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This week’s blog is focusing primarily on how I price my polymer clay sculptures for sale. It isn’t an exact science and I’ve played around a lot with it. I have found that pricing my art fairly and within market value range is extraordinarily important.  

I really shot myself in the foot when I first started out. I waaaay over priced something to someone who very easily could have been a long-term client. Big mistake. My problem?? Was ignorance.

It was right around the time that lots of local people were seeing my work and I was tinkering with the idea of charging more than just the cost of materials. A lady saw my work and she wanted a logo made. {She owned a business of her own} She explained what she was looking for, we brainstormed and she seemed to love my ideas. She wanted to own the rights to the artwork and put it on all of her apparel. She asked me for a price, and I told her I would think about it and get back to her. Sounds pretty good so far doesn’t it?

On the drive home I spoke with my husband and told him of the opportunity. He being married to me thought as highly of my work as I did and saw first-hand how much effort went into them. He saw how many sketches I did before I ever put paint on the brush. He told me that I should look online and see what people charge for exclusive rights and logos. Still sounds pretty ok right?

This is where it goes wonky. I wish I could blame it on bad fish or temporary insanity, but nope. It was me being me. Darn it. I looked up logos and exclusivity.  What I found was an agency in New York who had created logos such as Nike and Abercrombie and Fitch. So those logos cost somewhere in the range of 4,000.00 to 10,000.00. I was blown away. I showed my husband and did a little dance around the living room. {Seriously… can I just blame the fish?} When I spoke to this lady again, I brought up what I had seen. Keep in mind I never looked past that one page. I never once checked out local artists, or even stopped to consider the fact that the lady I was speaking to was not any different than you or me. She was an everyday lady trying to be in business for herself, doing what she was good at. I sometimes wish future me could go back in time and slap past me.

{Deep breath…} I told her what I had found, and what ‘people were paying’. Not once did I actually give her a quote. But by bringing it up, the damage had been done, absolute and irrevocable damage. Fish anyone?

I have since tried desperately to regain them as a client even offering ‘freebees’ but to no avail. I had stepped outside of the trust circle. I had to accept what I had done and learn from it. It was a tough lesson and completely avoidable, had I done more research before biting off more than I could chew.

Ok. So, here is what I have so far, and so far it seems to be working for me. I am borrowing several bits and pieces that I have learned from others and adding a few changes that I have found that work very well for me. I want to share this with you in the hopes that you are able to figure out a pricing system that not only works for you, but also for your clients. They can be hard to come by. So we, as artists, want to take very VERY good care of them. We want to be able to explain why our art costs what it does. Just in case we are asked. At some point…they always ask. {insert wink}

EXPENSE    {we must count our expenses. This is okay. Don’t feel bad, because this is a business and people do understand and even expect it} 

Let’s say my monthly expenses are 1000.00, I divide that by 4{weeks}=250.00 I divide that number by/40{hours} giving me a base rate 6.25 per hour. {This number will vary depending on your expenses.} If your monthly expenses are higher and this is your primary source of income than you will have to adjust your expense rate. If you are just beginning to build your business and you have help or additional income to help you with your expenses then you can be a little more lenient. Your base cost should be this number and you should build the remainder of your piece’s cost from there

• {rent, electricity, gas, etc, I add my etsy/paypal/advertising fees into this amount }

Materials {always pay attention to what you use and how much. This will give you a great idea of what it takes to produce your art, and in my case helps me to avoid wasting}             

• {clay, glaze, metals if you’re making jewelry, paints, resin…etc, glass eyes I buy or resin eyes I make.

One standard sized sculpted figure typically takes me 1 1/3 block of Sculpey Premo clay. These are between 2.77-3.00 each {depending on where you are-I don’t account for sales or promotional costs because I can’t guarantee I will always be able to get them at that price} if I gloss the piece, I add .30, if I paint it or do detail work with the paint I add .30 {Remember this is just materials and not time.}

• Sometimes I will add little ‘trinkets’ to my pieces, for example miniature items or charms. These are things that I will make in batches. For example, it’s Valentine’s Day, and I have made a bunch of chocolate covered strawberries to add to figures. I can make a batch of 25 strawberries from one block of clay. So I will divide 3.00/25= so each strawberry will cost me .12 to make. The chocolate costs me .04, the headpin for the strawberry charm costs me .03 and the lobster clasp for the charm costs me .11  do you guys see where I’m going with this?

