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19 How to organise a market stall

May 17, 2018 by Deanna Roberts Leave a Comment

So, you’re looking to sell your wares at a local market?  There are lots of things to consider when thinking about how to organise a market stall.  Here are a few hints and tips that may assist you when getting organised:

How to organise a market stall (1)

Local Markets

  1. Do your homework.  What markets are in your local area?
  2. What do the markets sell now that may be in competition to your items or that sell well?  Are there buyers queuing up to buy your type of goods?
  3. What is the weather going to be like?  Is it a factor in whether the market runs or not?  Does it affect your setup?
  4. How often do the markets run?
  5. What is the cost for a stall?  Is it going to be worthwhile?
  6. Are you required to have your own insurance? (highly recommended)
  7. What happens if you cancel your stall?
  8. Check the Market’s terms and conditions.  If there aren’t any, be wary.
  9. Is the market purely for arts and crafts?  Is it a trash and treasure market combined with crafts?  Generally, buyers expect markets to offer cheaper prices.  Be prepared to barter with your customers and to bring your prices down if you’re at a carboot sale or trash and treasure type market.
  10. Have a look at online reviews of the markets you’re interested in, or visit one for yourself and check out the local traffic, parking facilities, custom, hours of operation etc.  Talk to some of the stallholders and regular visitors for their thoughts and what they’re looking for and expecting to pay for goods and stalls.
  11. Book ahead and pay for your site.  Plan ahead and think well in advance about how you want to stock and set up your stall.
  12. Night markets v. day markets?  Which ones suits you best?  Which ones will most likely attract your target market?
  13. Does the market allow you sufficient space?  Your stall size could be 3 m x 1.5 m, or 3 x 3 m or something different… see what options are available.
  14. Does it allow you space to demonstrate your craft?

Stock

  1. Make sure you’ve got plenty of stock.
  2. Don’t lay out all your stock first.  Clutter = confusion and makes it really difficult for a buyer to choose the right item.
  3. Once an item is sold, then replace it from your stock.
  4. Pricing your stock is not always an easy task.  Check out what your competition is charging.  Talk to the market organisers as to what their customers expect – cheap or higher pricing?  Visiting a trash and treasure market might be ideal for you to offload some of your excess stock or seconds at a cheaper price than normal.

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Display

  1. Keep it minimalistic.  Less is more.
  2. You can pick up all sorts of display items cheaply at trash and treasure markets, carboot sales, local tips – where they keep items back from landfill for sale, recycle centres and op shops.
  3. Think about display boxes, cloths, ornaments, food (for functional ware) eg apples in a large bowl, trinkets, dividers and any sort of partitioning and shelving.
  4. Be sure to check whether you need to BYO tables and chairs or whether they’re provided.  Investing in a couple of trestle/fold-up tables and camping chairs is a great idea.
  5. Think about the setup and how your customers are going to feel when they see your display.  Is it welcoming?  Is it intimidating?  Is it light or dark and easy to see your display?  Sometimes people don’t feel comfortable having to move into a space where you’re sitting or if it’s too far back from the main path or if they feel they’re being watched.  Consider a u-shape design where they can move around easily or even just a front table where you sit or stand behind.
  6. Storage boxes are great to turn upside down and place under cloths to gain extra display height.
  7. If the ground is uneven on the market site, take chocks along to raise your table height, or if possible and safe to do so, use a hammer or pick to create a hole in the ground to lower one side of the table.
  8. Keep your cash float hidden.  When customers purchase using a credit or debit card keep the card in their view at all times so that they know that it’s not being tampered with or scanned etc.  I’d highly recommend using Square for credit card purchases – it’s cheap, quick and easy and you receive notification (via email) of sales instantly.  It takes about 3 days for the cash to hit your back account and yes, they have a fee, but you can also include that in your purchase price of course.   If you’re interested in signing up for their services, just click here and receive free processing on up to $1,000 in sales during your first 180 days – Square.

Signage

  1. What signage do you have to promote yourself and/or your business?  Do you have a banner?
  2. Business cards and posters
  3. Display signs showing the price of items
  4. Consider displaying a short paragraph or two about yourself and your background, how you came to produce the items you do, your inspirations etc – people love a good story.
  5. Think about the colour of your signs.  They need to be easy to read and also stand out.  Bargains are always a standout in a red coloured font.
  6. Sandwich/A-frame boards are also a good idea as people will see them before they even get to your stall

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Insurance

  1. Consider purchasing your own public liability and product liability insurance.  There are plenty of providers out there for one-off events or for an annual premium.  If you’re an Australian Ceramics Association member you can organise insurance along with your membership.  Regional Arts Victoria also offer insurance packages, as do various insurance brokers.  It’s worth doing your homework.
  2. Keep insurance at the top of your priority list and protect yourself.

