If you haven’t yet received your “13 Quick, Easy, Low-cost or NO-cost Ways to Turn your Craft into Cash” go to the right and get your free gift.

You’ll find many of these tips can be implemented NOW.

Have you noticed that many of the small boutiques and galleries that sell handmade are low in inventory two weeks before Christmas? I have, and I know why. And this is to your advantage as a craftsperson.

As a result of the media’s fear-based reports, small retailers ordered light this season anticipating slow sales. But guess what? Discerning consumers are searching for unique, handcrafted, meaningful gifts this season, catching retailers unprepared with insufficient supply and no time to re-order handmade gifts.  Most people say they haven’t even started shopping yet which means shop owners are missing out on revenue if they don’t have inventory. While the big-box retailers can mark their wares down after the holidays, and still make a profit, as you know,  craft retailers don’t have the margin to discount since their markup is so low. So, they are afraid to purchase this late in the season.

But this is where YOU come in. Boutiques and galleries that may not have had space to display your work previously need the inventory between now and Christmas. You likely have pieces you’d love to turn into cash and the shops NEED your work now. It’s risk free for them if you put pieces on consignment and you have nothing to lose either. (review previous tips on consignment.)

Don’t limit yourself to galleries. The next three weeks, women are dressing for holiday parties and looking for that one-of-a-kind accessory to add pizazz to their outfit. Approach apparel shops and offer to consign your handcrafted jewelry, evening bags, shawls, etc.

No one can buy them if they are sitting in your studio unseen,

Check back frequently for more “eleventh hour” tips on selling your crafts.

I appreciate that a sole proprietor of a small shop in Kansas may not want to spend the money to go to one of the semi annual wholesale handmade in America shows,though, I’d argue that smart sourcing is money well spent. Even so, a savvy retailer doesn’t need to leave her home town to find some of the best metal smiths in the US. She only has to peruse one of the online American-made sites that are strictly for the craft trade. 

(a great one is wholesalecrafts.com) 

The fact that so many boutique owners don’t know this tells me there is even more of an opportunity for you, as artists and crafts people, to get your authentic work in the hands of the buyer and show her how your quality is better and that it hurts her integrity to sell chinese imports in an American western shop. So,find a shop where your product is compatible, and make sure the owner/buyer knows you work. If you make wearables, wear them ALWAYS, give them as gifts and ask everyone close to you to wear your work whenever they might be around the people who have the buying influence. And make sure everyone has plenty of your contact cards in their pocket. There’s a right and a wrong way to approach a shop you’d like to place your work in. The first impression will make or break your likelihood of getting your work into the galleries of your choice  so be sure to download your free craft marketing tips from http://www.craftbizblog.com. We’ll also expand on this topic so, stay tuned for more info on our summer teleclass series.

When someone asks an artist to create a smaller piece, they always assume smaller means it should cost less. Sometimes this is true from a materials cost alone but frequently, working on  a smaller scale is more challenging and more time consuming. So,

initially, my rection to this mini movement was less than enthusiastic. If you’ve been following me, you know that I suggest artists and craftspeople have a wide range of prices. I also advocate printing, casting, licensing  or in some way, reproducing a portion of your work to add leveraged income. I also recommend keeping part of your line limited editions and originals, as very high end, like the bread and butter pieces, continue to do well in slower economic times.

Is working smaller working smarter? Not neccessarily if your smaller works are originals and done in the same style as your larger pieces. You can, however, develop a line of what I call “speed” works. Depending on your medium, this might mean altering your working style. For some artists, this is a great experiment in getting out of a rut. A reason to try something new. There are lots of options from painting smaller works in the “Painting a Day” fashion that was so popular a few years ago, to still working large but then selling your work as pieces of a collection.  It’s also possible that the quick sketches you see as preliminary to larger works can be sold as stand alone originals. We all know that in the world of art, there is no correlation between time spent and the dollar your work commands. And as a collector, I will tell you that some of my favorite pieces are quick line drawings. One cherished piece is a simple ink drawing of a Mantee we purchased in a Wyland Gallery years ago. Yes, it could have cost as much as one of his detailed paintings, but that was the piece that spoke to us so we puchased it without thought to how ‘little time” was involved in the work. Think of John Lennon’s whimsical line drawings. They’d be charming and command good prices even if he were an unkown (or were still alive.) Same with Picasso’s “Dance of Youth” or “Bouquet”. He likely didn’t produce them with marketing in mind but they have an appeal separate from the more time consuming, detailed paintings and were I to come across him as an unkown, alive today, I’d prefer to purchase those drawings. Those simpler works do not compromise the integrity of the artists other work.

If you’re a jewelry artist,  begin thinking in terms of collections as well. Yes, it takes as much time to hand fabricate a piece in sterling as in platinum or gold, so while that’s a great option for cast pieces, you’ll need to find a different way to cut down time and price on originals. If, for example, you do wire-wrapped dangly beaded bracelets, developing a line of “modular” or add-on pieces or charms is one answer to your coming up with lower price points. (I’ll tell you a secret. Customers actually end up spending more, not less because they seldom purchase just one component. They see how great the pieces you have assembled look and can’t resist adding on). The great news is, they still percieve it as a bargain because they have the option of spending less. This isn’t tricking anyone-it’s just giving them  the benefit of more choices.

If you’re someone who adores working on a large scale and the idea of selling 20 small paintings rather than one large one doesn’t appeal to you, or you feel going smaller would alter your unique style, consider a change of materials.  You may work quickly and loosely on a large scale but your supply cost is high. Consider using recycled material rather than pricey oils on a fresh, newly stretched canvas for each piece. What would your work look like if you did some of your pieces with left over interior house paint on recycled masonite?  Or, you switched from sterling wire to colored, coated wire. (this is when it’s handy to make friends with a telephone repairman-if you can find one these days.)

Now, rather than laugh, or groan,  annoyed when a customer asks if you can “make it smaller for less” and we’ve all heard that, begin thinking about ways to cut time, materials and costs on a portion of your line. But remember, don’t cut prices on your existing line. That will devalue your work and negate all the time it’s taken to build your “brand” and perceived value.  And DO keep producing some of your high end line.

If you’re feeling discouraged as you read this because you don’t see how you can apply this to your work, you’re not a painter or jeweler, there is a way to widen your price points without compromising your style, time or quality. If you need help, post your dilema on the blog and let’s see what the other readers can come up with for you. Or if you really are stumped, I do have some limited availability to work one on one and I promise you we will come up with a way to maximize yor income without compromising your craft.

What are you doing now to widen your price points? I’d love to hear how you’ve met this challenge and I know fellow readers would appreciate your sharing.