Let’s review what we have so far…

Say that I make a standard sized figure {glossed and painted} with an accompanying charm

4.00 + .30 + .30 + .30 = 4.90 {just materials} add that to your ‘expense’ 4.90 + 6.25 = 11.15

Let’s say that minimum wage is 12.50 an hour. I want to pay myself at least 12.50 an hour for labor. Add this to the amount above:

11.15 +12.50=23.65 Multiply this amount x2 and that will give you the wholesale price of 47.30 this is the base amount I must charge to by the skin of my teeth justify all other expenditures.

Theoretically for retail price it is the wholesale x2 so 47.30 x 2= 94.60

Ooooh… but here is where it gets a little sticky, because the more time it takes you to create a piece the greater its value, right? Not necessarily. I have not yet been able to charge what I am calculating retail to cost to be. I auctioned a piece off, and got close. In the meantime, wholesale lets me stay in business. Replenish what I have used and hopefully put money back into my business.

When I am trying to figure out what to charge, ultimately I have to take into account….’factors’ {seriously, that should be a four-letter word.} “What is a factor?” These are those annoying little things that effect what we can charge vs. what we want to charge.

Some examples of factors would be: Competition {take a look around you… see what some artists are getting for their work. I’m not referring to Picasso or Dhali… but you and me. The little guy with the great big dreams {encouraging look of…encouragement} Find work that is similar to yours. If you are using an internet based storefront, browse around and check out the other stores.

Don’t look skin deep. Really get in there and see if they are making sales. There may be one person charging 150.00 or higher for one piece but if they are only selling 1-2 pieces a month. This is not the way to go, for me at least. On the other end of the scale, there may be an artist selling pieces for 10.50 and has 100 sales in a year. Still not going to cut it, I mean great for them =) but I personally want this to be a monetarily successful business, so I want to find out what people are willing to pay for what I have on a consistent basis.

I’ve looked all over at everyone I can find… I’ve checked out as many online stores/sales that I can seek out who carry anything even similar to what I have. I write to the artists. It is probably one of the most educational and simple things I can do. Most of them are extremely helpful. Only twice have I run into artists who are so fiercely protective of their methods they’d sooner plaster their eyes closed than to give me information. But no worries, life goes on. I fell in love with the majority of the artistic community and I want to pay it forward.

Back to competition. I’m not going lie… there are a couple of people out there who can’t have their stuff up for 5 minutes before someone snatches it.. I’ve seen customers have bidding wars over their art... I’m talking 3-400.00 for one piece! This is my goal…seriously.

I know it sounds terrible but on more than one occasion I have just been beside myself wondering ‘why aren’t these same people wanting my stuff and paying that price? My art is just as nice as theirs.’ The answer is semi-simple. These people have worked their tushies off and in the process gained a fan-base {nothing but respect for these amazing artists} we’ll get into that later… back to factors.

Buyer’s Remorse… that’s an icky one. The more money a person pays for something, the higher their expectations, as they should be.  If they buy something from me and this ‘something’ shows up at their door in anything less than perfect condition, then the buyer will lose faith in me and I will have lost that customer for life. You don’t want this to happen. Word of mouth can go a long way, especially in the art world.

No worries!! Your talent and beautiful artwork captured their attention. So much so, they gave you money for it and that is a wonderful thing! Now it is time to capture their hearts. Because this is an area that we can really shine!  There are so many little touches you can give your packages for very little expense, and this can mean the difference between one time buyer and repeat customer!! There are lots of factors that can apply. It is up to you to figure out which ones will impact you/your business the most. In the long run, it will be the little things that keep people coming back. Be sure that you don't skimp on the little things. Take the time to talk to people who have questions. You never know who you are talking with or what connections they have. If you make a great impression, chances are they will get your name out there. That is exactly what you want. 

When I package my pieces, I use gift boxes. I get them in bulk either from the dollar store, or www.Uship.com great shipping stuff in bulk by-the-way. I decorate my gift boxes, something simple like glitter-tape that color coordinates with my business cards, a ribbon or seasonal fun from the dollar store… I love the dollar store… I add fun tissue paper and a personal hand-written note, and ‘TA-DA!’ It feels like a real treat when they are opening their packages. What a nice surprise for them! I like opening gifts..Don’t you?

