Hello artist. Welcome to this quick guide. I’ll go over some items you’ll need, some customer scenarios and profit margins. My wife and I have been selling at shows for over 5 years and would love to help answer any of the great mysteries. We haven’t done any big, juried, expensive art shows but rather art markets, seafood festivals, weekly/monthly shows and a random conference called Sharkcon where we met Ian Zeiring from Sharknado…..Oh the places we go.
I’ll start with a list of items you will need:
A strong tent with white canopy. Starter is $200, Professional is $1-2k.
Weights for tent. Unless you’re selling windmills, wind is your enemy.
A sign! You’re going for the Goldilocks zone: Not too bold, not too handmade…just right.
Ways to display your art: Whether this is a grid or display walls you buy or something you make, you have to make sure your art pops. You want to go for approachable and visible from outside of your tent.
A way to take credit card: Square is so easy.
Change for the cash people. Probably $100 in a variety of $5, $10, $20 should do
Business Cards: These are fun but can get expensive, especially for beginners. Instead of paying, you can have the customer take a picture of your sign and website.
Packaging: This can get expensive as well. We use a roll of brown paper and packaging tape to keep the art safe. We also have small bags for our smaller items which cost up to $0.50 each. Choose wisely.
Chairs. These shows are sometimes multiple days for 6-8 hours. You may want to sit.
Products. This should be the easy one.
So that’s the general overview of what you’ll need. This is a great transition into expectations and how to mentally prepare yourself.
You yourself have probably gone to a multitude of art shows and have gone to numerous retail stores. Some people want to browse and some people want to chat. So lean into that. Here’s how you should approach each customer:
Greeting
Let them know you’re there if they have any questions
BAC & LTB: “be a chameleon” but “let them browse”. If the customer is not-talkative, let them browse. If the customer is smiling and approachable, try to engage. After an engagement that seems positive, let them browse. Most will approach you if they find something interesting or better yet, they want to purchase your art. Expect it all.
After they chose not to buy, this isn’t the end. You want to thank them, tell them about custom work, hand them a business card and leave them feeling happy to have met you.
Buyers on the fence are tricky. The sale is so close and you want to help them make their decision. This is tricky. I once sold books door-to-door and they said when a customer is deciding, the first person to talk loses. This means if you try and tell them one more interesting fact, they’ll probably be turned off. Another stat is out of 10 people, 2 will love your art, 2 will hate it and the 6 people in between are who you need to sell. Good luck!
And that’s it for customer interaction. Most people want to browse and some want to chat. Have fun, be polite and be proud of your art.
Lastly is about money and profit. We’ve met so many great people. Some are hobbyists, some are professionals. Some are doing this as a side job, some are traveling the country. Some continually do the same thing and get bad results, some continually do the same thing and get great results. You really have to understand what and why you’re selling. And be truthful with yourself.
Your cost to sell = Cost to make art + market tent setup + market entrance fee
Your profit = what you sell - Cost of market/art
It’s really that simple. Tally up what it cost to make your art and how much the show will cost. Any market setup costs are a one time fee but they are still present your first couple of times. Maybe you need lights, a new bookcase to display, new grid walls, etc.
Now to make money you need to price your product higher than you made it for in addition to the market costs. A customer once bought the whole tent of products and said “I’m just going to keystone it". Katie and I said “great!” and immediately googled the word. We learned it meant to buy something for wholesale and sell it at twice value retail. i.e. I purchase a $50 piece of art and sell it for $100.
It’s not a perfect science and there’s lots of adjusting. Not one person can tell you how much to sell your art for. Your customers will determine fair market value by buying… or not buying.
I hope this helps. I hope you can understand that it’s not so complex. There are grandmas out there selling $1000s worth of hats and candles.
Get your art, get your tent and sign up for a show! Good luck artists!
