art business Archives

The gift of artist allies

January 31, 2019 by Melanie Schow Leave a Comment

Because running an art business is challenging, having artist allies is essential.

Thanks to ongoing collaboration with Sanger’s local art gallery, Mixed Messages (and owner, Kathleen Mattox), I have had the opportunity to work with Kathleen and Paul Parichan on a regular basis. They are both talented artists in their own right, but they also believe in supporting other artists too.

Right before the holidays, Paul outdid himself.

When artists boost each other

He messaged me to ask, “How would you like to have your work in a museum gift shop?”

What artist says no to that kind of opportunity? I was so grateful! Many artists work for years to get their art into the right venues.

In our conversation, I learned that Paul has a long relationship with the Fresno Art Museum. Its gift shop was being re-opened after a long absence under new direction from Michelle Ellis Pracy. As Fresno Art Museums’s (FAM) Executive Director & Chief Curator, she is also an artist ally. Her focus in the gift shop is to promote local artists.

Michelle told me, “Bring us your big show stoppers.” This was music to my ears.

Bringing my show stoppers

As a working artist, you face a dilemma every time you create. Do you make items that will sell? Or do you produce more dramatic art that uses the wide range of skills you have honed through the years? It’s often a balance of both.

This means that while I sell lots of affordable art, I also have a swirling, glittering collection of fine art pieces made from the highest quality elements (silver wire and high-end artist’s glass beads, for example). I love making them, but they’re above the price point most people are thinking when they go to a craft show.

Michelle’s encouragement got me excited to rescue these treasures from storage. After hunting through my stash, I came up with eight “show stopper” art pieces.

Here’s a sneak peek at a few:

Monarch Duet necklace (c) 2016 Melanie Schow

Morning Song

I’m really excited to be at the Fresno Art Museum’s gift shop. Michelle curated it to include many talented local artists, and I’m honored to be shown with them and in that kind of company.

Sometimes making art can seem like a solitary endeavor, but thanks to Kathleen, Paul, and Michelle, I’m reminded of the importance of a supportive art community and artist allies.

See my work at the Fresno Art Museum gift shop

Want to support local artists too? The Fresno Art Museum is re-opening on February 2 with a brand-new art installation. The gift shop is full of over-the-top local art (including several more of mine not pictured above). If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop in to take a look!

My artful and art-filled studio

February 19, 2018 by Melanie Schow 1 Comment

Nothing inspires me like other people’s art. Especially when my life is busy, and I don’t have time to sit down to create my own. Seeing the unique ways that people express themselves inspires me. Having splashes of color around me is uplifting.

Nowhere is this more true and visible than in my studio.

Present-wrapping in progress…

In our old home, I had a shared office with some art snuck in. Now I have my own studio to decorate as I like. As I’ve moved into this space over the last few years, I’ve collected watercolors from Kathleen Mattox, big wire pieces from Paul Parichan, and ceramics from Laura Fraedrich.

With gorgeous books as backdrops, quirky little things I’ve picked up find a home on the narrow shelf that runs the length of the room.

The little vignettes around my studio reflect my creative process. Pulling treasures from everywhere create something even more fun and fanciful. Plus, this guarantees that I’m surrounded by my favorite color (pink), even if the rest of the house is more neutral and rustic.

Sometimes I escape to my studio for a phone call or business planning—something unrelated to art. Sitting in my cozy orange chair surrounded by color and fun brings joy to the most mundane tasks.

It’s so important to bring beauty and inspiration to our creative spaces, to have something that reflects who we are and what we strive for. If the practice of creating and enjoying art is sacred, then my studio is a sanctuary.

How to grow a fine art jewelry business

June 15, 2016 by Melanie Schow Leave a Comment

If only growing a fine art jewelry business were as simple as putting a seed down, covering it with soil, and keeping it watered! Growing my own art business has taken years of learning, trial and error, and loving my work enough to keep at it.

More than two decades making art has taught me some things (to put it mildly). I’d like to share a few discoveries gleaned from life experience.

