by Grace Butland
he search never ends. Crafts retailers are always on the lookout for the holy grail of buying — that special something that is different, well-priced and distinctive enough to set their gallery apart from the competition.
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At The Grand Hand, in St. Paul, Minn., local and regional shows are a major source of what’s featured in the gallery, such as work here by Minneapolis-based Heinz Brummel. |
Today’s retailers have more opportunities than ever for creative buying, but these opportunities come hand-in-hand with increased challenges. The Internet allows a retailer to view the work of an artist thousands of miles away, at any hour, without ever leaving the office. But the Internet also gives that same artist world-wide exposure. Increased consumer interest in handcrafted work has brought increased competition as department and gift stores add crafts to their merchandise mix. Global trade results in competition from low-priced third-world imports and handcrafted work that is designed by American artists but made off-shore.
Retailers are meeting these buying challenges with a variety of approaches that vary by location, clientele and business philosophy. The following is what’s working — and what isn’t — for some of them.
“I go to more shows now. I’m putting more time into traveling,” says Karen Zucker, owner of The Klay Gallery in Nyack, N.Y. In an effort to find new and exciting work, she plans a buying trip to Nova Scotia in addition to her usual wholesale shows.
Ronna Isaacs of Chiaroscuro in Chicago has been a long-time buyer at both the American Craft Council (ACC) and Buyers Market of American Craft (BMAC) wholesale shows. Recently, however, she eliminated the ACC show in favor of the Handmade section of the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). Most of the work at the ACC Show is too expensive for her customers, she says, while the NYIGF offers a better cross-section of price points.
“We can’t afford to be elitist,” she explains. Chiaroscuro opened in 1987 featuring only American-made crafts. In recent years, the mix has changed so that now approximately 50 percent of merchandise is designed by American artists but made offshore. “We’ve gone this route because this is what people can afford,” says Isaacs. “We’re buying less expensive to keep our customer base.” Most of the store’s smaller items and ceramics are now made overseas, with larger and more expensive items handcrafted in the U.S. Many of the artists who design off-shore products also have one-of-a-kind work in the store.
Donna Avila, owner of The Silver Ribbon in Pembroke, Mass., takes a different approach. She now limits her show buying to the ACC and BMAC because those shows do not permit off-shore work. She has had problems in the past when shopping at gift shows, she explains. “I asked if the work was made in America and was told that it was. Then it arrived with ‘made in China’ labels.” When contacted, the artist explained that the work was designed in America but made off-shore.
Glenn Johnson, owner of Handworks in Acton, Mass., shops the wholesale crafts shows but will not buy at a gift show. “I don’t like the idea of crafts and gifts being mixed,” he says, “and I don’t like gift shops buying from crafts artists. It dilutes our message.”
In addition to the traditional wholesale shows, Johnson attends several regional retail shows where he finds artists who are willing to wholesale.
Local and regional retail shows are also an important source of new work for Ann Ruhr Pifer, owner of The Grand Hand in St. Paul, Minn. Customers who visit craft galleries all across the country used to come into The Grand Hand and say, “You all have the same thing. I’m looking for something different,” she says. So now she concentrates on finding artists whose work isn’t so widespread.
She has good luck at the San Francisco ACC Show. “I get more Western artists there,” she says, “and not many galleries go there.” Local and regional shows, such as the Minnesota Crafts Council shows, produce contacts with many artists who are willing to consign. “I’m mostly purchasing things from other places to throw into the mix for variety,” she says. “At the holidays, I purchase more of the smaller (under $100) gift items.”
“I’ve never gone to a show. Most of our artists have found us,” says Jim Nelson of Blue Heron Gallery & Gifts in Ashland, Ore. Blue Heron is located halfway between San Francisco and Portland, on Interstate 5, and artists who are traveling the show circuit from San Francisco to Seattle often stop to show their work.
Many of The Grand Hand’s best-selling artists are referrals. An artist whose work Pifer carries will say, “If you like my work, you should talk to …” Or sometimes another gallery owner will call and say, “You’ve got to try so-and-so’s work; it’s selling like hotcakes here.”
Personal contact is critical for Johnson, whose goal is to develop long-term, mutually supportive relationships with artists. He meets with craftspeople by appointment a couple of days a week at Handworks. “I like finding local people who want to break into the business and don’t know how,” he says.
Nelson finds some of his best lines via the Internet. “I may place a small order based on what I see on the site,” he says, “or I may ask to see a sample.” Zucker, on the other hand, never buys through the Internet. Since Handworks has been on the Niche Top 100 list, Johnson has gotten a steady stream of e-mails from artists referring him to their Web sites or to Wholesalecrafts.com, and he does make some internet purchases. Pifer receives so many personal contacts that she has designated two times a year — spring and fall — to review submissions. Avila checks out Web sites if artists e-mail information to her, but she wants to see samples before she buys. “I’m pretty much hands-on,” she says. “I want to see and feel the work.”
Traditional wholesale markets, regional and local retail shows, referrals, e-mails, telephone calls, walk-ins — all offer the potential for discovering that special work. What works best for a given retailer depends on circumstance and personal preference, and the mix requires continual adjustment as conditions change.
“You have to know where your store is and who your customer is,” says Isaacs. “Our store has changed many times as the population, environment and economy have changed.”
Grace Butland is a free-lance writer and clothing designer living in Nova Scotia.