Sales leads

[bbowers]

I have had a few carvings at a local art gallery for sale. Sold a couple over Christmas. Are there any suggestions for places to place carvings to sell? My carvings are Santas and wood spirits. Most right now are from cypress knees or cottonwood bark. I am new at the selling side of carving so any help or leads are appreciated.
Thanks-
Barry

Hi Barry -

Welcome to the world of selling your work! It's an adventure, so hang on and keep track of where you are at any given time.

I'd first suggest that you produce a brochure of some sort - something simple that shows QUALITY photographs of samples of your work, sizes available and pricing structure - wholesale pricing if you're soliciting stores. From that point, just do an internet search on stores - i.e., gift shops, antique shops, Christmas stores....and take down names and addresses. Then, do a mailing and see what comes of it.

Another way to begin marketing is to use eBay. I started out there....and not only sold a few santas, but more importantly, was contacted by individuals and stores interested in more of my work. I still post a piece on eBay every once in awhile - it's a good way to get in front of collectors, even if you don't get the prices there that you might in a store or selling outright. It's worth the investment.

There are also some online 'galleries'....artist co-ops, really...where for a minimal fee, you can join and post your items for sale. I belong to the Ranting Raven, http://www.rantingraven.com which is primarily for primitive folk art (alot of dolls and such)...but I've had good luck there. It only costs $15 per month to showcase three pics with descriptions and prices, and they will link to your own website, if you have one. They do alot of advertising and therefore get alot of traffic. In fact, a pic of some of my pieces will appear in the summer issue of Country Decorating Magazine, as part of a Ranting Raven ad. Another that I know of is Folk-of-Art - I haven't joined them, but I understand they're pretty good. Same pricing structure.

Hmmmm...sorry to ramble on so...that should get you started on some track, though.....Good luck!

Teri

[bbowers]

Thanks for all the great ideas. It helps to have a place to jump off! Like most things it seems over whelming until you break it into small steps.
Cross your fingers!
Thanks again-
Barry