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Your studio space

Posted by Barbara Pitorak Bloom on January 13, 2015 at 2:49pm

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. 

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Tips On How To Draw Customers Into Your Booth

Posted by Michelle Sholund on August 1, 2009 at 1:28pm
The start of a sale at any art fair begins with getting customers to notice your booth. What is the best way to attract customers to your booth? Here's just 6 tips that could work for you.1. Flowers. Nice landscaping can go a long way to sell a house. Flowers on a tables in restaurants put people at ease. So why not use flowers to your advantage. Last year I have used 2-4 planters with real planted flowers as anchors for my canopy. The idea came to me as I couldn't stand looking at cinder blocks or milk jugs while I sold at fairs. When I started using the planters - the first thing customers saw "Oh, what beautiful flowers" and came closer to take a look. Guess what happens next - they look in the booth and and enter it. So, perhaps planters aren't for you, what about a simple bud vase with your state flower, rose, wildflowers placed in areas you want to draw people's attention or fake flower garlands draped around an easel of your best 2-D art work?2. Large format photography. Ever find yourself driving and NOT take a second to see what a billboard advertisement was all about? The same idea can be extended to those who walk up and down aisles at fairs. Anything big draws the eye and for artists, this works like a charm especially for those who sell jewelry or anything small in size. For about $20, take a good photo of your best selling piece to a Ritz Camera (or other photo developer) and or get it framed or made into a banner and you are set.3. Good lighting. Remember the saying, "like moths to a flame"? Well good lighting in any show booth will draw customers in like moths to a flame. Darkness, shadows, and dim spaces is a natural deterrent - gets customers thinking about dark alleyways where danger could be around the corner. If people can't SEE what you make and sell, then isn't it only natural to pass one booth up for one that is well lit? Desk lamps, strings of Christmas lights, clip-on display lights, good display lamps, etc. all can work and some work better than others all depending on what you sell. Although some fear the money to fork over for electric, hauling lights and so on is too costly, I can tell you it will at least increase your sales 25-30% if not more - I am one of those who can vouch for this tip .4. Color. Commercial products in today's market place have great bright color branding - Yankee Candle, Victoria's Secret, Coca-cola, etc. I often see "cookie cutter" booths at every show - white canopy, white backdrops, white table coverings... While we can't help that fairs require white canopies and they are so easy to find, something as simple as colored table coverings, flower garlands hiding the legs to a booth, colored curtains/backdrops, simple colored scarves accenting jeweled toned necklaces, painted wooden shelving, and so on all are simple, inexpensive ways to add color to a booth. A splash of color in a sea of white (or black) will surely catch customers eyes as long as it is soft and not too bold.5. Banner. Banners do not have to be big, full of color, or expensive. Office supply stores who have a copy/print area or places online like Vistaprint can help help you make up any kind of banner you want all in the name of getting noticed. Two lines of writing such as your business name and website or tagline can truly make a booth stand out. It has a billboard effect, but also tells customers in a matter of 3 seconds I SELL POTTERY (photography, oil paintings, candles, jewelry...). This will help weed out lookie loos and drive serious shoppers into your booth.6. Demonstrate. Every show I have attended where someone demonstrates how their work is made - it draws a crowd. This idea appeals to the "mob" mentality where if one person stops to watch, others follow suit because they see one or more doing it too that it must be something interesting. Demonstrating is also a simple way to start selling without customers catching on. To show and tell a show patron how pottery is shaped and molded, watching a painter make a blank canvas flow with color, or how the sound of a hammer striking metal to form iron work is something people just don't see every day. Doing so also authenticates your work - they will never question "do you make this or is it handmade"? Can't demonstrate at a show - see point #2 - a large format photograph of you in action working away in your workshop also works just as well.I wanted to add this tip as I have had people asking me this question and recently posted it on my blog. I thought others here may benefit from the knowledge. If you like this post all I ask is to leave a comment on my blog - www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com . I want to encourage everyone though to share their tips. Have you tried any of these tips and they did or didn't work - I (as well as others I am sure) want to hear it. Thanks so much for reading!- Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals, www.bythebaybotanicals.com
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