An interesting question came up in an on-line class I’m taking. An artist, hoping to approach a museum store, found out they already carry similar products that are cheap and poorly-made imports. Would they even consider carrying her work??
The short story is, when in doubt, ask! The store may not be interested in your work at your prices--but maybe they would. You won't know til you ask. Maybe they can only sell at certain low prices, but maybe they also sell higher priced work--and your work would fill a niche they haven't been able to target yet. Or maybe they are/would be willing to raise the bar with the quality of their merchandise.
From my experience in wholesaling my work, I'd say never make assumptions about the store's ability to carry both imports and original artwork. A museum store, like any other store, has to appeal to many purchasing points. They may sell 20 reproductions to one original, but if they feel there is a market for your work, I'd try it!
Are they consigning or purchasing outright? If they are willing to purchase outright, then it’s up to them to decide if the work will appeal to their customers or not. You don’t have to make that decision for them. (Sounds silly, but you'd be surprised how often we artists find ourselves second-guessing this stuff....) If the store guesses right, that’s how they earn that 50% mark-up they’ll put on your work. If not, oh well. They’ve been wrong before.
If they offer only consignment, you can decide if it’s an experiment you want to make or not. If they are a reputable store and maintain good consignment records and take good care of your work, you don't have much to lose by trying them out. (This is assuming you find out they do indeed have a strong interest in carrying your work.) You can put a time limit on the experiment, perhaps trying the work in their store for six months, or for several months over the holiday season.
However it plays out, here are some suggestions to make sure your work gets to put its best foot forward:
Go to a gift store or gallery that features handcrafted work. Look at how the work is displayed. Look at how its packaged. Look at how the store wraps your purchase. See which products seem to scream, “Someone talented made me!” Notice which ones get their story across quickly, which ones engage your interest successfully. Note how items by the same artist or company are displayed or arranged to make them more compelling and appealing.
Make sure your support materials (brochures, hangtags, packaging etc.) clearly identify your work as original art. Don't rely on the store staff to be able to make that distinction for you to customers. Build that story and provenance right into your product. Make it idiot-proof (in a good way.) Sign your work, and even date it, if feasible. If you make quality jewelry, use those jewelry tags and have your name stamped on them to help brand your line. I include small gift cards that accompany each sculpture and piece of jewelry I make, so even if the item is purchased as a gift for someone else, the recipient has something that tells them about me and about the piece.
Think about requiring a certain number of statues to have a "critical mass" on display, so your work doesn't get lost among the repros and imports. This is part of the rationale for having a minimum opening order.
The way the work is displayed can help tell the story, too. Every store is different in their needs in terms of how your work is displayed. But the more you control how the work is displayed, the better you can tell your story. Think of ways to elevate the nature of your display, to highlight its handcrafted nature--perhaps a small framed artist bio that appears with your work, with a photo of you at work to clearly set your work off as handmade and yourself as the artist. Or a special display stand that is only used for your jewelry or items. When I sold vintage jewelry years ago, I had a local woodworker make custom jewelry stands with a little sign that told a story about old jewelry and why it was special.
Another strategy to consider is to provide the store with postcards featuring your work. There are many companies, like Modern Postcard, that will print 500 postcards for less than $100. The store can use these to send to targeted customers they feel might be specifically interested in your work. If the store feels strongly about your work, they may split the cost or even take it on themselves (but with non-profits in such dire straits these days, I wouldn't count on it!) I get postcards printed by the thousands (very inexpensive through Megacolor.com) and offer them to stores periodically. That way, you can help them promote you for a few dollars.... My state craft guild recently switched to Megacolor for their postcard printing and they are very grateful—they’ve saved thousands of dollars! You can contact my rep John Maasik at 1-888-339-2001 or e-mail him at jmaasik@megacolor.com He’s good at dealing with crazy artists!
These are just a few ways to help your product stand out besides just being so darn special!