Build your body of work

It can be hard to do this when juggling a busy life, but the more you make art, the better. With a variety of pieces at your disposal, you have lots of options to work with for shows, events, galleries, and your website. It’s important to have enough work to keep galleries supplied with a changing inventory. Customers and collectors are always looking to see what’s new.

Without a large enough collection of work, it’s hard to get placed in galleries, shows, or even sell things online. Because of this, it’s a priority for me to put committed studio time on my calendar. During those hours, I work on pieces for upcoming events and projects that are calling to me.

Get critiqued

Making art alone might be necessary, but there’s real value in having a resource like a mastermind or art group that meets regularly. Having the input of other artists can stretch you, provide you with honest feedback, and create opportunities to learn from what others are doing.

If you don’t have a group, I like to participate in magazine and blog art challenges that use themes. I also love looking at all the winners for ideas and comparisons. You can apply to juried art shows and events for feedback on your art.

Choose venues that are consistent with your art

In my experience, the venues you choose helps to create credibility and support for your pricing. If an event is carrying other artists whose pricing is similar to yours, chances are good you’ll do well there.

Because I have a fine art jewelry business, not every venue is a good fit. I tried street fairs and, although they were a lot of fun, only my earrings sold at events like these. The same is true for galleries. When you’re looking for placements, take a good look at the other work they’re carrying. Not every gallery wants the price point you’re in.

If you’re not finding venues near you that are a good fit, focus your efforts online and e-commerce to find your people. The online world gives you a much broader audience—whether you’re on etsy or have your own website.

Hold your head up on your pricing

Pricing is one of the very hardest things for artists. I once heard a description about why professionals get paid what they do: their income is a reflection of the time they spent learning their skills. When it comes to pricing your art, it’s not just the value of the materials. Whether you’re a surgeon or an artist, it takes time to develop and refine your skill.

People want a beautiful handmade item, but they sometimes balk at a handmade price. In the US, we get handmade things cheaply because of inexpensive labor in other countries, so we don’t always realize the level of skill we’re consuming.

Interestingly, when talented artists are new to the business side, they under-price their work—and it doesn’t sell. Buyers know that it should be priced higher as art. How can art cost that little?

I try and reflect my high-end pieces with an art price. Hold your head up and know that you’re creating art. Your art is worth a price that reflects your experience and skill.

Create a body of work in a range of price points

Once your pricing is solid, offer a range of items in your style. If people aren’t ready to make a commitment to a big, expensive piece, give them an entry into your work and style. My best impulse-item is earrings. Other artists use greeting cards and prints. The key is offering simpler pieces that involve less time and work on your part, but still spark customers’ enthusiasm.

When you do this, be sure that the lower-price items are still something you love to make. If you don’t like it or you’re not sold on it, that energy “reads” to buyers and the items won’t sell. I’ve tried strictly-based affordable, but if the energy or the interest isn’t there, the pieces (and sales) fall flat. Make all your work from love, rather than strategy.

What do you think?

These are tips based on my own experience in my fine art jewelry business. Do you make art—or buy art? What insights have you learned along the way?

My twisted path to wire art jewelry

April 15, 2016 by Melanie Schow 1 Comment

Budding young artist and entrepreneur

Although I have a background in the corporate world and am currently a part-time farmer, art has always been in my life. Even as a kid, I remember going to the beach with my family and making a collage with shells and pebbles. Not only did I enjoy making it, but I set it outside with a for sale sign!

My creative adventures over the years have included knitting, needlepoint, collage, and dabbling in different art mediums. I never imagined then that I’d become a wire art jewelry designer.

Getting hooked by wire art jewelry

It wasn’t until adulthood that I claimed the title of artist. It happened by happy accident when a friend wanted to learn how to wire wrap objects. As a gift, I gave her a class, and we went together.

At the end of the wire-wrapping class, she was satisfied with her finished project, but I kept going back. In fact, I kept taking classes on every possible bead-related and metal-related topic—from seed beads and soldering to wire.

