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Written by Bruce Baker
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Selling at shows or in galleries revolves around three things:
• Impeccably crafted, creative and innovative products designed to be “on trend” and developed to fill customers’ needs sell well. Products have to be the right look, scale, color, weight and an entire list of other criteria to make them desirable.
In this current business climate, functionality, be it real or implied, is a big factor in what people are buying. You are more likely to sell a customer something in this era if it has a use. If that use is only to make the customer feel good, it must be made obvious to them.
• You must be a good salesperson to make the most out of any sales venue. So many sales are blown in the greeting stage because artists don’t know how to sell their work. Sales are a language-based skill—when you learn to use effective language when selling, your sales volume will increase.
• The third element in the trinity of a sale is visual merchandising. Creating displays that capture the customer’s attention, draw them into your space and sell your work is the objective! This third element is the focus here. How does one create compelling displays without spending a lot of money? When it comes to displays, it isn’t about how much money you spend, but rather about how creatively you showcase your work.
I always find it so interesting that as creative as artists are with regard to designing their work, when it comes to displaying it, they often take the easy-street approach. Many say, “I am just not good at display,” and give up. If you use shows to market your work, display is a part of your job. Currently, I am seeing a movement where artists are buying commercially available display systems that can be quick and easy, but the net result is that too many booths look exactly alike. This makes it hard for the customer to distinguish what is compelling about your product line, and makes it hard for you to build a recognizable brand.
When customers see you at a show, the visual of your booth should be the projection of a recognizable look—a brand identity. When customers see you at the next show, there should be a connection and memory of your display, your work and your image. I am not criticizing commercial displays or the use of them, this approach is right for some. However, the displays that I see grabbing the attention of customers are almost always custom-made.
Displays that employ conscious design decisions that work with the product line go a long way to create that special look—one that will resonate with customers. Effective custom-built displays not only create a mood and look that is unique to your line, but they also clearly distinguish you from your competition. Good design in your display will result in a sales tool that works for you, your customers and your product line better than any commercially available display.
By using careful and creative display solutions, you can save a lot of money compared to commercially available displays. Do not be afraid to use the same creativity in designing your booth as you use to create your work. If you are daunted by how you will build it, get someone to build it for you.
The first rule is that the display must work with the merchandise and vise versa. Plus, the display must speak to your ultimate customer who will buy the product. Sales will suffer if the demographic you are trying to sell to cannot relate to your colors or even the look of your booth. Keep in mind, your display should stimulate the senses.
The visual sense of your display needs to be one that will draw customers in to your space. Meaning, they will cross that imaginary line between the aisle and the front of your booth. The second sense that needs to be tweaked is the sense of touch. When your displays prompt your customers to touch something, you will see a spike in your sales.
An effective booth must get the customers to stop, take notice and be drawn into your space. When they do come in, something has to hold their attention and get them to touch the products. Your well-honed sales skills should take over at this point and, if you are effective, you will close a sale.
Too many booths send the message “look but do not touch.” Or sometimes things are displayed in such a way that the message is sent that you shouldn’t touch—key among these are shelves that are too deep, tables that are too wide and if the product line is out of easy reach. In most cases with commercial systems, you cannot determine the depth of a shelf (they mostly come as one size fits all).
Custom displays (ones designed by you) have so many advantages over commercially available systems. Realize that first of all, display isn’t “rocket science”—that is really all you need to know to empower yourself to be a display designer. If you go to a couple shows, stores or galleries and observe what creates visual magic, you will realize that you have what it takes to be a display designer. By analyzing your findings and asking a few questions, you will determine what works and what doesn’t. Then, reinterpret all your observations into a design that works for you, your product line and your customers—one that helps you build your brand.
 Selling at shows or in galleries revolves around three things:
• Impeccably crafted, creative and innovative products designed to be “on trend” and developed to fill customers’ needs sell well...
• You must be a good salesperson to make the most out of any sales venue...
