Selling Wholesale: What Galleries Want

leather cuff by WaterRose

This is a more optimal time to approach art and artisan craft galleries to buy from you than it has been in years. Gallery sales in the last quarter of 2010 were better than previous years, so their inventories are low and their spending capital is high. The wholesale craft markets aren’t booked until February, so you can get a foot in the door before they commit their yearly budget. So what are they looking for?

First of all, have a body of work to offer.  A body of work is a clear, recognizable  path that you are taking with your artistic exploration and creations. Every piece in your body of work relates to the other pieces. If your work is primarily extravagant one of a kind pieces, make at least 4 less expensive variations that still have your personal style and innovations. Conversely, if your work is generally well priced pieces without a lot of innovation, create at least  5 highly unusual pieces that show the very best of what you can do.

Markhed’s shop is the perfect body of work that would interest a gallery buyer.  These pieces all relate to each other while bering unusual and innovative:

Galleries are interested in a broad price range. They want something new and different but buyers are also very cautious and gravitate towards work that they know from experience will sell well. My wholesale list is fairly large- I offer 21 pieces in 3 glaze patterns. Gallery buyers want to see at least 20 pieces that you can make and deliver in a timely fashion.

If your Etsy sales are fairly good, I would use that to show a buyer that your work has a following. Be aware that gallery buyers don’t want their customers to find you online and get a cheaper price. Before you approach galleries, remove all mention of sales, discount codes, and giveaways from your store, blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Have your online prices set at the same retail that a gallery would have. And plan to keep it that way, if you want to retain wholesale accounts.

Next Wednesday, I will cover how to approach a gallery to carry your work. If you have any questions, ask in the comments and I will gladly reply. I wish you all success in the new year ahead!

Lee Wolfe / OneClayBead

Creative Fire: Drive

                                               photo by raceytay

My husband is reading a book that interests me: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, written by Daniel Pink.  Pink became well known for "A Whole New Mind," his 2005 best-selling book in which he made the bold statement that right-brainers -- people who are strong in qualities such as empathy, storytelling and inventiveness -- will rule the future. So, naturally, I like the way he thinks!

The introduction explains the meaning behind the title “Drive.”  The first drive is biological. It is the most basic and primitive and includes the need for food, drink, shelter and basic survival. The second drive is more external; reward and punishment. This is where psychologists, managers and parents have spent most of their time. But then, when a group of monkeys started playing with puzzles with enjoyment and focus, scientists realized that there might be another drive in all of us. This third drive is focused on the pure joy of performing the task. Pink explores all the different ways that this third drive expresses itself and the results both people and organizations achieved when they opened themselves up to this third drive.

                                             earrings by Markhed

I’ve been thinking long and hard about the case he makes that if you get stuck seeking short term rewards you can extinguish your internal motivation, ie, the joy of working. In his list of the flaws of short term rewards, Pink includes that they can crush creativity and that they can become addictive.

Selling is a short term reward on Etsy. Our number count goes up, we get a short feature on Pounce. There is a momentary high. Making the Front Page is a short term reward. Having one’s treasury make the Front Page is a short term reward. Each produces a feeling of accomplishment, of exhilaration. While I'm not leaping to the conclusion that we need 12 step support groups for treasury and front page addicts, I am asking myself if the joy of creating my pottery is still greater than the thrill of seeing the image of it on Etsy’s front page. I also monitor for myself how much custom order work, which is inherently less creative, is okay for me to take before the actual fun gets sucked out and replaced by my sales +1. Now that creative types are predicted to rule the future, I don’t want to miss my chance! I’ve started experimenting with new glazes in the middle of the holiday sales blitz just to keep my priorities straight.

                                         ring by onegarnetgirl

Are you having fun today?

by Lee Wolfe/ OneClayBead

Creative Fire: Magic and Business

                          Spalenka

"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."

— Tom Robbins

I am married to a suit, a corporate Vice President, whose days are spent in positioning his company for growth in a shifting economy. I am a potter, usually so unkempt that I’m an hour away from being presentable if I’m meeting anyone for lunch. Like all true artists, I deal in magic, in transformation, in the ancient alchemy of clay and glaze. Is this an example of how opposites attract? Perhaps.  We are we on opposite ends of one spectrum that begins in the realm of creative dreams and manifests through skillful design and execution.

                           Markhed

We are equally successful because we value the realm in which the other operates. I respect the organized way in which he methodically negotiates a business deal. He respects my natural ability to read people, to get in the zone and flow through my day, and to innovate.

He has brought a measure of order to my chaos. I bring to his his life magic. Business and magic make for a successful partnership.

     TeoStudio. steinschmuckdesign, OneClayBead

“Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.”
- Tom Robbins

               SewnNatural

Click on any image to see listing details. Article by: Lee Wolfe/ OneClayBead