L. P. Skeen on wed 26 nov 03
> Is there an unwritten code of places to NOT attempt to sell anything? Are
there places where sales are in better odds for potters? I guess I'm asking
a lot here.
O dear. Well, apparently nobody told you that college students A. don't
have money for anything but beer, and B. don't really hang out on campus
much if they can help it. <>
You also don't want to try and sell anything at any event that allows what I
call "granny crafts", which in my opinion includes molded ceramics, anything
made from kits, and crochet doilies, if I spelled that right. This includes
church bazaars and school events no matter what kind. Again, my opinion,
garnered from experience. Any venue that has a ton of children's games and
beer gardens is also out - the parents have kids on their hands, and the
beer drinkers are more interested in the brewskis. (with the possible
exception of Vince, heehee....)
When you get applications for shows, read the fine print to see what IS
allowed. Call the organizers and ask these questions:
1. How long has this show been going on? If it's a first year show in BFE,
I'd be wary.
2. What kind and how much advertising are they doing, and is there a media
sponsor? They should KNOW this; they'll have to pay for it. You want
advertising that's targeting your specific demographic. If all their ads
are going on the hard rock station, it's gonna be a problem.
3. Is buy/sell allowed? That means for example, some guy buys shirts from
Tahiti and resells them at the event. Again, buy/sell is a no-no, because
you get people bringing in crap and selling it for $5.00, which beats your
$20 mug all to hell, and you will take 'em all home.
4. If they want you to demonstrate, they should pay YOU, or let you have
the booth for free. Why? Because hauling in all that extra stuff is WORK,
dammit, and you prolly won't be able to take much of it home, because some
idiot (or his kid, but you'd be surprised how often it's the adults) will
poke a finger in it before it dries, EVEN IF you put up a sign that says "I
know it's tempting but please DON"T TOUCH!".
5. What is the climate, and if it's outdoors, is the ground level? Selling
anything in the summertime is hell, unless you're the lemonade guy, because
people are too hot to want to carry things around with them.
6. How many people attended last year? (This will be an estimate no matter
what they tell you.)
You should know (if possible) what the economy is like in the show location.
For example, in one nearby county here, several large manufacturers have
gone under in the last year - there ain't no money for folks to buy pots.
.
There are other questions to ask, that of course I can't think of now. Good
places to sell include places that advertise an all potters' show, places
where folks have to pay a small entry fee (they don't bother to pay the fee
if they're not interested in quality work), galleries that have a good
amount of fine craft instead of or in addition to the "art". Also, if you
are a member of a special interest group you may be able to set up at one of
their events (I generally do well at gay/lesbian pride festivals, except the
one in Atlanta, don't get me started.....) because folks like to buy from
their friends and acquaintances. Hope this helps!
L
Mr. and Mrs. Overall on wed 26 nov 03
This past Tuesday, another potter from school and I paid for a table to sell our wares amongst a sea of jewelers within the student center of a major university. Sales were sucky. Not even the faculty came out to investigate much. Students; forget it.
Is there an unwritten code of places to NOT attempt to sell anything? Are there places where sales are in better odds for potters? I guess I'm asking a lot here.
I'll always remember reading what David Hendley said about his best customers are potters. Why does it seem we're the only ones who appreciate it so much more?
Kim
Lee Love on thu 27 nov 03
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mr. and Mrs. Overall"
> This past Tuesday, another potter from school and I paid for a table to
sell our wares
>amongst a sea of jewelers within the student center of a major university.
Sales were
>sucky. Not even the faculty came out to investigate much. Students;
forget it.
From what I remember of college life, a beer booth would have better
business. ;^)
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
http://Mashiko.org
Web Log (click on recent date):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
Earl Brunner on thu 27 nov 03
Years ago (about 24 or so) at Utah State in Logan UT, we had a loose
potters organization (almost exclusively for selling and mostly
comprised of students) called the Cache Valley Potters Assoc. We had an
arraignment with the Student Union building to use their facilities for
a couple of sales per year. It cost us about $10.00 per table, you
could have as many tables as you wanted. They took all or part of their
fee in pottery. We did VERY well. HOWEVER, most of our sales came from
a mailing list that had been developed over a period of several years,
NOT from the students. Some people came more than 100 miles for the
sale.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mr. and Mrs. Overall"
> This past Tuesday, another potter from school and I paid for a table
to
sell our wares
>amongst a sea of jewelers within the student center of a major
university.