What to take

  1. A friend to help you setup and sell!
  2. Marquee/display tent
  3. Cash float
  4. Tables, boxes, shelving, racks
  5. Table cloths
  6. Display boxes and stands
  7. Stationery (bulldog clips, notepad and pen, price tags, price stands, scissors, rubber bands, Blu-tak, thick textas,
  8. Wet wipes and cleaning cloths (some sites can be dry and dusty)
  9. Promotional banner, business cards, gift certificates, flyers
  10. Carry bags, gift wrap, gift bags
  11. Tools – hammer, rope, tent pegs, sandbags, S-hooks
  12. Food and drinks
  13. Wet weather gear – umbrella, rain coat, gumboots, tarpaulins, plastic cloths
  14. Your products
  15. Trolley for moving items from your car to your stall
  16. Camera – always good for PR shots of your stall and promoting the event on social media!

Markets are great fun and can be a wonderful community of people who are willing to help you out on the day, look after your stall and share their hints and tips.  Get along, have some fun and sell your stuff!

How to organise a market stall (2)

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts and experiences in setting up your own stall!

 

Filed Under: How to

18 How to write an artist statement

August 7, 2017 by Deanna Roberts Leave a Comment

How to write an artist statement 1 - Deanna RobertsSo, you’ve got an exhibition in mind and you’re ready to apply right?  They’re asking you for an artist statement and you’re wondering how on earth you write something like that?  Ok… maybe you’ve written a few already and are still not sure whether it’s the right thing… or you’ve done an online search on how to write an artist statement.

Well, let me say, I’ve written a few myself too and I’m still not 100% sure what’s right or what’s wrong, but I am sure that there is no 100% right or wrong.  Different gallery owners and exhibition judges look for different things, I do know that. Remember too that there are a lot of people that are going to read your statement, should your application be successful.  Of course you can have it featured on your Faceboook, Instagram page and website but also, if it’s going to be displayed on a plinth at an exhibition, people will stop and read about you.

How to write an artist statement 2 - Deanna Roberts

Having hunted around on the internet myself on many occasions I’ve found that the main gist of writing is to include information about you and what inspired your work to come to fruition.  It doesn’t have to be deep and meaningful or complicated.  Keep it simple and keep it true.  Avoid babbling on.  You want to keep the reader there, looking at your work, not bored with verbal diarrhoea.

Add some humour to it too if it pushes your buttons.  It may include a story (why not add in a cartoon perhaps?) from your childhood or an occasion where something ridiculous happened and from that came the inspiration for your work.  For example… let’s say you face-planted a birthday cake one day by accident.  From that point on you began to make face sculptures that had additional texture and layers added.

It’s all about sharing what’s true and genuine.  Talk about yourself but keep it simple.  We’re not sending out life stories here.  Sincerity is the key.

Here are a few links which I’ve found helpful and you may also find can assist you in composing your statement:

Art League

Agora Gallery

Art Business Info

Of course, plagiarism is out of the question but do check out some of the artist statements of artists you admire and you know have built a reputation for their work.  Compare and pick out the bits you like and ask yourself why you like them.  What is it about those sentences or paragraphs that you like so much?  What appeals?  Then write your own with all of the above in consideration.

How to write an artist statement 3 - Deanna Roberts

Lastly, get someone who’s done it before and had success to read yours and pick it to bits.  You may get a gold star, sure, but you may also get some objective criticism, which is of course invaluable to your own success and progress.  The key thing with succeeding at how to write an artist statement, for sure, is to look at those who have gone before you.  What have they done to succeed?  Learn from them and utilise those learnings in your own development.

Knock yourself out!  And… good luck 🙂

Filed Under: How to

15 How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen

April 26, 2017 by Deanna Roberts Leave a Comment

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (1)

Carving – Chen Min – Sculpture Factory, Jingdezhen © Deanna Roberts 2017

Learning to throw on a potter’s wheel and learning how to create amazing sculptures from clay is one thing… learning to carve into it is another thing all together.  That’s why a trip overseas is so worthwhile so that you can learn how to carve into clay in Jingdezhen.  It is the porcelain capital after all and where all the masters of this incredible artistry work and live and breathe ceramics.  It is the mecca for ceramic artists and is the place to visit to learn about its history and those skills and mastery have been handed down from generation to generation, over thousands of years.

