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40 Questions Craft Artist Blog Series - Question #32 – How can Icompete against re-sell at art fairs?

Greetings everyone and welcome back to The 40 Questions Blog Series.The major focus, for the next few questions, is all about buy/sell orRe-sell as I call it. Warning this one is a little long - but worth it! First, I have to say a-men to all those whohave commented on this topic – especially those viaArtfairinsiders.com ! Now that I hope we are on the same pageregarding this topic, the next step is figuring out ways to competeagainst re-sell at art fairs. Now I want to make it clear – whenyou are at an art fair you are competing with many artists not justre-sell. If you have a hard time competing period, this post willhelp you too. Competition is what helps us become a better artistand sales person. It is human nature to compare prices, analyze andtest the quality of purchases, and find a way to connect with the art(this is where the all too familiar questions we ask in our mind,“...but will it look good on me, my wall, my office, will my spouselike it?...”) When it comes to competing against re-sell you haveto look at it from a whole different angle to really see what youhave that the re-sellers don't.

Question #32 How can I overcome re-sell at an art fair?

First, look at your work and look at it from the perspective of thebuyer. The buyer – whether it is a window shopper or actual buyer,they are judging you the moment they spot your booth. This isn'tabout price mind you – it is about attractiveness. With the aid ofthe internet people can make an even quicker judgment about what theylike or don't like in half a second – and people want real answersto just one thing he/she is looking for – now! With this in mindyou need to really look at your booth and ask yourself, if you werean average person at an average art fair, would you enter your boothor not and WHY!? You may think you have the most wonderful piecesof craft art ever and perhaps your friends think so too, but once youare out in the real world, real world factors emerge that you neversee if you only look at your work or booth from the eyes of theartist. If your booth is too busy, too plain, people can'tunderstand what you are selling upon first glance, or too dark –you lost the biggest most important part of selling art at an artfair – if your work or your booth isn't pretty (as beauty USUALLYequals art), it isn't worth the customers time to “get a betterlook” and most importantly connect. Just think when you see adsfor cosmetics, the latest jeans, or spa products - do you see uglypeople or beautiful people? Colorful backgrounds (yet not over thetop) or not? What about packaging – is it neat or sloppy? Sayyou have it all – the complete package with both your work and instyle of your booth, but you have a “made in China” dealerright next to you, now what? This brings me to my second point andmy answer to the big question of the day...

Like with real estate is all about location location location – inthe art fair world it is all about education, education , education.That is my answer to how we get a buyer who is used to buying fromre-sellers to turn to the “good side” - buying handmade art.Granted I do think the general, average, collective audience of artbuyers get that true art is handmade not mass manufactured in sweatshops. As items are being recalled and Americans loosing jobs tooutsourced countries, more and more people are wising up. Thispoint can be proven by that one customer – and everyone has acouple – the one who just gets your work , understands the hardwork and time that goes into making it and not just buys one piecebut becomes a collector – no matter what the price. But that neverseems to speak to all customers does it? It seems there are stillcountless art fair goers who make ridiculous comments about how “Ican buy that at Wal-Mart”, ask can I get a discount if I buy 2, orscreech with sticker shock, because they never understood what itmeans to make something from scratch.

We are in a VERY different time in society than just a decade or twoago. People shop differently. Clothing is something that you wearonce and toss aside – where most of us who are “older” wouldnever think of parting with a favorite sweater we've owned for 5+years. Now it is far easier to get a new t.v. than to have it fixed.And with the addition of credit cards – anything can be “bought”now and you don't have to worry about it until you get the bill atthe end of the month. In other words it is about instantgratification – I see it, I want it and I am going to buy it now.With society – not all mind you – there are those who don't careif it comes from China or the USA, it is all about if it will fit MYneeds. It is our job as artists to show people that what I havewill meet your needs and let me tell you how...

Again, the sure fire way to combat re-sell is educating customers –one at a time. Today it is all about connecting with objects – artor not – and this is why I stand firm with my answer to this topic.It is more about “did you see what Joe just bought? Isn't itneat? I gotta get one too!” Customers want to know if yourart/craft will meet their individual tastes and be REASONABLY PRICED!When it comes to buying real art the emphasis needs to be on thequality and the conversations must always come back to this.

When potential buyers see your art IS WORTH buying you have them in yourback pocket! A few weeks ago I interviewed a renaissance clothingdesigner and seamstress and one of the topics we talked about (offthe record – hence why I am not mentioning her name) was re-sell atrenaissance fairs. She wasn't too worried about competition – sheencourages it! This seamstress knows that people don't NEEDrenaissance clothing as it might not be worn more than once a year.Her angle? It isn't just a costume, it is real world clothing. Shemakes it clear that you can wear the skirts for work, her bodices areversatile and perfect to go clubbing in and all clothing is of agreat quality material that can be tossed into a washer and not fade,thus cutting right to the chase and asking for the sale heading offany negative reasons why “I” shouldn't buy it. Another craftartist friend of mine, Carol F. specializes in custom made birdhousesand bird feeders. She makes everyone of them from scratch and havebought at least one from her and it still holds strong. She doeshave competition from those who “make bird houses” but from kitsor already made ones and just paint them. Her angle? Make it clearwhat makes her work unique - customized birdhouses. At each show,she has her portfolio available with before and after shots of herbirdhouses that look exactly like people's houses – down to thearchitecture, color, shutters and even landscaping. The price isn'tcheap but with the way she displays her work (with added birdchirping background noises) people are immediately drawn to her work.In addition to the portfolio, next to some custom pieces on display(and for sale) are great large photos of the original houses she hasused to make those custom pieces. All in all, Carol educatescustomers visually. Other ways to educate customers is bydemonstrating how you make your art – no re-seller can do this!

When it comes to educating people, you can't be afraid to ask shoppersquestions. Feeling them out know what they do and don't know aboutyour medium and what their likes and dislikes are not only helps youfind your angle, it also shows YOU want to make a genuine connectionwith the buyer THROUGH your art. The only thing a re-seller has islow prices, but that won't help them because they are simply sellingobjects. Art isn't an object, but a feeling, an emotion, a story,and most importantly a piece of the artist. The funny thing, I thinkof when it comes to this topic, is re-sellers are far more worriedabout making sales and a profit than artists and getting caught thanwe are because they know, deep down inside, they aren't true artistsand cannot compete with true artists.

Your homework... Thought I would never assign homework?? HA! Yourhomework is to really get to the story of your work and look at waysyou can educate your customers about your work showing how there isadded value and quality that is beyond compare. Don't be afraid totalk about how you learned to create your art – whether it isthrough apprenticeships or by accident. Talk about your ah-hamoment when you decided you had something and when you realized itwas more than a hobby. Share with others how buying from you helpsthe local economy $1 at a time. If your work helps benefit a localcharity, enlighten customers on how you do this. These are thestories that helps to get people wanting to buy from you becausethere is a story behind what you create. What is your story?How will you educate your customers at your next show? Share yourresponses via the comment button and possibly help others who mayneed ideas so they too can help educate customers too. Next questionwill focus on how promoters/show organizers contribute to the issueof re-sell at art fairs. Until the next blog post – do yourhomework and I personally wish you a successful time at your next artfair! - Michelle Sholund, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com