Sales were
>sucky. Not even the faculty came out to investigate much. Students;
forget it.
Gene and Dolita Dohrman on thu 27 nov 03
When I lived back on the island, we had an arts and crafts show put on by
the 'art guild' every year. It was mostly crap with a smattering of really
beautiful wood work, occasional great photography, or watercolor paintings.
Mixed in with all this was exactly to what Lisa is referring. On top of
that were the Tupperware and Avon tables. While I do not consider myself a
great potter, I am not bad, and I would be damned if I was going to set my
pieces up beside a table full of Tupperware or crocheted kitchen towels.
Call me a snob...don't care! Fortunately there were enough of us potters to
get together and have a show of our own. I, along with 3 other potters,
organized the first one 7 years ago and it became the 'event of the year'.
I totally agree with Lisa. Be very careful of your venue and pay attention
to what others are selling around you.
And, really now, if college kids have any extra money, it goes to concerts
or beer. I have two of own (and remember my college days, but don't tell
them that)!
Dolita-who is sorry she must continuously begin everything with "when I
lived on the island" but it is the only experience I have.
dohrman@insightbb.com
Louisville, KY
Lisa wrote:
> You also don't want to try and sell anything at any event that allows what
I
> call "granny crafts", which in my opinion includes molded ceramics,
anything
> made from kits, and crochet doilies, if I spelled that right. This
includes
> church bazaars and school events no matter what kind. Again, my opinion,
> garnered from experience. Any venue that has a ton of children's games
and
> beer gardens is also out - the parents have kids on their hands, and the
> beer drinkers are more interested in the brewskis. (with the possible
> exception of Vince, heehee....)
Vince Pitelka on thu 27 nov 03
I don't think there is necessariy any standard formula for success at
university ceramics sales, but I know that they can be very lucrative. At
UMass we always had a Christmas pottery sale in the ceramics studio (which
was right next to the administration building). The sale drew many hundreds
of people from all over campus, and any work that was good and was priced
reasonably genereally sold. I do not remember how we advertised our sales,
but of course that is the key. I do remember putting up simple posters all
over campus the week before the sale.
AT Tennessee Tech V.A.S. (the student Visual Arts Society at the Appalachian
Center for Crafts) conducts a three-day sale in the University Center on the
main TTU campus every semester during the last week of classes. The sale
always features a broad range of work in clay, metals, fibers, wood, and
glass. The Christmas sale is a little more lucrative than the spring sale,
but they both do very well. We are able to include an advertising slip in
every faculty, staff, and student pay envelope at the beginning of December
or May, which in each case is a week before the sale. That is our only
advertising, other than word-of-mouth, because this sale has become an
institution. That is the other key - you have to build a market, year after
year, and finally people come to depend on you, and they look forward to it
every year. At Christmas they tend to buy gifts for others, in May they
buy things for themselves.
I would say that the customers are evenly divided between students and
faculty/staff. The campus clerical staff are some of our very best
customers. I would also say that at both schools, the students and the
clerical staff were always looking for bargains, and as I said before, good
work reasonably priced sold very well. Such sales are not the place to
expect top-dollar prices for your "racers," as Tony Clennell so aptly calls
them. That does not preclude making good work specifically for such sales,
but perhaps you should avoid having quantities of items that must command
higher prices. Always have a few, because you never know when someone might
be looking for a "racer," and those pieces also provide a context for
comparison, helping to make the customer feel that they are getting a good
deal on a lower-priced item.
I should point out that the studio sales are run entirely by the students.
Faculty and artist's-in-residenced are invited to participate, but they must
join the organization and help with setup and sales just like anyone else.
This provides a good opportunity for faculty, because throughout the year we
do demo work for our classes that does not really fit in with the work we
exhibit and sell in galleries and exhibitions, and these sales provide a
good venue to sell that work for reasonable prices.
