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It takes approximately 1,000 watts of bright white light to illuminate a 10-by-10-foot space and properly knock out the shadows and make the art for sale dazzle.

It continues to amaze me that many artists do not utilize this valuable tool in visual merchandising to its full advantage. At the shows I attend, most artists simply do not have enough light—they don’t have enough fixtures and bulbs to do the job. Keeping in mind the 300 to 400 watts from the overhead lights in the exhibit hall or natural light from nearby windows, chances are good that you need more.

Hall lighting issues

Some halls are bright and well-illuminated, while others are dark as a tomb and you need to rent or provide lights to lighten up your booth. The light quality in exhibit halls is often lacking as well. Many use low-cost lighting, the quality of which will distort the colors of your creations (perhaps an additional white light in your display will keep your colors true).

Light placement

Another common problem I see at shows is the placement of the lights. Light from most bulbs does not travel well, meaning the farther the bulbs are from the objects you are trying to illuminate, the less bright the objects will appear. Getting those bulbs closer to the objects will yield a brighter, more attractive display.

A general rule is that if the light fixture is over the customers’ heads when they are looking at the objects, then the lights are in the right place. In doing this, you have eliminated the possibility that the customer’s head or body would come between the light source and the art (casting a shadow over your work).

Poor light placement can also result in the bulbs shining into the customers’ eyes. When you look into your booth, there should be no blinding bulbs visible.

See what the customer sees

After you have set up your display, walk out into the aisle and see what the customers see. Are you blinding them as they walk by or are your lights properly focused so the art is shining back at them?

Properly illuminated booth spaces are not something the customer really notices or ever comments on, but if there aren’t enough appropriately placed lights, it will have a negative affect on your sales. If customers cannot see it, they will not buy it. Don’t make them work to see your work.

Quality lighting

Good lighting always makes me want to pull out my camera and take a picture. That is literally what happens in the customers’ heads—they want to remember what they are seeing. And to do so, they will usually pick it up for closer examination. When customers touch what you make, they are much more likely to buy it. Touch is the first step in owning something and if you can get to this step, your sales will go up.

Good lighting renders your products so alluring that customers cannot resist touching them. This, in turn, gives you subliminal permission to talk to them. Customers with your work in their hands will listen more intently to what you are saying about it.

I recently attended the new One of a Kind Show and Sale in New York City and was treated to a delightful group of artists. There were many exciting booths at this show, and mostly artists I had never met before. I was specifically looking for examples of good lighting and I found some excellent examples.

Keep in mind that good lighting doesn’t need to be expansive, it just needs to show off your work to its best advantage and make people want to touch (and buy).

An excellent example of low-cost but highly effective booth lighting at the show was in the booth of Lemon Park (www.lemonpark.ca). Using simple underlighting, they dramatically displayed their amazing art/fashion jewelry line (see photo at _____). (figure 1) Notice how the light coming up from the bottom makes these resin bracelets and earrings look like candy! They are almost irresistible to the customer—who could not touch these?

Another example of their excellent display and lighting choices were the bottom-lit low pedestals, in multiple levels on their tables. (figure 2) These low-tech risers were created with a ring (made of cardboard, metal or plastic) and painted to give a finished look. A piece of frosted glass or Plexiglas was placed on top, with a simple light source underneath the glass (inside the ring).

These lights could be low-voltage halogen, LEDs or even inexpensive battery-operated lights if electrical power isn’t available (as is the case at many outdoor shows). This underlighting technique made all of the transparent gemstones in the lovely necklaces glow! Notice also the black boxes in the upper right. Each of these boxes had a light inside it to make the jewelry visually “pop.” The lighting was stunning and drew almost everyone who walked by into the space. So alluring and accessible, this was one of the best booths I have discovered in years.

