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Since venturing out on my own, the toughest challenge I've had is getting my pottery out before the public. Pottery is a fairly common craft. After all, it's one of the oldest crafts known to man. Today, things aren't much different. There are lots of potters around, and my hometown seems have more than its share.
As a kid, I used to go to weekend art shows with my mom - helping her set up, sitting hours at a time at the display with her hoping for sales, breaking down the exhibit at the end of the afternoon... only to repeat the process the following day. I did the show routine with her every spring through summer for nearly five years. Although there were many good memories associated with those shows, I didn't forget about the manual labor involved.
So, last summer I decided to try local church bizarres/shows to get my pieces and me out before the public. I only thought setting up my mom's paintings were an ordeal as a teenager. At 48 years old (and thank goodness, I'm in good health and have a wonderful helpful family), setting up a pottery display was grueling. Hauling around 25 to 40 pound, plastic laundry baskets of bubble-wrapped bowls, etc. Setting up a pop-up tent which takes one more person to pop-up, despite its instructions to the contrary. Setting out portable tables then draping them and arranging the pieces on them. And, after all that, slapping on a smile to greet folks stopping by the display, answering various queries, watching people pick up and look at the piece then the price tag, and wait and see if a sale would happen or not.
Usually the latter occurred. Church bizarres/shows in this area seem to be geared as slightly better than most yard sales. Although many people appreciated my work, competing against cheaper, second-hand stuff (not the vendor's original work) was hard. I was not going to mark down the prices of my work to compete with the yard sale items. My prices were very reasonable; I had been doing comparison pricing on other potters' pieces to get an idea how to price my own. However, I did make it a point to shove my computer-generated business cards (which one of sons helped me make) in every hand that would take.
I only did three of those church gigs. Surprisingly, I did make some sales at all three. My business cards helped considerably. I got a few phone calls from some of the folks who came, saw, didn't buy but took a card at a show. One of these folks convinced me to try to get into some of the small arts/crafts shops around town. After visiting a dozen or so, I signed a contract in December 2005 with Lasting Touch, a vendors shop which had been around for a couple of years. When it started, it was an outlet for better yard sale items. Through the efforts of the owners, it has gradually become more of a shop for local artists and artisans. The owners manned the store, collecting booth rentals and small commissions on sales. In my eyes, it was a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained proposition. And the owners were pleased to have original pottery to offer their customers - especially since I was the only potter... and still am... among their 50 or so vendors.
The December sales alone covered the six-month booth rental. Of course, people were buying Christmas presents. Sales dropped down after that. However, I have been able to sell at least one piece or so each month. I renewed my six-month contract in May, knowing that I would probably have to wait until the holiday season before sales covered the cost again. I made no sales in May or June which had me a little worried. Keith (one of the owners) assured me that sales were generally down for all the other vendors as well and that happened every summer. I sold one small vase for $8 in July (see below).
I stopped by Lasting Touch this afternoon to check my display area (I try to go once a month to dust and rearrange the pottery as needed). Keith greeted me and said "Things are picking up. You've sold two pieces in the last week." One was a large vase and the other was "Melt Down," the twisted handle bowl in the previous journal entry. Sales total for the two pieces - $58! Woo hoo! Couple of more sales like this and I'll have the rental cost covered before the holiday sales. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! biggrin
This was the little vase I sold in late July. I scored the outside with a swirled band. The exterior glaze is white with fine gray-silver speckles. The interior glaze is a pale red-brown. When I was pouring the excess of the glaze out, some of it ran onto the outer rim, blending into the white glaze. The piece was fired at Cone 5. Its dimensions are 4-1/2 inches high and 5 inches wide. It's called "Dust Devil."
 Rhiannon2006 · Thu Aug 10, 2006 @ 04:47am · 0 Comments |
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