A percentage of all sales goes to V.A.S., and the money is used to help fund
visiting artists, and to help send students to conferences. Customers know
that a portion of the money they spend goes to these worthwhile endeavors,
and they like that.
I suppose this should be obvious in the case of any sales or exhibition
event, but some of the key issues are good work, good publicity, and
consistency from year to year. Every situation is different, but as long as
the work is good, your publicity efforts will usually pay off.
Best wihses -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
At both UMass and at Tennessee Tech,
Karin Hurt on thu 27 nov 03
We have a great student sale at Mohave Community College in Lake Havasu. Our
teachers got us free space on the Portico at our local Library which is
located in the Kmart Plaza. We advertise before and people come in droves,
we pay the Art Club which consists of current pottery students 20% from
which we buy new equipment. We are not allowed to advertise ourselves by
handing out business cards or brochures. However, our sister campus in
Bullhead City, AZ has an on campus art sale and it's never well advertised
or attended, I kept suggesting to take it off campus, but no one was
interested. My feeling is that it can be done, our customers are always
amazed that "this stuff" is produced by students.
Karin
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
http://www.laughingbearpottery.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Earl Brunner
To:
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2003 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: selling at universities
> Years ago (about 24 or so) at Utah State in Logan UT, we had a loose
> potters organization (almost exclusively for selling and mostly
> comprised of students) called the Cache Valley Potters Assoc. We had an
> arraignment with the Student Union building to use their facilities for
> a couple of sales per year. It cost us about $10.00 per table, you
> could have as many tables as you wanted. They took all or part of their
> fee in pottery. We did VERY well. HOWEVER, most of our sales came from
> a mailing list that had been developed over a period of several years,
> NOT from the students. Some people came more than 100 miles for the
> sale.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mr. and Mrs. Overall"
>
> > This past Tuesday, another potter from school and I paid for a table
> to
> sell our wares
> >amongst a sea of jewelers within the student center of a major
> university.
> Sales were
> >sucky. Not even the faculty came out to investigate much. Students;
> forget it.
>
>
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melpots@pclink.com.
Janet Kaiser on sat 29 nov 03
or selling at any other "one off" venue come to that. But given
the thread, take a "craft sale" type event of two hypothetical
Universities... Here the scenario:
TIME, POSITION & VENUE:
ABC University has decided to hold a Mid Winter Craft Sale in a
recently cleared out store-room buried in the earth-science
department, a building only 2% of the students, faculty and
administration staff ever enter and with no regular public access
with it being at the end of a dark ally way down 92nd Street. It
will be held the weekend before Thanksgiving.
At XYZ University a recently renovated room adjacent to the main
foyer where 98% of all the university and 100% its visitors pass
daily, has been booked for The 21st XYZ Christmas Craft
Extravaganza which is always held the first weekend of December.
A welcome table will be placed strategically at the entrance a
week before the event and a small anxilliary room has been
negotiated with the University to use as a creche.
ADVERTISING & ORGANISATION:
The ceramics and art department know about this event at ABC
University, because there is a poster on the entrance door of the
earth-science building and another on the faculty pinboard. Oh,
yes and verbal invitations were extended to room-mates and
parents last week.
