Studio tour

Good Day all.
Haven't posted in a while, but thought I'd pass on my thoughts on the benefits of hosting a open studio.

This is the third year I've been part of the Virginia Artisans Studio Tour and it has proven to be my best form of advertising. While I get a fair amount of work by word of mouth and a bit from web searches, by far, the best results of new clients has been the studio tour. I've have five local newspaper articles and one national magazine article, had a yellow page ad for two years, did several full page ads in local magazines. Nothing, and I do mean nothing has come close to the results I've had with having my studio open to the public.

I've found a key part to hosting a successful open studio, is demonstrations. While it can be a bit hard, I spent yesterday and today, virtually none stop demonstrating and talking about the craft of blacksmithing. Over the years, I've had folks stay and watch for hours. They watch, sometimes buy, and they almost always take a business card. I don't hear from most of them, but I hear from enough to more then repay my effort.

Last year, one couple came, watched, bought a few hooks and took a business card. It was what they did with the card that worked out so well for me. They gave it to their pastor, whom had been looking for someone to hand forge an Advent ring and Memorial cross for their church. Alone with that, when he came by, I had a spec table I had just finished and he bought it on the spot :-) after the ring, the church commissioned me to make several other items. It was a very nice job and I really enjoyed doing the work.

So my studio plan is this: I clean up the shop, put out the obligatory coffee and cookies, and then make up some simple, inexpensive items (along with a few high price ones), so everyone that wants a bit of forged iron can afford a piece. Anything I've made as training or just to try making, I sell cheap. I feel there is a implied trust, that during the tour, I'll have attractive prices. After all, I've invited them into my studio and I want them to feel good about coming. Funny thing is, this year I had several folks give me MORE then the asking price. They said, after watching me work, that my iron had greater value to them. I also sold everything I made while demonstrating.

Anyway, not sure where I'm going with this, except to say: if you want to better, I highly recommend organizing a studio tour in your area. Spring and fall are the best times. In the Spring, folks are getting antsy and want to go do something now that the weather is getting warmer. In the fall, the holidays are coming fast and folks are starting to think about gifts. I would say November to early December is the best time. Early then that and there's too many fall festivals going on and later then that, the holiday rush has started and folks will find it hard to take the time to spend a day or weekend going from studio to studio.

Here's the web site. http://www.artisanscenterofvirginia.org/studio_tour/index.shtml
One of the add things we did, was to mailed out thousands of brochures and also have them in a lot of stores and galleries. One of the things I did, was the stores I put them in, I replaced the boring plastic holders with forged ones. I did a dragon, a organic leaf and flower thingy, and a solid medieval looking stand. I wanted to catch the eye of folks.