David Hendley on thu 13 jul 06
Well Chris, I look forward to our "Living the Dream" panel
discussion at the NCECA Conference in March, since we are
in complete disagreement on this. Makes for lively discussion!
If I may comment on your comments:
> When you sell wholesale you get
> 100 PERCENT of YOUR price.
How do you figure that?
I sell my mugs for $24 in my shop and on my website. Are
you suggesting that I can also sell a mug to a gallery for $24?
And that they will have success trying to sell it for $48 when
any one of their customers could also buy it for $24?
Before the WWW age, it was possible to 'fudge' a little, and
increase the supposed retail price quoted to a gallery and then
offer them the wholesale price. No more, with your actual retail
price right there for all to see.
> Since you do not have to spend your
> time and energy actually selling the
> pieces one at a time to customers you
> have a lot of free time to make even
> more pots.
I do not want to make even more pots. I am not running
a production factory, and I like to take breaks to rest and
do other jobs. Customers coming to the studio provide a
nice natural, and lucrative, break during the work day.
> Since you don't have to travel to shows
> and eat meals in restaurants and spend
> nights in hotels and waste time unpacking
> and packing and talking to people about
> how their aunt gertrude once took a
> ceramics class ... you have more time to
> make pots.
I don't do any of that. That's why selling from your own
studio is head-and-shoulders above the best way to
market your work.
And again, I already get to make plenty of pots.
And, you don't mention the very, very major expense
and time required to properly pack and ship large
quantities of pottery. A rather small $300 wholesale order
takes me half a day to pack, label, and ship.
> So is it any wonder everyone thinks we are
> going the route of the buggy whip?
It is the gallery (and the art fair as well) that is going the
way of the buggy whip, as more and more experienced
potters have figured out that they can do just fine without
them. I can offer customers a unique buying experience
that a gallery can't touch. I can sell to the whole world
through the internet.
As for the wholesale show in Philly, I suspect there were
not many potters there because there was not much money
to be made. If a potter did great at the show every year for
years in a row, you can bet she would be there again the
next year. If sales keep dropping year after year, potters
will quit paying the very steep expenses to attend.
And don't forget, what you are doing when you attend such
a show is, in your words,
> travel to shows
> and eat meals in restaurants and spend
> nights in hotels and waste time unpacking
> and packing
> If America stops buying our hand made pots it could
> be because we stopped trying to put it into the galleries
> of their home towns and made it so much easier for
> those huge mall stores to sell them imports.
The best way to illustrate the difference between imported
pottery and hand made pottery is for the potter to sell
directly to the customer from her shop, 10 feet from the
potter's wheel and 30 feet from the kiln. It drives home
the point to the customer in a way that going into a gallery
in a shopping center can't even come close to illustrating.
And, it doesn't more local than that.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
"EXTRUDE IT! Getting the Most From
Your Clay Extruder" available at
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
> First of all, David's original post
> contains pure gold information wise ...
> but ...
> this one point rankles ...
>
> > Remember that Mr. Aerni
> (sorry to pick on you, Dick)
> sells most of his work to galleries,
> for half the retail price.<
>
> This type of thinking has kept many
> potters out of the very lucrative field
> of selling their wares wholesale.
>
> When you sell wholesale you get
> 100 PERCENT of YOUR price.
>
> Since you do not have to spend your
> time and energy actually selling the
> pieces one at a time to customers you
> have a lot of free time to make even
> more pots.
>
> Since you don't have to travel to shows
> and eat meals in restaurants and spend
> nights in hotels and waste time unpacking
> and packing and talking to people about
> how their aunt gertrude once took a
> ceramics class ... you have more time to
> make pots.
Chris Campbell on thu 13 jul 06
First of all, David's original post
contains pure gold information wise ...
but ...
this one point rankles ...
> Remember that Mr. Aerni
(sorry to pick on you, Dick)
sells most of his work to galleries,
for half the retail price.<
This type of thinking has kept many
potters out of the very lucrative field
of selling their wares wholesale.
When you sell wholesale you get
100 PERCENT of YOUR price.
Since you do not have to spend your
time and energy actually selling the
pieces one at a time to customers you
have a lot of free time to make even
more pots.
Since you don't have to travel to shows
and eat meals in restaurants and spend
nights in hotels and waste time unpacking
and packing and talking to people about
how their aunt gertrude once took a
ceramics class ... you have more time to
make pots.