• Creating displays that cap ture the customer’s attention, draw them into your space and sell your work is the objective...
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Written by Donald Clark
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Q: I’m a newbie to the world of shows, and I feel like I’m prepared as far as what to bring for supplies, but are there instances that come up unexpectedly that I may not be ready for?
I assume you have a comprehensive checklist of supplies to bring to a show. It can be helpful to organize this by their function; this will assure you have the tools you need. But alas, you know what they say about the best-made plans. Before you leave home, go online and Goggle hardware stores, copy centers and any other supplier you think you’ll need in the ZIP code or location of the show. You could also contact the presenters and ask for names and addresses of businesses—they should have this readily available and you won’t be the first to ask. Also remember your network: no doubt you will have friends at the show who may be able to assist with an unexpected need.
You will also want to talk to the promoter about the rules and regulations of the venue housing the show, and find out if it is in a union venue. Union policies, which will vary from venue to venue, may be more troublesome for you. These policies may prohibit you from painting your booth on site, draping a table, installing your own lights (seldom are you allowed to plug them in, if it is in a union hall) and moving your freight from the dock to your booth. There may be personnel from the venue to help move your freight, but be absolutely sure of the costs for these services before shipping to or arriving at the show. Some venues charge per box for delivering shipped-in freight, and you need to know these costs before you decide to ship with a commercial carrier. There are a number of art movers who will pick up your booth and materials at your studio and deliver them to your space at the venue; they deal with the unions and all that entails.
 I feel like I'm prepared for shows as far as what to bring for supplies, but are there instances that come up unexpectedly?
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Written by Patrice Lewis
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Trish Hodgens of Poly Clay Play tried a number of crafts to make some money, but “most people look at crafts as something to keep women and children busy…not a legitimate way to make an income.” Of all the excuses people use about why their hobby could never be turned into a business, the most insidious and devastating are those inner voices—the creeping doubts from within—that tell you why you’ll never succeed.
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Written by Bruce Baker
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Once a customer holds something in their hands, they are four times more likely to buy it.
Many times it is the sign that gets them to stop and take notice, and then to interact with the product. This is the key. To convince passersby to look more closely, or better yet to pick it up! When used in retailing, signs are often referred to as “silent salesmen.”
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Written by Patrice Lewis
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 When a craftsperson is serious about his hobby, it’s common to speculate whether or not the hobby could become a business capable of supporting a family. This month, we’ll look at some tips to increase your chances of succeeding at that business.
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 Paradise City Arts Festival was founded in 1995 by a painter and a fiber artist with ambitious visions. Linda Horvitz Post (the painter) and her husband, Geoffrey Post (the fiber artist) wanted to create a show that incorporated the best of both worlds: the inspiring quality of the finest indoor craft shows with the excitement of an arts festival. Paradise City is unique among high-end indoor shows in that it includes a substantial percentage of gallery-quality paintings and sculpture in addition to fine crafts, and presents both in a well-designed exhibition setting. This combination has been exciting for collectors and stimulating for artists.
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Written by Luann Udell
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 Some people just always knew they wanted to be an artist (I’m lumping craftspeople in here, too, because I refuse to discuss possible differences), but other people came to their talent late in life. They may have endured emotional hardship and isolation because their talents were misunderstood. Maybe this guide will help you recognize your own inner artist, or help you diagnose a loved one before it’s too late. You might be an artist if…
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Written by Donald Clark
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Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
 Maybe it’s the spirit of Fannie Clary or it could be the picture-perfect setting, or the highly skilled faculty or the super-motivated students or most likely all of the above. Whatever the mix, Snow Farm’s magic is evident to even a casual campus visitor. Snow Farm, originally Horizons, The New England Craft Program, was founded in 1983 by potter Jane Sinauer. Originally located in Maine, the program’s original mission was and continues to be providing high school students with a quality crafts education in a summer-camp setting. The teaching staff, comprised of highly respected craftspeople, soon drew young, crafts-focused attendees from all over the country. The availability of 50 acres, including historic eighteenth-century farm buildings, led to a move to western Massachusetts in 1986.
