Paul Lewing on thu 10 dec 98
Well, we just had our annual holiday sale and open house at my
home/studio last weekend, and I'd bet we were not the only Clayarters
who did. I was wondering, now that it's over for another year, how
everybody did and what tips and observations people might have about
doing these sales.
We had quite a good sale this year. My sales were up about 10% over
last year, and I think the traffic was up by about a third. My wife
sold none of her sculptures, but she's had some health problems this
year, so she only had one new piece and only three recent pieces at
all. But she got some other things out of the sale that were really
important to her, too. Our weaver had some new lines this year that
did very well, and more inventory than she usually has, so she did
much better than usual. And our jeweler just knocked 'em dead. Said
it was as good as her last two events combined. And from what I hear
from other members of our tour of craft sales, everybody had a
particularly good year.
Ruth and I have been having a sale the first weekend in December for
over 20 years now. When we moved to our current bigger house 12 years
ago, we decided to add a weaver. Turned out to be one of the best
decisions we ever made. So the next year we thought we still had some
room, so we added a jeweler. Jewelers are good because they have
upscale mailing lists and don't take up much room. Another good idea.
We're on our fourth jeweler in ten years, and we hope this one is
going to stay a long time.
Eleven years ago a bunch of us realized that we were all having a sale
at the same time and attracting many of the same people, so we decided
to pool some money, publish a map, and benefit from each others'
mailing lists. It took at least five years before it made a
difference, but now it's a Real Event. We get great coverage, we all
got matching banners this year, the mailing list for the event will
probably go from 3500 names last year to 5000 this year, and it has
been a big help to business. In fact, it's now hard to get your sale
covered in the newspaper in this city if you're not part of this tour.
This is in many ways the best event I do all year. Not necessarily
for sales, but I know the venue will be clean, well-lit and warm. The
other crafts will be top-notch, there will be very few looky-loos, the
food will be great, and I can go to a real bathroom any time I want.
The dog loves it- he wears a bow tie and greets every single person at
the door- really earns his keep. The only one who hates it is the
cat. The place is full of people all day, and at night she has to be
kept in the back of the house, when the front is full of really GREAT
cat toys. I'm not sure the overhead is any less on one of these sales
than it is at an organized event, though. When you figure you have to
do all the promotion, all the space prep, and all the food yourself,
it is really a lot more work. And for me, it means hauling stuff up
from the basement one armload at a time instead of hand-trucking it
into an exhibition space.
So I was curious about other people's experience with this kind of
sale. Was your event good this year? Do you share with craftspeople
in other media? What kind of promotions work for you? What kind of
food do you put out? Alcohol or no? Is anybody else part of a tour
of sales? And how does that work? Is it worth the effort? How much
of a disruption is it if you have it in your home? Let's kick it
around.
Paul Lewing, Seattle
Looking forward to some slack time.
lpskeen on fri 11 dec 98
Paul Lewing wrote:
> Well, we just had our annual holiday sale and open house at my
> home/studio last weekend, and I'd bet we were not the only Clayarters
> who did. I was wondering, now that it's over for another year, how
> everybody did and what tips and observations people might have about
> doing these sales.
Hi Paul,
Well, we had the First Annual Holiday Home Show this weekend and made it
a 2-day event. Next year, and until I get it established, it'll only be
a 1-day event, but otherwise, everything went fine. We had weather in
the 70 degree range, which makes people NOT in the xmas mood, but many
people came and everybody bought SOMETHING. We had my pots, my friend
Leann's pots, my mother's catering (that means homemade breads, cookies,
jellies, snacks, etc.), and another friend who does SOME jewelry on the
side. The jeweler didn't have a mailing list, and I doubt if she'll do
the show next year, but I have another jeweler friend who DOES and will,
so no problem. Would like to have a weaver, but don't know that I
really have room for one unless we ditch the xmas tree and put her/him
on that wall....I made my very own door wreath, and it's FABOO, thank
you very much. Overall sales almost $3k, so we were very happy and
now I'm gonna buy a Giffin Grip.
