Selling stuff in a bar/restaurant/coffee shop

[Simply Ravishing]

Okay, I've gotten some interest from a few people around town and would like to start displaying some of my better stuff in different "galleries" around the area. My aunt knows the owners of a bar/restaurant that regularly displays work of local artists. My aunt talked to the owner, showed her my work, and the contacted me and said she is interested.

They will display my stuff from 1/17-3/14. It sounds like I will have a bit of room to display a lot of stuff if I want. My question is what sizes should I be aiming at and how many photos would you offer? Would you display duplicates of the same picture in different sizes?

I am also curious about framing/matting. I will probably stick with black frames as they are neutral for most people and the most available to purchase. I am planning on buying the frames that already contain a precut piece of matting so that I don't have to do it myself (i'm terrible at it).

Anyway, I am planning on displaying 11x14's 16x20's and maybe a few 20x30's. Does that sound right?

The bar will be taking a 30% cut of all sales, so I would need to plan for that in my markup. I am thinking $75 for 11x14, $100 for 16x20 and $125 for 20x30. Is that reasonable?

Any guidance in this would be great!

Thanks

[Karl Johnston]

Canvas Prints are pretty economical
I recently try here:
www.canvasondemand.com

30% is a huge consignment (whoa). Typically a high end gallery will take 30-60% of a cut but retail stores traditionally take 15-25%.
www.canvasondemand.com

Generally you can charge anything you want, though I tend to markup from my initial costs about 400%. This is how much I need to survive considering this is all I do, though, so my considerations generally are if I can sell an average of 3-10 prints a month.

Say if it costs me ~$100 to create a 11x14" canvas print I will sell it for about ~$380, with the gallery or retailer taking their 15-20% cut and including it in the displayed retail price. The retailer or venue is usually responsible for (usually, though tax rules in Canada are different from American rules so I can't comment on that concretely for your needs).

Another thing to watch when selling to stores is to make sure your prices are even and non-competitive between other stores. If a 20x30" print is selling down the street for 500$ more than the one up the street then this can cause retailers to "pit" against each other. Also make sure to check for exclusivity.

Technically you should have a contract outlining your payment terms, their responsibilities to you when they sell a print, liability, that kind of thing. I have had it happen where I sell a print but I don't hear about it until the next time I run into that store (3 months later, a time bracket where I could have been making more money - and the retailer - if I had known sooner and replaced the sold print.

It needs not be complicated. Just a page is what I use.

I hate to say it but generally I also do trust a lot of people, though as far as business should go it never is a bad thing to have anything written.

Also..looking at your sizes make sure that your prints work for them. By that I mean, sometimes 11x14, 16x20 often require considerable cropping on canon cameras (canon aspect ratio is more accommodating of sizes 13x19, 16x24").

I think you can, and should raise your prices to reflect a 250% markup, starting out. The higher you sell for, also remember that the bar will appreciate you for it. I don't know how it works in the USA, but in the NWT we have a very very wealthy art market for northern art. Although I am one of the highest end photographers available up here for fine art; some of the painters around here make me look cheap (Not kidding, some of the paintings made up here go for $20 000 a print...per PRINT... granted it's well deserved but photography has to fight a lot harder to get prices like those in the art market. It's mind blowing.)

Another thing to watch out for; Don't worry about people undercutting you, if someone connects to your art enough then they will want to buy it for whatever it costs. Don't feel guilty about charging high - it's important that you get what you need.

Often it helps to get some pamphlets made up of your artist's statement (a brief bio of yourself, what you were trying to communicate through the print, other relevant information such as what kind of paper it's printed on, print process, location, edition number, etc.). A good thread on signing can be found here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=320161

Though my market is a bit different from yours, you're more than welcome to check out my gallery to see some sample prices and sizes. Also note that LE (Limited Edition) works often can fetch higher prices. Especially as you move out of the "emerging" tier and into the "established" will people want these soon. I retain my originals from now on, as I figure in the future I can demand a higher price.
http://www.karljohnston.com/art/

I also recommend checking out some guidelines for fine art (guidelines; not rules, mind you) at the fine artists guild
http://www.fineart.co.uk/

It's always worth it to check out other artists in your region, though, don't let their prices influence your prices. Just to get a general idea, thats all. Its next to impossible for artists to "compete" IMO.

If you do want to frame your work I recommend getting someone else to do it for you. There's nothing worse than a great print in a bad frame - it just doesn't work. Although the expense is high, until you can learn to do it yourself that is, i recommend getting your stuff custom framed.

Though depending on the venue a lot of times this doesn't work or fit.

www.mpix.com has a lot of great alternatives to framing (Standouts, Gatorfoam) for example.

That's what I can offer, though like I said fine art up here is probably different from down there.
I think Tom Reichner (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=175152) may be able to give you more local advice, coming from the same area.

[Simply Ravishing]

Thanks Karl, I do have some terms that were sent to me via email, they are below.

This contract is entered between Boxley’s LLC (Boxley’s) and
________________________________ (herinafter refer to as “Artist”) for the duration
of ___________________ to __________________ for display of art at Boxley’s
Restaurant at 101 W North Bend Way, North Bend, WA 98045.
Boxley’s and Artist agree:
1. Exhibition. Artist agrees to show art at the above location for the duration agreed
upon and not remove art from the premises for the entire duration.
2. Display. Artist agrees to deliver and display (hang, mount) art at location(s)
agreeable to Boxley’s management. All hanging wires and connectors will be
provided by Artist. No nails are permitted to be used without specific
management approval. Picture rail hooks are provided.
3. Sale of work. Artist agrees to pay Boxley’s a 30 percent commission on all items
that are sold at Boxley’s or ordered from contacts at Boxley’s during exhibition.
4. Insurance. Art that is exhibited is done so at the artist’s risk. Boxley’s and
Boxley’s staff cannot be held responsible for damages or theft.
5. Promotion. Artists may display brochures and provide contact information along
with exhibited art. Artist is required to provide a display card for each piece
containing the Title of the Work and Price, at a minimum.
6. Artwork Pickup. Artist agrees to pick up art at end of contract duration. Artwork
not picked up within 30 days of this date will be considered a donation to
Boxley’s and may be used or disposed of as Boxley’s deems appropriate.
7. Inventory. The Artist is providing the following works for exhibition:

[Simply Ravishing]

I was basing my prices off of Costco's lab prices.
11x14 $3
16x20 $6
20x30 $9

And then adding the price of the frame and the 30%

I talked to the lady who coordinates the artist portion of the restrauant and she told me what has worked and what hasn't in the past and I kind of went in the middle. I'd rather sell my stuff and make a little bit less than spend all this money getting stuff framed to have it sit on the wall and not sell.

[skacko]

Justin,
agree with Karl - good post.
When I hang prints in cafes and restaurants, I set the pricing on (print expense + framing/mounting + cafe's commission) * 2.5.
As per sizes (and even different finishes or frames/mounts) - display one and mention 'different sizes available, please contact me for more info/go to www for more info'. What also works (for me) is to include the price for image only (no framing/mounting).
And then just go home and wait for a call.