john tygart on mon 6 jan 03
We could use some opinions/guidance from potters who also have a sales room or gallery near their studios.
We built a small gallery on our property and are trying to lure folks to it while not being tied down all the time. We live 25 miles south of Springfield MO, and 2 miles off the highway. Our studio and kilns are also on the property, w/ the house btw. the studio and gallery.
One concept we're considering is being open one weekend a month, and other hours by appointment. We thought choosing the "first weekend every month" would allow people to come out more often than just an annual open house, w/o having to call or feel they're intruding.
Has anyone done this? We're trying to list all the pros and cons, so any brainstorming you'd like to share would be welcome.
I should probably add that most of John's sales are wholesale accounts so he's here working, but we don't have to depend on the gallery for income. We're just trying to figure out how to use this gallery in the long term, and build more local clientele (and avoid the show circuit!)
Many thanks for your thoughts,
Jacqueline Tygart
for John Tygart
Burnt Mud Pottery & Sculpture
Highlandville, MO
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Earl Brunner on tue 7 jan 03
I know a very well known potter who lives in central Utah WAY off of
the beaten path. He has a small gallery at his studio and it is open
basically 24-7 year round. He has nice signs explaining to the customer
how to take the onsite discount, how to figure the sales tax, where to
put the money and where the packing material is. That and two or three
annual sales that he puts on have become his major source of income.
But it has taken several years to build the clientele.
john tygart wrote:
> We could use some opinions/guidance from potters who also have a sales room or gallery near their studios.
>
> We built a small gallery on our property and are trying to lure folks to it while not being tied down all the time. We live 25 miles south of Springfield MO, and 2 miles off the highway. Our studio and kilns are also on the property, w/ the house btw. the studio and gallery.
>
> One concept we're considering is being open one weekend a month, and other hours by appointment. We thought choosing the "first weekend every month" would allow people to come out more often than just an annual open house, w/o having to call or feel they're intruding.
>
> Has anyone done this? We're trying to list all the pros and cons, so any brainstorming you'd like to share would be welcome.
>
> I should probably add that most of John's sales are wholesale accounts so he's here working, but we don't have to depend on the gallery for income. We're just trying to figure out how to use this gallery in the long term, and build more local clientele (and avoid the show circuit!)
>
> Many thanks for your thoughts,
> Jacqueline Tygart
> for John Tygart
> Burnt Mud Pottery & Sculpture
> Highlandville, MO
>
>
>
Barb Jensen on tue 7 jan 03
Our most recent approach to this concept is to send out regular mailings to
everyone on our list (around 300 local names). By designing a postcard on my
computer, printing it in black and white at Kinko's, adding mailing labels
printed from my database, putting on a postcard stamp (23 cents), I can send
out a mailing for around $100. Inexpensive advertising, no?
I finally remembered to put our website on the card as a resource and got a
couple of responses to that too. I also say we are open "by appointment" at
other times, but no one who is not already a friend of mine has taken
advantage of that offer. Somewhere on the card I say "everyone welcome",
because for some reason, people think the invitation is exclusive.
You could dream up an event a month to celebrate (Valentine's Day, The Ides
of March, April Fool's Day, etc.), call it a "kiln opening", or something to
make it sound more interesting and attractive than just open hours.
We think it's worth it just to keep one's name out there on a regular basis,
eventually people will think of you when they need a wedding present or new
plates. So far we have failed to be as consistent as planned with this idea,
but maybe this will be the year. I'd like to have an event every other month
or so. The least we've grossed at such an event (weekend) is around $1000
and we never left home.
Regards,
Barb Jensen
www.jensenandmarineau.com
Mondloch on tue 7 jan 03
> We could use some opinions/guidance from potters who also have a sales
room or gallery near their studios.
>
Hi,
We tell customers that 'If we're home we're open, call first if making a
special trip.' We tried having certain hours but didn't like that at all.
Customers didn't remember anyway, and we were too tied down. We do try to be
here when we know from experience we'll be busy (like week-ends before
x-mas).
We decided to focus primarily on our home gallery a couple years ago. So now
all marketing decisions are geared towards bringing our customers here as
much as possible.
We see being slightly off the beaten track as actually an advantage since we
don't have to deal with much walk through traffic. When people come it's
with the purpose of buying so we don't need someone to just sit in the
gallery all the time.
Our spring open house is major. We keep a mailing list and send out an
announcement for it. It draws in new customers who might not be comfortable
coming to a studio gallery otherwise and old customers look forward to it.
People often need "an excuse" to do something that they don't get around to
otherwise and it creates a 'buzz' in the local community.
We still do several art fairs each summer, but they must be what we consider
to be within the distance that customers will drive to our house. Shows are
evaluated as much on advertising value to our home studio as they are on
sales.
We try to not be cheap about investing in making our home shop to make it a
pleasant shopping experience for our customers. When they come to our place,
they are also buying the connection to us and their day at our studio. We
can spend quite a lot on announcement cards, packing, landscaping the yard,
et before we're close to the cost of show fees and/or sales commissions.
If you like making a connection with your customers at retail shows, you'll
like this even more!
Hope these thoughts are some help. Good luck!
Sylvia
---
Mark & Sylvia Mondloch
Silver Creek Pottery & Forge
W6725 Hwy 144
Random Lake ,Wi 53075
HotArt@silvercreekpottery.com
http://www.silvercreekpottery.com
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