--
Lisa Skeen ICQ# 15554910
Living Tree Pottery & Soaps http://www.uncg.edu/~lpskeen
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!!! It comes bundled with the software.
The Bill of Rights - (void where prohibited by law)
Jon on sat 12 dec 98
Hi Paul and Others,
Had my first annual Open House and Pottery Sale last weekend, and was
very pleased. Sold almost $1000 between 1 - 6 pm. I'm rather new to
the neighborhood, so I spent a lot of time and energy getting word out
that I exist and the studio is nearby. I was lucky enough to get a
mailing list of folks active in our neighborhood association at the last
minute and did a mailing, and met probably 15 or so neighbors that I did
not know, three of whom signed up for classes, all bought something, and
one who is a professional photographer and willing to exchange pots for
slides and help with setting up a web site. We cooked way too much food
and won't do that again. I'm looking forward to doing this again. By
next year I will have been teaching in my studio for about two years and
hope i can interest some students in joining me, as I have a few who are
getting rather good.
Perhaps the very best thing though was meeting Eydie, a fellow Clayarter
who I had never met in person, just through email! It was great to meet
her, and I was able to introduce her to another friend who is a sculptor
who then left with Eydie and saw her studio! These connections are
cool.
Jonathan in DC
Philip Schroeder on mon 14 dec 98
In a message dated 98-12-11 07:35:56 EST, you write:
<< To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Paul Lewing wrote:
> Well, we just had our annual holiday sale and open house at my
> home/studio last weekend, and I'd bet we were not the only Clayarters
> who did. I was wondering, now that it's over for another year, how
> everybody did and what tips and observations people might have about
> doing these sales. >>
My fifth annual Studio Show was last weekend. I have done a couple of things
which seem to be worthwhile. I am open at least one weekday evening which
gets the afterwork crowd (Thurs & Fri this year in addition to Sat./Sun).
and I invite 2-3 area artist working in different media to participate. It is
obviously an advantage if they have strong mailing lists to bring more folks
to the studio. There is usually pretty good cross over between mailing lists.
I wouldn't hesitate to do another potter at the show provided they are doing
something distinctly different from me. I have found this event to be easy
to put together, inexpensive (spent about $150 for
printing/mailing/refreshments), and effective.
Phil Schroeder in Chicago
Merrie Boerner on mon 14 dec 98
Last weekend the Mississippi Craftsmen's Guild show ("Chimneyville") was
held in Jackson. It is an indoor show, with a variety of quality crafts
represented. The public response is wonderful ! This was our 25th year...and
very successful for most participants. We kicked it off on Friday night with
a catered "Preview Party" which costs $25 to enter. Wine and beer were
served with a wonderful spread of food !The show was very crowded on
Saturday, and many higher priced items sold on Sunday. Most of the
craftsmen selling a great deal agreed that this year's shopper mainly
wanted $20 gift items. I make pottery and sold all but 3 pots under
$20.However, I took orders for 4 fountains at $300 each. I make large
handbuilt pots for around $275.....I overheard a lady say " That is unique,
but I'm going to save some money and buy one from Mexico." : ( All in
all, this was a wonderful show !!!!
When I first began selling pottery, 15 years ago, I read somewhere that
each piece of pottery should represent "the presence" of its maker. I
understood this, because I had told a potter that "I had coffee with him
every morning" by using his mug. Recently I have noticed that customers come
to my booth and say, "I have a piece of YOUR pottery !" I found it amusing
that they still considered it MINE !!! What a cool thought......people
paying me to borrow my pottery...like they are renting it or something !
..................................................On Christmas Day..... after
exchanging gifts...... when the excitement is at a lull .....I enjoy the
thought of people all over the states opening their gift, saying "what a
beautiful piece of pottery !".....then, turning it over to read MY name
!!!!!! SEASON'S GREETINGS ! Merrie Boerner@tislink.com
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