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Selling Work Framed or UnFramed?

Posted by Susan Corbin on April 21, 2010 at 3:50pm in Marketing & Sales of Your Art and Crafts

Hi everyone - especially those of you with works on paper.

 

I work in dyed paper collage and I've been presenting many of my original collages which are mounted on watercolour paper, on a slightly larger piece of foamcore, wrapped in a nice crisp cellophane bag with artist info sheet in the back.

 

I also present a few originals framed of course, as well as some reproductions matted and or framed.

 

I could also mat the collages and present them that way, ready to frame, instead of the customer having to mat and frame.

 

How do you present your artwork and have you found that it has to be framed to sell?

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Tags: artwork, framed, mat, matted, selling, unframed
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Replies

  • Susan Corbin May 11, 2010 at 5:52pm
    Thanks everyone,

    Since asking my question I have matted all of my originals. I don 't know why I didn't do that from the beginning. Unfortunately, they are not all standard sizes, but I will keep that in mind from now on when beginning a piece! Custom mats and frames are so much more trouble and more expensive.

    I also present 4 to 6 originals framed. I have the matted ones in a display bin. Reading through the latest comments this seems to be more or less how everyone does it and I think it works well.

    Now that is sorted out I just have to work out how to get more displayed. I've been realizing how little time you have to get someone's attention, especially when it is a street fair and customers can be just wandering with no specific intent.

    I still sell my reproductions and will continue to do so for now - they are in a different style from the pieces I sell as originals and just seem to suit reproduction. I have to say that most of the people who buy my reproductions would not be able to afford an original. I would hate to cut them out of the picture all together. There is a whole other huge discussion in that topic so I will leave it at that.

    Thanks again for all your great input.
  • Michael Reimer May 11, 2010 at 4:18pm
    I do only originals, but I do sell both framed and matted pieces. For my matted pieces, I do them in standard frame sizes and use that as a selling point (ie they don't have to be custom framed). Most customers appreciate that.
  • Jacqueline Webster May 11, 2010 at 10:55am
    I have been doing only originals and am now looking at reproductions to acheive a lower price point for budget minded customers. I'm not sure I'm willing to put them in my booth, but online may be OK. I am looking at the possibility of art cards in the booth, though. I'll have to see how I feel once I get a few sample repros made. As for the originals, I have both on the wall framed photos and matted bin art. And my bin art is marked down to exclude the cost of the frame only - an easy explanation re: time and expense to the customer.
  • Pauline Ross May 9, 2010 at 11:05am
    I generally frame originals unless it is a gallery wrapped canvas. Watercolors I have to mat and frame. I mat prints for the bins and will frame a few to sell. I have found matted framed prints sell well. But more sell as loose prints in bins.
  • Susan Corbin April 21, 2010 at 11:38pm
    Thanks Sheila. I have sold reproductions for a long time and I am trying to get away from it. I have just begun doing very small collages on cards and may do small matted ones. You make a good point about keeping sizes separate. I was thinking that for originals, people would want to frame them in their own way, however, I guess most people just don't want to go to that trouble, or cant' picture how they look framed (and everything looks better framed)



    Sheila Evans said:
    I keep a basket of matted and bagged miniature original pastels on my desk. Sometimes they make my booth fee, sometimes I don't sell any. I make them as efficiently as possible but still don't make much profit from them. I just like to have something for every budget without resorting to repros. I do not sell the same sizes unframed as framed. I've tried it in the past and this can result in difficult-to-answer questions about the differences in price between framed and unframed work. The unframed pieces are always smaller, and this way they come across as a completely separate product.
  • Susan Corbin April 21, 2010 at 11:33pm
    Thanks David. You make a good point about the price point difference.

    Dave Hinde said:
    I'm a nature photographer so my answers may not fit, but I do both. I have 3-4 tubs of framed pictures that I hang in my booth, and racks for matted prints in several different sizes. The matted prints are cheaper, but it means I have to sell more of them to break even. Sometimes one framed print will pay for my booth space.
  • Sheila Evans April 21, 2010 at 9:28pm
    I keep a basket of matted and bagged miniature original pastels on my desk. Sometimes they make my booth fee, sometimes I don't sell any. I make them as efficiently as possible but still don't make much profit from them. I just like to have something for every budget without resorting to repros. I do not sell the same sizes unframed as framed. I've tried it in the past and this can result in difficult-to-answer questions about the differences in price between framed and unframed work. The unframed pieces are always smaller, and this way they come across as a completely separate product.
  • Dave Hinde April 21, 2010 at 8:42pm
    I'm a nature photographer so my answers may not fit, but I do both. I have 3-4 tubs of framed pictures that I hang in my booth, and racks for matted prints in several different sizes. The matted prints are cheaper, but it means I have to sell more of them to break even. Sometimes one framed print will pay for my booth space.
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