A Site for Emerging Artists
Posts tagged retail products
Missed Opportunities
Aug 18th
By Carolyn Edlund
Are you making the most of your trade show experience by engaging with your audience?
This past spring, I had the opportunity to walk a wholesale trade show which takes place in New York City’s Javits Center. The show was pretty quiet while I was there, and I looked forward to meeting artists and designers, finding out a little about their work, and getting business cards. As readers know, I profile artists frequently on my blog, which quite often leads to publicity, more connections and sales for those artists – which is one of the reasons they are written.
Wearing a press badge, I slowly walked through the show checking out the trade show booths. Frequently I would stop in front of a booth to check out the artist’s line, and the artist — well, far too often, they were looking the other way.
No one in their booth, but they would not make eye contact.
As an experiment, sometimes I would enter the booth if it was empty, and take a look at their line, waiting for them to make a move. One young man, a new exhibitor, could barely speak to me even though I specifically asked him about his extremely cool furniture designs made from unusual materials.
Was this the way he interacted with buyers? How many opportunities had he missed? Why did he spend so much money to attend a trade show when he couldn’t adequately speak about his work, let alone sell it?
In contrast, there were professionals in other booths who relished meeting new visitors. They smiled, shook my hand and knew what they were going to talk about. They weren’t giving me a hard sell, just an invitation to come in and check out their line. They presented their products in an interesting way, and were versatile enough to talk about any aspect of their business – or mine.
Having been an exhibitor myself at too many shows to count, I understand the anxiety in approaching a potential customer. Perhaps what you don’t know, though, is that it makes visitors more uncomfortable dealing with your projected anxiety than if you approached them despite your hesitancy, and spoke about your work.
Avoiding eye contact or ignoring booth visitors is about the worst mistake you can make at a trade show (or at a retail show). The more you fail to greet visitors and speak to them, the more empty and lonely your booth will be. It feels terrible, feeds on itself, and makes for lots of missed opportunities.
I won’t be writing any more about that anonymous young designer with the unusual furniture designs, because there is no story except for this unfortunate one. I got materials from and connections with fascinating artists who want to tell their story, and I will help them to do so.
Does this situation sound familiar? Have you felt overwhelmed and stressed out when meeting potential buyers? Do you try to become invisible or even hide yourself in a book? Next time, resolve to make eye contact. Take that chance – don’t miss the opportunity. You may never know where it could lead.
Print
Digg
StumbleUpon
del.icio.us
Facebook
Twitter
Google Bookmarks
Reddit
email
FriendFeed
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Greeting Card Entrepreneurs Take Advantage of Niche Marketing
Aug 10th
By Carolyn Edlund
Swati Bhagat and Faith Featherstone
Greeting card designer Swati Bhagat and marketing director Faith Featherstone make a potent team of entrepreneurs in their home town of Toronto, Canada. Although the greeting cards are fairly new, they have used strategies to create a buzz around their Artistry Card line to build a reputation and sell wholesale to retail establishments.
Billed as a “Canadian stationery company that sells socially responsible, eco-friendly, superior quality greeting cards and stationery paper goods,” they have quite a few ways of expressing that commitment.
Some of the ways Artistry Cards is walking the walk:
- Using post-consumer recycled paper to produce cards and envelopes
- Biodegradable cellophane on each card
- Orders shipped in 100% recycled cardboard boxes
- 5% of sales donated to Kiva, a micro-loan project assisting entrepreneurs in developing countries
- Recycle symbol incorporated into all designs in their Being Green line
What’s been accomplished? Noticed for her great designs and eco-conscious approach, Swati landed a front page interview in the Entrepreneur section of Canada’s National Post. A large Canadian retailer has expressed interest, and is working on orders with Artistry. They plan to bundle cards together with twine for a more natural look, and market them with men’s products.
Faith notes, “Artistry Cards is all about nature, from the paper we print to the ideas.” Their line incorporates Canadian themed cards such as wildlife charmingly depicted in plaid silhouettes, Woodland Creatures (in woodgrain, of course) and Flora and Fauna notebook sets.
Staying on topic in their chosen niche creates a tight, focused body of work which has become a signature look for the company. This focus, and their earth-friendly message, makes it easy to market their concept to like-minded vendors who embrace the popularity of recycled, reused and waste-free products.
Marketing is a top priority for the team, with Faith spending a lot of time producing press releases, approaching publications and blogs for publicity, and using social media. Her message promotes the line as a “guilt-free alternative to conventional paper products.” She cross-promotes their wholesale clients by mentioning them in articles about the card line.
Having their own storefront has been a great way to test-market new products and control the printing process to get perfect colors and assure a quality product. This also helps drive local press exposure. Artistry Cards is owned by Pixel Print, which Swati established in 2006. The store is located at 1319 Dundas Street West in Toronto.
