Im just curious as to how many artfair artists have another job or jobs to supplement their income from the artshows? (Im sure many have a partner/spouse who adds income to the household, but Im just curious about this).
I am grateful that I have a studio/gallery where I sell my art now, as opposed to the 20-25 shows I used to do per year. My gallery is in a tourist town so I get a diffferent 'customer base' every day--toursits from all over the country.
My sales are actually pretty good overall. Ive been at this location about 3 years. The first two years my sales were higher (of course) than this current year. This recent month of MAY was quite bad compared to the other years though. I wasnt expecting the economy to be good... to us artists obviously!!
. My sales were down about 50% for May but Im still surviving because my bf adds income to the household. There was a time that my gallery was the main financial support but now its ..um...definitely 'iffy'! Im hopeful though about the coming months. So far this JUNE has been relatively good and Im happy to say my sales are almost equal to past years.
Im glad my bf is bringing in money too (he is a photographer). Im just wondering how you all are juggling all of this, in the current economic time?? Are you the sole supporter of your household through your artsales? Do you supplement your income with some other 'non art related' job?
Just curious :)
You need to be a member of Art Fair Insiders to add comments!
Thing may seem hard right now due to the economy however, don't give up doing something that you love doing and turning it into a business is always a plus. Not to mention, you will be able to put some much passion into it. I see the biggest thing for you to do is marketing. It's the biggest thing for me to and I am just starting out for about a year now. I once had a licenced child care business out of my home and on thing I had to do is put flyers out on mailboxes, go to the strip malls and call around to business places such as beauty salons or other high traffic places to bring in buisiness for myself and I feel that I will have to go back to doing that same sort of thing to break into the business.
Teressa
Linda Anderson said:
My art has been my full time job for 5 years. My hubby's company sold out & moved to France so he retired early at 61 last year. This is the first year we rely entirely upon the art - tough year to start. In addition to a show nearly each weekend, we rely on my website and local gallery for art income. Quite a cutback from our previous income, but with children grown, we keep our expenses at a minimum and enjoy the lifestyle. We were both engineers in our previous life and must say we don't miss that hectic and stressful part of our lives.
I can actually understand what you mean, I am new and trying to build up clients and break into the business and it has not been as easy as I would like it to have been. Sometimes I want to give up but I see what other people are doing and that they are able to make a profit and it re-inspires me to push on and to not give up. I am wondering if the ability to except credit cards would make a big difference. Also I really can not afford to do the big shows and frankly do not know if it would be beneficial to do so since they can cost anywhere between $300-600 dollors or more to rent a booth.
Teressa
Louise Norrell said:
I started a part time job in December and had to cut way back on shows. After October I wasn't making enough money at them to get by. I also can't get accepted to very many anymore since Zap came along. Also my husband was laid off from the cabinet shop where he worked in October and hasn't found another job since that kind of work is way down in our area. I'm a jeweler and I am working for some other jewelers. I miss shows but I actually enjoy the job. It's better than working alone at home while freaking out about business being so slow.
Hello, my name is Teressa and I just joined last night. I am a new artist. I design and create sterling silver jewelry with gemstones and crystals. It is a real inspiration to me to see that people can actually turn their art into businesses and support themselves. Right now, I am working part time in a daycare center in the evenings so that I can help ends meet. I am married and my husband brings in income with his job. It's about 30k per year and we have three kids. I also go to college 3/4's time during the school year to become a psychologist. I know that it will be a long road ahead as far as my education goes so if possible, I would like to be able to start my own business instead of having to work for someone else and work around the hours they need and just work around the hours I am able to provide for myself.
I started a part time job in December and had to cut way back on shows. After October I wasn't making enough money at them to get by. I also can't get accepted to very many anymore since Zap came along. Also my husband was laid off from the cabinet shop where he worked in October and hasn't found another job since that kind of work is way down in our area.
I'm a jeweler and I am working for some other jewelers. I miss shows but I actually enjoy the job. It's better than working alone at home while freaking out about business being so slow.
I have a part time job in addition to my craft business (in doing shows and having some wholesale orders). The part time job was pure luck. Walked into the local boutique - which sells both antiques as well as made in Maryland items - and the owner and I hit it off. Two weeks later, this was last year around Sept., I was working for them. I do sales, open and close the shop, merchandising and create seasonal displays, full run of rearranging furniture... Pretty much manage the store during the week while on the weekends they work the store. My bosses and I get along like family and we learn a lot from each other - they helped me land some whole sale accounts, and I giving them some business through my contacts and even this weekend going to a wholesale show for them (for me too as I might sign up to do the show in the future). So far the shop is doing well, but attribute that to the shop that has a lot to offer - something for tourists (crab products, shirts, glassware, china, postcards, etc.) and locals - both antiques and Maryland stuff for things like souvenirs for family that has moved away, state flags, people having Maryland themed weddings and of course crab feast supplies. The other nice thing is when I don't have shows I still get a paycheck and it doesn't go to renting a space for a show, extra travel expenses, etc. In addition I get great ideas for my items (as my stuff sells there too) getting ideas on new products from customer feedback. So I am not embarrassed to say I have a 2nd job. I love it and helps me especially on the off seasons too.
On the side I also do freelance writing for magazines. This also brings in some extra money. You would be surprised at how each persons experience is desirable to others as long as you have a good grasp of grammer and English writing skills. Most of my articles have been published in the Craft Reports magazine and others online. The key is you have to have fresh ideas and really market yourself.
My art has been my full time job for 5 years. My hubby's company sold out & moved to France so he retired early at 61 last year. This is the first year we rely entirely upon the art - tough year to start. In addition to a show nearly each weekend, we rely on my website and local gallery for art income. Quite a cutback from our previous income, but with children grown, we keep our expenses at a minimum and enjoy the lifestyle. We were both engineers in our previous life and must say we don't miss that hectic and stressful part of our lives.
No second job. Although, the economy is starting to take its toll on me and I may have to re-examine how many shows I do next year and how far to travel. Right now I am a full time art show artist and this year is so up and down. During the past three years my shows were very consistent in that 90% of the time I reached my minimum goal and about half those times I exceeded the goal. This year I reach my minimum goal about 40% of the time...then a 10% shows I have far exceeded my goal. (but this does not make up for the increased number of downright bad sales at those 40% of shows)
The problem is.... there are so many unemployed people so the competition is fierce for even minimum wage jobs. Plus, most employers would know that the minute the economy turns around, I would be out of there and back to my full time art festival life.
Replies
Teressa
Linda Anderson said:
Teressa
Louise Norrell said:
I'm a jeweler and I am working for some other jewelers. I miss shows but I actually enjoy the job. It's better than working alone at home while freaking out about business being so slow.
On the side I also do freelance writing for magazines. This also brings in some extra money. You would be surprised at how each persons experience is desirable to others as long as you have a good grasp of grammer and English writing skills. Most of my articles have been published in the Craft Reports magazine and others online. The key is you have to have fresh ideas and really market yourself.
Michelle
The problem is.... there are so many unemployed people so the competition is fierce for even minimum wage jobs. Plus, most employers would know that the minute the economy turns around, I would be out of there and back to my full time art festival life.