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Don't confuse this topic the one discussed in question 7, how to find your niche. As we are on the topic of product development, I thought it might be fitting to devote some time to look at 5 current/new art

forms that are gaining in popularity at art fairs and why.

Question 9: What are some current and new art forms are hot sellers in the market place?

1. Food. Many artists today are inspired by what they see going on with the Food Network, PBS cooking shows, and countless cooking magazines. Although artists don't make food, chefs do, the “art” used to
   enhance the food experience is hot. Glass bottles for oil and vinegar, quilted table runners with matching place mats, bowls with coordinating serving ware for serving dips and gourmet crackers, charms for wine goblets, wood turned wine stoppers and pepper mills,even crocks for cooking utensils are just a few of many popular examples of how art and food are a perfect match.
   

3. Nature art forms. I have been finding some neat art forms such as leaf sculptures, paintings on feathers - such as duck feathers or on crab shells, and drift wood sculptures. At one show I couldn't help but
   notice the constant flow of people who couldn't wait to purchase (as best as I can explain) imprinted, 2D leaf and fossil art. One artist I had the pleasure of talking to learned how to make small stone like planters using cement, peat, and a few other materials while at another the artist and husband sold out at another show made handmade spice wreaths. Having always wanted a fountain, I bought from

   one artist who specializes in leaf print stones (photo of is my leaf print disappearing water fountain) that can be used to make water fountains out of them or just be decorative in the yard.
   

4. Recycled/Junk Art. I have seen some really cool “trash” sculptures such as a dog made out of old license plates and portraits of famous celebrities using plastic forks, broken jewelry, and toys. Although
   I can't say for sure if the artist is successful or not, but I did come across a person who recycled old records and made them into bowls for fruit or to be used as a sculpture. Other recycled art includes leggo and bottle cap jewelry, recycled bottle/sea glass wind chimes, vintage handkerchiefs made into quilts, reclaimed barn wood turned into furniture/bird houses, and scrap fabric made into rag rugs. Whether you are an “eco” nut or not, this art form appeals to both the young and old due to the endless possibilities
   it creates.

As more and more new forms of art are making their way into the marketplace,on thing is clear, people want to show off their individuality thus creating more demand for new art both in contemporary and traditional art forms. We must come to the realization that people are NOT wanting the same things artists have been making year after year. The influence of the Gen Y's and X's over society are dictating this and this is just the beginning. The change is present in galleries throughout the US as well as gift shops and boutiques, however not as much in art fairs. Don't believe me? Want to see more examples of this work the best places to look are websites
geared toward wholesale art shows such as ACRE, Philly Buyers Market or the Atlanta and New York Gift shows.

Please do not take this blog post as a “rant” on how everyone should stop what they are making and start creating art in one of these 5 styles. My point is to highlight what some artists are doing now and how it has worked to their advantage. It is my hope that this topic could give confidence, ideas, and hope to those artists who are at a crossroads seeking ways to make their work more desirable and with some luck, more profitable. To finish the topic of product development, question 10 will focus on advice for pricing one's work. The next set of questions will focus on customer service and the “art” of selling your work – DO NOT MISS IT!

40 Questions Blog Series: Question 10 – How do I price my work?

Of all the questions that I am answering in this series, this question isprobably the most asked by artists. You can have the best productor best piece of art for sale at a show, yet if it isn't priced rightyou are shooting yourself in the foot. Even if you thinkyou know the answer to this, humor me and read on as you may find abetter way to price your work, giving you more money down the road.

Question 10: How do I price my work?

There are several ways to answer this question. Each type of art form(due to production time, materials, etc.) is different and should behandled differently when it comes to figuring a price formula thatwill work for you. Some do the “guessing game” method, pick aprice out to thin air and I have even known some artists do a “goingrate” price that changes from show to show. I personally feelchoosing one of these methods never gives the artist a “true”value of the work and your time. I cannot tell you how many times Ihear how people quote a number and do the “three or five times mycost” method. The one method nearly everyone should use is themethod where you add the cost of all your materials to the value oflabor and then add a fixed profit margin to arrive at a sellingprice. The formula looks like: cost of materials + labor + fairprofit percentage = price.

Now let's define cost of materials, labor, fair profit percentage and thedifference between wholesale and retail price.

Cost of Materials. One way to look at cost of materials is bydividing it into direct costs and indirect costs that is best summedup as expenses. Direct costs are your fees for raw materials such asnails, wood, earring backings, thread, clay, etc. Indirect costs areall the subtle fees you never really consider as a cost such asinsurance, canopy, computer and printer expenses, cost of yourworkplace (heat, lighting, machinery, and so on). It is the indirectcosts that folks never seem to factor into their costs.

