Marcia Selsor on mon 20 mar 06
On Mar 20, 2006, at 2:30 PM, Ann Brink wrote:
> Our little town now has a Pier 1 Imports, as of last week, and I
> went and
> checked it out. True, lots of large impressive-looking ceramic
> vases and
> platters, very reasonably priced. I'm sure they are all mold-made,
> but does
> the average consumer care? Not really. The more discerning person
> might be
> put off by seeing that everything is in multiples, not one-of-a-
> kind as you
> usually get from a potter. Even if a potter makes a line of vases or
> platters, there will usually be small differences-giving the buyer
> a chance
> to choose a favorite. I observed how they displayed dinnerware, in
> table
> settings with co-ordinating place mats, napkins, etc. How much of
> that type
> of displaying do you all do at a craft fair? I know, it has always
> been
> done in department stores- I'm just now mulling over what I can do
> better in
> the way of presentation.
>
> Ann Brink in Lompoc CA
>
> ----- Original Message -----
I made a dinner set for myself with a nice celedon glaze. I was
preparing for Thanksgiving guests,
got a table cloth out and it matched my plates exactly. I hadn't seen
it before. Never used that
tablecloth before. It was really a handsome table to greet my
guests and it was purely accidental.
But you have made a very good point. I don't make that much
functional tableware, but I think
displaying is a very strong marketing skill. -I wish one of my
galleries would show my work the
way it is intended to be shown. Drives me crazy.
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
Taylor Hendrix on tue 21 mar 06
Marcia and Ann,
Yesterday and today have been exercises in serendoopity for sure. I
was doing some hunting on our clayer herritage and poking around in
_Craft Horizons_ 1950s looking for the article on Shop One in
Rochester and have been finding connection after connection to things
discussed here on Clayart. A caption in the article reads "Not the
leas of this craft store's assests is its lovely manager whose basic
aim is the presentation of crafts in as home-like a setting as
possible" surrounded by three pictures of great presentation just as
you wish for, Marcia.
Other interesting articles include one titles "The Trials of Jurying"
in which craft jurors jury themselves. In this article jurist examine
craft objects. And he's quoting again...
M: "You recognize this person's work?"
A: "In this instance I do."
B: "The ideal condition is that you should not be influenced by knowledge."
C: "I think this is lovely"
B: "Both are very reminiscent of Far Eastern pottery; and one point a
jury should try to clear up is how close, or how imitative a piece can
be and get away with it.
...
B: "... A generation earlier nobody would have had an eye for the
quality of the accidental, the textural effect that these pieces
have."
A: "I think this pottery technically is very good andhas a clay
quality rarely see."
E: "Even today there are only certain people willing to accept as good
a heavy piece like this...."
HA! Heavy pieces. Anyone want to venture a guess as to who's work is
being discussed? Pictures of the pieces illustrate the article.
Nothing new, eh?
Taylor, in Rockport TX
Elizabeth Priddy on tue 21 mar 06
Probably the best display of pots ever in magazines
is not American Craft or Ceramics Monthly or Design
but instead...Martha Stewart Living.
Whether you want to go the stepford route or not,
this magazine LOVES pots. Take one up on any
given month when you are checking out in the grocery
store and you will find pots and ceramics and vases
all IN USE and photographed beautifully. The mood
of photographs in theis magazine is the martha-way,
tranquil, cool, easy to enjoy. No garish shock art
pots, just beautiful ware to use and enjoy.
American style used to be an oxymoron and I have
to hand it to Martha, she changed that. Perry Ellis
and Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger are the core of
the GAP look and Martha is what we like in our houses.
She is even selling completely furnished new construction
homes now. There is a complex just outside of Raleigh in
Cary, NC that is all Martha homes.
So my point here is: to make a display that Americans
swoon for and that will call them to your booth, let
Martha do the market research for you and get some
cues from that magazine. Millions of people can indeed
be wrong, but in this case, you have a line on what they
like right in front of you.
Disclaimer time: I am not saying copy the pots in the mag
or change your work to suit it, but consider the "styling"
of the photo arrays and see if your pots might look at home
in one of those settings. the use of foliage and objet d'art
in and among pottery can make your display pop. And also
consider the scale of the work shown. how big is too big
to fit in a normal home environment, how small is not useful...
E
Taylor Hendrix wrote:
..."Not the
leas of this craft store's assests is its lovely manager whose basic
aim is the presentation of crafts in as home-like a setting as
possible" surrounded by three pictures of great presentation just as
you wish for, Marcia.
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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