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I'll be at cherry Creek (denver) for the first time. Need help set up and take down. I can pay 25/hr. Not really heavy, but help is nice. July 1 9am, and July 4 about 6pm. total maybe 4-6 hours. email kr@kathyross3d.com.

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

Okay. I did it. I've been in the biz forever. But this was my very first outdoor show with a tent and walls and all the concerns we all read and talk about on this amazing site. And although I had read and researched and practiced and planned, my insides sweated it out and I totally wanted to back out of the whole thing. By the time we arrived at our friend's beach house with a borrowed van the night before the show, I was already exhausted, and soooooo angry. At what? At whom? No one, really. I was just disappointed. I was disappointed that it wasn't more fun. I hated the packing and unpacking and spending way too much time preparing. I'd read all about grid walls on this site and decided to go with that. But they were so heavy and cumbersome. Why did I spend SO much money on all this? Why did I even think I'd want to do this at all? I'm too old for all this bother. What was I trying to prove?

And this was only Friday night and all that was going on was early set up the night before the actual festival.

My husband came with me to set up the tent and put everything in place. With a few festival neighbors to help, we got the tent up and were even offered four heavy-duty twisty dog ties for the tent legs which I hadn't known would be allowed. We'd put up the grid walls and placed the weights but we could NOT get the tent walls to meet, to close and it had taken so long - before I'd asked for help, that is - to get the tent itself to stand straight and sturdy, and then to get the weights and stakes in place that the sun had set and it seemed that all the tents were up, the artists were gone, but we were still there. I was living a nightmare and I felt incompetent and angry and embarrassed. It was now dark and the wind was howling and the walls were blowing everywhere. I wanted to take everything down, put it all back in the van and run away. I hated everything about the process. 

My husband, however, was amazingly patient. He was not about to let me quit. And then my inner artist warrior took over and I found myself making a decision. "Let's take down the sails and leave up the tent and grid walls. Batten down the hatches and let's get out of here!" 

I slept not a wink that night but literally watched the full moon turn orange as it made it's way across the window and out of my line of vision. Every gust of wind startled me while I tossed and turned. I wanted to get up and paint the scene it but everything was in the van. I thought "I should be working, painting, sculpting, not doing this crazy art show thing." I awoke angry and tired and hungry and didn't have time to eat breakfast or even shower. I wanted to run away and not set up at all. I figured we could run over there, take the tent down and leave. I'd send an email later. The artist warrior side of me prevailed again, though. As did my incredibly patient husband. (He had actually slept that night.)

That first morning, as we set up my paintings and my ceramic masks, I pretty much filled my mind with complaints. I had been amazed to see my tent and all the weights and display grids sitting upright and waiting for me. But I was still mad at myself. As I made my way through the bubble wrap, all my mind could focus on was how I hadn't bought shopping bags, I didn't get new business cards, I forgot to make price tags, I should have brought a cooler. I HATE THIS!

The weather was gorgeous and the crowds were quiet but pleasant. I didn't make a single sale and after this first 8 hour day of sitting in an uncomfortable chair, I felt justified in my disappointment. At the end of the day as I wrapped and packed all my artwork to drag back to the borrowed van - still couldn't get the walls to fit - I thought, why not just take everything down now and run away? I don't HAVE to come back tomorrow. I'm not in the Army, for heaven sake.

Oh, alright. It's only one more day. I'm fine. I'll come back.

My husband and friends went out to dinner after the show that night. I stayed in and went to bed. Confident that my tent and grid walls were securely in place and my artwork was bubble wrapped safe and sound in the van, I slept. Boy, did I sleep.

I awoke to the sunrise, had breakfast, took my shower and dressed like a proud and happy artist should. I even remembered earrings and mascara. I'd brought a better chair and went off to rule my day. I took my time, by myself, to set up my work on those walls and as the minutes went by people came in to watch, to talk, to admire, to compliment, to ask questions, and yes, to buy.

I made price tags out of my crazy out-of-date business cards and wrote my new info on the cards I gave out. I wrapped purchases in bubble wrap and twine. I had wonderful conversations with visitors as well as my fellow artist neighbors, enjoyed an ice cream cone from the local food truck and made new friends. And throughout the day, I sold stuff!

Before the first hour of the second day, I'd already made back my booth fee and had once again found my joy in talking with people about my work, selling with no apologies and proudly calling myself an artist in business again. "Oh, are YOU the artist?" "Yes," I beamed. "Yes, I am. This is my work." It had been so long since I'd been in the public eye and I loved hearing people tell me how "exciting and different" my work was. I even loved it when people said "Oh, these are kinda scary!" Thank you, I'd say with one raised eyebrow. Thank you very much. 

At five o'clock on that Sunday afternoon, four volunteers ran up to me and asked if they could help me with anything and I said "yes, thank you. I think I could use help with everything." They laughed and got to work. The volunteers had been there throughout both days to give us breaks and bring cold water or hot coffee. When my husband arrived with the van, everything was folded neatly on the grass and I found myself relaxed and smiling with an inner peace I hadn't felt in ages. It had truly been an amazing day, made even sweeter by the turmoil I'd put myself through leading up to that last moment of my first show.