At XYZ University, the department address list (which has been
built up over several years) has been used to send out
invitations to individuals, galleries, known collectors, local
"dignitaries", all professors and admin staff, past buyers,
alumni, etc.; Students have organised groups with one to put
flyers under the windscreen wipers at the local shopping mall and
cinema complex car parks, another making sure that all the
administration staff have a personal copy with an open invitation
to their family and friends and another has been visiting local
newspaper editors, radio stations and so on. The whole faculty
has been circulating posters around the campus, in town, local
library, town hall, trendy bars, etc.; The Education and Nursing
departments have been canvassed for volunteers to man the creche;
The welcome table outside the venue has been decorated to this
year's theme which happens to be "Bavarian Christkindl Market"
(lots of gingerbread men, pretzel motives, etc. and a cinnamon
and clove oil burner wafting suitable Christmassy aromas) with a
stack of handbills for people to help themselves. This will be
manned by students in lederhosen or dirndl-like outfits serving
mulled wine and Christmas cookies and oomp-pa-pah Tyrolian music
will be played from when the craft fair commences. All recent
kiln firings have included ceramic pretzels and tree decorations
which are sold to help cover the costs and several sponsors,
including the student union canteen, Baloney's Supermarket and
Scheider's Bakery have provided incidentals like styrofoam cups,
a Christmas Tree, 500 wieners and a box of sugar mice (no, they
do not know what to do with the mice, but NEVER refuse the offer
of any sponsorship! :o)
THE EVENT:
At the Earth-Science Building, students bring in their work and
are setting up it up through the day, then most disappear,
leaving a few hot and sweaty ones sitting around waiting for
people to arrive. The campus security is hacked off because (A)
no one told them about the event and (B) there are strangers
wandering around looking for the storeroom. So someone goes out
with some paper and a marker and sticks up "this way -->" signs
on the doors. The janitor and his wife arrive and feel
uncomfortable as all eyes turn towards them. They shuffle round
and leave... An hour later two parents turn up and take a crying
daughter off for a meal after oohing and aaahing over her half
dozen wonky, cracked pots but not looking at anyone or anything
else. The others watch this disconsolently, then decide to pack
up early and go out for a beer instead...
Back in the Foyer of XYZ, things are going with a swing as office
and faculty staff are leaving their offices and going down to
mingle with their colleagues and the students who set their
displays/booths up the day before. They are all relaxed and some
are even in "fancy dress" adding to the party spirit.
Townspeople, parents and invited guests start arriving and
kiddies are delighted with the sugar mice they are given when
left at the creche by their parents. When the Official Opening
takes place, everyone swarms into the exhibition as soon as the
doors open... What gems are there this year...? Hummm...?
"Oh! You" (the smiling girl in the blond wig and "Bavarian"
outfit they had been talking to in the Foyer earlier) "made
these?"... "I never knew that you could make pickled gherkins out
of clay...!! And only $3.50 each? What a marvellous stocking
filler... I would like to buy them all, please!"... And at the
next display, a young man is selling "A Boy in Blue Lederhosen"
to a collector from upstate XYZ, who never misses the XYZ
Christmas Extravaganza. This was where he bought his first piece
20 years ago. He was a medical student himself then and could
only afford a mug, but it sure got him interested... Looking
across, he spots his wife buying yet another casserole... Wish he
could interest her in non-functional for a change... But then
another family wedding is coming up in February...
QUESTIONS:
1. Which University Craft Fair is going to be disappointing time
after time and which extremely successful?
2. Which University students are going to learn the most from
this, their first-second-third mainly do-it-yourself "exhibition
and sales" experience?
3. Which University will find that their event becomes
increasingly popular both on campus and off and something of an
annual tradition that people from all over town return to each
year?
4. Which needs the most personal input, hard work and team
effort?
Just another small take on this... Just making/creating the work
and setting up an exhibition feels like it is a huge personal
investment in time and energy, so many feel they are unable to do
a single bit more especially if they have papers to write and a
burger-flipping job too. However, it is all an excellent
introduction to "the real world", because producing and
displaying a "product" is only one part of the "marketing mix".
As an individual it will take many years to build up a personal
market, but that is not going to happen at a venue where you are
(A) starting out and (B) only going to be resident for three
years maximum.
However, there is the huge benefit of being able to work in a
team and making a much bigger success through a focused and
concerted group effort when a student. Learning to organise
yourself and others is a skill which also needs to be learned. If
yours is like University ABC, then there is no business training
or marketing tradition within the faculty/school, but that does
not prevent you from starting one! Whether student or
faculty-led, it needs long-term planning, co-ordination and
dedication to the task at hand. OK, my hypothetical examples are
extreme and quite absurd, but for a group event to succeed, it
really does need group effort. That way, you can use the
strengths (and weaknesses) of individuals, which will ultimately
be to your own personal advantage. The maxims: the right product,
in the right place, at the right time, for the right price are
just a beginning... Build on that to make sure the right people
with the right money and right desires will also be present!
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser
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