Bit discouraged selling my work..

Re: Bit discouraged selling my work..

eliot d

>But you do have to take into account all their expense. One gallery owner told me that in her gallery she has to pay something like $40 for each square foot of space. Then there's advertising , etc. Imagine all the time and headaches if you had to do all they do. If it's a well respected gallery, then their "price point" can be quite high so that half of it is still a lot.

Re: Bit discouraged selling my work..

Dave Bonde - Iowa

>This is a hard one. I have a good friend that owns an appliance store (I know apples to oranges) but his advertising budget really surprised me. This is a small store and he was having a big sale, he told me that he hoped the sale went well because they spent $11,000 on advertising for it. You might look at having a piece or two in a gallery as free advertising with the opportunity to make a sale as well all-be-it not the profit margin you wanted, or the gallery might be able to demand a premium on your work that you might not be able to on a private sale so your profit would be close to a private sale, or the traffic flow through the gallery could be great word of mouth exposure for your work. I�m not saying what is right or wrong maybe just a few points to consider that could easy the 50% mark up shock. Dave

What about Antique Shops?

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

>What about Antique Shops? I've always wondered about that. Particularly for those who make antique looking furniture.

I don't know about your area. Around here there are a lot of shops that sell really nice stuff. I always imagined a corner of a shop set up with a Shaker style cabinet, rocker and round table with candle on it and the light coming in just right through a window. You know, a corner set up to look like the corner of a Shaker house or something. Even with hefty price tags, in the right shop, I would think that would sell. Especially after word got around.

But I don't know. That's just something I always think about when I go to these shops.

Joe

Don't be discouraged.

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

>Gallery markup was a bit of a shock for me as well when I started. In the gallery that features my work the gallery gets 45%. I have checked around and that is somewhat average. I have gotten to know the gallery owner quite well over time and have come to learn that running an art gallery is no way to get rich (maybe with a few exceptions). This gallery is the best gallery in this region and yet cash flow is underwhelming.

The question you are facing is the age old question we all face about marketing our work. Galleries serve a good function for some as they generate foot traffic to our work on a daily basis. They bear all the promotional costs, showroom expenses etc. In my case, the gallery owner will steer clients my way and be a promoter of my work to gallery patrons. The downside is that my work, when in a gallery is more expensive and therefore limits the pool of potential buyers.

But I'd say galleries are not for all of us. Frankly, some galleries don't do as well selling our work. The local market climate can be a factor as well. So don't dispair, there are plenty of other market approaches that may work well for you. Certainly any approach where you sell your work directly will help you with having greater control over pricing and profit margin.

Good luck!!

Tom

You need to sell it yourself first.

HC Sakman

>Hi Bri,

First of all, you need to convince the store owners not to put your work in the same pot with mass produced furniture. Your furniture is above, well above factory furniture, although they may look similar.

Secondly, if the market you're in, is not able to see the quality difference and value your work, you're beating the wrong drum.

Thirdly, store owners can put any mark up they want, as long as you get what you want..... of course all these happening within the feasible parameters for you, store owners and the buyers. Don't try to compete with commercial furniture head to head, you'll lose; besides you can't make it as cheap as they can. Their cost of materials are fraction of what you consider "best deal of the century" that you can locally find.

Forth; Consider changing your furniture style? The reason for that; There are lots of factory made furniture in shaker style and your stuff blends in to the untrained eyes.

Perhaps try to use better materials (cherry instead of birch) to justify higher price tag? Anything to put your work "above the crowd level" will help.

It's tough Bri. Hang in there...

Chico...

One more thing...

HC Sakman

>Some stores and galleries are able to draw clientlle who'll drop $10G on a small cabinet without hesitation IF that's what they want. So, these outlets have the access to the clients who can afford and pay for high end furniture and WE DON'T. That's another reason why 50% is being asked. (Besides the obvious rent, advertising, staff etc... costs.)

Chico...

For every 60 "No's" there will only be . . .

s.mackay@worldnet.att.net

>3 "yes's" ! Even Leonardo struck-out %60 of the time. The LEAST mark up in ANY shop I've delt with was 18 %. Most are 40 - 50 %. High end shops are 100 % standard. They are paying the rent and utilities. The very moment you get discouraged, fed-up or depresed is the blink of the eye you're finnished. You MUST be prepared to swallow six months to three or four years before you realize a shadow of a profit. NEVER figure your labor into the prices. Minimum wage for your time makes hand crafted items un-affordable to most customers. Now, I know, there are folks who get Chipendale prices for they're work but its far and few between. You gotta want it REALLY bad. The folks who think working for your-self would be wonderfull don't know what a cruel task-master "your-self" can be. If you think you work hard for not enough pay for some-one else wait 'till you get a load of YOU ! GOD, I LOVE THIS !

