Art products: categorizing, pricing and advertisment
Hi,
I have made just a tour of Internet to learn more about Papier Mache
and I put some site that I found in the links section . I suggest you take a look in them. For better
commercializing your products you should also know what my
competitor produce, and then you should decide in what way you are
different from them.
Also here are some other tips:
For growing in this business (or any other), you can use many
methods,
Art Products : categorize your artworks
First option is to be very creative,
Original products sell with
higher prices, cause they are new. Here is not easy to find a new
market to sell, but with good ear to mouth advertisement and with
friend meeting show can be very frucutous for starting the process
of selling. Also for this kind of product you should produce few.
–
Second one is to innovate on existing creation,
this is not exactly copying, because it is not reproduction, but it is producing
in other colour in other way an existing idea. These objects selling
price should be more than average
Third option is to reproduce,
this is industrial production, you don`t have here a large benefit marge, only selling high quantity
can make you get a profit. It is risky if you over produce.
The best to do for artists is: mixing options
80% of your production should be for the second type of art objects : innovate
20% of your production should be for the first type of art objects : be creative
As I consider the third one as non artistic work I eliminate this
choice.
So what about the finance:
In art the price you give to your object is the reflection of your
personality, your fame, or the fame of your gallery or the fame of
your city. For example in porcelain Limoges is well known brand for
the quality handwork, but Limoges is just the name of a city in
France. Also Murano in Venezia is well known for the quality glass
work around the world. The fact that you own a shop in Murano means
you can sell your product around the world by putting a higher
profit margin.
Even if you are well known in your local area, your city or even in
your street for the works you are doing, then you can start to give
a higher price to your art works.
Public relations as Art advertisement
Fairs
The fairs are good to make your advertisement to people around you.
It is a place where you can sell temporarily to a lower price. I
insist on the word temporarily, because art is a high standard know-
how retailing. So its price should be high ( same as construction,
architectural, tailoring). Low price kills art.
But the customer are not dumb. They compare, they analise, they look
to many retailer, they read in magazine, and also they try to learn
techniques of production to judge if it is really worth the price of
the object you try to sell.
But..the way you approach, the way you talk to your client, the fact
you make them visit your workshop, showing them while you are
working, does change lot of things in their behaviour and their
mind. I have experienced this many time.
Using news as advertisement
Also other advertisement material you can use are as follows:
– You can ask to a local magazine, that has a quite lot reader, to
make an article about your shop and your work in its newspaper.
There are many things that you have to be carefull about that. When
your article gonna be published-friday staruday are the date where
the newspaper sell are higher. In which page. In which size. All
these affect the offer price of the newspaper. Higher price means
higher quality. Also you have to decide on one thing before spending
this money, does my stock of objects to sell is enough? did I
precised retailing price for all my objects? etc..
Using art galleries
– You can show your objects in an art gallery. In this case you
should also make an advertisement of your show and of this gallery.
This is good for new starters, but be careful to the contract you
do read all the contract, until the items that are written with very
small characters at the end of the contract
Summary
| Where to Show | At your own shop / workshop | Fairs | Yard Sale / Online Distributors, Wal Mart, Flea Market |
| Pricing | High | Price must be temporarily low | Low |
| Advertisement | Interview in a local Newspaper or Magazine with lots of readers. Interview like advertisement is strongly recommended | Showing in there is just making people to know you | They all help to make you know |
| Producing Techniques | N/A | N/A | Crafts are more adequate for this type of markets |
| Retailing Techniques | N/A | Bargains should go no more then 10% of the original price, and only for big selling amounts | Bargains |
| When | The advertisement is better if it is published on friday/saturday or sunday | Participation to fairs should be at maximum twice a year | If you are an artist, but do only craft with low value, you can do them anytime of the year |
| Advantages2 | Make people know you very quickly | The customer will know you better if you show during the fair | low pricing is necessary for quick selling and for getting your costs paid |
| Disadvantages2 | The price of the advertisement and its quality depends on the size and publication page of the interview | The customers tend to bargain, so undervaluate the object | Low pricing means for the customer low quality, low art |
| Be carefull about | Is your stock enough + If you pay for this interview, in which page, which size, which day of the week | Do not get used to bargain. | The product you may sell must not be expensive |
Links
http://www.papiermache.co.uk/ Some tips Tutorials and gallerys on Papier mache. Good site
http://www.papiermache-art.com/ Interesting for the methods and Galleries
This article is written by yahoo profile: Marsupilami for Monochrome yahoogroup (probably my nickname)
Article date: 25 Dec 2004
I was the Admin of Monochrome : oruckenan
