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WHOLESALE MYTH-BUSTER!
Each year hundreds of artists consider leaving the retail fair circuit for the wholesale marketplace. For fine craft artists who find that wholesaling is the best way to spend more time in the studio and less time on the road, the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft offers the world's largest venue for artists to meet qualified buyers.
The Buyers Market attracts nearly 10,000 gallery owners and specialty retailers from across the U.S. and Canada with markets held each winter and summer at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
For fine craft artists who have reservations about wholesale exhibiting, here are a few myth-busters to consider...
5 MYTHS ABOUT WHOLESALING
MYTH: If I wholesale, I'll have to sell my work for ½ price.
BUSTED: Your work might be priced at wholesale already. Wholesaling to reliable shops and galleries allows you to drop a few of your marginal fairs and concentrate on only your top selling venues where you can price your work higher—at true market value!
MYTH: I can't take enough orders to make wholesaling worthwhile.
BUSTED: At retail shows you catch one consumer sale at a time... at wholesale shows one order with a retail buyer can result in a long-term business partnership with multiple future orders. Your sales at one wholesale show will likely become business relationships with future orders and re-orders. At the Buyers Market, retailers place $35-40 million dollars in orders at the average winter show--average sales per artist total over $30,000. The summer show is smaller but sales still average total $20,000 per artist!
MYTH: Wholesaling artists make more sales, but less income.
BUSTED: A study sponsored by the Craft Organization Development Association (CODA) and Appalachian State University determines that artists who rely on retail shows earn an average annual income of $25,000. Artists who retail and wholesale earn an average annual income of over $50,000.
MYTH: I'll become an assembly line manufacturer, not an artist.
BUSTED: Wholesaling provides you with the opportunity to sell work in every price point. Shops and galleries rely on your larger, limited edition pieces to provide the "sparkle" they need to attract serious collectors. You're in control of making what you want to sell...because you have orders for work before you make it!
MYTH: I can't compete against 2,000 artists.
BUSTED: Each exhibitor is specifically selected for his/her unique quality of work. The Buyers Market promotes the ease of shopping for buyers and quells direct competition of similar lines. In addition, the Buyers Market helps artists attract buyers to their booth by offering a cooperative pre-show postcard mailing program, as well as teaching artists about lighting and how to design an eye-catching booth. Success in wholesale is as much about marketing as it is about artwork.
NICHE TOP RETAILER AWARDS
Your Vote Counts More Than Ever!
The NICHE Top Retailer Awards recognizes the nation's best craft retailers, arts nonprofits, museums and guilds. Only 25 retailers will win the Top Retailer Award, and only one will be named NICHE magazine's Retailer of the Year. You can also nominate a craft retailer, arts nonprofit, museum or guild for any of the new program's special categories. Visit www.nichemag.com and vote today for your favorite retailer!
OPPORTUNITIES KNOCKING
Interested in promoting your work outside of the traditional craft fairs, festivals and trade shows? Consider these avenues...
• 2006 Diva Design Competition Calls for Entries
Calling all aspiring women jewelry designers! The Womens Jewelry Association (WJA) is accepting entries for its annual Diva Design Competition. The competition is open to all women, regardless of formal design training or jewelry industry employment, and offers cash prizes for original fine jewelry designs featuring precious metals and gemstones. This year's competition theme is Queen of Hearts. Original renderings must be submitted no later than May 1, 2006, and will be judged by an independent panel of jewelry industry experts.
Interested applicants can obtain information and an entry form at www.womensjewelry.org, or by contacting Cindy Edelstein at 914.738.8485, 914.738.0096 (fax), or cindyedelstein@aol.com.
• GAS 2006 Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri
Glass Gateways: Meet in the Middle is the theme for the Glass Art Society's 2006 annual conference scheduled for June 15-17 in St. Louis, Missouri. Celebrating compromise, companionship and community, the conference will feature lectures on the dynamics between form and function and technology and tradition. For a full schedule and to register visit www.glassart.org.
PUBLICITY OPPORTUNITIES
Want to get in the news? Put your February's Market Insider tips to use and begin your PR outreach by exploring these leads....
• FASHION: Spring/Summer Fashion-TheCelebrityCafe.com
TheCelebrityCafe.com, an online entertainment magazine with 4.2 million unique readers per month, has two stories coming up, one for spring fashion and the next for summer fashion. They are on the hunt for the latest apparel/fashion trends and designs for both men and women.
Contact: Maria Spanadoris
Deadline: 11:00 AM US/Central MARCH 31, 2006
E-mail: maria@thecelebritycafe.com
• HOME: New Home & Garden Products-Baltimore Examiner
The Baltimore Examiner is looking for news on any new home & garden products that are coming to market. These products will be featured on a weekly page in the Examiner.
Contact: Bruce Miller
Deadline: 08:00 PM US/Eastern MARCH 31, 2006
E-mail: bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com
Phone: 410.878.6178
• PRODUCTS: Best New Products for Babies and New Parents-LASplash.com
LASplash.com is seeking information and product samples for a review article on new products for babies and new parents for the Family and Children section of LA Splash Magazine. Due to the integrity of the site and commitment to their readers, they will need to receive the products to test. The article will be a round up, featuring their pick of the best products for new families available in the U.S. The story will be posted during the last week of April. Please send product and digital media kits ASAP. No phone calls.
Contact: Chris Carrico
Deadline: 03:00 PM US/Eastern APRIL 3, 2006
Email: chris@lasplash.com
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Market Insider
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