
As a community or an industry artists are changing too, they are growing
out of the boxes that have confined them to one media or one type of work.
Production artists with solid studio businesses are now discovering that
there is time for exploring one-of-a-kind work again... and they are
surprised to learn that those same production galleries that sell $65 boxes
and bowls have nutured their customers and can now sell work that is priced
up to $3,000!
Educators are discovering like other professionals that job security is a
thing of the past. The erosion of tenure slots at every university has
forced them to put one foot outside the ivy towers of academia into the
reality of the marketplace... for the first time they are learning how to
make and sell their own work! --- they have become better teachers because
of it- bringing the real world into the classroom.
One of a kind artists- like Dale Chihuly have discovered that to protect
the value of his work in the secondary auction market he needed to
cultivate younger baby boomer collectors. The way Chihuly approached the
market was with work that sold for less than $3,000.
The walls of ego, elitism and arrogance in the art market are crumbling
down. Why?
Today the marketplace is coming to you!... The path to collectors is
getting clearer and easier every day!
If you're going to start along the path be prepared for the dips and bumps
in the road... there will be many!
Learn to adapt to change. Successful artists are quick change artists.
Strategies have to change to meet today's demands.
When I entered this community sixteen years ago I discovered a group of
creative people who wanted to move forward in a new direction... to invent
a new industrial revolution for things made by hand with thoughtful
purpose.
The work they created was very different from the products of the
industrial and technological age where products are designed and
manufactured to appeal to hundreds of millions of consumers.
These artists were making objects to appeal to a narrow specialized market
of well educated people. Today the number of college educated consumers is
growing at an incredible rate. In addition, cable television networks and
the Internet is providing all of us with continuing education throughout
our lives.
The explosion of college educated adults is fueling the marketplace for
craftwork. Each year the audience for contemporary craftwork grows.
These are just some of the trends I see that separate your marketplace...
from that of the larger mass market.
Slide Tray 2
Trends
1 Pro-Earth. (Gardening, ecological)
2 Pro-Family (Relationships, feelings, sensitivity)
3 Pro-Philosophy & Belief Systems (Ritual & Religious Items and
Storytelling.
4 Pro-Diversity (Multi-culturism, primitave, aboriginal and
afrocentric art)
5 Pro-Individualism (I'm unique)
6 Fantasy Medieval, Science Fiction,
7 Humor. Anything that puts a smile on your face. Bright colors.
8 Beauty. Appreciation of design movements throughout history,
Bauhaus, Arts & Craft, Art Nouveau, Art Deco etc..
Babyboomers make up a large part of our market of the year 2,000...
their level of education, lifestyle choices already make them prime
prospects for customers .... and this new group of craft collectors is 16
times larger than the group we were selling to just ten years ago.
The demand is there... all you need to do is design products that coincides
with the ideals they hold dear... they are like us members of many tribes
and groups... some are ecological, some are individualists, some are
artistic, some are travel and multi-cultural enthusiasts, some are
high-tech talkers, big ticket buyers or squeezed for leisure time, and
above all boomers are synics...
It is your work that gives them hope and nurtures the little voice in them
that tells them that individual people can still make a difference in this
complicated world.
Some people have called us a new industry... handcrafted gifts and
collectibles are one of the fastest growing retail segments. And as of yet
we haven't been targeted by big retail corporations for exploitation. A
good thing!
In the early eighties, craftspeople created the elements of a new business
community with specially adapted innovative tools to make the selling of
art easier and more efficient so that it didn't get in the way of the
making of art.
Many people back then told us that mixing art and business was a recipe for
boring art... art for the masses. They feared that artists would begin to
make products that looked like they were stamped out in Taiwan.
There was a time when I thought they might be right... but on the other
side of the mountain we've crossed it seems that a new formula for the
business of art has succeeded.
Production artists who have successful studios now have the time and money
to explore new ideas and take new risks while supporting their families.
There's more creative time.
Today there is more time for networking and exploring new skills, media and
ideas with other artists and gallery owners. Today there is a supportive
community where everyone is treated with respect and where integrity is an
important part of any relationship.
Yesterdays, starving artists in a loft or garrett is todays' artist with
kids in private school and a business that is respected and supported by
the entire surrounding community.