Labor. This is something that can vary from one medium to another. Thetime to make a quilt verses making a simple pair wire wrapped ofearrings will be drastically different. Don't forget the time ittakes to create your product, time you take to design your work,networking... - all needs to be factored in too. Figuring out yourlabor costs starts with tracking your time. Factor in how much timeit takes to make a prototype as well as allowing time to answer phonecalls/emails, eat, etc. When you have figured the time it takes tomake one piece, figure out how much time it takes to make 10, 100 orhow many you can do in an hour – photography and two 2D art may bedifferent, but the idea can still be applied because we all stillhave to devote time to assemble, paint, frame, make labels, package,and so on. Divide your cost for labor by how many pieces you produceto find your labor cost per unit.

Fair Profit Percentage. Don't confuse labor with determining yourfair profit percentage. Covering your cost of materials and laboris great, but you need to make a profit to keep the bill collectorsaway, this helps in determining your wholesale price. More onwholesale price later... Determining a fair profit percentage canbe determined by doubling your labor and cost of materials (thishelps for those who do fine art) or tacking on a $1 to $5 (lets say)to each unit. This is more or less up to the artist – there is noreal formula for coming up with a profit percentage, especially foreach medium.

Wholesale vs. Retail price. When you use theformula of adding cost of materials with labor and profit percentagesyour ending price is actually your wholesale price, not retail price.To know your retail price, you double or triple it. Now look atwhat fair market prices are by visiting retail shops to see how youfair. If you are on par, congrats. If your cost is too high, startlooking at ways to cut costs such as making multiples at one time tocut labor costs or find better bulk prices for your raw materials.If it is too low, price your work a little higher – nothing wrongwith giving yourself a little more profit.

Lastly, far too often people sell their work at the wholesale price, don'tlet this be you. You're shooting yourself in the foot if you do thisbecause you are not factoring in the cost of selling your work (overwhat you consider labor costs) – paying for your time selling atshows or wherever else you sell your work. Remember, a retailer addsabout 2-3 times on top of the wholesale price to make their profit. If you are at an art fair or craft show you are acting as a retailer.If a retailer comes up to you at an art fair (retail) show and isconvinced they want to sell your work at their shop, they'll ask foryour wholesale price. If you are selling your work at your“wholesale price” at a retail show, game over because you cannotgo any lower. No retailer wants to sell your work at 2-3 times theprice you are selling at a show, there is no incentive for them tomake a profit. See where this becomes a problem? Not only are younot making a profit, but no one will want to sell your work too.Finding the right pricing for your work is more of a science than itis an art form. It is apart of the business side of running your owncraft business. Finding the right price – where you are coveringall of your expenses and making a profit too, will mean thedifference between loosing money or breaking even to becomingindependently wealthy.

Do you agree or disagree with this? Have a question? Post it using thecomment button. Question 11 will cover 18 ways to increase the valueof your work, another blog post you can't afford to miss!

While we've talked about booth design, themes and merchandising there's a few other items that cannot go left unmentioned. What I am talking about is the use of good lighting, flooring and canopies. Bear with me if you feel you have this part down pat or this doesn't apply to you – I still might be able to surprise even the most veteran of art fair exhibitors with the following tips and ideas. Note: The photo provided is of my own display with my new Trimline canopy and flooring. I didn't use lighting as you can see, it was a sunny day.

In the past, I really didn't see a need for lighting or a canopy. When I first started out, I did indoor shows and didn't understand why a canopy or why shelling out more money for electricity to have a lamp or two, or why should I have something on the floor of my booth was necessary. It wasn't until I saw a few great booth displays that I had my ah-ha moment. What I saw was well lit booths drew more customers as light made objects pop. Good flooring helped your feet feel comfortable when standing all day long. Then when I decided venturing out and wanting to do outdoor events, a canopy was a must as it is a kind of insurance against the elements. So I was left a bunch of questions on which is best for me.

In my search I learned there are such things as bad canopies and lighting. It is still a learning process as even as recent as this past summer (July 2009) I had to get a new canopy. I must say if you are just starting out and have an idea of what you want your booth to look like, it is only at this point you should think about crossing this bridge or else you could find yourself waisting time and money.

Lighting

There are a couple of types and styles of lighting to consider such as wattage, where to place it, and what kind. When it comes to wattage, some shows limit the amount of wattage to prevent fires or short circuits. Most experts recommend using anywhere from 500-1,200 watts to illuminate a 10x10 booth and several smaller lights is better than one or two bigger ones. Placing the lights at a distance above the heads of your customers yet angled so they don't create shadows and light up your work is ideal. Track lighting works if you want light to shine down, from the top of your canopy as well as clamp on lights which can be found at hardware stores, office supply stores, IKEA, Wal-Mart, and Target as well as online display lighting companies such as www.brightmandesign.com . Do look into the differences of tungsten and halogen lights might have on your work as some lights work well for primitive style crafts while others are better for 2D artwork and jewelry.