Another fine example of using lighting to amplify his art was Bruce R. MacDonald of Burlington, Vt. He uses both white and colored light to make his arresting stainless steel wall art come alive. His work is large and impressive, just what art should be in these times. By using not only ample overhead white light, MacDonald employs a spectral colored LED device that is battery operated at the show, (figure 3) but he also will supply and install them in the clients’ home if they desire.

Perhaps this is not as low-tech as the “Lemon Park” example, but it gave the art a lot of bang for the buck. His cold silvery grey stainless piece came completely alive when an element of colored lighting was added. See figure 4. More examples of fine lighting can be found on his website: www.brmdesign.com.

Lemon Park and Bruce MacDonald both had fantastic booths that displayed their art to its best advantage, each method being just right for the art it was illuminating. When I stood back and evaluated it, once again I was reminded that good display and lighting have nothing to do with how much money you spend—they are the result of how creative you are!

Boredom is a problem that Heidi Hammel rarely has to deal with.

In addition to running her highly successful, one-of-a-kind wearable art business, the Media, Pennsylvania, artisan oversees Heron Crest Studios, Inc., a 4,500-square foot space for studios, and is an active partner in another artisan venture, Hometown Collective, which provides an annual showcase for the wares produced by a group of talented artisans.

Both of the newer ventures grew out of Hammel’s nearly lifelong love affair with textiles, which she says began in her childhood. The obsession began when she first laid eyes on the vivid, hand-woven Norwegian sweaters worn by the students of her research scientist father.

“They had the most gorgeous sweaters,” says Hammel. “They were obviously knitted by their wives, and they employed the most amazing colors and patterns. I remember thinking how beautiful they were. Then, when I was about 10 years old, we went to Norway for a month, and my appreciation for that work grew, especially when we came to realize that the sweaters were made with vegetable-dyed wool, which produced the most incredible colors.”

Since that initial discovery, Hammel learned to sew her own clothes, master embroidery, reupholster furniture, and craft imaginative costumes. In 2000, she cemented her relationship with textiles when she decided to devote her full attention to her company, Reclaimed Creations, which produces fanciful hats, scarves, and gloves from recycled and up-cycled wool.

“I aim for creating something that is beautiful, well made, and functional, and people definitely seem to respond to my work,” she says. “I have a very happy booth whenever I do a show.”

Her path of creative discovery paralleled a long and productive career in education, where she taught in the United States and in the People’s Republic of China, and served as an administrator in several other educational ventures. Those accomplishments alone may be enough to satisfy most, but the University of Pennsylvania honors graduate seems to have the energy and drive to manage several successful ventures in one lifetime.

Rather than draining her of creative energy, Hammel finds that the varied pursuits have the opposite effect.

“I am now surrounded by all sorts of creative people, all working in different media,” she says. “And I love being able to bounce ideas off other artists. It’s helped expand my vision, even if we don’t always share the same sensibility.”

With little formal art training – she has a bachelor’s in Chinese studies and a master’s in the supervision of outdoor education – Hammel said she’s learned a great deal through the years just by being in the presence of other artists.

“And if I do get stuck every once in a while, it’s nice to be able to visit with one of the painters and say, ‘How about this?’ I’m certain I’ve broadened my perspectives through the association,” she says.

Fortunately for Hammel, those spontaneous and fruitful interaction discussions are a regular by-product of her work with Heron Crest Studios, where she currently serves as president, controlling partner, manager, and resident artist. In addition to sub-leasing 14 other artist’s studios, Hammel now runs her own business in space she occupies in the restored mill along the west branch of Pennsylvania’s Chester Creek.

“I had completely outgrown my home studio, to the point where I had sweaters piled up everywhere and I could barely walk,” she says. “I literally had a 12-inch path to walk through in my studio. A friend of mine learned about this old cotton spinning mill, which was built around 1809, and it seemed like an ideal setting for this type of venture. We signed a lease in the fall of 2006 and had a couple of months to convince some artists to lease space and get going.”