Craft businesses have become a vital economic element in many small
communities where they provide seeds for revitalizing rundown buildings,
draw tourism dollars and just make people feel good about their communities.
Craft in all it's forms provides the world with an opportunity to create
bridges between asthetic and function, reality and fantasy, between the
impossible and the possible.
Art without business, whether you make small objects or large sculpture is
not more than a hobby. What is the value of a compliment without risk or
commitment?
The marketplace of the future will allow us all to find customers for the
work you WANT to create.... not make you create for the customers you can
find.
About The Rosen Group...
Each year at The Rosen Group we work with more than 15,000 artists helping
them to make a living through making and selling their craftworks.
Some of these artists participate in our shows, some attend our Craft
Business Institute, some advertise in one of our magazines.
Most of them have just heard of us from a friend and are calling us for
advice about problem or question that may or may not relate to the services
we offer. We review portfolios of art students, offer career advice, and
even privately consult one on one, without charge.
Why do we do it? What we learn by helping each of you helps us serve this
community better and offer better services in the future. So anytime you
have a problem or question... feel free to call. 410/889-2933.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Educating your customers with AmericanStyle Magazine.......
American Style Magazine. http://americanstyle.com
The first "lifestyle" magazine about contemporary craft artists and art
collectors! Through the color feature stories in AmericanStyle readers
visit the elegant homes of collectors and the eclectic studios of artists.
Each issue includes a comprehensive guide to more than 500 arts
destinations and events. Page after page you'll find illustrations of art
glass, studio ceramics, art furniture, sculpture and jewelry. Galleries and
art centers may opt to sell AmericanStyle to their customers and visitors.
For more information: email
>----------------------------Original message--------------------
>Marie Gibbons comments:
> ...understanding of how consumers act and react. How to
> "advertise", sell, and educate about a "product"...
>
>Indeed. I'm in a small cooperative gallery where we are doing a
>dismal (read nonexistent) job of educating our visitors about fine
>crafts. I would like to see us do SOMETHING.
>
>Do you have some specific "low-budget" recommendations for studio
>potters? I'm sure any info that you have would be useful to those
>of us doing open studio sales also. Please! Anything concrete
>would help!
>
>Jan Walker
>Cambridge MA USA
*******************************************
Wendy Rosen
The Rosen Group
Niche & AmericanStyle Magazines
http://americanstyle.com
3000 Chestnut Ave #304 Baltimore, MD 21211
Voice: 410/889-3093 Fax: 410/243-7089
*******************************************
shelford on sat 10 jan 98
Jan - Do you (yourself or your group) take part in any local craft fairs, or
community festivals? Further to what Marie has said (and I mentioned this
last year too at some point,) I had a lot of success devoting my time in a
community festival to an educative display about glazes - formulating,
testing, the effects of different materials - rather than just selling. At
the time, I did it that way because I didn't have much stock for sale
anyway, but wanted to take part in the festival. But it was so successful I
would do it again for its own sake - and it generated a lot of repeat
business later. It would be the sort of contact with people that would give
you something to follow up on, too.
- Veronica
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Marie Gibbons comments:
> ...understanding of how consumers act and react. How to
> "advertise", sell, and educate about a "product"...
>
>Indeed. I'm in a small cooperative gallery where we are doing a
>dismal (read nonexistent) job of educating our visitors about fine
>crafts. I would like to see us do SOMETHING.
>
>Do you have some specific "low-budget" recommendations for studio
>potters? I'm sure any info that you have would be useful to those
>of us doing open studio sales also. Please! Anything concrete
>would help!
>
>Jan Walker
>Cambridge MA USA
>
>
___________________________________________
Veronica Shelford
e-mail: shelford@island.net
s-mail: P.O. Box 6-15
Thetis Island, BC V0R 2Y0
Tel: (250) 246-1509
MGibb21521 on sun 11 jan 98
Wendy,
It is so good to hear of efforts to educate about art / craft. Sometimes I
think that we (artists and sellers of art) are in this kind of Bermuda
triangle, and we are the only ones who can let ourselves out, it is our
responsibility to be informative / not mysterious about our work.