Re: Bit discouraged selling my work..

Clay Foster

>You need to mark up your work 50% just like the galleries if you are going to sell it yourself. That's what it costs to market work. If that's not the way you are currently pricing your work, you will never be able to live off of what you make.

You can pay a gallery 50% to sell your work, or you can pay yourself 50% to sell your work. Most craftpeople enjoy making much more than selling, and are usually lousy sales people. A good gallery earns their 50%.

Should've said 100% markup..

Bri in Mtl

>which is what splitting the selling price 50/50 is.

You're looking at it wrong.....

Mark Goodall - ATL - tooljunkie

>You said the furniture will sell for $1000 and you only get half of it. 50/50.

Perhaps you need to think of it as: you'll sell it to the gallery for $1000 and they can sell it for $2000-$3000-$5000.... that's what they're their for... to get more for an item than you could get otherwise.

If selling it for $500 is too low, then you need to sell it to them for $1000, and it's got to be something that they know they can sell for $2000+

Hang in there..... last "commissioned" work I sold I figured I made less than $0.50/hour after cost of materials.

Happy Woodworking!

Happy Woodworking!

Re: You're looking at it wrong.....

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

>Don't be very concerned with the final price after the gallery mark up. Whatever you make you need to determin what price you need to get for it. That is the price you tell the gallery you need....no less. If you set the bar too low you will not only never make a living but you'll establish a price range that everyone will expect from you.

Be honest with your pricing and price things realistically. But if after the mark up your work doesn't sell then that may be an indicator that you are in the wrong market. Time then to develop a new strategy.

Tom

Lousy Salesman ? . . .

s.mackay@worldnet.att.net

>You UNDER STATE that one ! LMAO !

Re: Bit discouraged selling my work..

Moses Yoder

>On the other hand, if you sold it for $8000, you would get $4000. That would make it a little more worthwhile perhaps.

It's tough...

nailshooter

>It is difficult to be in your position. I tried it, and couldn't deal with it. As a furniture maker, you almost need a patron or benefactor to help you along. Someone with money that understands just what that labor of love you have put together is worth. Those people are almost impossible to find. I have a friend that makes furniture that goes from month to month wondering if he will lose his shop.

Between working on the projects, tool maintenance, finding and buying good material, promoting his work, delivering his work, attending different woodworking/furniture shows... very little time is actually spent on making furniture. He has a modest shop in a very rough area of town with a tiny showroom that will handle one or two pieces. He felt like he had to get the shop since he is only in his early 50s, clients didn't take him seriously when he worked from his garage in suburbia. Now that he is a starving artist, his clientele list is finally expanding, albeit very slowly. I don't think he will make it though, as he is not a good businessman. He has $1200 in rent, about $250 in electric, $150 a month in blade replacement, sharpening, sandpaper, finishing supplies, etc., to contend with. Add in gas, fees to shows, motels on the road, and on and on... I think it is a lot more than he realizes.

He can make a small chest of drawers in about 200+ hours. The dresser probably has $350 to $400 premium material in it, and he sells it for anywhere from $3500 to $5000. Mostly the lower number.

If his wife didn't work, he wouldn't be eating with his expenses. If he paid a gallery, ditto, or he would back at his house (which to me might not be a bad idea).

Good luck with your endeavor. Sit down with another small business guy/girl and try to figure out what your actual expenses come to. Then you can better decide which path to take in promoting and sellign your product.

Robert

Re: Don't be discouraged.

Tom Stockton

>Tom has given you good advice. I've shown in various galleries for about 18 years and finding a gallery that fits your style and one that will work with you is a very rewarding thing.

In looking at galleries quality is more important than quantity, one good gallery will do more for you than 3 OK ones. A couple of years ago I was looking to find another gallery and everyone recomended I look in Ashland OR for a place, I did some research and found a gallery that carried furniture and took a day trip up there. I was really unimpressed the gallery was way to crowded with furniture stacked on furniture, most the labels didn't credit who made the piece. I came away with the impression that it wouldn't work for me and I would better off putting more effort into doing work for a newer gallery that had a nicer space and was doing what I would consider the right thing. a couple of years later I'm real happy I choose to do what I did, not a lot of gallery sales but I do get a steady stream of really nice commisions from the gallery and they appreciate my work and we have a good working relationship.

Have you thought about doing craft shows, I never went that route but for some people it works real well.

Tom Stockton

Re: Bit discouraged selling my work..

Tony Ward. Blue Mountains, Australia

>Same problems here in Australia.

What about direct selling - e.g. the Internet? It works for me!

Tony Ward