Last week of ACC Baltimore Show Prep
After last week’s crazy packing and shipping stress, we had a moment of victory/relief once the pallet was on the truck. And then it was on to the next wave of “to-do’s”: the paperwork. (Status update: the pallet was in PA yesterday and expected to arrive in VT tomorrow! Fingers and toes crossed!)
pillow arrangement in the booth “mock-up” – these are currently on their way to VT
Making the leap into selling wholesale
Since saying “yes” last October to exhibiting in both the retail and wholesale shows at ACC Baltimore, I’ve been learning a ton about wholesale selling. It’s worthy of a post in itself one day.
It forced me into some serious number crunching and scrutinizing everything I’m doing through the eyes of a business owner. There have been some not-so-pretty moments – like discovering that some of the prices I’ve sold some of my work for have been more like wholesale prices – and it also has helped me confirm my costs and solidify my pricing across the various work that I make. It feels good to have worked through all of that and be confident about my prices.
100% cotton front, linen-backed one-of-a-kind hand-dyed pillows
It’s been a super-steep learning curve. Over the past 3 months I’ve researched and built a list of prospective buyers and sent them postcards of my work. I’ve studied and learned and made decisions about costs, pricing, profits, wholesale terms and policies. I’ve created product “lines” that I will offer to wholesale buyers.
And this week has been devoted to creating line sheets, catalog pages, an order form, and finalizing wholesale policies – all of which are now at the printers being printed.
100% cotton hand-dyed fabric front, linen-backed one-of-a-kind pillows
Branding AynHanna.com
Besides getting some high quality postcards of my work printed, I’ve also updated my logo with a hand-written name and had 4 fabric banners made – they’ll be hung around my booth and will be re-usable for all the shows.
Making versus Marketing
I’ve heard it said (and I’m a believer) that to be successful as an artist, one needs to spend at least 50% of their time on the marketing/business tasks, maybe even more (I have one artist friend that says she spends about 80% of her time on the marketing compared to 20% on the making).
one-of-a-kind hand-dyed 100% cotton front, linen-backed pillows
I am a maker, I love making things. But I also have to be a business person. Committing to doing this big show has shone a brighter light on the business of my art. My perspective has changed, I’m making decisions and taking risks not only creatively with my work as an artist, but also more as a business owner. I’m getting a better handle on balancing my creative and business time, and developing better systems for getting things done more efficiently.
And oh ya, I’ve also made a bunch of new artwork over the past 3 months too! And, I’ve gotten much better at photographing my own work as well, thanks in part to a new camera and tripod.
“Big City #5″, Dye Drawing (100% cotton cloth, procion mx dyes), cotton batting, stitching, gallery-wrapped (20″x20”) ©2014 Ayn Hanna
I feel ready to take a big leap this year starting with this Baltimore show, putting my work way out there, excited to see how this shapes the future. And whatever the year brings, I’ll continue making things. That’s what we makers do!
