Lessons of my First Art Market & my first art stall

HAVE STUFF TO SELL at the art market: BE PREPARED

I applied to VII Mini Festival de Arte de Avilés market, on a last minute impulse, thus I didn’t have anything prepared. So the first lesson would be, have things prepared ahead or the day before will be a nightmare!

I managed to get postcards made from my previous artworks, I have an outstanding number of paintings which have been sold on my past 4 exhibitions 😱 so I got plenty material for reproductions, luckily I also had some originals which haven’t seen the public eye as they haven’t been part of any exhibition yet, that’s more material to bring! But ideally, with more time, I would have prepared specific stuff that I know sells, as people always tell me how much they like my oneiric works.

KNOW THE MARKET’s AUDIENCE

I confess I did not know the market, nor the people who were going to go there, but this was a lovely surprise at the end!

Since I had no info of the audience I thought it was a great idea to diversify your offer by preparing things for 3 different types of audience:

• postcards for more casual buyers who didn’t want to compromise on something bigger but I wanted to take some pretty image home (sold 37!)

• 4 small landscapes, which seen on the screen don’t show the details they got in person, and I thought they deserved a spotlight (sold two of them!)

• One imaginative illustrated painting, this is what I am trying to call my art as it mixes the real and surreal, illustration with painting -this one I painted on the spot, I had the idea and main strokes the day before but it finished during the market! (And sold!)

-and as an extra I brought a new project in hand, some special thing i am launching soon! I will link it here when is live. This was just to test and see interest. :) and it did! Got some potential buyers.

So my advise would be, according to what you have, if you don’t know the market, bring a little for each type of audience, casual buyers or big spenders or leads to expand your market reach, these last ones can turn into future sales.

Prepare a professional looking display - table

Things cannot be just put on the floor or on a table without arranging them and expect them to look all sassy and classy; you need to be on your audience’s shoes and look at the table from their perspective, and you need to get something to display your work in the most appealing way (and efficient too if possible!)

First of all, if they provide you a table for the display, that’s amazing, it means you don’t have to bring along a huge table or stands and a board, which saves you space and energy.

But if they do give you a table, which was my case, bring a big beautiful cloth to display your work on. I was lucky enough to have a huge piece of cloth I bought measuring 4 meters by two, which was for an exhibition performance, and I took this white cloth and used it to cover the table they gave me for the stand. It looked professional and clean enough, but of course if I would have had more time I would have chosen a different cloth, maybe silk looking one, perhaps golden or reddish.

I had 28 different postcard designs to show; so I had to design a way to show them all in the small table we were gonna be given, and to show 28 different designs in a way that they won’t make the table look wonky and messy. 🤣 the night before I took some ikea file organizers and cut them like a staircase, and oh boy.. it worked! (I made them the night before btw!) that solved one thing!

I had some wire stands I handmade for some polaroids at home and I used them as stands for the painting. But if I have had more time I would have bought these cute mini easels or something similar to show them and even give them away with the painting. I am definitely buying them to keep them ready for the next time!

Prices must be visible and fair

Since I had this market a bit last minute I didn’t have the chance to print the price list and labels of the corresponding items so I had to made them by hand on during the setting up process.

I cut some pieces of watercolor paper (yeah, ouch) which were sturdy enough to stay in place folded, they were all the same size and same finish, and used a big black brush pen to hand print the prices, I wrote a tiny line describing the item and then the price was big and visible, and I also set offer prices!

For example my postcards where 1.70€ but if you got two they were cheaper; so I wrote: «POSTCARDS FROM MY EXHIBITIONS 2 x 3.00€» and another label «5 x 7.00€» ; as long as you keep in mind that the ROI is still beneficial for you all is good!

These tiny offers made most people buy two and some sets of 5, now that I think about I think 5 postcards would have been 8 instead of 7 😂 but I have a preference with this number so I guess that’s why I wrote 7 without much thought.

If you have horrible handwriting, ask a friend! Cause what you need is people to see the prices so the first barrier is gone, sometimes people are shy to ask, afraid of the answer and afraid of the unspoken compromise they might feel once they have asked. I have seen these tiny portable printers and always wondered if they could be useful, and during the heat of the market, I remembered them and thought they could be a great addition, not a must but nice to have! I have not yet to tried them, have you?

Keep a record of your sales

Oh dear, this is when you need to bring a list prepared of the items you have; luckily I only had three different categories, and within that I did have different items, definitely having a comprehensive list of everything would have helped me afterwards to check on what I had sold, as I had to come back home and count how many postcards of each design I had left. Something I couldn’t keep track of them during the sales, as they usually happen on waves and quite sudden.

Keeping a nice list of how many of each design of whatever you have helps. You can survive without it, but then you wouldn’t know what you have sold.

Also, keeping a record of the price each item sold helps, as I said I only had offer prices for the postcard sets, but being able to write down at what price they sold could have help accountancy, nonetheless the numbers were not so high so it didn’t make such a difference in this case.

Use social media to spread the news about the market

Usually these markets have their own marketing strategy, usually the markets where you have to pay an upfront price, that’s why they ask for the fee, but if the market is free, donation based or similar their marketing might be as good so it’s important to inform people who might be interested on your work or on what the market offers. Potential buyers.

Luckily, I am not doing so bad on Instagram, and I keep an engaged following, so even though I posted about the market the day before, I had some visitors coming over because I had shared the info of the market online!

Here are some photos of a few friends and colleagues who came over, luckily I was able to snap a photo of them, the rest, I couldn’t! As there were very busy moments at the market. BTW Showing up is a wonderful way of showing support!

Keep hydratated

You will be talking lots, most probably, as people are curious and also want to ask things, so please drink water, and when you do: Drink water in small sips! why? because you won’t be able to leave your post too often as someone will have to watch it for you, it’s better to not leave it at all, but if you must, ask your neighbour, they will gladly keep an eye for you. :)

Bring packing materials and business cards

Whatever you are selling needs some kind of packaging, either envelopes, or crystal clear bags. I use both, depending on what I was selling, and also tiny boxes for the original paintings, as they requiere more care to carry them.

Another thing to add when you make a sale is to add your business card, as a way for that already made client a keeper, give them your contact, let them know your socials and they might even give you a follow or order from you again! remember it is easier to appeal to an already customer than to attract new clients.

smile!

So much can be achieved with a positive attitude, hold your head high, smile, and keep your body language open, it is not just about sales, but also how you take the experience, to be able to enjoy the many hours you will be there is better to focus on the positive and find the silver lining on things.

Leave the place as clean as you found it

Lastly, might be my scout habit, but I always like to leave places as clean and organized as possible, leave no trace behind! The organizers will thank you for keeping an spotless place and will be more willing to call you back Since I had to take the train to come, I packed all my stuff inside my loyal Cabin Zero backpack and my easel to paint on location.

Heres a photo of the table which the association Art Street Avilés gave to each artist; that was all we were given and inside my backpack is everything else.

Bottom line

For an unexpected signing up to a market, I feel the result was succesful overall! I sold a few original paintings plus many many postcards, and I made some contacts for future commissions! if you have the chance for an art market, give it a try! and if you found this info useful, share it, let me know: write me or follow me on instagram or even leave a comment here, I am always happy to know what other artists are doing.

Thank you for reading and see you next time!

Now my friends, go out, explore and happy painting! 🎨

kiyary

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