|
CONSIDERING WHOLESALE? BECOME A VISITING ARTIST!
Are you an artist considering wholesale for your business? Register for the Visiting Artist Program at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft, July 21-23, 2006, and walk away energized and ready to absorb a new outlook for your business!
The Buyers Market of American Craft's Visiting Artist Program gives artists the opportunity to explore the wholesale marketplace. With educational seminars designed specifically for artists, guided marketplace tours, and the opportunity to ask questions and network with Buyers Market staff, seasoned exhibitors and other Visiting Artists, the Visiting Artist Program gives artists a glimpse of the BIG picture in researching a wholesale show.
VISITING ARTIST SEMINARS INCLUDE:
.....WHY WHOLESALE?
.....ADVERTISING 101
.....WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS - And Where Do They Shop?
.....GALLERIES AS PARTNERS - Building the Business Relationship
.....Q&A ABOUT THE BUYERS MARKET
Register for the Visiting Artist Program online at www.buyersmarketonline.biz.
For answers to questions you may have about the program, contact Kelly Linton at kellyl@rosengrp.com or by calling 410.889.2933 x270.
(New!) ARTIST PROFILE: Sea Stones LLC
The Buyers Market recently spoke with Arra David of Sea Stones LLC, based in Windham, New Hampshire. Read about this successful wholesale craft business in the interview below, then visit Sea Stones LLC online at www.sea-stones.com.
Arra David, Sea Stones LLC
 |
Buyers Market: When did you start Sea Stones LLC, and how?
Arra David: Three or four years ago, my wife and I built a coat rack from stones collected from a beach we visited as kids. We hung it in our hall, and visitors saw it and wanted their own. We made some as gifts, made some more for the bathroom to hold towels, and used some to hang window treatments. More people asked, so we made our first sellable Coast Hooks in 2004 and gingerly dipped our toe into cold calling on Cape Cod. About half of the shops placed orders, and we've been happy rockhounds with a growing range of work and customer base since. |
Buyers Market: What keeps you going everyday?
Arra David: When someone buys our work, it's a compliment. It's not so much that someone is paying you; it's more that they're saying "I like what you've created." That feels good.
Buyers Market: Booth Design—what do you think is the most important aspect?
Arra David: Leave your chair at home and make room for customers. Let people feel free to come in and touch your work, especially if you have a tactile product. People love to touch and we do everything we can to encourage that.
Buyers Market: What is the first thing you do when you get home from packing up a tradeshow?
Arra David: Oh, we dig right in mailing handwritten letters to all of our bar-coded and pre-sorted show leads. Just kidding. Somehow a show induces a sort of delirium that causes us to make shipment promises that normal people would never make. So we relax after a show, sometimes for as long as 6 minutes, then head for the workshop.
Buyers Market: If you could offer one piece of advice to artists new at wholesale, what would it be?
Arra David: Find a mentor. People in these circles are warm, friendly and full of experience and great ideas. All you need is two ears and a pencil and you'll have all the good advice you could wish for.
Buyers Market: Next year, you plan to __(fill in the blank).
Arra David: Present our work at two tradeshows that we've never done before. Seems the best way to work out whether a show is good for us is to stop wondering and just go do it.
Find out more about Sea Stones LLC online at www.sea-stones.com.
OPPORTUNITIES KNOCKING
The Art of Craft (Long Island, NY)
B.J. Spoke Gallery invites artists with innovated work in clay, fiber, metal or wood to submit 3 slides or digital images for the juried exhibition, The Art of Craft, August 22-September 17, 2006. Cost of submission is $35.
Juror: Lois Moran, Editor-in-Chief, American Craft Magazine.
How to Apply: Send 3 slides or CD, $35, SASE to: THE ART OF CRAFT, B.J. Spoke Gallery, 299 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743. Call 631-549-5106, download from: www.bjspokegallery.com, or email: info@bjspokegallery.com.
DEADLINE: June 1, 2006
World Women: On the Horizon (Baltimore, MD)
Baltimore Clayworks invites submissions for World Women: On the Horizon, an international juried exhibition of functional and sculptural ceramic works made by women about women, October 7-November 12, 2006. Juried from
slides or digitals. Cost of submission is $15 USD for up to 5 entries.
For a prospectus or more information, visit www.baltimoreclayworks.org, or contact Forrest Snyder at 410.578.1919 x18 or forrest.snyder@baltimoreclayworks.org .
DEADLINE: June 16, 2006
Santa Fe Art Institute, Artist Residencies (Sante Fe, NM)
The Santa Fe Art Institute offers Artist Residencies at one of the preeminent contemporary art spaces in the Southwest. Residencies are from one to three months in duration and deadlines are biannual. All visual and literary mediums accepted, scholarships and need-based assistance available. The SFAI Residency program supports emerging and mid-career artists and writers, although all are encouraged to apply.
How to Apply: Visit the web at www.sfai.org for a downloadable application. There is a $25.00 application fee. For questions please call 505.424.5050, or
e-mail swilson@sfai.org.
DEADLINE: July 5 and January 5 of each year.
Telfair Museum of Art's Twelfth Annual Art Fair (Savannah, GA)
Artists are invited to submit entries for the Telfair Museum of Art's Twelfth Annual Art Fair. This juried show will be held November 3-5, 2006, in Savannah's historic district. 100 artists will be selected to participate. Close to 12,000 visitors attended in 2005. Booth fee is $300 for 10'X10' space. $12,000 in prizes and honorable mentions will be awarded at the awards ceremony held Saturday, November 4. Open to but not limited to painting, drawing, graphics, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, photography, fiber, furniture, glass, textiles and mixed media. For more information or a prospectus, please visit www.telfair.org, or contact Laura Dixon at DIXONL@telfair.org or call 912.790.8869.
DEADLINE: Friday July 14, and must include digital images of artist's work and tent/display, application form, and $35 application fee.
Buyers Market 25th Anniversary Marketing Campaign
The Buyers Market of American Craft celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2007. We are looking for testimonial stories to feature in our anniversary marketing campaign. Are you a Buyers Market exhibitor and would like to be featured in the marketing campaign? E-mail Kelly Linton for more information at kellyl@rosengrp.com or call 410.889.2933 x270.
Craftspeople: Share Your Story!
Have your designs been knocked off? Do you have examples of your product and of the knock-off? Would you be willing to share your story and these examples with a national trade show audience of retailers and American manufacturers at a future Buyers Market? To help educate and protect your fellow artisans, contact Tammy Razquollah at tammyr@rosengrp.com or call 410.889.2933 ext. 222.
Give Us Your Two Cents
The American Craft Forum is a service to the online community that offers support and advice for and from craft artist and retailers around the country. We welcome your diverse questions, advice, opinions and observations. Let your voice be heard.
Go to the Forum.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
To accomplish great things, we must not only dream, but act.
- Bill Blackman
Market Insider
Archive - MI newsletters from previous months. |