Finding my artistic style

As I got deeper into the work, I started hearing about this amazing artist in bead magazines. Lynn Merchant was teaching in the San Diego area and has a rich background in jewelry design. Her many travels including visiting stone cutters in Afghanistan and other artists in far away places. Lynn uses unusual things, very large pearls, and wire in remarkably creative ways. Lynn became a primary influence for my work.

My designs spun off from the techniques and projects I was experimenting with in classes. As I learned, I started to develop my own style and confidence in making wire art jewelry.

In my corporate career at Starbucks, I was trained to teach adults, so it was a natural progression to start teaching my designs to students. From there, I dipped my toe into big shows like Bead and Button and Bead Expo which encouraged me to develop more new classes. It’s hard to believe that was twenty years ago!

Developing as an artist entrepreneur

Of course, being an artist isn’t just about techniques; it’s also about running a business. A few years later, I was found a teacher who would shape my understanding of what it meant to be an artist. NanC Meinhart, who is both a psychologist and recognized seed bead artist, leads groups of artists through a year-long master class. Rather than focusing on recreating other artists’ designs, NanC’s master class helped me find my own voice through wire.

The year my master class met NanC challenged us to take our art seriously, to build a body of work, and to develop a recognizable style. We focused on the necessary details like writing a bio, taking photos of our work, display and logistics required to enter our work in shows, pricing, and more. At the end of the year, our work was shown in a gallery in San Luis Obispo. That year, I developed an artist’s perspective instead of just making things.

Practice practice practice

One of the things that really stays with me was reading War of Art. In it, the author tells the story of two groups of artists. The first group is instructed to make as many clay pots as they can. The second group is told to make one perfect pot. In the end, it was the group that made many who created the most beautiful work. The lesson I got from that was how important it is to make a lot of things and keep at it. Even when it is a dud, or not something you’ll sell.

Today, my work is featured at several local galleries including Madera Circle Gallery and Mixed Messages in Sanger and The Brush and Easel Gallery in Fresno. This year, I’m taking an even bigger leap with my art by making it available for purchase on my website (stay tuned!).

For me, art is about finding a medium you love and then continuing to learn, practice, and take small steps toward creating work you enjoy. What you have enough interest, love, skill, and patience for—that’s your medium. Wire art is mine!

Support your LYS!

April 27, 2009 by Melanie Schow 2 Comments

Oh the seduction of internet shopping every size, color, brand, and kind. The tantalizing savings at the “big box” stores, take home a gross of whatever you need for a fraction of the price. Just remember the cost. This weekend I sat chatting with my friends at our LYS (local yarn store) in big comfy chairs, in a homey retail environment – for the last time. The shelves were pitifully bare, emptied quickly when she announced the sale because she was closing the store. We brainstormed about where we could take the knitting group, would they throw us out at the local sports bar? Not that having a beer while knitting is bad, well maybe if you are knitting a complicated lace pattern… but they won’t have the notion we need to finish the piece, helpful advice about how to re-size the pattern or another few skeins for the next project.

Small business is at the heart of our economy. Some would say its the American dream. But how do you compete with all the forms of commerce available to shoppers today? The part you love about it: the yarn, the beads, the food, the creation, the art is only the beginning. In a small business you are the purchasing agent, the stock clerk, the sales force, the marketing guru, the web master, the accountant and the janitor! You have to be good at alot of things because you don’t have a department for that. When you have managed to wear all those hats, then you have to find a way to compete with the big guys.

What can we do? Support the businesses you want in your community. Support the people who have small businesses like yours. The places where they do it from their passion, they make it special, fresh, just for you and they even know your name. Support them with your business and your referrals. Be willing to pay for service, quality and convenience. Your local business can not match the prices the big volume stores offer, but have them beat hands down in other important, more intangible categories. If we don’t patronize our local small business, we will find our selves wondering what happened to our favorite places while we were shopping somewhere else.