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Written by Donald Clark
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Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
 Visitors who travel to downtown Brattleboro, Vt., find a small, classic Vermont city with a twist. Located on the Connecticut River at the southern end of the Green Mountains, it offers spectacular views of the mountains and the river flowing along right next to Main Street. Brattleboro is an exciting and vital small art city with the flavor of a college town (without the college). Like many other nineteenth-century industrial cities in New England, it has been given new life by the spirit of the creative people who have chosen to live and work in the peacefulness and physical splendor of southern Vermont.
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Written by Patrice Lewis
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 Today, as people face job losses, salary cuts, or other economic woes, it’s worth examining whether or not you can do something extraordinary: make a living and support your family solely by the efforts of your home craft business. It sounds like a fantasy—but can it become a reality? Yes and no.
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Written by Steve Meltzer
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 There’s nothing as dull as a jury submission image of an unlit candle or lamp. A turned-off light doesn’t impress jurors or Web buyers. Realistically, craftwork that involves lighting sources (objects like candlesticks, candelabras, lanterns, table lamps, etc.) is often difficult to photograph. If you create work that lights up, this column is aimed at you.
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Written by Bert Krages
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 For many people in the crafts industry, patent protection can provide a viable means of protecting the rights to designs and methods of making craft. In many respects, copyright registration is the ideal means of protecting your designs from being “knocked off.” Unfortunately, this is not available for many kinds of craft because copyright protection does not extend to functional features of crafts or the methods of making them. Thus if your crafts are primarily utilitarian objects, or if you want to protect a particular method of making an object, you will most likely have to obtain a patent to protect against copying.
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Written by Donald Clark
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 What are your suggestions on the best retirement areas in the United States that cater to persons with small arts and crafts businesses?
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Written by Donald Clark
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 How can I communicate issues and problems to show management without being a squeaky wheel?
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Written by Donald Clark
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I haven’t done a press release before—do I need to?
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Written by Luann Udell
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 My studio could qualify for a Guinness World Record for “world’s densest collection of matter.” I have a lot of stuff. When I get more stuff, I just squeeze it into tinier and tinier spaces around my other stuff. I swear, a little more stuff and I might be able to create an actual black hole—which, as you science-fiction fans know, is so dense, light cannot escape it. (Maybe that’s why I can never find my scissors: “Oh, there they are, in that black hole over there.”)
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Written by Michelle Sholund
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 The three-day annual 2008 CODA (Craft Organization Development Association) conference was hosted by the Arkansas Arts Center and the Arkansas Arts Council right in Little Rock, Ark. The main subject matter of the conference was creating collectors.
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Written by Jim Weaver
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 At this year’s Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, held November 13 through 16 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 23 leading Israeli craft artists showcased their work. Presented annually since 1977 by the Museum’s Women’s Committee, it benefits the museum’s acquisition, conservation and education programs. Known in the past simply as the Philadelphia Craft Show, it has been renamed to give recognition to its tie with the museum and to the artistic quality of exhibited works. It is widely considered the top show of its kind in the nation.
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Written by Patrice Lewis
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 So many times, beginning crafters think small. A local Christmas crafts fair held in a high school gym might be about as far as your ambition extends. And, depending on your craft, that might be as far as you can go. But if your product is unique, beautifully made, and appeals to a wide variety of customers…then it behooves you to dream big. Don’t be intimidated by the idea that the huge, high-quality craft shows don’t want new vendors—because they do.
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Written by Steve Meltzer
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 It has been an amazing year for photography. While film will still be the media of choice for some, digital photography will open up all sorts of possibilities for artists. Just look at the Internet and the opportunities it offers for artists. Through it, they can reach a global marketplace and share their experiences and knowledge with other artists. With this year winding to a close, let me review some of the things I’ve explained over the year and expand on a few others.
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