Previously on that same day..another birthday lunch.. a different assiette of desserts.
Christmas pudding, strawberry meringue and creme brulee. Yum.
Now just look what I received this week.
Now just look what I received this week.
A gorgeous card
and two little sweetie peg dolls
Beautifully made and cleverly designed. And sweetly packaged and sent to me. Thank you Sesga.
Then this fabulous card from my dear friend Viv from Hens Teeth
She is so creative.
She is so creative.
Not content with sending the lovely card she also sent me one of her exquisite embroidered pieces.
How lucky am I?
Just some thoughts for fellow makers to mull over.
I have some of my work in two up market craft galleries and have had offers from two others.
Now galleries as we all know have to add a large percentage to the sale price.
I can't afford to sell my things any cheaper so they become very expensive in Galleries.
This week I have made as much by selling things on Etsy and by e mail as I have in two months at the Galleries.
But its very prestigious to have work in a nice Gallery.
Discuss.
19 comments:
Can't you do both? I plan to. Yes, galleries charge a lot, but there is a certain person who buys from them. Not everyone has a computer! Your etsy stuff rocks! (I should know!)
Beautiful gifts, Jackie! I had such big plans...none of which have materialised. I've learnt so much these past 6 months - like to be more realistic with my time!!
Lovely, lovely, lovely to be in a gallery - but marvellous about etsy! Lorie is right...two different customers there, I think, but a place for both. xx
I agree with Lorie and Charlotte,do both.
I make brooches for a shop and gallery and they double the price.
I do sell them to them at a slightly reduced price if they order twenty or more.
I at least then don't have to pay a stall rent etc..
P.S
Have a lovely Christmas Jackie.x
Impressive ironing, gorgeous bird card and lovely gifts.
I'm sure selling in both places is the best of both worlds. Gallery exposure certainly gives a certain validity and recognition to your work but Etsy cuts out all the commission thing so can only be good I would think.
Don't be afraid to mark your work up at higher levels. I put off selling at my sisters gallery for a year because I thought the mark up would make my products too expensive. I couldn't have been more wrong. The gallery thought my price points were perfect for their clientel and they were right. What you sell is unique, colorful and stunning. You will do well where ever you choose to sell.
Beautiful gifts!
And yes, you can do both; it´s very fun to be at gallery, but it´s fun to sell at Etsy and through your blog! So do both if you can !! Happy Christmas!
Congratulations on not dying in the process of all that ironing!! I must tackle mine this week, have been skimming off 'essentials' for ages now and what is left in the basket really must get done before next week. House duties are banned for wednesday, thursday and friday (except cooking and eating)!!
Keep stocking your things in the gallery, don't worry to much about not making a million there. It's good to be able to say "You can also find my creations at posh place blah blah" in a very pompous voice :-)
XXX
A serious amount of ironing done Jackie...what a chore!
Thank you for lovely things said.
Hope you can enjoy xmas now.
I ditto all above re: selling of work x
I am still waiting to hear if any of my first gallery bits have sold...if they haven't, I think I will simply carry on with Etsy and not worry about galleries (for all the reasons you mention) as I have no problems selling there - though there are a few really top end London galleries I have my eye on - at the end of the day, if you can make the money and build a reputation on your own, it could well be that you are doing a better job for yourself than most galleries could.
Do Both I think ,but I understand that when you have things sitting in Galleries which could be
selling on Etsy .I think you should get yourself recognized in Magazines and do classes or a book You are super duper talented you could do anything .
I cant believe you did all that ironing well done you a big pat on the back.
Don'T laugh but if i iron too much my arm pops out of place .I'm not lying its true .
I'm glad you liked your card and peggy's .I adore the brooches you sent me Thank you once again .
Love from sesga xx
Surely a balance is the most logical conclusion to reach? Some bits in galleries, some bits on Etsy - cover all your bases. People will pay what they're willing or able to pay. Your work is so wonderful, it should really be in galleries.
Well done on the ironing - did you do it ALL? :-O x
I see Lorie has beaten me to it. I think it might be possible to do both - in that way your Etsy customers get a bargain and your art reaches a wider and different 'audience', and the gallery exhibitions appeal to another sector of the public. Hopefully the Etsy sales might subsidise the gallery ones.
You need my husband,well for a day or so he does all the ironing thank goodness.Re the selling,I would have thought your pieces could sell well in a gallery,but one problem if it is on a sale or return basis,you havent got the stock when at craft shows and do they take good care of it? Have a good Christmas
And I love the snow,brill.
The consensus seems to be to do both and I quite agree. You need the gallery exposure to help keep your name up there where people can see it. These are two different audiences. I think you need both audiences, Jackie. Plus, a gallery will promote your 'brand' and the genre. If you want future opportunities to do large installations, etc., a gallery can help get you there.
geee its snowing here too! have a great holiday and best wishes for the best creative new year.
It's fine to do both, but the customer should get the same price whether Etsy, craft fair or gallery. Galleries get very upset if they find you're undercutting them on direct sales (I did it accidentally and only by 10%), which is understandable really. And how would you feel if you got a special present from a gallery then found it was half the price online?
Dear Anonymous
I wish I could reply to you directly, but I can't so its here.
I completely understand your reasoning and that is why I posed the question. If the customer gets an item for the same price wherever they buy it, I would have to increase the prices online to the point where they may not sell..and I am not doing it entirely for the love of sewing.I need to have an income from my work. The customer in the Gallery is getting something extra for their money..a chance to look and feel the item, to view it in the presence of other items and to make a choice, part of which has been made for them by the Gallery selectors. The Gallery is getting a full showcase to attract people at no cost to them except overheads.
I would rather risk a gallery being displeased at my lower prices than raise them on line and risk not selling anything.
The galleries take these things on sale or return and I have to say that on odd occasions the items have been returned unsold not in a fit state to re sell.
It would be nice to discuss this further through e mail.
Postage is outrageous from S Africa so I don't sell on Etsy. The Galleries do take a huge chunk from our earnings but the right gallery certainly gives one prestige and enough sales. One of the galleries I sell at has so much foot traffic and a huge turnover. They sell anything and everything I throw at them....whereas at another gallery I might only sell one piece a month. The private commissions I have done are not worth the trouble ....so at the moment I prefer dealing with the galleries.
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