The Crafts Report - Leading the Crafts Industry for 35 years

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!

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.

There is nothing more you could do to add power and punch to your merchandising scheme for increasing sales than to use a point of purchase (POP) display. I can guarantee that using this merchandising method will increase your sales, for retail and particularly for wholesale. The POP is an unpaid and silent salesperson that gets your customers to notice your products. A well-designed display and engaging graphics will tell your story and help give you brand recognition better than any method I know. Plus, customers will buy more when they buy from a POP. This is particularly true with items that need to be explained or demonstrated for the customers to "get it!" Point of purchase displays are not right for all types of merchandise. But, generally, lower-end items, such as cards, soap, mugs, and toys, will fly out of your booth or the stores you sell to.

Thank you to everyone who applied for the chance to have your booth made over. Though their were many entries, I could only choose one. Some of yours were actually too good and didn’t warrant the changes you desire!

I chose Kelly Morgan Jewelry for this year’s booth makeover for many reasons. One is that Morgan’s jewelry is wonderful! You can see the skill with which it has been crafted, and she has a great sense of design and a strong artist’s identity. She uses fine materials and brings them together with style and flair. On the other hand, her booth is also a work of art, but it is not showing her work to its best advantage. I am sure if Morgan were to change her booth to incorporate my suggestions, she would see a dramatic increase in sales. I believe even though this is a jewelry booth, there are so many things to learn from this display that would help artists from all mediums.

The booth is attractive, and I am sure she gets many compliments on it. There is the conundrum! How can a booth that people compliment all the time be laden with bad choices? Artists can actually become dependent on the comments that customers make about their booth and see these comments as a good thing. I will assure you that any compliment a customer gives you as an exhibitor feels good but the compliments should be about your work and not about your display. If customers are noticing your display then they are looking at the wrong thing and sales will suffer as a result. The booth is neat and tidy for sure, but there are so many distractions taking away from the visual appeal of her jewelry that the jewelry has taken a back seat to her interior design.

I believe this booth is over designed and over draped, layered, fringed and vined. Some would love this booth but then again they would be noticing the booth. For many customers it may be too much—overly complicated and fussy. We are in an era of new simplicity and simple elegance. Though Morgan’s booth is elegant, it is far from simple. More and more customers are moving away from the more is more look in their environments, and if the customer does not relate to your booth they will not relate to the work. When you look at Morgan’s booth you will notice a lot of detail in the draping and the fringe and layers of the table covering. What you notice is fabric, the last thing your customers should be looking at. What they should notice first and foremost is her lovely jewelry! The jewelry has been upstage by the display and it should be the first thing a customer notices. Look hard at this photo, and you will see the jewelry is barely noticeable, especially, the intricate details and her ability to draw and translate these drawings to metal. This is what gives her jewelry its punch but that is lost because it is dominated by her display.

Here are some suggestions I would make to improve Morgan’s booth to showcase her jewelry and to improve her sales.

1.              First, this booth needs a floor covering; booths without some type of floor treatment just don’t look finished. It doesn’t have to be expensive or heavy: foam flooring gives a great finish to a booth and works both inside and outside. It is lightweight, affordable and easy to clean.

2.              The branding banner that goes across the front of the Morgan’s booth either needs to be moved to the back wall of the booth or repeated again on the back wall. Customers don’t necessarily care about who you are and where you are from, until they have engaged in your art. Once they do, they want to look up and find your branding statement. I do think this branding sign is a good look for her line and this banner does more to show her jewelry from the aisle than any other element in the booth.

3.              The vine in front of the booth should be removed, as it distracts from her jewelry. The way this vine is hung, a customer must enter only in the middle of the booth or it makes it necessary for a customer to duck under it. Artificial flowers or greenery should always be avoided for art and craft shows. The nature of art dictates the use of real flowers (of an unusual or artistic choice). Ordinary flowers can make your work look ordinary. Some booths can use accessories and they work great, other booths the accessories become more of a distraction then an attraction.

4.              The most distracting element of the display is far and away is the deep olive colored fabric panels suspended on the walls. I believe this is what a potential customer notices first and I don’t feel it is the right look for her product line. Her work is rich and details and it needs no distractions in the form of pleated, textured or fringed fabric. A smooth, (wrinkle free) flat (not patterned), neutral background, (in just the right color) would make her jewelry pop.

5.              Overall the look of the booth is very polarizing. Some would love it some would not like it at all. You need a look for your merchandising that is more universally appealing. Her jewelry is not polarizing, it is very appealing and therefore the merchandising must match the merchandise and be more harmonious.

