mel jacobson on tue 20 aug 02
i have said this before.
the greatest day of my life was the
day i walked away from the uptown art
fair in minneapolis.
they wanted to charge us to help promote
the area.
charge us? they should pay us to promote
their area.
this was way back....1960's.
i have never been to a fair since...not even to visit.
i built my business at home....had sales in my yard...the
same day as `uptown`.
had a huge crowd. sold all my stuff.
kept all the commissions. now, people come
to me, i do not go to them. and sit on the street
like a rube? not. the sale of turkey legs and beer
is higher than art. does that tell you something?
my dignity is in tact, i sell my stuff, and my customers are
happy. my shop is open 365 days a year. people stop.
buy stuff, leave a check. and most of the time, i never see
them.
my problem is time to produce, not sell.
my customers never give a damn if i publish in cm, or i am
on the cover...they don't care if i write a book or get a prize.
(never enter shows) they want to know where the teapots
are, how much, and can they pick it up saturday, one hour
before the wedding.
take care of customers, make a decent pot that is priced
fairly. keep track of everyone that ever buys a pot.
let them walk around the studio, look at things in
progress....talk a bit.
bingo.
if you are full time, need every sale you can get....make
sure you have a profit/ loss mentality.
work things as a business. listen to wendy rosen. she
is our best friend. business....what a concept.
wear your seat belt.
make a profit.
two rules.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
Susan Fox-Hirschmann on mon 11 oct 04
Thanks WAyne,
One little tidbit I forgot to say was....every year I either do something for
my customers ...
as in "Free gift with each purchase!"
or something for the world
10% of your purchases donated to Parkinson/s Disease Research.
This is a way that I can give, when other times I cannot afford to.
The gifts I usually throw off a hump, like small dishes, tiny vases, and this
year,
I am going to hopefully have them collecting tiny teacups (no
handles)----after they make a purchase I bring out a big basket full of these goodies and
they LOVE It!!!
Last year, one woman got a small dish and she took it home and called me
about coming over to talk to me. She brought the dish back and asked me if I
would make 30 of them for her, with little small spikes up the middle to serve as
ring holders.
She is THE photographer for the Corcoran Gallery of Art and is giving them to
all her employee friends there....wow! now a chance to "sex" them up a bit,
carve them, and make them the colors of her chosing. Also those little
freebees ended giving her a really good price of $12 each which amounted to a $360
order I would not hav e had had she not gotten the free-bee!!! Also I will put
a business card in each one, enscribed with "This creation made just for you!"
and here is a gift that keeps giving...for me that is! and it keeps my NAME
out there....who knows what that can mean in the future.
So yes, It is all about marketing and how your do it, and how giving you
are....people do not forget that, honestly, they don;t.
Best of luck to you
and thanks for taking the time to write,
Susan
Susan Fox Hirschmann
Art Pottery
please visit http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/hirschmann
Antoinette Badenhorst on thu 6 apr 06
Susan, I have considered buying that book. I think it is too expensive =
in
comparison with availability of free information on the web. I went to =
the
AC Forum. It seems like there is a lot of information available. Also =
seems
like there are some exhibitors that are very knowledgeable about shows
everywhere, but also very negative about many things that goes on at =
shows.
We've talked about it before on Clayart; I do think one should be very
careful not to get burned at shows. On the other end I also believe that =
the
only way to know will be to stick your head out.=20
I have decided to do that for a period of time and see if I can get =
where I
want to be. I think I've overcome the slide problem (thanks to my =
husbands
ability to learn), but the booth thing is still a roaming riddle for me. =
It
is a nightmare to get translucent porcelain and pit fire work together =
in
the right boot setup.=20
Do you need sharp trimming tools that will not wear out quickly? Contact =
me
for information.=20
Antoinette Badenhorst
105 Westwood Circle
Saltillo MS, 38866
662 869 1651
www.clayandcanvas.com
www.southernartistry.org
=20
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Susan Speck
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 4:03 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: art fairs
how about Art Fair Source Book? and I have heard pof the Harris List, =
but
never saw it.
Susan Speck
_________________________________________________________________________=
___
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Susan Speck on thu 6 apr 06
how about Art Fair Source Book? and I have heard pof the Harris List, but never saw it.
Susan Speck
Eleanora Eden on fri 7 apr 06
Hi Antoinette,
I looked on Google for "AC Forum" and didn't come up with anything.
Can you give me any more information about that?
