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With the help of LOML, I participated in the 21st Annual Brentwood Spring Art Show all day Sunday. This was another del Mano show, in an affluent part of town, so it had a reputation as a good show for my kind of turned wood.
The early highlight of the day was a visit from fellow FW member Mohammad Madha and his lovely wife. It was a great surprise and a pleasure to meet them. Plus, now I can put a face to the name. Of course, I forgot to get a picture, so I have no proof, but at least Mohammad and I know the meeting really happened.
Things stared slowly sales-wise. By mid-afternoon I had only sold two bottle stoppers and was starting to question my intelligence for paying to do this show. (This one day show costs as much as the two day shows I've done in the past - about $280.) After spending the first part of the day watching people pick up pieces, look at the price, set it down, and walk away, I decided I was pricing myself out of the market. So, I broke a cardinal rule (in the opinions of some show sellers) and started knocking 10% or so off the prices. If someone would ask how much a piece was, I'd look at the price tag, and say "Well, I have it priced at $120, but I'd let it go for $110." That seemed to be all the incentive some people needed. Purses and wallets started opening up. I ended up selling one pen, three bottle stoppers, six bowls, a platter, and one hollow form. I saw a few of my favorite pieces go to new homes. But I made over three times my entry fee, and nearly doubled my previous best show. Realistically, if I include my materials and time, I think I might have made about 25 cents per hour, but the gross sales figures came out looking pretty good for a one day sale. (Plus, as I see it, my materials and time don't count, because I'd be paying for and turning this stuff regardless of whether I was selling it or not.)
And here's a bit of evidence, with my beautiful booth bunny dressing up the place:
And a few of the pieces that sold:
The curly maple bowl in the last pic (from some of Robert Mickley's maple stash) was by far the showstopper of my booth. It seemed like nobody could walk by that big piece of curly wood without touching it to see if it felt as wrinkled as it looked. Literally, a few thousand people touched it today. The looks on their faces when they felt it was smooth as glass was worth the price of admission.
The early highlight of the day was a visit from fellow FW member Mohammad Madha and his lovely wife. It was a great surprise and a pleasure to meet them. Plus, now I can put a face to the name. Of course, I forgot to get a picture, so I have no proof, but at least Mohammad and I know the meeting really happened.
Things stared slowly sales-wise. By mid-afternoon I had only sold two bottle stoppers and was starting to question my intelligence for paying to do this show. (This one day show costs as much as the two day shows I've done in the past - about $280.) After spending the first part of the day watching people pick up pieces, look at the price, set it down, and walk away, I decided I was pricing myself out of the market. So, I broke a cardinal rule (in the opinions of some show sellers) and started knocking 10% or so off the prices. If someone would ask how much a piece was, I'd look at the price tag, and say "Well, I have it priced at $120, but I'd let it go for $110." That seemed to be all the incentive some people needed. Purses and wallets started opening up. I ended up selling one pen, three bottle stoppers, six bowls, a platter, and one hollow form. I saw a few of my favorite pieces go to new homes. But I made over three times my entry fee, and nearly doubled my previous best show. Realistically, if I include my materials and time, I think I might have made about 25 cents per hour, but the gross sales figures came out looking pretty good for a one day sale. (Plus, as I see it, my materials and time don't count, because I'd be paying for and turning this stuff regardless of whether I was selling it or not.)
And here's a bit of evidence, with my beautiful booth bunny dressing up the place:
And a few of the pieces that sold:
The curly maple bowl in the last pic (from some of Robert Mickley's maple stash) was by far the showstopper of my booth. It seemed like nobody could walk by that big piece of curly wood without touching it to see if it felt as wrinkled as it looked. Literally, a few thousand people touched it today. The looks on their faces when they felt it was smooth as glass was worth the price of admission.