An eye opener indeed!

I guess the only question is: Can you afford to sever all ties with this particular gallery?

crquack

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Sadly Jamie,
Your tale of woe is all too frequent in the art world...
It seems quite likely that we(as a group) are the most easily taken advantage of...
I've had my own nightmares with galleries ,so much so,that I basically gave it up entirely in the late eighties when the art market seemed to crash.I do show locally once in awhile but usually only if the space is run by a friend who honors the work as I feel they should. In the end it's more important that someone treat us the way we feel is comfortable than any monetary gain...
My alternative has been to promote a larger on-line presence and to develop a 4 acre sculpture garden at my residence...
Of course with jewelry it is an entirely different matter,but it is obviously now more important than ever to establish some sort of positive relationship and symbiotic rapore before subjecting your work to alien hands...

Hi Jamie,
Although I have no direct experience with my work being represented in galleries, I once owned a small retail store located in a center featuring several small galleries. During the course of my two year stay at the center, I came to know the gallery owners and witnessed several circumstances similar to yours. Of course, it would be unfair to stereotype all galleries, as I am sure there are a multitude of reputable and honorable establishments out there.
I feel that no one can represent your work better than you. And, you are already on the right track in pondering additional work to your web site. Why? Geographically, your potential marketplace is unlimited, you are in full control of when, where and how your product is represented - controlling all steps from the sale to order fulfillment. The best part: you keep 100% of your profit margin. Now, I realize this is easier said than done, but having designed and developed my own site (and others), I can say that it is possible to obtain targeted, organic (non-paid) traffic to your site - but you must develop your site while maintaining basic Search Engine Optimization structure. In time, you will have customers coming to your "gallery" to look at your work, not dusty $20k paintings ;-)
While you have done a great job and your site looks cool (I really like your jewelry work), a quick look at the page structure tells me that search engines are likely to have a difficult time displaying your site/pages anywhere near the top of search results for your niche. While I am no SEO expert by any stretch of the imagination, I would be happy provide you with a few basic pointers and resources that have helped me - feel free to shoot me an email.
Happy T-day!
Dino

Hi Jamie, sorry to hear about the gallery experience. Although I agree with most of the comments already made, and definitely vote to end the relationship with this gallery, my take on what to do now is the opposite of what I'm reading. Instead of giving up on the gallery thing, I think you should double your efforts. A good gallery relationship is a great way, maybe the only way, to break into markets in places not close to you. The people walking in to a gallery to buy pieces are already looking to spend that kind of money so it's simply a matter of catching their eye and whether the jewelry appeals to their taste. I think this case was just a bad match and the lesson is that you don't sign up with a gallery unless you've seen it in person. The gallery relationship is a long term relationship that should benefit both parties equally and good ones are not easily found. They take a lot of hard work to establish, but once you've established a good one, it will probably be life long. I was just talking to a successful painter about galleries and she was saying that two galleries have been carrying and selling her work for over 20 years, very profitably. She said she's had bad experiences as well, but she learned from them and used that info in the search for the next one.

I say enjoy Thanksgiving, then get your ass out there a look for a gallery that will work for you, interview THEM not the other way around, find a gallery that fits for your style and medium, look at their space, and don't take a gallery that carries more than 20-25 artists. Anymore than that and they can't dedicate enough time to selling your work.

Just remember that it's supposed to be hard, otherwise everyone would be selling jewelry in galleries, lol.

Have a great Thanksgiving

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

Jamie, Gather up your work and RUN, don't walk, from this gallery! As a gallery owner myself, as well as a jewelry artist, I would like to know the name of this "gallery". It is true that some places are run that way but we are not all abusive to our artist/clients. A good gallery is well worth their 50%, a bad gallery isn't worth 10%. Better luck in the future!

Yikes. Perhaps some things appeared worse than they were after you received a few bad impressions. 

Are they equipped to care for jewelry? Do they have anything to clean it with? Polished sterling would benefit from an occasional cleaning with a polishing cloth, at least. Wearing consignment pieces for any extended period of time shouldn't be allowed. Modeling pieces occasionally might help create interest, but the risk and responsibility should be theirs. I would expect them to maintain the pieces in the condition they were received in.

I wouldn't be too concerned about them shortening dangling chain earrings. I would think of that as a simple alteration to get a proper fit. However, it does sound like you need to have an understanding that any alteration or sizing would mean the piece is sold. If you have things that you don't want altered in any way make sure they know.

Their request that you both have pieces marked at the same price seems reasonable to me. If you under-price them, their customers who find your web site will will buy from you instead, or feel bad if they already made a purchase. This is especially true if you have galleries or stores that make outright purchases. You have to determine a price that works for both of you. Sales and discounts are something else.

Sorry to hear this has happened to you Jamie. Thing is, if you leave work on consignment, then the gallery owner will do whatever they want because they do not have a vested interest. My suggestion is to only do consignment work in your local area so that you can check up on the gallery on a monthly basis. All other artwork should be wholesaled to the gallery.

You may not have as much work "OUT IN THE MARKET," but you will have more peace of mind and less out of pocket expenses for sending your art to galleries that MAY sell with no guarantees.

It's a shame that some galleries will do this. It really puts a bad name on doing consignment work for galleries.