So, if you’re a visiting artist in Jingdezhen, be sure to capitalise on the opportunity to take up a carving lesson.  One of the best in the business, one of the masters, is Chen Min.  Her carving skills are amazing and her talents are beyond measure.  The beauty of Chen Min’s teaching is that she is so patient, so endearing and so skilfull.  She’ll work with you, show you every little detail and even provide you with your own set of tools, handcrafted and sharpened by her own hand.

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (3)

Chen Min and her beautiful work © Deanna Roberts 2017

Here are the basics:

  • Create a ceramic piece so that it’s bone dry
  • Select your design
  • Draw your design on to your piece in pencil

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (2)

Draw your design first © Deanna Roberts 2017

  • Using a narrow carving tool start to carve around the edges
  • Using a wider carving tool carve around the outside to slowly taper the edges into the rest of the piece

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (4)

Use your wider tool © Deanna Roberts 2017

  • Use a razor blade (carefully…) to shave off any excess and level out the surface
  • Carve the inside edges of your design

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (5)

Carving the inside of the design © Deanna Roberts 2017

  • Dust as you go (those big bushy brushes you can buy in Jingdezhen are the best!)
  • Bisque fire your piece and/or glaze your piece (celadon glazes are the best to show off your design) and fire it accordingly
  • Brag yourself silly 🙂

Take the time to pop into Chen Min’s studio in The Sculpture Factory too – she’s so accommodating and will no doubt share a pot of green tea with you and show you her work and probably that of her apprentice too.

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (7)

Chen Min’s studio desk © Deanna Roberts 2017

Travel around Jingdezhen as much as possible and check out some of the carving at the Ancient Kiln Museum and at the Fake Antiques Market too – the work there is simply mind blowing.  Many of the larger pots are thrown on the wheel by the big-pot throwers and the walls left thick so there’s something to carve into.  The patience and pain-staking work involved is astounding.

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (8)

Ancient Kiln Museum artist at work © Deanna Roberts 2017

How to carve into clay in Jingdezhen (9)

Carved porcelain at the Ancient Kiln Museum © Deanna Roberts 2017

Filed Under: How to, Jingdezhen Tagged With: carving, how to carve into clay, how to carve porcelain, jingdezhen, porcelain

14 How to make decorative tableware

April 16, 2017 by Deanna Roberts Leave a Comment

Ok, so this is a break from the normal Jingdezhen travel tales, but essential I feel!  As it happens I was sent an image of a piece of tableware with a cherry blossom design and at the time happened to be selecting a cherry blossom image for a Spring edition newsletter I was writing for an aged care facility.  The way things work out huh?  I know…so here’s one way you can learn how to make decorative tableware.

Anyway, so came about this Blossom Series of tableware that was an unforeseen success due to the wrong glazes being used.  The idea was to use a clear glaze over a copper rust glaze but instead of using the clear glaze I grabbed the White Glaze bucket instead and the results were fabulous.

Blossom series jug - (9) 12 x 9 x 13.5 H (excl handle) - Deanna Roberts
Blossom series - (6) 14 x 7 cm H - Deanna Roberts
Blossom series - (3) - Deanna Roberts
Blossom series - (3) Bowl - 12.5 x 10 x 9.5 cm H - Deanna Roberts
Blossom series bowl (2) - Deanna Roberts

The next test was on the marketplace, the people, the pottery addicts, the fans and the admirers who attend the annual Pottery Expo at Warrandyte, here in Melbourne.  Well… to keep it short – sold out!  Good thing I was able to repeat the success.

Here are a couple of links to two of the finished items: Cherry Blossom Bowl and Blossom Vessel.    You can view more in my Shop.

Here’s the drill:

  1. Throw your pots
  2. Trim/turn your pots to the desired shape
  3. Carve in your desired pattern into the side of your pot and paint in your slip mix
  4. When dry, scrape back the excess to reveal a lovely clean line
  5. Bisque fire your pots to 1000 deg C
  6. Glaze the pots as desired, then using a sharp tool, scratch out the ‘blossom’ petals
  7. Fire to 1280 deg C oxidation, electric kiln or gas 1340 deg C
  8. Voila!

Here’s the visual version:


So have a go, it’s easy enough, but time consuming.  It does require patience and a bit of testing in your own kiln, own glazes etc but it’s worth it.

To purchase the items, please visit my Shop to view more wonderful creations!

Filed Under: How to Tagged With: carving, etsy, how to carve stoneware, how to make functional tableware, jingdezhen, porcelain, stoneware

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