So far we have only addressed the elements of the display. Now let’s consider ways to actually display the jewelry so it has maximum impact.

1.              One of the most striking things about this display is how even though her table heights are higher than the norm. Morgan’s jewelry is still displayed too low. There is nothing like displaying art at eye level. (Jewelry and small items especially) One reason is that eyelevel is where you actually see jewelry on a person, and the customer doesn’t have to bend over to appreciate it. To accomplish this I would suggest wall cases. Very few artists use wall cases but those who do realize the power of this visual merchandising technique. Necklaces and earrings sell best from a wall case, while rings and bracelets can be displayed on the bottom of a wall case or on a glass shelf in the case. NOTE: If you use a wall case to display your jewelry or other small precious objects, make sure the case is accessed with split glass. Meaning that half of the glass slides to the right and half to the left. In this way it doesn’t require floor space to access the case. In other words if your cases are accessed by a hinged door to open the case it swings out into the foot print of your booth and to open a hinged door customers will need to back away from the case in order for you to swing the door open. This is particularly difficult if the show is crowded and your booth is busy. I would suggest putting wall cases on both the right and left sides of her booth, near the aisle to attract customers in as they walk by. I would use much or the entire back wall to show models (of different age demographics) wearing her jewelry and large individual blow-ups of her lovely pieces to further draw customers in.

2.              I would remove all neck forms in the booth and find better ways to display these necklaces. Neck-forms are the most over used of all jewelry display techniques. Customers get so anesthetized by neck-forms that they don’t even look at the jewelry on them having experienced them in just about every jewelry booth they come to. Find new and exciting ways to show your necklaces and break the mould. Leave the neck-forms behind and sell more jewelry as a result.

3.              Morgan’s small counter cases: The clear one on the center back table and wooden one on the right side of the booth, (low and crowded) do not project the ambiance and price point of her jewelry. Consistency in your merchandising elements are always best in a booth, the more your merchandising echoes your art, the more upscale your overall presentation appears.

4.              A large mirror or two (for when you are really busy) are conspicuously absent from Morgan booth display. A mirror sends the message “try it on!” People will try on more wearable products if a mirror is visible, especially if they see other customers trying things on. Get a good mirror of an appropriate size and quality and you will find it pays for itself the first day you us it.

Speaking with Morgan about her booth, she was considering moving her displays to the aisle and not letting customers come into her booth. I think that this move would be a mistake. In the current economic slump that we are experiencing, people who have money to spend are shy about doing so. If you don’t give them a semi private place to spend money they might not!

I am not aware if this is a shot that Morgan ever used as a booth shot for a jury. But if it were to be used as a booth shot, the chair should be removed from the image. Chairs always send the wrong message to a jury. I believe it is better to avoid having any chairs in your booth shot. If you leave the chair at home at any show, your sales will go up. When you are sitting in a chair at a show, you are sending a lot of negative messages to your potential customers. It is a proven fact that if you are up and standing in your booth and moving about, more people will enter and more customers will buy your art.

There are no doubts that a toned-down booth, that deemphasized the booth itself and ramps up the work in that booth will increase your sales. You will know when you are on the right track when people stop commenting on your display and start commenting on your art.

Thanks to Morgan for taking the time to send in her booth images. I will look forward to hearing how her sales improve after she has made some of these changes.

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.

Did you ever notice when you are at a show or any sales event there is always one person who seems to get most of the business? That individual who has “gravity” and pulls people into their space while people line up to buy? With the right kind of thinking, that could be you. 

Selling at shows or in galleries revolves around three things: 
• Impeccably crafted, creative and innovative products designed to be “on trend” and developed to fill customers’ needs sell well... 
• You must be a good salesperson to make the most out of any sales venue...
• Creating displays that cap ture the customer’s attention, draw them into your space and sell your work is the objective...

Once a customer holds something in their hands, they are four times more likely to buy it.

Flooring can make or break your entire display. Its potential to attract customers into your booth and keep them there cannot be underrated. When I do booth evaluations at both outdoor and indoor shows, I frequently see someone who has meticulously crafted their work and gone to great efforts to build a fantastic display, but has omitted a floor covering. Usually when I tell someone during an evaluation that they need a floor covering, they say, “I have one, I just didn’t bring it.” This is a terrible error and no place to cut corners if you want to make the most out of a merchandising opportunity. The floor is so important that it should not be an afterthought or an element to be overlooked altogether.