Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Bascom

Wesley was out of school for Veteran's Day this past Thursday and Friday so we drove up to Highlands to see the American Craft Today show at The Bascom. We had such a great time. the weather was a perfect Indian Summer, we found some incredible restaurants, and visited some fantastic art galleries. Just the thing for a stressed out teenager applying for colleges and getting attacked by a crazy person in Chapel Hill! I could just see the stress melting away from her.
The show at The Bascom was very nice and the craftsmanship of the pieces was just exquisite.
The thing I found interesting about this show was that some of the more well known potter names were not present. I don't know if they didn't apply or if the juror had different criteria for selection, but the artists that were chosen were some that I know but not the ones you see over and over in every magazine and gallery out there. I felt very honored to be one of the artists chosen considering the work that was in this show!
When my work is displayed nicely on pedestals and lit well, it tends to sell better than when it is displayed on a white tablecloth below eye level! haha!! I sold all three pieces and got a nice order for their Christmas Marketplace event. I have got to bust it this week to get enough work finished to send!!! I was told by the retail manager that I need to raise my prices, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think my prices are very fair and I want people to be able to afford the things I make and I want to move them. It's all good to have high prices, but I don't need a bunch of high priced work sitting around and not selling. Pricing is just the hardest part isn't it!

There is another show opening there this weekend of quilts and the display is breath taking. The upper gallery was closed for set up but you could see in the window. If you love quilts you really should see this show.

15 comments:

cookingwithgas said...

it is a fine line- galleries tell you to up your prices and then who can afford your work?--- only those folks that can shop in galleries.
If you feel the prices are fair stick to it.
Great work Tracey.

Patricia Griffin Ceramics said...

What an honor to have your work in this show! I'm jazzed that I got one of your barns on your way to the BIG TIME! Congrats Tracey!

Hollis Engley said...

Pricing's tough. I agree with Meredith. If you're comfortable with the money you're getting and more people are able to buy your work, what's wrong with that? My first Phil Rogers teabowl cost me $30, and I struggled a bit with that price. Today, at the Pucker Gallery in Boston, I'd have to pay more than ten times that amount. So I won't. Good for Phil if he sells them at that price, and good for the gallery. And yes, your barns sure do look good in that show, on the pedestals.

Paul Jessop said...

I agree, Pricing is all about what you think it's worth. If your happy then great. My prices have been creeping up gradually, but only for the pots I feel are worth a higher price. Everyone tells me my prices are much lower than John Leach, but then I'm not John Leach!
The show looks excellent.!!

Linda Starr said...

What a nice display for your beautiful barns, they look great, wish I was closer, I'd love to see the show and I love quilts too, so that would be an added treat. I'd stick with the pricing you think is fair for your work.

Judy Shreve said...

Your barns look great in that gallery space! And congrats on the holiday order too.
I agree -- if you are comfortable with your pricing - leave it. But these barns are complicated to make & fire -- they probably are worth more. They are also one-of-a-kind -- not an ordinary bowl or cup -- so you could probably raise the price and folks would still buy them. You just can't undercut the gallery by selling them cheaper somewhere else. It's all so complicated -

Peter said...

Lovely work Tracey, and it does look (and is) fabulous in that setting. As for pricing... There are ways of justifying just about anything, but do hang onto your self worth. There are a few occasions that haunt me sometimes where I have felt utterly ripped off after I have parted with a pot or a painting. When I think back, they usually have been where a person with plenty of money (and arrogance) has waved cash in my face, intimated that I wouldn't have to declare it to the IRD, and has demanded a substantial discount from what was already a price that I had thought was fair.

An encounter like that really is an attack on my honesty, fairness, and integrity. Sadly, there have been times when we have been so short of money that I have had to accept being ripped off like that, but it still upsets me. And it upsets me that people would want to take something from another person for a ruinously low price.. it says that they don't care a toss about the person, but only want the "object" that has caught their eye. They are like a hunter out for "sport" killing for the "joy" of it!

In contrast to that sort of customer, have been the ones that have been delighted to pay full price and like the thought that they are helping to keep craft and craft workers alive in this country.

Goodness, Tracey... I didn't mean to write so much... I must have "issues" as they say!!

cindy shake said...

WOW! Great show to be a part of. I have to say that when I saw how reasonable your prices were I was thinking that you needed to raise them a bit. Maybe to $225, $165 and $125 for the Lg, Med. and small barns. They are of significant enough size and quality that should warrant those prices -especially in the company of other fine works. Yes, I agree artists never want their work hanging around not selling or to be overpriced. You can still value your work and understand that finding a happy medium may take a bit, but the first step is to take the experience and advice of that retail manager -remember they want your work to sell just as much as you do.

Tracey Broome said...

Great advise, all of you!! Thanks for chiming in. I guess I need to think about this pricing thing a bit more, but right now you can get a bargain from me!

ang design said...

trace when you take into account the gallery precentage i think you could def ask more that should be your price add on the commission they look really cool together and such a great space too, congrats on the show..

Mike Barber said...

I'm embarrassed to say, but I live a few miles from the Bascom and still having made it to the show! I'm definitely going soon and I can't wait to see the barns.

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Ang, good suggestion, paying that commission is a big chunk! Hey Mike, yes get over to The Bascom, such a nice gallery and very nice people! The quilt show should be opening this weekend and there is a wood turned bowl exhibit and a basket exhibit that are also amazing!

Sharon Lovejoy said...

CONGRATULATIONS! You deserved to be selected for this show and thanks...finally someone who gets it that to have a few affordable pieces can make dreams come true.

I want to go there and experience some of their shows.

We have the Maine Center for Contemporary Art in Rockport, Maine, and it feels somewhat like this gallery.

Your work is GREAT.

Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

Dan Finnegan said...

I vote for raising your prices...we need to believe that our work has value. After a gallery gets their cut, how much are you paid for making (and I presume shipping or delivering) one of those sweet small barns?

Michèle Hastings said...

pricing is always difficult. if your are represented by the likes of pucker or lacoste then your prices will definitely increase!
a reputable gallery knows pricing and i think we are wise to listen to them. if your work is excellent don't undersell yourself.