This blog post is an art journey update that I am very excited to share with you. On March 1st, 2024, I moved my business into a studio space at the Millworks in Midtown Harrisburg, PA. In addition to art studios, Millworks houses an on-site brewery, a farm-to-table restaurant, and a rooftop Biergarten. My job there is to sell my original artwork and fine art prints to customers while they enjoy an evening out.
My first step was setting up what features needed to be present in the studio. Luckily for me, Central Pennsylvania is full of quality antique stores! I found a sofa table in a consignment shop that is the right size for displaying prints on top and for basket storage underneath.
The next step was getting together my print displays. My studio-mate, Marjorie Taylor, recommended the company “Clear Solutions Displays” as a starting point. Based out of New Hampshire, they pride themselves in their high-quality designs. I ordered three of their displays and assembled them myself. I would recommend their products if you’re in the market for sales displays. The assembly instructions were clear, and the shelves were sturdy.
The more monotonous task of ordering prints came next. It involved collecting the digital files of the artwork I wanted to turn into prints, ensuring the images were high enough resolution, adjusting the images to incorporate printing bleed, and double-checking that all the images were CMYK files. Then, I bought my first round of inventory and designed price tags. I made inventory spreadsheets and collected all my receipts for tax write-offs. It wasn’t glamorous, but I admit it was very satisfying to organize all that information!
After the prints arrived, I made a little assembly line: sign and number the print in pencil, assign it a price tag, place the print on a backboard, insert it into a plastic sleeve, and repeat. The original works I planned to bring with me all got new frames and then added to the inventory. The night before move-in, I had everything packed up and ready to go, and I was full of nervous energy. Multiple months of plans were finally coming together and I couldn’t wait to start!
The morning of the move was smooth sailing, and I fit everything into place as envisioned. There were little details I had to fix, of course, since no system is perfect right from the start. For example, I realized all of the price tags I had so carefully designed, printed out, cut, and attached to my work didn’t have any space to write the name of the artwork! I had to fix that immediately since an artwork’s name is often the last detail needed to tie the piece together. I’m sure other things to iron out will arise this first month, but I am ready to take them on.
I am excited to learn the skill of chatting with customers in a way that gets them interested in my work and eventually interested in purchasing my products. This is new territory for me since my only prior sales experience was art tabling at fairs in college. While a valuable opportunity, the flow of customers was so fast-paced that my pitch needed to be at most three sentences long. In my new position, the timeline is far more leisurely, meaning my script needs to evolve to be a conversation.
Thank you for joining me on my art journey! I look forward to sharing my next update soon.
Comentários