Have You Been Knocked Off, Ripped Off and Pissed Off?
Jul 29th
By Carolyn Edlund
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but having your ideas stolen feels more like a punch in the stomach than a compliment.
What do you do when you have a fresh, original concept that gets picked up by others, manufactured overseas and sold at a price which undercuts yours?
These “ripoff artists,” an affront to real artists, often get away with it – simply because they can. You may have a copyright, but they may have lawyers and big bucks and be far away in another country. Standing up for your intellectual property can be hard if you don’t have the resources for staying power in a lawsuit.
If you locate a domestic copycat, you can sometimes send “cease and desist” letters to stop them cold. Less scrupulous types may need more persistent threats from your attorney (make sure you don’t cross the line yourself and get accused of harassment).
Or you can use Twitter to call out the corporate b*stards who started manufacturing your designs, which happened in spring 2011 when Urban Outfitters ripped off and started selling necklaces identical to Stevie Koerner’s “A World of Love” line. When outrage goes viral it can be satisfying, especially when it hurts unethical corporate serial copycats who have to scramble to manage their reputations.
Courtesy Paul Richmond
Another way to fight interlopers is to expose and shame them on a website video, often with humorous results, as Paul Richmond has brilliantly done when he punk’d Cai Jiang Xun for blatantly selling direct copies of his paintings on Ebay. Join Paul’s Facebook page, which exposes bootleg sellers and puts the onus on Ebay to stop allowing knock-offs to be sold on their site.
Courtesy Marianne Wakerlin
One effective method to keep and expand your customer base when being copied by others, is to distinguish yourself and your products and add value to buying from you as the originator. Marianne Wakerlin, founder and owner of Solmate Socks in Vermont, has done just that. Her popular mismatched socks and accessories are promoted as being American made and really earth-friendly. Even though her concept has been copied and made in China for a lower price, she isn’t overly concerned.
In a statement of “corporate and environmental responsibility” which takes up the whole inside front cover of her catalog, Marianne describes her family-owned business, which uses recycled materials, provides employment for American workers, uses renewable energy and works to achieve zero waste. Now who wouldn’t feel better buying from Marianne and wearing her socks proudly? Take that, polluting Chinese sweatshops!
Has your work been knocked-off, and how have you worked to resolve this problem? Please share your experiences, and results.
Artist Profile: Smart Strategies for Licensing
Jul 25th
By Carolyn Edlund
How planning and excellent presentation put one new company on the road to success
Linda Warner Constantino
Linda Warner Constantino and Dona Warner are sisters, and partners, in Linadona Botanica™ LLC, an art business which debuted in January 2011. Both of them have extensive backgrounds in fine art. Linda is a plein air painter who also teaches watercolor, portfolio development and Photoshop (she’s a certified expert) at Savannah College of Art and Design. Dona holds a degree from the Tyler School of Art, and is a former sculptor who now works as an administrator in the production of art.
Linda creates the artwork, while Dona acts as a critical eye and takes care of the business end. They have put together a first-class package to present to manufacturers who would license their artwork, and are a prime example of how preparation and excellent presentation make all the difference. Linda and Dona agreed to share their experience.
AS: What has drawn you into the world of art licensing?
LC: As an artist I paint plein air landscapes, still life painting and a variety of illustrative work, using watercolors, oils or sketching from life. Over the years I have focused more on botanical subjects, working almost exclusively from life.
Using my hand painted botanicals, I apply my skills in Photoshop to design repeat patterns, manipulating the background colors, scale and juxtaposition of forms. My intent is to try and lend a more contemporary feel to the botanicals while retaining their natural appeal.
Although botanical subject matter is not new to the art licensing world, there is always room for a different interpretation. I am continually inspired by nature and like the idea of art on useful things like aprons, tabletop, or stationery.
I am attracted to art licensing because it is somewhat speculative. I can create what inspires me and then “go fishing” with the designs. I find a greater sense of freedom to be creative and pull from my own personal experiences with the subject matter that I choose.
AS: Your portfolio shows designs on prototypes. What is the thought process behind this?
DW: We start with a pattern and then determine the type of product we might like to see it on. We try to consider the manufacturers perspective as far as the ability to market the product. In a way, it advances the dialogue between licensor and licensee to see the art prototyped, which in turn, helps determine if there is going to be a good business fit.
Linda creates product templates using the vector tools in Photoshop (not Illustrator) and brings scanned art into Photoshop. Then she finesses it onto the templates using clipping masks, pattern fill layers and layer styles.
AS: You’ve done a lot of research before exhibiting. What suggestions would you have for other artists looking to get involved in shows?
LC: Walking the Surtex show provided us with a wealth of information about what presentation style appealed to us as much as it defined how we did not want to present ourselves.
