Here we are, first ever studio tour! Go, team, go!
So
what is it you really need to know about open studio formats for
selling art work? Number one would be how you optimize sales and
what are the other take aways besides money that make it a wise
investment.
To start with, for me, the bottom line was very important: did I break even? (I have very modest goals.) And the answer to that one is yes! Thank heavens! Whoohoo! I am ecstatic. I sold five pieces of art and though the experience was a lot of work, it has put some gears in motion to possibly replay the event as a pre-Christmas “sale”. In addition I was able to move a portion of my work to my regular gallery, The Artists Corner and Gallery, in Acton, MA and tag along on their open studio event as well.
The
single most important factor in the staging of this invent was ensuring an adequate flow of traffic (and thereby
sales) by being part of a larger group, the studio tour. In my case
the tour was organized by others (yes!) and they provided maps (a
must) of all the studios on the tour and even signs to stick in your
front lawn. Cool. It was the first year, so traffic was light, but
expected to improve with each year the tour is held, as evidenced by
tours in other towns which are typically packed with eager buyers.
Though there were no purchased ads in the media that I know of, the
organizers and the artists each made ample use of social media on
their own. I can't imagine trying to do an open
studio without that important tie in to another group. There are
things I would tweak, but all in all, it worked out well.
I
took great care to produce, especially for this format, a number of
lower priced items. I was pre-warned that most items that sell are
below $50. The theory is that it works a lot like a Tupperware sale –
you must (if you are a friend of the artist) buy something or risk
offense. I sold one such item, but the rest were more expensive items
above that amount so my extra work producing items at a lower price
point would seem to be unnecessary. Interesting. We will see if that
holds in years to come.
Besides
breaking even, visibility is another positive take away from the
event and not just with the general public. You will likely meet a
number of other artists and people from your own community that you
didn't even know were there, probably because art is pretty much a
solitary venture. I had a number of artists showing up to
reconnoiter, as well as newcomers to the
community who wanted to see more of what our small town was all about
and get to know people. My personal fantasy was that an important
gallery owner would take the tour just to spy out up and coming
talent. If so, they remain, to this day, incognito. Sigh.
A
slightly shameful plus from this experience was that my house is now
clean! Briefly. The dust settles fast in my neck of the woods and the
clutter is magically returning to its previous parking spaces. My
dining room is still home to numerous bins of art, so if I do a
Christmas sale, I'm ready. Some of it, as previously mentioned, will
move to another venue, which I would not have explored without the
extra preparation that I did for my studio sale. I now have a body of
work ready to ship that is inventoried/catalogued, packaged, priced,
and labeled, not just the two pieces I usually prepare for a local
group show. This task was huge, but it is now done. I will also be
listing more of my work on my website and on Etsy, things that would
have happened at a much slower pace without the impetus of a show
looming on the horizon.
So,
I am now back to my regular routine, charting a course ahead, which
will likely include more of an online presence and flip-flopping on
whether or not to do a Christmas sale at my house. That may turn into a
black Friday/cyber Monday event instead. Provided my computer keeps
limping along.
-Vicky