Flooring

Good flooring will not only make you and your customers feet happy standing for long hours at a time, but also enhances your display too. Flooring can come in different styles like 8x10 carpeting, fake grass or bamboo mats, and anti-fatigue mats. Well, worth trying if you haven't already.

Canopies

Canopies have come a long way since the 1970's. Canopies now come in different prices yet in two standard styles: pop-up or dome. EZ-Up's and Caravan's are most common at shows. However, the ones that last the longest are the dome canopies such as the ones offered by Trimline. I own a Trimline and love it. For me, it is by far the best on the market as it is reliable and the design is very sturdy. Despite the expense, I can even set it up by myself. There are many art/craft message boards where people freely share their experiences about the canopies they have used – I highly recommend doing this to learn more about the different canopies in the marketplace. Lastly, when you have purchased your canopy take the time and set it up a couple of times before your next show. It can be very tricky or confusing to do at first, however you can't afford to waste it figuring out how to set one up when time is ticking during set-up time at a show. The next question will be all about how to attract people into your booth using the five senses.

I heard a great concept/exercise from person named Gary Halbert that bearsrepeating to help illustrate the importance of finding ones niche.Suppose you get an opportunity to open a restaurant – a burgerjoint let's say. What is the one thing you want most of all?While most people will think about good location, money, an awardwinning burger recipe, and plenty of parking, they are all missingthe boat. The true answer is starving crowd! Without people wantingto buy burgers, you have nothing. So what does this mean for craftartists? Sell what people want, not what you love to make.

The best way to find your niche is by keeping your eyes open and noticecurrent trends. To find trends start by looking at currentmagazines, ads, t.v. shows (notice what people are wearing in realityt.v. shows or how home make overs are decorated), as well as whatpeople are tweeting and stating via facebook.com, online socialnetworks.

A big road block Americans are struggling against is the state of oureconomy, however it isn't stopping people from buying gifts fornewlyweds, consumers seeking unique birthday gifts for friends andfamily, and purchasing souvenirs to bring home from their travels.Artists who are able to capitalize on the following list of populartrends, they will not be affected by the economy:

Garden art

Photography that specializes in inspirational nature landscapes

Accessories that enhance tech gadgets

(cellphone charms and handmade purses that have pockets for iPhonesor mp3 players)

Functional and aesthetic art for the kitchen

Anything remotely related to aromatherapy

Jewelry and other fashion accessories

Eco friendly/recycled art

(Note: this is just a few of many - some may or may not agree with me - make your opinion known via the comment button!)

It is clear everyone has different tastes and an opinion about everythingwhich makes it difficult to stay ahead of what people are wanting tobuy. There is one thing that Gen Y'ers to the baby boomers cannotresist, and that is offering one-of-a-kind art or crafts to feed ontoday's consumers who showing off their individuality. Teenagers aswell as their parents and even grandparents eat it up when given theoption to customize a new car, cell phone, music on their iPhone somuch so that this can continue into art forms we all create now.Letting art show patrons know you can do a custom order if they don'tsee a color or style they like – great for jewelry makers, fiberartists, even those who work in clay. Have you ever noticed thatphotograph prints tend to sell more than framed art? Chances are itis because customers like to put their own touch on the artwork andframe it themselves so it will compliment the place where it will bedisplayed in the home.

Another trend I see is how people love and take pride in finding bargains.It isn't so much about getting something for nothing, but knowingwhat they are buying is worth it. The more authentic an artist canmake their “individuality” mark on their work the more peoplewill buy it. For example, some 2D artwork that sells for $1,000 ormore is highly desirable among buyers who have a hard time findinglarge pieces of art for their home and no other artist is offeringat the current show, hence a niche is formed. This is why I feeloffering all kinds of work at different price breaks will aid craftartists in catching multiple big fish in the small pond that is artshows as we know it. While we can't discount our work and putourselves in financial ruin, we can offer things like free shippingon orders say $100 or $500 or more, offer lifetime guarantees onpieces where if they are ever damaged you (the artist) will fix it noquestions asked, or another ideas is to offer a discount on wholecollections say a necklace, bracelet, earring set. Some artists findhaving a clearance section to sell outdated work where the old priceoi slash with a discounted price visible via a different price tag isalso a great way to land a sale.

The more resistance to change artists have, when it comes to keeping upwith trends, the harder they are making it for themselves in the longrun. While we as craft artists don't have to follow every trend outthere it is sometimes a necessary evil that comes with running acraft business where our primary focus is to sell what we make. Ihope these ideas and tips will open some doors to new ways of makingones art or craft more marketable. Please stay tuned for the nextquestion in the series focusing on how to prevent creativity burnout.