We tried to get ideas about the type of products that might work with our designs, current trends and the quality that specific manufacturers had to offer.
In preparation for exhibiting your work, we suggest:
- Give yourself a full year and get organized with a timeline of what has to be done and when.
- Develop your materials with both a consistent look and message. Repetition helps the audience to begin to identify the imagery with your name.
- Take advantage of the free promotional opportunities and have a story to tell that is your own.
We did a small scale mock-up of our booth in foam core board and placed scaled copies of the artwork into the model to help us visualize the overall look of the booth This made installation so much easier because the majority of the decision making was done in advance.
AS: Your botanical style is “authentic” to your personal vision, exemplified by your blog, which is about gardening. How this was developed?
Dona Warner
DW: Our blog is about art, gardening, cooking and the home: the things which influence our lifestyle. Choosing to illustrate flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables as the theme for our business is really the result of a lifestyle that we shared starting at a very young age. It was not unusual that we each chose to study art and then came full circle to create a business that is very much about bringing art into the home, using nature as our subject.
We have a shared sense of aesthetics that makes for a great partnership, and bounce everything off one another to reach a level of refinement that we can both feel good about. We are brutally honest with one another – through the process of collaboration, it can often lead to something far better.
Alaskan Artist Finds Success in Niche Market
Jul 21st
By Carolyn Edlund
How one artist has used regional images and themes to market her line.
Jill Marshall came to Alaska in 1975 for a three-month stay, and hasn’t looked back since. She started a graphic design firm called Marshall Arts Design, which has evolved into a business where she uses her skills in graphic design and painting to create greeting cards which have become extremely popular.
Jill blends her love of her adopted home state with the wildness of Alaska’s people and place, weaving these themes into a strong niche line which has resulted in sales of over 30,000 cards in over 75 gift shop locations. “We have a large visitor industry here in Alaska,” she says, “So I aim my card art to that audience.” Jill wholesales her cards directly to the gift shops. “We have a wholesale gift show in Anchorage which makes it easy to access shops in remote locations. Some of the shops are reachable only by air or sea. It would be difficult and costly to visit them all individually.” She also sells her card on her website.
Marshall Arts Designs started with traditional watercolor featuring natural elements of birds, berries, animals, flowers and Christmas themes. Moving into a more whimsical style led to the Wild Women series, which combines drawing and computer graphics. Jill recently has expanded into the licensing market, meeting manufacturers at the Surtex show in New York. She continues to explore and grow as an artist, and states that she believes in the old saying “The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
AS: Which of your design collections are more popular – traditional or “wild”? Are you marketing them differently?
JM: They are both about equally popular. Of the traditional ones, the Flowers of Alaska series sells more than the Berries, Animals and Birds series. There are five paintings in each series. Each gift shop has different ideas of what sells best for them. Both visitors and residents purchase the cards and posters. The Wild Women series (there are 20 of them) has sold very well too. The two styles are so different that gift shops have no problem carrying both, which are sold as individual cards and boxed. I market each collection the same way. They are aimed at women (since they do the majority of card purchasing) both visitor and resident.
AS: What niche markets have been successful for you? Are you selling to
stores in the lower 48 states?
JM: I guess you could call Alaska a niche market! I have not expanded to stores in the lower 48 at this point. I am working on designs that have less of an Alaskan theme to them to appeal to wider audiences. I am undecided if that’s something I want to take on myself or work through a distributor because of the logistics involved, Alaska is very far from the rest of the U.S. and travel and shipping are not inconsiderable expenses. I’m still looking at the numbers.
AS: Any future plans to expand this line or release any new collections?
JM: I’ve redesigned the Wild Women into bookmarks. I’m also looking into magnets of the designs. I’m always coming up with new ideas for the next Wild Women set. Since I release them in sets of 10, I have to wait until I’ve got that many worked up. I also keep looking for ways to repackage the existing artwork to continue to generate revenue from them. That’s one of the best parts, you keep generating revenue long after the original work is done.
AS: Any advice for beginning artists who may want to start a greeting card
line themselves?
JM: You are the artist, manufacturer, salesperson, advertiser, distributor, and accountant all in one. It’s important to give the appropriate time to each of those job titles. Not just the fun ones. I choose to do it all myself. I’m a business person (having run my graphic design firm for 23 years) and an artist so I already had those skills. I did have to learn to talk to the shop owners and sell myself and my product. I’m an introvert by nature so gaining good interpersonal skills was important.
Go out and look at the competition. There’s a lot of it! It’s important to have a look or concept that sets you apart. And to test market it as much as you can. Show it to people in the target audience and listen to their feedback. Talk to as many shop owners as you can to get their insight as to what sells and what doesn’t. And really pay attention to the business end. The numbers have to add up.
Featured Artist Julia Hacker
