This is an account of my first Open Studio experience. In short it was a lot of work but worth it from a validation and sales perspective. If this is something you have always been curious about, then read on. It was one of those things I had always wondered if I would have the confidence to do and a secret ambition to try. I’m so glad I took the plunge. Maybe you will consider joining SAOS and showing your work too?
In September 2020 I welcomed visitors to my home as part of Surrey Artists Open Studio (SAOS). This is a well established event across a big area and this year was supposed to be the 20th centenary but C19 got in the way. I signed up to take part last October so have been planning for about a year. We finally got the go ahead in August to proceed however there was little significant publicity and since it is usually in June, many regular visitors were unaware that it was on. Plus there is usually a comprehensive brochure free to collect in Libraries, shops etc but this was unavailable, therefore another loss. I have nothing to compare but many regular exhibitors complained that the visitor numbers were much reduced.
I was Open for 6 days across 2 weeks and had about 100 visitors which I thought was pretty good. In order to comply with all the Covid guidelines I converted my dining room into a gallery space, this also enabled me to operate a one way system which was mostly unnecessary but advised. All visitors had to provide contact details for track and trace, wear a mask and sanitise their hands before entering. Everyone was respectful and compliant, I had written instructions outside so everyone knew what was expected. I collected contact info and email addresses in a dedicated book with an ‘opt-in’ column to tick for my newsletter.
Sales:
All things considered I thought my sale figures were good. I sold 13 paintings, 3 textile pieces, 8 professionally framed prints, 7 Giclee prints from the browser and 67 cards. I was part of an established art trail with 5 other artists, all had done the event before. I set myself an ambitious personal target to cover all my costs for the past 18 months, one of the other artists in the trail told me I should lower my expectations because most people come to browse! As it turned out I doubled my target and made a modest profit which I intend to reinvest. I have been genuinely surprised how successful the event turned out to be particularly considering all the challenges that had to be overcome.
Analysis:
I quickly recognised that the work, however good, doesn’t sell itself. I talked to everyone, explained my process and inspiration. I described the stories behind the work, this undoubtedly made it more accessible and desirable. I am passionate about art and was told this came across very strongly. I was invited to be a visiting tutor to A level students apparently on the strength of my enthusiasm and variety of work. I also undoubtedly had the advantage of being a new artist on the local trail.
My display was carefully planned and I made every effort to ensure everything looked contemporary and very professional. My husband made me a picture shelf where I could place the work and change things around and coordinated cards stands. I had sketch books, business cards, a bio and work in progress to view. Lots of visitors commented on the amount of work, the professionalism of the display and seemed to appreciate this.
Successes:
Investing in beautiful bespoke frames for the prints. These cost me a fortune and I thought were a gamble but it paid off. The prints looked stunning in these frames and the art glass was worth every penny. I sold every one and took orders plus these helped to sell the originals.
My Social Media campaign started in April when I had about 400 followers. I now have about 1600 and quite a few visitors were devotees from Instagram and nearly all bought something. I even posted my first videos after a request for a virtual tour and followers appeared to like them.
A Visitor book info to build a mailing list.
Artist collaboration. We all helped, supported and encouraged each other. I received objective feedback about my display and advice on pricing.
The SAOS network is a well established and respected organisation. I also found it to be well organised, professional, generous and supportive. I was happy to be associated with their brand.
Mistakes:
Most standard frames look inferior to the professional ones so I will mostly sell unframed or professionally framed pieces from now.
Giving a discount, no one expected it and I realised it was unnecessary because once someone has decided to buy the price becomes less important.
