buckeye Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Months ago I went to a local shop with some of my pottery, the owner really liked my work and we discussed putting some of my stuff in her shop to sell. Then, everything went bad with the electric issues and all that crazy stuff and I put it off until I was set up right. Earlier this week I took some stuff there and she was very excited and I am officially selling some stuff locally. She also asked if I would like to do some throwing classes so I am hoping to start doing some of that soon as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Sounds good this how it starts-. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Congratulation have fun but don't burn yourself out I even do that myself now and then. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Congrats! I am going to recommend my article on Marketing your work to galleries to you ... Good basic new seller stuff. http://ccpottery.com/marketing_your_work_to_gall.html For anyone attending NCECA in Seattle, I will be leading a topical discussion on marketing and sales ... No room number yet but I think it will be Friday afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Months ago I went to a local shop with some of my pottery, the owner really liked my work and we discussed putting some of my stuff in her shop to sell. Then, everything went bad with the electric issues and all that crazy stuff and I put it off until I was set up right. Earlier this week I took some stuff there and she was very excited and I am officially selling some stuff locally. She also asked if I would like to do some throwing classes so I am hoping to start doing some of that soon as well! Excellent, it is surely a beginning. Are your pieces there on consignment? A few thoughts on consignment. Several years ago I had two stores that carried my work-both on consignment. One store the work sat in a back corner filling space for months with no sales. The other store my work was highlighted, and sold frequently(5-7) pieces a month-small ones, but they were sales. So what was the difference, they both had traffic, they both were priced the same, and both were full time establishments with regular hours. The first one did charge me a lower percentage of profit the other 5% higher. The 5% in that case was worth it for the extra care they took with displaying the work, the frequent rearranging, and dusting, and the volume. I also kept in close touch with both, and notice quite early who was benefiting me or benefiting themselves. I did do demonstrations a year later at the second shop and had a bang up couplt of months afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Oz Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Sounds exciting, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Months ago I went to a local shop with some of my pottery, the owner really liked my work and we discussed putting some of my stuff in her shop to sell. Then, everything went bad with the electric issues and all that crazy stuff and I put it off until I was set up right. Earlier this week I took some stuff there and she was very excited and I am officially selling some stuff locally. She also asked if I would like to do some throwing classes so I am hoping to start doing some of that soon as well! Excellent, it is surely a beginning. Are your pieces there on consignment? A few thoughts on consignment. Several years ago I had two stores that carried my work-both on consignment. One store the work sat in a back corner filling space for months with no sales. The other store my work was highlighted, and sold frequently(5-7) pieces a month-small ones, but they were sales. So what was the difference, they both had traffic, they both were priced the same, and both were full time establishments with regular hours. The first one did charge me a lower percentage of profit the other 5% higher. The 5% in that case was worth it for the extra care they took with displaying the work, the frequent rearranging, and dusting, and the volume. I also kept in close touch with both, and notice quite early who was benefiting me or benefiting themselves. I did do demonstrations a year later at the second shop and had a bang up couplt of months afterwards. This got me thinking about consignment-so I put up a post in the business area on it. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynny Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Congrats Buckeye on having your work 'out there' in a shop. It's an exciting feeling but at the same a little intimidating to expose yourself publicly lol -for me anyway, slight lack of confidence here I agree so much on the way a shop displays your work. Just before Christmas a local tea emporium put out 3 of my tea sets, and displayed them in a stunning way. I havnt had any sales but really appreciate the trouble they went to in setting my pieces up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeye Posted February 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Thanks everyone for your support. I will keep you updated if anything sells and how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill T. Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 Way to go Buckeye gotta get your feet wet sometimes. I did this 6 years ago as soon as I felt my work was good enough for the public. Have it in 2 speciality shops on the square (small town, 5000 pop.) I price my items, tie a business card to each with a pretty ribbon, type a list of the items for the store, and take everything to the store. I give the store 20% of the sale less tax. This has led to many commissions and calls for demonstrations which usually lead to more commissions. Couldn't make a living like this, but I'm a retired school principal so making enough profit to pay for my glaze and clay satisfies me. BTW always get tickled readying your signature, our high school football team's mascot name is Buckeyes. I was band director for 15 years for the Buckeye Band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinah Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 Well done with your connection. Be sure to pop in the shop to regularly check that your area is dusted and displayed to your satisfaction, and display is looking good. Ask owner about any seasonal work you can offer. Shop owner will be able to give you anecdotal customer feedback as to how things are going...grain of salt time. Be sure to update your CV/resume/website with this information under the heading <Current Representation> and make sure this up-to-date information is copied out and given to the shop owner. Also, post to your social media like FaceBook, LinkedIn and of course your Potters Council member's page and gallery and adjust your personal statement with your current news. If you haven't got a FaceBook Page for your work then take the time and make one. Hugely valuable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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