Now, wholesale is NOT for everyone.
I AM NOT SAYING IT IS !!
But ...
it is an extremely viable lifestyle for
those who can produce pottery in a
streamlined manner.
Currently, there is an interesting
discussion on the american craft forum
as to whether functional pottery is dead.
http://www.americancraftforum.com./
The last wholesale show in Philly had only
two aisles of pottery ... compare that to
dozens in glass, jewelry and mixed media.
The potters who were there were good but
it was a sadly sparse representation of the
craftsmanship in our field.
Gallery buyers could not find much pottery.
I walked the aisles and could not believe
how few potters - functional or decorative -
were trying to sell to this huge nationwide
audience.
So is it any wonder everyone thinks we are
going the route of the buggy whip?
Gallery buyers have to go hunting for new
potters as their reliable ones have aged out
of the wholesale show scene. How long do you
think they will search before deciding it is not
worth the effort?
If America stops buying our hand made pots it could
be because we stopped trying to put it into the galleries
of their home towns and made it so much easier for
those huge mall stores to sell them imports.
Chris Campbell - in North Carolina - OK ... I shall now step down
from my soap box.
Chris Campbell Pottery LLC
9417 Koupela Drive
Raleigh NC 27615-2233
Fine Colored Porcelain since 1989
1-800-652-1008
Fax : 919-676-2062
website: www.ccpottery.com
wholesale : www.wholesalecrafts.com
Chris Campbell on fri 14 jul 06
David H says ...
>>Well Chris, I look forward to our "Living the Dream" panel
>>discussion at the NCECA Conference in March, since we are
>> in complete disagreement on this. Makes for lively discussion!
Yes, it will be lively!
I am used to potters HATING what I say when it comes
to the business side of pottery ... so your polite, intelligent
comments are refreshing. (smile)
If I may comment on your comments:
> When you sell wholesale you get
> 100 PERCENT of YOUR price.
>>How do you figure that?
I know my cost to make the item, I add a profit
margin and sell it to a gallery. I don't care what
they sell it for as I already have made my
money on the item.
>>I do not want to make even more pots. I am not running
>>a production factory, and I like to take breaks to rest and
>>do other jobs. Customers coming to the studio provide a
>>nice natural, and lucrative, break during the work day.
As I said, wholesale is NOT for everyone.
> Since you don't have to travel to shows
> and eat meals in restaurants and spend
> nights in hotels and waste time unpacking
> and packing ...
>> I don't do any of that. That's why selling from your own
>>studio is head-and-shoulders above the best way to
>>market your work.
That is only relevant if you have a physical sales studio
and you like having random people dropping in.
Not everyone wants to live this way.
>>As for the wholesale show in Philly, I suspect there were
>>not many potters there because there was not much money
>>to be made.
Tell that to all the other craftspeople who wrote their sales
for the entire year in three days. Yes, it is a commitment of
time and money. Once again, not for everyone.
Potters have the idea that there is only one type of
customer and they are looking for a $15 mug.
So everyone on every level of skill decides to compete
for that customer. Total traffic jam on the bottom rung.
We have excellent potters still pricing their work at
the same point beginners do ... and some even crabbing
about the newbies pricing too high.
All dedicated to chasing that low dollar point.
The news flash is that there is a customer for a $30 mug
and even one for a $75 mug ... yes, there is a whole vast
body of clients that we are not servicing.
Now ... not everyone can satisfy them because they want
the best ... newbies/intermediates need not apply.
Buy a copy of "Niche" magazine and you will see the
degree of excellence required in the upper levels of
American Craft.
Our best potters could fit in nicely if they would abandon
their notions of what a client is willing to pay.
Now with that said ... who do you think pushes up prices
in the handmade crafts world?
The artist or the gallery?
The potter who cannot imagine commanding a higher price
or the gallery owner who makes these sales every day?
Chris Campbell - in North Carolina - this soapbox is keeping
me out of my studio!!
Chris Campbell Pottery LLC
9417 Koupela Drive
Raleigh NC 27615-2233
Fine Colored Porcelain since 1989
1-800-652-1008
Fax : 919-676-2062
website: www.ccpottery.com
wholesale : www.wholesalecrafts.com
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