Hammel has found that the studio space outside her home not only prevents her from being “distracted with other virtuous tasks, like laundry,” but it also encourages a more productive focus. “I just come here and work, and when I go home, I don’t work. It is such a relief to have that delineation.”

While in her studio space, Hammel is surrounded by noted and accomplished artists from fields that include portraiture, fiber, leather sculpting, printmaking, and mosaic murals. As important as her own evolution has been to her, Hammel is also gratified to see the growth in her colleagues.

“They’re not hobbyists,” she says. “I’ve seen them blossom just by having a studio space of their own, which has helped them adapt to the concept of themselves as artists. They’re in a place where they can feel free to experiment and grow and to take advantage of this incredible community of creative people.”

Hammel has been equally encouraged by the evolution of the Hometown Collective, a group of artisans who meet monthly to support each other’s work, and who produce an annual event to showcase their work each autumn. This year’s event, which will feature the work of up to 13 Philadelphia-area artists, will be held at the Providence Friends Meeting House in Media, Pennsylvania, on the weekends of November 11-13 and 19-20.

On those same days, other artists’ groups will also be offering shows, so visitors will be able to view the wares produced by 25 or more local artists, according to Hammel.

“Our location takes you off the beaten track, but it’s a great area, and well worth the trip to see the work of so many incredibly talented and accomplished artists,” she says.

Hammel’s success, though well-deserved, did not come without hard-earned lessons. She shares the following advice for those who would hope to duplicate her success: 

• Seek the input of other artists. No matter what level of acclaim you reach as an artist, there is always something to learn about the work, the challenges of running a business, marketing, or networking.

• Find a group of “kindred spirits” who can sustain you during productively down periods, help you reach a broader group of potential customers, or contribute to special projects. “I can work alone, but I also like to have a steering committee for specific events or programs,” Hammel says. “Usually, no fewer than four people, but no more than eight is ideal.”

• Release your inner “control freak.” Hammel admits to struggling with this bit of advice, but she’s grown to appreciate collective efforts. “You do need a leader to make things happen, but it is so much more productive to solicit opinions and ideas and then figure out a way to implement them,” she says. “It always makes for a better end result.”

• Don’t overlook the power of social networking. “In this day and age, it’s a must,” she says. “You’re just not going to reach a broad enough customer base under the age of 40 if you don’t have a web page, or aren’t on Facebook. You have to have a web presence.”

• Bring in the pros when you need to. Hammel’s group learned how to self-promote, but there is no substitute for professional experience when it comes to targeting a specific demographic, or generating the kind of buzz that launches successful careers. Professionals also helped her cross-pollinate efforts with other local businesses hoping to reach the “cultural creatives” that largely support the work of artistic communities.

Q: I manage a retail gallery, and we’ll be updating over the next few months. We want to light it in a way where we can rearrange the pieces and be able to either move the lights or have the lights work with every arrangement. Right now we mostly stock wall art and ceramic pieces (pots, vases, etc.). What types of lights do you recommend? We’ve left a fair-sized portion of the budget for this. - Sophia Barthow, Lexington, Kentucky

Since the financial collapse of October 2008, artists no doubt have been more challenged to sell their work than any time since the Great Depression. The recent financial collapse was a low blow to all businesses, but was particularly damaging to the business of selling art. Unfortunately, this happened in combination with the first wave of aging boomers deciding to downsize. Many of these boomers are moving into smaller dwellings, while others are ridding themselves of their acquired possessions from the last four decades. These factors alone would bring the sales of art objects to an all-time low, but add the lethal punch of the annihilation of the middle class. This is the demographic that has carried the United States economy for the past 40 years, and with its demise comes dismal art sales, mostly because consumers have been forced to shift their spending away from art purchases to pay for basic necessities. Many “middle-class individuals” are more concerned with hanging on to their home or putting food on the table, paying for healthcare or funding a retirement plan. All of these priorities trump buying art for the home or personal adornment.