What I want to say to you here is Thank You. Thank you for this forum. For tips you've all shared, and the booth photos for Newbies, and the experiences of all the different shows you've all lived through, both good and bad. Thank you for your input on walls and weights and tents and displays, even when you've answered the same question a million times before. And, oh my God, thank you for telling us about zip ties! But most importantly, thank you for making it alright to be scared sometimes. And for making it okay to admit that we've never actually done this before. 

Thank you for letting us understand that it's okay to ask for help of our fellow artists. And to accept that help graciously. And that the volunteers really DO want to be helpful. Thank you for giving me permission to say "Excuse me, but this is the first time I've used this tent. Could you help me?" 

How sad it would have been to have given up and never had this crazy experience. How helpful it was to come here to this forum every couple of nights for months with a question, or just an hour to read about things and then be able to actually use what I learned here. If I can pay it forward I would say this: Don't be afraid to feel your feelings but then get past the negative stuff and move on. Get a good night sleep, eat a good breakfast, don't forget your sunscreen. Drink lots of water and know where to go when that catches up to you - because it will. Ask for help when you need it, offer help where you see a need, be grateful and mindful of how lucky you are to live your life by your own standards, to spend your day in the shade of a tent surrounded by your own creativity and joy. Talk openly and happily with everyone you meet, be nice to people even if they say silly things and don't seem to "get" your work. And when things get crazy - which they will - stop for a moment, find your center, take a deep breath and just have a ball. The answers will come. Always remember that you are an artist and that's just an incredibly cool thing to be.

Thank you again.

Robin

I AM POSITIVE. 

I CAN DO THIS.

I CAN SMILE FOR 8-12 HOURS.

I CAN BE FRIENDLY, POSITIVE, AND UPBEAT DESPITE THE SWEAT DRIPPING OFF ME.

OK.  I'm trying to stay 'in the zone' of positive thoughts, positive vibes and auroas.  And people -love the jewelry and the glass.  Lots of compliments.  Sometimes identifying which piece should go to whom.  Thanking both of us for making the jewelry and glass.  Ooos and ahhhs. 

And then they say: 

   Do you have a card (all over the table - cards and postcards).

   Do you have a website (yes but pricing is higher) and I think that the website holds us back at shows because most people - 99.99% do not contact us after shows.

  Will you be showing anywhere else?  (If I say yes, will you promise to buy there?  And what's wrong with buying it at this show).  If I say yes - and tell them, they walk along.  If I say no this is it for this city -- or 'we'll be in  atlanta (not chicago) -- they walk away.  I sometimes think they ask the question and don't listen tot he answer.

    So, does anyone have any suggestions on closing a sale?  Sometimes I ask people - which design speaks to them.  or I see that they keep on going back to a particular design and I suggest that's the piece that is pulling at them ... it works sometimes and not others.

   I'm all ears -- and would love to hear from people before show opens tomorrow -- but even after that, suggestions would be valued.

Thanks in advance - Deborah@DorLDor.com

I have a show this weekend where the weather is "iffy" rain-wise.  I've seen mentions of using "swim noodles" in the roof of the tent but never having seen these used, I have no idea what you're supposed to do with them.  Flotation devices in case the water gets that high??

Cassandra

I have a suggestion to those of you talkative artists and crafters out there. A good way to make money and do some good for future buyers is as follows:

I gave my children each the gift of buying one favorite work of art a year-or two if i felt we could afford it and by the time they had their own homes they had a fabulous collections.

I tell parents when they enter my booth with children usually 10 and up, that have some interest in my work, about how as a past art teacher (i only lasted one year with middle school art classes-aargh) I found that when a child grows their taste and understanding of art changes.

To further this quality a yearly purchase will open up new thought patterns such as about texture and color and dimension. Art pokes holes in the brain to let in air--it helps them do better in other subjects and life (as we all know). If they realize you are an artist and what that entails, and the materials you use and are invited to touch respectfully, they are likiely to want to buy your work as their first purchse.

I have this happen ten times a show

I think it is good for all of us to get kids in the early stages and to give their parents a new way to spend money on their kids.

what do you think?

The next question in this series expands on what was covered in Question 1&2. Now lets talk about booth theme and creating your look using display furniture.

Question 3. What is booth theme and where can “I” find the right display furniture to emulate my theme best suited for the medium I work in?

What is booth theme? The theme of a booth is the environment customers physically enter into to experience ones work allowing for an easy transition from work to booth display in order to create a positive and comfortable buying environment that features ones work, not over powers it. If you have more people saying “wow nice booth” over “what beautiful artwork you have” then may have fallen into this pitfall.

Some common themes are visible in everyday places where you shop or eat. Visit your favorite shops and restaurants and see what theme they are trying to represent. What makes Victoria's Secret feminine and classy? What eco-friendly themes are visible with salons and spas? What makes shabby chic styles what they are at home décor boutiques? Maybe you see a cozy cabin/nature retreat like Caribou Coffee? The idea is when a customer enters a booth it is almost like they are transported to a different place where their troubles are melted away and in the mind frame to shop. Really look at what you create and think about what it tells you – what theme direction are you going in? For instance, leather-work, like belts or purses, may best housed in an environment that is rich looking with nice neutral earth tones and using accessors such as horse or cow hide.