I don’t add the cost of the shipping materials to the purchase price of the piece itself. I add it into the shipping cost. I add the box < 1.00 depending on where I get it, .05 for the tissue paper {if I get a box of 20 from the dollar store} .05 for the ribbon or glitter tape. It is inexpensive for me. It is a little extra effort on my part, but this is what I want to do. I am sending a small part of my soul that I created and I want the new owner to treasure it as much as I do.

I hope this is helpful to those of you who are struggling with the idea of pricing your art for sale. For me, this venture has been a most humbling journey. I hope that in some way you will have benefited from my mistakes, and found this material useful. Your feedback is always welcome.

Remember, you are a beautiful and creative soul, truly a gift among people. Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful week full of fresh ideas and inspiration.

As always, until next time,

XO ~Alicia, LDA

I know we spend our lives focused on art fairs, presenting our product, production, development of image, and the like, but I have a serious question for you.  Is your studio space in your home, or outside of it?  

Our studio space was half of the basement, but as our business has grown we find that half the house is being engulfed.... and it gets stressful to just find a quiet place away from the action..... So we have begun to consider a studio outside of our home.  Im just curious how everyone else copes with this dilema. 

So, I am past the halfway point of this season. Seven shows down and six to go... But being this just my second year on the art fair scene, I see a positive trend. Yes, for the year I am still in the red at this point; but that amount is coming down significantly with each show! I honestly think I will be in the black by year end (for 2013).

I know I've been averaging about $1000 a show. If this keeps up, I will end the year on a positive note! This is a business! Yes, art is my passion but seeing the amount in the red shrink with each show is encouraging!

So, a question to the veterans out there, how long before you made it into the black? I think this is a good question to ask for all the newbies out there...

I hate it when I tell people that I'm an artist and they immediately ask what my husband does for a living. I especially hate it when I'm showing at a festival and someone is IN MY BOOTH and asks what my husband does. Are you trying to tell me that my artwork sucks and there is no way I could ever make a living off of it?? Because that is what I'm taking from this conversation!

I want to say "Lets get this straight! I am not a starving artist! Art is a business like any other, and I'm good at both the creative and business aspects! I OWN THIS BUSINESS. I am CEO, CFO, and every other three letter acronym. Yes, my husband works too, but I don't need him to pay my bills for me."

Instead I say he works at a boring job and change the subject.

I wish the starving artist term would be banished from existence so the next generation could see artwork for what it truly is -- important.

I just don't understand why people do not consider artwork worthy of manking a living off of.  I'm not getting rich, but I'm not struggling to pay bills either.  I go on vacation. I eat out.  I buy occasionally rediculous things like pumpkin costumes for my dogs simply b/c I want to buy them.  And I work my butt off.  I am not idly sitting at home "waiting for inspiration".  I am painting, creating, researching, responding, applying, editing, experimenting, eatingbreathingsleeping my business every single second of every single day. 

I guess what I would really like to say is: 

Don't dismiss my work so quickly just because it is different from yours.

www.britthallowellart.blogspot.com

Let's clear up a few details so there is no confusion: I have a job.

More specifically I have a business. Technically, I've had a business for nearly a decade. Of course, because my business involves creating art people assume it is simply a hobby.

Which brings me here.

I'm angry about being judged and am tired of defending my life to well-meaning loving people, well-meaning ignorant people and a few not so well-meaning haters.

In talking to people about this I've discovered something interesting - people have no idea what I - or most successful artists - actually do. So in as few words as possible, let me tell you about my business.

I am an award-winning, fine artist creating original oil paintings, custom murals, private commissions and fine art prints with Americana and vintage themes. I travel across the country profitably selling my art at juried art shows where it has been recognized and rewarded by knowledgable experts.

I hang my artwork at well established professional galleries. I teach painting classes, art camps and mentor other painters.

I have an audience that will buy my art because it is original, authentic and well-done. I am talented.

And for the first time in my life I am fully committed to my Vision.

