Carolynn Palmer on mon 2 nov 98
Right on the mark Kathi.
So many retail fairs have been so busy 'upgrading' their participating
exhibitors to give their fairs an expensive, slick, gallery look that they
have forgotten all about the customers. If this trend continues, it will be
suicide for the fairs themselves.
While they are turning away the entry-level buyer and even in many cases the
mid-level buyer, they don't realize that these people become 'art' lovers as
their incomes and buying ability rises, and this will affect the future. Not
just the future of their own show, but the future of art and craft purchasing
overall.
And for potters like me who make the majority of their sales to the mid-priced
buyer, this will lead to the death to my way of life. I can clearly see it
happening.
Is there a way to stop a trend?
Carolynn Palmer, Somerset Center, Michigan
Kathi LeSueur wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
> In a message dated 10/28/98 2:41:51 PM, you wrote:
>
> >now how do we teach craft gallery customers a
> >new aesthetic???? That's one that will take me YEARS (if ever) to figure
> >out!!!! Any suggestions?
>
> It's often said that the purpose of fine art and fine craft shows is to
> educate the public. So be it. That said I would ask the question, "If you
want
> your six year old to learn calculus, where do you start." Some would say
just
> jump right in to teaching calculus. I would say you must start with "2 + 2".
> Otherwise the child will become frustrated and quit trying to learn.
>
> Using this same logic promoters, galleries, and arts organizations must
> realize that the people attending their shows and visiting their galleries
are
> at all levels of sophistication. If you don't have something of interest for
> the people at the lowest and medium levels they will never come back. They
> will never be exposed to other work. Their level of sophistication will
never
> rise. And.............. they will never become a buyer of that work at
higher
> levels.
>
> For many people the very first purchase they ever made was a mug. They took
it
> home, used it every day, and learned the joy of handcrafted work. As time
went
> on their purchases became bigger and more expensive until one day they found
> themselves spending $1000 for a painting. If you'd asked them when they
bought
> that mug if they could see spending a thousand dollars for a painting the
> answer would have probably been an empathic "NO"!
>
> I believe that as more and more retail shows "upgrade" their quality they
are
> alienating the people for whom art and craft shows are a new idea. They have
> nothing for them to buy............ often nothing they can afford. For the
> young couple buying and furnishing their first house the message is clear.
> Stop crowding the aisle of the shows. Come back when you have more money and
> better taste. Well, when they have more money they will go spend it where
they
> were made to feel welcome.
>
> Several years ago I listened to a tape of a meeting of the committee putting
> on one of the top shows in the country. "For those people who come for the
> carnival atmosphere, the fun time, and the food....... we would rather you
ate
> your hot dogs somewhere else." Well, the people listened and they have gone
> somewhere else.
>
> Kathi LeSueur
> Ann Arbor, MI
Tom Wirt on thu 5 nov 98
>So many retail fairs have been so busy 'upgrading' their participating
>exhibitors to give their fairs an expensive, slick, gallery look that they
>have forgotten all about the customers. If this trend continues, it will be
>suicide for the fairs themselves.
One of the biggest telltale signs, I think the promoters ignore, is how many
people are carrying bags with purchases. As a customer, if you go to a show for
a few years without making a purchase, at some point that show becomes a low
priority for you.
I'm seeing more and more craftspeople/artisans/artists (he said dancing
carefully away from the debate), who are becoming buyers at the wholesale shows.
They are investing in work for their own showrooms from other artisans. There
are also a number of galleries that go to great lengths to ensure that work they
offer is truly handmade.
Is this a trend? Don't know yet, but as more shows go high art and/or
manufactured work, and the customer has a harder time finding what they want, it
certainly is an option.
Tom
Hawkdancing on sat 7 nov 98
Hi,
>
> One of the biggest telltale signs, I think the promoters ignore, is how
many
> people are carrying bags with purchases.
I tried a new system of evaluating Art Shows this year. Wait till the
middle of the day, count the people going by between people with purchases.
If the ratio is less than one in twenty I consider it a "buying" crowd.
One in fifty, good luck. One in eighty, you better have a mammoth crowd or
the hottest work around. It has worked as a good yardstick to compare how
I'm doing. If it is a buying crowd and I'm not making it, it is probably
the wrong market for me!
Nels Linde
nels@hawkdancing.com or hawkdanc@spacestar.net
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