Like mediums will sell with like display furniture. Wood sells well when displayed on wooden tables or shelving. Photographs and other 2D work are great displaed using grid wall or on panels (such as that offered by ProPanels.com) with additional prints housed in a photo bin nearby. Museum type pieces, like sculptures, are ideal on pedestals. Fabric art should be hanging or draped (like silk scarves) rather than messy and displayed in a bin. Pottery is great relaxing on wooden shelving painted black or white or perched on pedestals depending on the type of pottery/ceramic pieces. Using the right display furniture will make you look very professional rather than as an amateur craft artist.

Where can one purchase these display fixtures? First, use the resources you have already – display furniture you own already for instance. There are some great finds at local auctions, businesses that are going out of business, yard sales, antique shops as well as through Craigslist.com . When you have exhausted these resources, it is time to look into websites that specialize in retail display fixtures. Many of these places have ads in art/craft publications or can be found through some simple web searches. A few that I have found, that may work for you, are www.woodlandmarketing.com and www.kddisplay.com for wooden displays, www.warnerusa.com and www.fetpak.com for jewelry displays, as well as www.kc-store-fixtures.com for everything else (including gridwall). These business are only the tip of the iceberg as to many others that specialize in all types of display fixtures.

Lastly, when looking at getting display furniture and accessories for your booth remember that this is easily transportable. Too many times I see exhibitors about to erect a house rather than a booth and carry more display stuff than art work to shows – is this really wise? If you are one person doing these shows, make sure the display is light and easy to set up as well as fit in your vehicle. Rule of thumb, you should be able to have your display up within 1 hour and the rest of the time devoted to merchandising. Next blog topic will cover merchandising tips.

Note: The photo is one I took of from Best Booth Display award winner Sugar Hill (out of VA) from the Summer Four Seasons Fine Art and Craft Market in 2008.

40 Questions Blog Series: Question 1&2 – Developing your Booth Display Style

To kick off the Blog Series called 40 Questions, the first several questions will cover the area of boothdesign. Booth design covers style, function, cover/protection, andso on. The following questions are all about finding your ownpersonal style which should flow into branding your art/craftbusiness. Do follow along, using a piece of paper or journal andwriting down the questions and answer them as honestly as you cantaking your time when answering them.

Question 1: Picture yourself with a limitless amount of funds to spend however you want.Using that money describe how your ideal booth would look like?Think about color, texture, fixtures, what you have seen atshows that stood out, whatever...

Question 2: Because we all budget our money, are there still ways you can make your dream booth become areality?

I first did this exercise when I worked for Starbucks. I was goingthrough a management program and in efforts to attract more peopleinto the store we were asked how would your ideal store look. Withworking with others in this exercise ideas ranged from having agarden like courtyard cafe seating, aesthetic aquariums, messageboards to promote a local dating service, live entertainment areas,and funky furniture. I still use this exercise and have applied itin designing my own booth display. My current booth design beganwhen I looked at my logo, a dew kissed green leaf with a light bluebackground – tranquil colors. The name of my craft business is Bythe Bay Botanicals and focuses around products that promotetranquility. Staying with this theme it was clear the design neededto be natural, showing off my craft, but still be true to theme. Ishopped for natural pine shelving displays and incorporated two tables, whichI already had. I bought white table coverings that went to theground and a short table covering of ocean blue as well as covered the pine shelves with patio furniture fabric that matched my theme colors. With the additionof some silk flowered vines and lighting I created a display thatmatched my products. This new display not only allowed customers to shop freely and allow more room display my craft, people remembered my business name better and could easily find me at shows at it stood out from the crowd - all that was accomplished through a little bit of change into my booth display.

As you look at your current display you may find you are happy withits design, but need to tweak it a little. Working with dimension, having your work visible at different eye levels can be a great solution. It is a great remedy if you find customersfeeling cramped in your booth. Shelving or stacked crates are just two ideas that can createdimension and doesn't have to be expensive. Think about color –customers are attracted to color and if every booth is acookie-cutter white booth with white table covering (one after another)you will loose to those that embrace color.You want to create an identity that is all your own. I have seensome great ideas where one used tulle in 1-2 colors wrapped about thepoles of their canopy or incorporated astro turf into their displayto sell garden art.

My final thoughts. In designing your booth, it is important to havea booth that regular customers will recognize, but at the same timecreates a buzz that your items are fresh and that you do offer newart/craft work at each show or it varies from season to season. Think back to past shows and booths you have seen. Are there booths that seems stale because it doesn't change.Don't you get the impression that they sell the same thing over andover, year after year because their booth display is the same year after year? Don't be the owner of the boring booth! The next question in this series divesinto developing a booth theme as well as how to find booth displayfurniture and what kind is ideal for each medium. Stay tuned...

New
Blog Series: Forty Questions - Identifying problems and issues and
tips on solving them.