I've decided to write about this because my partner, friend and lover pointed out that I sound like I'm apologizing when I talk about my business. That when confronted with the "When are you going to get a job?" comment there is a hint of embarrassment and shame in my response.

And he is right. I've been trained.

In talking to other friends that have a business that revolves around creating something called "art" and reading blogs and essays I've discovered I'm not alone.

Here is the irony.

If I spend my day selling cars at a dealership most people would say, "Chrissy? She has a job selling cars." If I spend my day cleaning houses they might say, "She is a housecleaner."  If I left my studio, drove to a customer's house and painted the siding I would have a job as a housepainter. If I spent my day at home coding medical records people would consider that a job.

Apparently, if I was employed at Menard's making minimum wage that is a job too.

But because I work fifty to sixty hours per week on my business creating something at home called "art" it isn't considered a job.

The truth is there is an established, recognized market for my paintings. It is simply a question of finding the right mix and taking the actions to support my business. I manage my accounting, pay taxes, market and promote my artwork, network with other art professionals, enter into juried art shows, enter into competitions, work with professional well established art galleries and give art lessons.

I find the double standard confusing at times.

How this plays out for people is different for different people.

Let me give you a couple examples of how this actually plays out in my life.

Among other failings, my ex-dear husband is a failure as a business owner. For nearly, three years he has forced me and my children into difficult financial situations, ran up my credit cards, ruined my excellent credit rating and avoided any real work.

Oh, and he is also a painter except his "canvas" is the inside and outside of houses. He is a housepainter.

Last week, during court, the judge suggested I get a "real job." Apparently, the judge did not consider being a mother and raising our children a real job. I painted when time allowed, ran art camps and traveled 8 to 9 weekends per year for my business.

However, the judge never confronted my ex about his unwillingness and inability to support his family with his job. He never suggested, "Sir, perhaps you need to get a real job because it is obvious what you are doing is not working." The judge never called him out even though as the family's breadwinner he wasn't winning or bringing home the bread.

My ex's lawyer mocked my profession.

As I sat in the witness stand she said, "being an artist was nothing but a pipe dream," and that I "would never be successful".  She then compared what I do to selling "pink fuzzy bunnies".

Of course, it was pointed out to me by my partner that there are some incredibly successful companies that made a business out of selling fuzzy animals including Amazon, Webkinz and Vermont Bear Company.

However, more to the point, this isn't the first slap in the face I received as business owner and painter.

Really the insults began while my boys were just starting school. I can't count how many times I have been asked to come and volunteer my time or my donate my art to a fundraiser.

Just because I work from home in my studio. Would they ask another parent to come in as often if they worked under someone else's roof? Would they ask a dealership to simply donate a car?

My business is no different than pedaling cars, insurance, bicycles or dish washers. The only real difference is that I am making it myself instead of in some plant in China or bank on Wall St.

Some people collect cars, tools, electronics, music, stuffed pink bunnies or Star Wars action figures.

Other people collect art.

What I've discovered is that people want and do collect my art.

To all the well-meaning people that love me, if you really want to be helpful, think about how you can make my business more successful through referrals to art collectors, interior decorators and gallery owners. When a friend is talking about painting a room, doing a mural or having a portrait completed give them my name and email me an introduction.

For the well-meaning but ignorant people stop by my studio or visit me at an art show and learn more about what I do. I love talking about my business and my Vision.

For the haters? Well, haters are gonna hate. I'll ignore them and just focus on living well.

Public Art Project on Tour in Basel, Manfred Kielnhofer

Shared by Austrian artist and designer Manfred Kielnhofer. The “Light Guards” project is further developed and become a ghost car touring in Basel art show during June 15 – 19 2011.

http://artobserved.com/2011/06/ao-on-site-art-fair-news-summary-and-final-photoset-art-42-basel-2011-in-closing/

Eccentric art was also at Basel, if not as dominant a presence as the traditional buys. Ghost Car by Kielnhofer was a large white van with hooded figures driving outside the fair, and the Bleifrei (which translates to Lead Free in German) Art Collective told Art Info: “Art is like Jesus; it died and it’s coming again.”

