The Don’t Do List, pt 3: Don’t Play Small

Creating a successful business with your talent and skills is not for the timid, the petty, nor the shallow mind. It takes guts to put yourself out there each day and offer up something made with heart. It takes being in a perpetual creative flow of innovation, which means not allowing yourself to get dragged down into negative or fear based perspectives.

Our Don’t Do List is offered by Artisans Gallery Team members from the lessons we’ve learned by making and observing mistakes. Sometimes the best advice is about what not to do!

1) Don’t take it personally!

It’s a given that you won’t like every communication from buyers, or comments posted in the Forums. But if you approach every-day workspace communications with too much personal passion and enthusiasm, your day can get eaten up with worry and resentment. You may also lose opportunities by misreading someone’s intentions.

As Eve of EvesLttleEarthlings observes:

Don't get annoyed when customers ask for a discount. The forums are full of sellers who think this is an insult. I personally never give discounts, but usually when I politely explain why, they purchase at full price anyway.

Custom made doll from EvesLittleEarthlings

Renee from DecorateTheDiva advises:

Don't tell customers you are having a bad day, or your life problems. Keep it upbeat and joyful especially around the holidays. Stay focused on the topic and keep it simple.

glass and brass woodland acorn necklace from DecoratetheDiva

2) Don’t stand still.

Keep moving and progressing in your work. It’s fun for you, and good for business, too.

As Lauren of lapisbeach says:

Don't be afraid to try new things. When I first opened my Etsy shop I only had soft knit items in my shop. With a friend's encouragement- I started experimenting with wire.....now the wire line dominates my shop listings. Who knows what is next!

Black Pearl necklace from lapisbeach

3) “Don't copy someone else's work - even if you can, even if they are selling like mad.” – from Genevieve of jibbyandjuna

handmade original polymer clay necklace from jibbyandjuna

It’s not fair, it’s not legal, and it’s not good businesswise to copy someone’s original designs. If an image inspires you, your final product must deviate from the inspiration piece by at least 30% in order to be legally defensible as your own work.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our series!

The Don’t Do List part 1- Shipping

The Don’t Do List part 2- to Avoid Negative feedback

by Lee Wolfe/ OneClayBead

Your comments, questions, and ideas are welcome!

AGTeam Mother's Day Gift Guide

 

MOM Little House Ceramic Village by TheLittleRedDoor

With spring blossoming in the Northern Hemisphere, one of the season's most wonderful holidays, Mother's Day, is just a few weeks away.  You don't need to look any further than the beautiful shops of the Artisans Gallery Team members to find lovely handmade gifts for every mom.  Whether you are shopping for jewelry, home decor or artwork, you are bound to spot something wonderful for the special people you would like to treat to an artisanal gift this Mother's Day.  Here are just a few suggestions to get things started. For more ideas, please browse the international Artisans Gallery Team shop categories on the right or search for keywords "agteam mother day" or just "agteam" on Etsy.

Single Flower Earrings in Sapphire, Rose Quartz and Mandarin Garnet

by FussJewelry (Connecticut, USA)

 

Blue Bells 8x10 Fine Art Flower Nature Photography Print

by TheEye (British Columbia, Canada)

Little Nut Necklace
by PoleStar (North Carolina, USA) 

Tea Time original watercolor painting

by TheJoyOfColor (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Hand Textured Porcelain Vase

by NewMoonStudio (Rhode Island, USA)

Handpainted Scarf

by Birribe (Stockholm, Sweden)

 

Reef bracelet

by JibbyAndJuna (Pennsylvania, USA)

 

Pie Plate Footed Cutting Board

by GrayWorksDesign (New York, USA)

 

Wool felt Kangaroo Mom and Joey 

by EvesLittleEarthlings (Ontario, Canada)

Noodle stoneware Serving Bowl

by OneClayBead (North Carolina, USA) 

Lavender Hand Pulled Linocut

by PeaseBlossomStudio (Texas, USA)

Pear Small Funky Vase

by RomyAndClare (Indiana, USA) 

 

Children's Names Necklace Personalized

by moonovermaize (Virginia, USA)

fine art giclee print

by gretchenmist (Melbourne, Australia)

Bel Fiore Ring

by BeyondTheRockz (Connecticut, USA)

 

2 Crocheted Macarons

by Beliz82 (Paris, France)

Dandelion wish necklace in silver

by LuluBugJewelry (California, USA)

LOVE Languages - LongSleeve T-Shirt

by BuckToothedBunny (Massachussetts, USA)

Honeysuckle Baby Alpaca & Silk Knit Scarf

by TickledPinkKnits (New York, USA)

Peek. Bought. Handmade.

As part of our ongoing series, we are taking  a peek into artists' homes to see what handmade pieces they have brought into their own living and working spaces.  A peek into personal handmade collections.

Today, jeweler Genevieve from jibby and juna invites us into her bedroom to see some of the art they were gifted (by their kids!) over the holidays.

"Here are two photos of the prints my kids bought my husband and I for Christmas. They thought our bedroom was too monochromatic (and they were right) and shopped from my favorites choosing these three from illustrator Yellena specifically to go over our bed.  Just three pieces of artwork add to much to the room! And I'm glad our kids already understand the value of buying handmade (hmmm...now if we could just get them to stop using our paypal account:-)"

Should I Sell my Work Wholesale?

 

bracelet by jibbyandjuna

Selling wholesale to galleries, boutiques, and gift stores is beneficial if, and only if, that outlet increases the demand for, and value of , your work. If it is merely an opportunity to cut your price, don’t do it! A good wholesale outlet will promote your work as part of its branding and image. The gallery’s  buyer and sales staff will become familiar with your whole body of work, your studio process, the materials you use, and your individual story. They will take pride in carrying your work; they will act as a your representative to their clientele.  As their sales create greater demand for your work, the price that you charge can be increased.

Any time the demand for your work exceeds the supply (what you can make in a year), you can raise your prices.

fine art print by Gretchen Mist

It is very important to understand this! The single most common mistake that artisans make is lowering price in order to sell more volume. It is almost always better to sell less, at a greater price, than to sell more with a smaller profit margin. So you must make sure that your wholesale opportunities are beneficial to you in order to justify the discount you give them.

If you want to sell wholesale, scout out markets that would add prestige to your work. Look for outlets that have an established reputation, that ask for exclusive representation of your work within a specified territory, and that have a median price of what they carry that matches the average retail price of your work. You don’t want to be the cheapest thing they sell, nor the most expensive. Look for outlets that take pride in selling artisan work or art. Make sure that their marketing makes a distinction between manufactured goods and handmade work if they carry both.

felted elephants mobile by Sewn Natural

Future posts will cover what galleries and exclusive boutiques are most likely to buy, how to make sure that you have that, and how to successfully pitch your work to wholesale buyers. Please let me know if there are other topics that you would like me to cover. I have sold my own work wholesale for over 30 years, owned, managed, and worked as a consultant for, American Craft and Fine Art galleries. I’m happy to help you get started and succeed in selling to galleries.

by Lee Wolfe/ OneClayBead