One Good Turn...

This lazy susan is part of a glaze kiln I just unloaded this week filled with some custom order creations and last minute inventory additions for a weekend craft show. And the phrasing “one good turn deserves another” couldn’t be more apropos to sum up the experience of a craft show vendor.

I’ve visited many a festival as an attendee. Participation as a seller gives you a whole different perspective and peek behind the curtain. There are several constants that occur in every sales event I’ve worked. 

It begins with unloading and unpacking in a new ‘store front’ location. Sometimes you bring all the tables and props along with inventory, other times you work within the show’s designated display arrangement. It’s a busy, frenetic time of creating a community. Each vendor is focused on setting up, unpacking, arranging and re-arranging their temporary quarters. Introductions occur with immediate neighbors. Some have worked shows together before, others are new to the neighborhood. 

Once the vendors are set, there may be time to venture beyond your own block of neighbors and get a broader picture of the other show participants. Once the show begins, there is often little time to get this overview perspective. 

The sense of immediate community with other creators happens quickly. Show neighbors are helpful to each other, share past show experience advice, swap some personal insights and become new friends. 

This past weekend’s festival was an outdoor event so weather played a determining factor on attendance. We were clipped by a torrent of rain on day-one which cancelled some of the planned music and libations, deterred attendance and soaked some of the vendor’s art. We had better weather-luck on day two, so the music played and the food trucks could serve. 

As a vendor, the range of emotions you experience during a show vary wildly. Excitement, trepidation, delight, satisfaction, disappointment, elation – they are all part of the journey. But the constant I’ve found throughout these shows is the generosity and like-minded spirit of my artistic neighbors. Their helpful and encouraging attitude make me a better artist and person and truly embody the motto “one good turn deserves another.”

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Little Things Make a Big Difference

Shopping these days just isn’t like it used to be. (I can hear my mother coming out of my mouth!) But the truth is, the way we shop now is completely different from ‘way back in the day’ when I was growing up. Now it’s easy to search, click and purchase without leaving home. There are HUUUUGE outlets to buy at a discount or in bulk. Stores are open 24/7.

All these options lack one of the shopping experiences that I miss the most – personal connection. Sure, it might be easier to find what you are looking for and pay the minimum amount for it, but the valuable interaction between a sales person/shop keeper and buyer is missing.

I think the recent movements to buy local produce from farms, support small boutiques in your neighborhood and purchase crafts straight from the maker are an effort to re-establish this connection in our fast-paced world. When you interact with the people directly responsible for the items they sell – growing them, making them or selecting them for their shops – it changes the purchase experience and makes it personal.

Selling my clay art in person is the best. I get to meet people, see how they interact with my pottery, talk and develop a bond. When my pieces are sold in other shops and galleries, I rely on the pottery to attract a buyer, include a short story about the piece with a hang tag and trust the salesperson to help seal the deal. On the internet – it’s a whole new ball game and I’m still tweaking this interaction to make transactions happen.

To make a sale online, I rely on photos and words to create the customer connection to my clay art and to me. Capturing just the right balance is a work in progress. Luckily, on the internet it's easy to find fantastic examples of great product photography and tons of tutorials on making a sale. Attracting people you don't know to make a purchase is a matter of communicating and making a personal connection.

Attention to detail is key for continued sales success online. Making sure the product matches the photo and description goes without saying, but follow through, quickly responding to emails, answering questions and even providing added value to the sale all contribute to building success.

I often include little extras – like recipe cards – to add value to a ClayByLaura purchase. I've found this additional detail provides another layer of personal connection. People often tell me how they use one of my pieces on a regular basis and how it makes them feel good -- that's the ultimate compliment and best connection I could hope for. Now I just need to figure out how to capture that sentiment and spread it to new and potential ClayByLaura customers 'out there.'

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