Your lecture is wonderful, really like the way you talk about the consumer and
the artist. I am teaching a creativity class (at the Colorado Inst. of Art
(Fashion Design and Marketing dept. -in Denver CO) and would love to include
some of the information from your lecture in some of my talks, I think that it
is sooo important for students / artists / people to understand "their place"
in the market, and with that understanding find a way to be different /
creative with the approach they take to their work.
Now for a personal question . . .
You mention that you (your co.) review the portfolios of students. Could you
talk with me a little more about what it is you do, with whom (only students?)
and what type of fees are involved. I am asking from a personal vantage. I
have been "doing art" as long as I can remember. Over the years things
change, fine tune, develop as they should. I have been working with clay now
for about two and a half years. I love this medium! I am basically a self
taught artist - in all areas I have worked in. I take workshops when
possible, talk with other artists, work hard at SEEING and HEARING what is
going on. I currently show with several galleries in the Denver and
Surrounding area. (Show of Hands in Cherry Creek / Denver) is one of my
strongest galleries) I am wanting to "span out" and get outside of Colorado.
This is difficult, as I don't know where I should be approaching. Is there a
possibility that you could view some slides of my work and comment on your
feelings about the work and where I might try to get it?
I thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Marie Gibbons
MGibb21521
Arvada Co
KLeSueur on mon 12 jan 98
In a message dated 1/9/98 5:17:51 PM, you wrote:
<Art Departments.... I'd love some feedback from ClayArt Subscribers!!!
>>
Wendy,
I think you've done an admirable job of defining the "problem" and some
"solutions". One of the trends in shows that I find detrimental is the move
toward "higher quality". It's not that I'm against quality. But I believe the
term is often misused when the speaker really means "sophistication". The clay
I saw at the Buyer's Market the two years I participated ranged widely in
terms of sophistication. But all of it was quality work. The pieces were well
formed, glazes were properly applied and fit the intended use. I see this
range of sophistication at the most popular (for the buyer) shows.
I believe the continual demand to raise the level of "sophistication" at shows
under the guise of "quality" will benefit no one in the end, drive apart the
community, and drive away many buyers to other alternatives.
Kathi LeSueur
Wendy Rosen on wed 14 jan 98
Kathy etal,
Some of the objects you refer to seem to "scream ART" ... the
general public seems to WANT to be associated with art in their lives, but,
they also seem to want to scream it... not speak in the quiet confidence of
a simple form with an incredible glaze.
There needs to be more customer awareness regarding the difficulty
in developing an artists glazes... it often is an artists' most obvious
"signature".
I feel that the ceramic work that SCREAMS ART... is far less
sophisticated that the work that speaks quietly and eloquently.
I often find myself on a fence trying to judge what type of art
will help me sell magazines on the newsstand... rather than trying to
balance the presentation of art of all styles.
Do you know anyone who has written passionately about their glaze
or their inspiratin for simple form in their brochure, media kit, or press
releases?
What a great topic for a publishers' note... THANKS for the idea!!!
(This is why I stay on-line an hour each day!!!)
Wendy
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>In a message dated 1/9/98 5:17:51 PM, you wrote:
>
><>Art Departments.... I'd love some feedback from ClayArt Subscribers!!!
>>>
>
>Wendy,
>I think you've done an admirable job of defining the "problem" and some
>"solutions". One of the trends in shows that I find detrimental is the move
>toward "higher quality". It's not that I'm against quality. But I believe the
>term is often misused when the speaker really means "sophistication". The clay
>I saw at the Buyer's Market the two years I participated ranged widely in
>terms of sophistication. But all of it was quality work. The pieces were well
>formed, glazes were properly applied and fit the intended use. I see this
>range of sophistication at the most popular (for the buyer) shows.
>
>I believe the continual demand to raise the level of "sophistication" at shows
>under the guise of "quality" will benefit no one in the end, drive apart the
>community, and drive away many buyers to other alternatives.
>
>Kathi LeSueur
*******************************************
Wendy Rosen
The Rosen Group
Niche & AmericanStyle Magazines
http://americanstyle.com
3000 Chestnut Ave #304 Baltimore, MD 21211
Voice: 410/889-3093 Fax: 410/243-7089
*******************************************
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