Manfred Kielnhofer, Ghost Car (2011) Basel, via Kielnhofer.com

The grim seeker after truth
Anyone wondering why these grim reaper style figures were seated on this white van - look no further than the latest installation from artist Manfred Kielnhofer. He is from Haslach an der Mühl, in the district of Rohrbach in Upper Austria, Austria, and is an artist and designer whose work usually centres around the human anatomy. His recent piece of art is the Ghost Car, which is a product of the developing ‘Light Guards’ project. This project surfaced from the theory that humankind has always been able to boast having guardians in different ways, in potential danger from only themselves. This idea intrigued the artist Kielnhofer, who approached it with his artwork, intertwining the theme of longing for security harboured by all humans. The Ghost Car portrays a sizely white van driving, seating sheet-covered figures. Perhaps this reflects individuality, exploration and recognition of current events in society, as it seems to interpret the theme by suggesting the hooded figures are looking to the drapes and car for protection as they are possibly ghosts, who are afraid of the life after death, and long for safekeeping.
By Alessia De Silva
http://austriantimes.at/news/Panorama/2011-08-06/35422/The_grim_seeker_after_truth
http://kielnhofer.com

Stories are Everywhere.

That’s the tag line for Blurb Mobile’s free app that allows you to create your own stories featuring all your personal media from a mobile device.

The catch?  That device must be an iPhone, iTouch, or iPad.  (based on Apple’s quarterly earnings, every family has at least one, right?)

So, if you have one, and you’re in the art biz, pay attention!  This easy-to-use, fun, and cool app can help you market your work.

Blurb Mobile lets you use photos and video  shot from your iPhone (or imported from another camera), sequenced ‘as you wish’ into a “My Story”, provides image editing, and you can add audio clips and/or text captions to each photo.  Director and producer of your very own short, media presentation.

So, how can it be used?

Imagination is the limit, but for example:  My wife and I travel to juried, outdoor art shows…it helps me instantly chronicle show attributes (crowd size, show venue, booth layout, quality and mix of work, etc.) More important I capture highlights of my wife’s work/tent, customer interactions, featured art, etc., then edit it right on the iPhone with the app and hand it to her for audio voice-overs of select images. This adds the personal artist touch and insight to some aspect of the event.  The Story can then be shared ‘real-time’ via email, twitter, facebook, to get the word out (like…”hey friends, I’m at a great art show right now in northeast Louisville…Saturday has been busy and I will be here all day Sunday…Come and check out booth 75!”)

Or…

• Send out a Story in your next email newsletter to keep existing customers informed and engaged on your schedule and new work
• Take a series of short video clips of a ‘painting-in-progress’, capturing the process and the inspirational elements
• Information on a new series of art classes offered

Of course, Blurb Mobile works beyond art stories, offering a way to…“instantly create and share from a social setting, travel location, a personal moment, or, an important event.”

I sent my 87 year old Mom a Story one early morning from my porch, cup of hot java in hand, birds humming, flowers blooming, sun rising…took some photos, voice recorded in some personal thoughts, then hit send and shared the moment with her instantly.  Too cool.  (…Ma, really, it’s there, just click on the little colored link!)

I don’t work for Apple or Blurb, and get zero for this endorsement…just passing along a tip that has worked for us.  I used the Free version for about a day to see how it worked and quickly found the $1.99 upgrade a no-brainer, adding greater media capacity…and the freedom to create better stories.  With the upgrade you get:

• Images:         Up to 15 images per story
• Audio Clips: 1 per image – 2 min per clip
• Video Clips: 3 per story – 30 sec per video
• Themes:       8 additional themes

Check out the details yourself at Blurb Mobile and iTunes App Store. Version 1.3 is now available.

There is no limit to the number of Stories you can create, but, alas…boring content is still boring content.  The app is cool…it just doesn’t promise all the Stories will be! 

A few days back an artist posted a question about how to engage prospective customers.  Here's a place to start.

Getting Artists to be Better Salespeople

Hmm, the working assumption is you want and need to sell more of your art.  Granted many artists don’t do their thing for income or as a biz.  And that’s OK, but IF you do, and sales are slow, those over-stuffed shelves of aging art inventory can be like a creative spirit-robbing, inspiration-thief in the night.  There’s the Usual Suspects to move art: add another art fair, drop price, run sales, try the next gallery, place ads, get a new agent, hold events with wine and cheese, get a new web site, start a blog, etc.  But what about the secret weapon.