Best,
Eleanora
Lori Doty on fri 7 apr 06
Susan,
If you haven't already checked out the magazine titled the Crafts
Report I would recommend it. The items shown in it seem to be of top
quality and they list several high end fairs and wholesale/retail shows
in it as well.
Lori Doty
Nurse/Potter
Slowly turning the tide.
Rolla, Missouri
On Apr 6, 2006, at 4:02 PM, Susan Speck wrote:
> how about Art Fair Source Book? and I have heard pof the Harris List,
> but never saw it.
> Susan Speck
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Antoinette Badenhorst on fri 7 apr 06
Eleanora the website is http://www.americancraftforum.com. If I knew =
that
there is such a tremendous amount of information on all levels of the =
crafts
business on there, I would have been there long time ago.
Do you need sharp trimming tools that will not wear out quickly? Contact =
me
for information.=20
Antoinette Badenhorst
105 Westwood Circle
Saltillo MS, 38866
662 869 1651
www.clayandcanvas.com
www.southernartistry.org
=20
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Eleanora =
Eden
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 2:03 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: art fairs
Hi Antoinette,
I looked on Google for "AC Forum" and didn't come up with anything.
Can you give me any more information about that?
Best,
Eleanora
_________________________________________________________________________=
___
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Tom at Hutchtel.net on sun 9 apr 06
The Art Fair Sourcebook is one of the best, probably the best, for show
information. IT is rated by artists and they visit many of the rated shows
personally. You can't do better. Yes, it's expensive, but there are
regional editions. If you're serious about doing a number of shows, it is
money very well spent. $100 to avoid doing a crap show? You make that in
the first hour. We just did a show in Chicago after a hiatus of 6 years.
We used to do $8000 there for a 3 day show (we mailed 2000 postcards.) Our
old list was about half undeliverable now, but the show had deteriorated to
junk. We still did decent sales, but were ready for more than double what
we did. Could have researched in Art Fair Sourcebook and know that ahead of
time. Saved ourselves a bundle of money and time and made more in sales.
Crafts report is a lousy place to get show information. It is incomplete,
poorly researched, not dependable. They just grab listings from what's
available
Sunshine artist does a pretty good job http://www.sunshineartist.com/
There are many regional listings such as the Midwest Art Fairs Listing
http://midwestartfairs.com/ .
Many of the state arts boards publish state listings...I know for a fact
that Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio do.
Best is to figure out who your customer is, then go to existing shows in the
neighborhoods where those people live. Then ask the artists what shows they
do. Watch the customers, are they carrying around bags full of art, or
stuff on a stick. Look at those customers, look at their sweatshirts. What
places are represented in those logos? If it's Chicago Bears, forget
them....If it's Door County...way to go! Don't forget that just because the
show is good for one, it will be good for you.
And don't forget it takes 3 years to build a show to its potential.
Exposure, exposure, exposure. The basic rule of marketing is that people
don't take action until they get at least 3 impressions. And if you aren't
building a mailing list, you might as well quit doing shows. You're wasting
your money. At least 30% of sales at any show we do, can be attributed to
the mailing list...up to 50%. At the above mentioned show in Chicago, it
was close to 85%. Without the mailing, even a half bad list, we wouldn't
have even made expenses.
Tom Wirt
Hutchinson, MN
twirt@hutchtel.net
www.claycoyote.com
mel jacobson on mon 18 dec 06
one of the all time, most important quote's
in clayart history is tony's last post...
quote: "you are in charge of your own destiny"
it is what makes the artist, an artist.
be in charge, take the bull by the horns...do
your own art, sell your own stuff...make all
the decisions necessary to be successful.
it is not:
`someone owes me a living, i should be getting
huge grants, this society should just pay me
for being alive, why are there not huge numbers
of people flocking to my work?`.
it is a tough world out there.
how to sell, market your work, how to promote
your work, is your business.
if people don't buy, hate your work....look at it
carefully. you may be the problem.
as pogo possum said...years ago.
`we found the enemy...it's us`.
as i have said many times:
the good ones, the great ones, never have
sales problems, they have production problems.
we will never have to instruct tony or david, or richard
on how to sell pots....they will always show us the way.
just listen and learn. EACH HAS A STYLE...DIFFERENT STYLE.
i just received as a gift...gail nichols new book.
now that is the REAL DEAL.
again, as i have said...one of the best potters in the
world. and she will say over and over.
be in charge, know your materials and learn to
use them. she does, just that.
MEL
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
| |
|
