If you've been selling everything you've made, then you're doing really well. There is no better advertising than word of mouth. The fact that you're selling your work consistently is something you need to take into account when deciding how to further market your work.
Consignment sales is, in my experience, about the worst possible way tosell artwork. The shop takes no risk, assumes no liability for loss or damage, does no promotion, and yet wants to take at least a third of the selling price. This is often the only avenue available for the new artist/craftsman though, so they do what they have to until they develop sufficient reputation to be accepted in galleries or sell wholesale to stores. In your case, you have a track record of previous sales, and you shouldn't feel intimidated into going the consignment route.
Before I did the consignment thing, I would sukggest you take your work to a few places you think would be viable markets and offer them wholesale. That is usually about half of retail, though it is negotiable. A good shop owner will work with you to arrive at the best selling price and allow you both room to make money. If the shop owner won't do that, look elsewhere. Again, you have a history of sales to back up your demands.
Whatever you decide, don't sell your work too cheaply! If you do, in the hope that it will generate future business, you inevitably end up cheating yourself because you get a reputation for selling cheap work. You can never live down that reputation once you are saddled with it, so don't let it happen. Rather than sell your work too cheaply to a shop, or put it on consignment, consider telling the shop owner that you will supply one (1) piece of work to be sold at a certain price, and the shop gets allthe money, provided that they then purchase a certain number of pieces. What you're doing is eliminating most of the risk for them, and not taking on a big risk yourself. When the piece sells, you have gotten noting for it, but you get a sale of ten or twenty other pieces at a fair price. So you're really just paying a sales commission up front. You absolutely must have that in the form of a written contract before oyu do it, or someone wil try to take advantage of you.
You might want to consider hiring an agent to represent you. The agent will take anywhere from ten to twenty per cent of the sales, but they do the work to get them. You only pay when work is sold, so you have no front end risk. Again, your track record of previous sales is a bargaining chip when negotiating a commission rate with an agent.
Mele, If you've been selling
Mele,
If you've been selling everything you've made, then you're doing really well. There is no better advertising than word of mouth. The fact that you're selling your work consistently is something you need to take into account when deciding how to further market your work.
Consignment sales is, in my experience, about the worst possible way tosell artwork. The shop takes no risk, assumes no liability for loss or damage, does no promotion, and yet wants to take at least a third of the selling price. This is often the only avenue available for the new artist/craftsman though, so they do what they have to until they develop sufficient reputation to be accepted in galleries or sell wholesale to stores. In your case, you have a track record of previous sales, and you shouldn't feel intimidated into going the consignment route.
Before I did the consignment thing, I would sukggest you take your work to a few places you think would be viable markets and offer them wholesale. That is usually about half of retail, though it is negotiable. A good shop owner will work with you to arrive at the best selling price and allow you both room to make money. If the shop owner won't do that, look elsewhere. Again, you have a history of sales to back up your demands.
Whatever you decide, don't sell your work too cheaply! If you do, in the hope that it will generate future business, you inevitably end up cheating yourself because you get a reputation for selling cheap work. You can never live down that reputation once you are saddled with it, so don't let it happen. Rather than sell your work too cheaply to a shop, or put it on consignment, consider telling the shop owner that you will supply one (1) piece of work to be sold at a certain price, and the shop gets allthe money, provided that they then purchase a certain number of pieces. What you're doing is eliminating most of the risk for them, and not taking on a big risk yourself. When the piece sells, you have gotten noting for it, but you get a sale of ten or twenty other pieces at a fair price. So you're really just paying a sales commission up front. You absolutely must have that in the form of a written contract before oyu do it, or someone wil try to take advantage of you.
You might want to consider hiring an agent to represent you. The agent will take anywhere from ten to twenty per cent of the sales, but they do the work to get them. You only pay when work is sold, so you have no front end risk. Again, your track record of previous sales is a bargaining chip when negotiating a commission rate with an agent.
Rich