It’s always been such a compliment when people ask, “Do you sell your art on Etsy or on your website?” I always struggle with coming up with a response that appropriately answers the inquirer’s genuine interest without burdening them with the details. The short answer, is “No. I don’t sell on Etsy and my website isn’t e-commerce enabled.” But the long, transparent answer requires more discussion and backstory..
Although, I started my marketing and business career in tech and Dotcom companies, I’ve made the conscious decision to not sell online. While I truly admire and personally support those artistic entrepreneurs who are hustling and driving their art business online, I've come to the realization that the process of selling online is what one would say “not my cup of tea.” Whether I’m sitting in my studio office painting poppies on beautiful card stock, or framing a painted canvas board designed with a snow-capped mountain landscape, or carving a family of birds into the soft clay of a serving platter…I’m never thinking about how much I can sell that piece of work for. Instead, I’m often thinking about who might enjoy the piece or what occasion I could gift that particular artwork.
Like many other artists, my art is an outlet…as expression of myself and my creative spirit. When I’m creating art…I’m in my happy place. My happiness comes from sharing my work and seeing the joy it brings to others. The thought of setting up an online storefront, constantly having to take/beautify/list pictures of my work, accepting and fulfilling orders (packing, weighing, postage), and dealing with customer issues, is daunting and would, I fear, kill my creative spirit. I fully recognize that I’m extremely fortunate that I’m not having to live off an artist’s salary or “need” my art to maximize profits. Then again, the business side of me wouldn’t be selling art if I needed my work to pay the bills.
In the past, I have dabbled in selling my artwork, but it was always in the “offline” world for a good cause. Previously, I’ve participated in the annual art show at the Palo Alto Art Center in the San Francisco Bay Area, which will always have a special place in my heart because it’s where my love of pottery was born. I loved selling my work there because a percentage of my proceeds went back to the art center. Even when I moved away, I left behind work to be sold at the upcoming show so that 100% of the proceeds would be donated to the center. It was my first taste in actually monetizing my work versus my usual gifting to family and friends. It was for a good cause and it felt great. Fellow potters would send me pictures of people who loved and bought my work…it was a win win!
Recently, I was presented with the awesome opportunity to be a Guest Artist at a retail store, which was new to me as a selling environment. While I knew I didn’t want to sell online, I realized selling in a physical store would be quite different. I really like the owner of the store, and I was a regular customer there. So I accepted the challenge. I knew I would grow, learn, and need to call upon my business skills to marry them with my artist side. It was a chance to apply all the frameworks that I learned back in business school to a real world business (e.g., The “4 P's” - Product, Price, Place, and Promotion or the “3 Cs" - Customer, Competition, and Corporation)
Without going into the nitty gritty of all the things I’ve had to do to set up shop, I can say I’ve learned a ton. I’ve adjusted pricing based on what I see moves and what doesn’t. (I’ve always been uncomfortable having to price my work because artwork seems so subjective.) I’ve modified how I package and merchandise my work on the shelf because we all know…presentation matters. I’ve even had to take a hard look at my work to determine what is “worthy” of making it onto the shelf versus something that will just collect dust in my office. My favorite part of this whole experience has been learning about my customers through all the heartwarming stories shared by the friendly sales team at the store. I’ve heard about the wonderful people who have fallen in love with my art and bought the pieces for themselves. I’ve also learned about the people buying for others as a gift for a special occasion.
Some weeks nothing on my shelf moves and other weeks I’ll notice several pieces have found a new home. Regardless of the sales, I’ve grown both as an artist and a business person. Most importantly, I truly enjoy sharing my art with others and bringing joy to this world. To quote Edgar Degas, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