Become a better Salesartist.

A sale is nothing more than a transfer of enthusiasm.

Attributed to Brian Tracy in The Psychology of Selling, this declaration is widely known in sales circles, is simple, unforgettable, and rich.  It bears mantra-esque repetition.  Transfer more enthusiasm. Get more sales.

Don’t confuse this nugget with selling STYLE.  Many different styles are effective.  Like your favorite clothes, you use a combo of ones that fit well, are comfortable, blend naturally with your personality, build confidence, and are tailored for who you’re selling to at the moment.

Actively transferring enthusiasm to prospects shopping your art is another matter.  It starts with a ‘reveal’ and communicates the core of your passion.  Passion you got, you’re an artist!  Pass FORWARD the passion (think electricity through wire) and now you’re a cookin’ hot Salesartist.

If you CAN take the time, sure it will pay to study the art of selling:  get a few books, read some sales blogs, attend seminars, get CD’s, fine-tune techniques, practice and apply to your art selling.  If and when you overheat with ‘too much information"...

...just talk to a customer.  Directly.  Listen…the words they use, what they see, what they like or dislike, what they feel, about YOUR work.

Then your turn…Transfer the Enthusiasm.

Much success, Rick

First off I am a lover of Trimline and will always be.  You will see why I say so further in this post.

So it all started 1 week ago when on a sunny yet windy day I got out my trimline to wash it.  Go through the steps of setting it up - never had an issue with this as I can pretty much do it in about 15 - 20 mins. on my own.  I did not rush doing this - in my backyard - as I wasn't setting up for a show.  With the roof on and fairly firmly attached I raised the legs and started to attach the sides to then spray with suds then hose them down.   Just as I got the sides up and about to attach them to the legs a big gust of wind came through.  That time I was able to get it to not fly off.  But just as I was going to try and anchor it, it fell backwards shearing off the joint where the leg and the corner of the roof beams attach.  The one bar did bend as well as the other joint - you should be able to see in the picture - faintly circled in red.  So all in all through this crazy experience the only damage were the two joints and one pole - no legs, no sides, nothing else was damaged.  Lucky.

This led me to really thank my lucky stars that this didn't happen at a show.  I have insurance - that wouldn't be an issue, but the horror of seeing this happen effecting possibly every neighbor beside me and behind me is something I cannot shake.  I have never had this happen - a flying canopy.   I have seen it at nearly every show I have done.  I am fully aware of the importance of anchoring a canopy and do so, but all it takes is a split second. 

Having said this - it is my fault that I did this - not Trimline.  So many times people quickly blame the canopy or some other thing/place.  And am thankful this was with a trimline as with any other canopies I have used you would most likely have to replace it - parts can be expensive and they might not be in (as such was the case with an EZ-UP I had two years ago).  The two joints are only $20 each and the one bar that got bent was about $30.  Also, if the same thing were to happen to any other canopy it wouldn't have been a lot more damage - legs broken, fabric torn, etc. 

So, today I am thanking my lucky stars that I did not set up my booth with in the toppled over canopy, this didn't happen at a fair, and the show I was going to do was a rain or shine event when the tornadoes hit and chose to not go forfeiting my booth fee.  Still have no idea if the show actually happened.  The show, funny enough was infront of a courthouse.  The best thing ever was this happened in my own back yard and with a Trimline.  Now if you want to do the same thing as me: 

1.  Set up your canopy when it is windy without any help - any other weather conditions it is easily doable.

2.  As soon as the legs are on, do not anchor it - it can be done later.  (yes there is sarcasm hidden in here)

3.  Do not properly secure the top - I did the corners and the "seat buckle" straps as instructed, but didn't do the ones on the sides where you would normally attach the sides.

4.  Put the sides on only having used the zippers on the top to create a wind-tunnel to help give the canopy lift. 

5.  Sit back and watch the kite fly. 

In all seriousness - if you are to take anything from this lesson, anchor your canopies and if for some reason you find you can't do it in time, always alway always make sure you have insurance.   The good news, the customer service with trimline is impeccable and got my parts Monday - I am good to go for this Saturday show - on pavement - with anchors already packed.  

- Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals

www.bythebaybotanicals.com

www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com