Getting Your Foot in the Door ...

"It's important to view it as a partnership rather than as an us-and-them situation," says Janey Boyer, who makes sterling silver and gold jewelry with her partner David Hayes in Bloomfield, Ky. "In every good partnership, there's good communication."

Wholesale shows are an obvious entrée. Tom Torrens, a Gig Harbor, Wash., artist who makes functional metal garden sculpture, maintains 200 active gallery or store accounts, most of which originated from contacts made at the one or two wholesale shows he does a year.

Wendy Silver, a Hollandale, Fla., artist who makes Judaic art with her father, Arthur Silver,established most of her 75 gallery accounts through wholesale shows. "I also do a lot of advertising, but I find advertising is more of a way for them to remember my name and my work," she says.

But wholesale shows aren't for everyone. The expenses alone keep many artists away. Schilperoort, for instance, figured that her budget this year would allow for either one wholesale show or advertising. She chose the latter. She now works with three galleries and hopes to add others.

Schilperoort, who makes one-of-a-kind jewelry incorporating beads from different countries, as well as vintage pieces, calls on galleries in which she thinks her work might sell, asks what materials they want to see from prospective artists and then sends them what they request. "I've been amazed at how eager they are to take a look at something," she says.

Linda Brewer, a Silver City, N.M., clay artist who makes one-of-a-kind anthropomorphic animals, doesn't attend wholesale shows either. She maintains a small studio with her partner, John Rohovec, and wouldn't be able to keep pace with the orders a wholesale show would generate. Instead, they do about 10 retail shows a year and limit their wholesale accounts to 12 galleries. Brewer first encountered many of her gallery clients at retail shows.

ARTISTS' TIPS ON WORKING WITH GALLERIES

View your gallery relationship as a partnership, rather than as an "us-vs.-them" situation. Many artist-gallery contacts are initiated at wholesale and retail shows. If a gallery owner is interested in the work, suggest that you can take the owner's credit card number, send a sample c.o.d., and fill out a credit card sales slip so you are poised to complete the sale if the gallery decides to buy. If not, the gallery sends the box back, and you tear up the sales slip. Add personal service by visiting galleries in areas where you exhibit in retail shows. Guarantee that your work will sell. Make it a policy to take unsold work back or substitute it with another piece or line. Provide unpacking instructions, to make the job go easier and faster for the gallery owners. If you've set your terms at net 30 days and the gallery hasn't paid, don't wait until day 32 -- call on the 30th day. This will let the owner know you expect nothing less than prompt payment for your work. If you need to make that "collection" call, be firm but polite. Just state the facts and ask when you can expect to be paid. Whenever possible, visit the gallery where your work will be displayed. Make personal contact with the owner. You might even be able to negotiate where your work will be placed. Iron out all of the details up front and in writing. Who will pay for shipping and handling? Will you charge a percentage for both, or a flat handling fee plus shipping? Are you offering exclusivity, and if so, for how large a radius? When is payment due? What's your minimum order requirement? Offer a temporary exclusive, perhaps within a radius of 200 miles, for 90 days, at which time the arrangement is evaluated and renewed if sales are going well. If you cannot offer exclusivity, don't sell work to two competitors in one city. You can sell your work to two outlets in one area that serve different markets, such as a garden shop and a fine art gallery. Offer incentives for clients who prepay, such as a percentage discount and free handling.

"In the very, very beginning we did a lot of beating the pavement," she recalls, adding that cold-calling wasn't always successful, and it tends to put artists in a weak bargaining position. "Now I've found if they contact you about your work, you have a stronger bargaining position than if you contact them."

Like Brewer, Alexis Schneider and her partner, Vanora Savig-Leddy, of Two Heads Studios in Topanga, Calif., do a mix of retail shows and wholesale. The pair sells their hand-dyed clothing made from silk and rayon-silk blends to about eight wearable art stores.

(Above) Wendy Silver and her father, Arthur Silver, create Judaic craft such as this handcrafted sterling Mezuzah. Wendy Silver says she finds that advertising is useful to help retailers remember her and her work.

To break into the market, Schneider called stores and made appointments to show her work. "I tried the dressing up [routine], with nice samples in my bag and business cards in my pocket," she says. "I went down to Montana Street (in Santa Monica) and pretty much got snubbed all over town."

It wasn't easy, she readily admits. Yet she did pick up one customer. "You hit 100 places, and you're lucky to pick up two," she stresses. "But if you pick up two, and they're good customers, then it's worth it."

Now most of her gallery clients come through word of mouth or from contacts at retail shows, such as the Contemporary Crafts Market in Santa Monica.

When a gallery owner is interested in the work, Schneider gets the owner's credit card number, sends a box of her clothing c.o.d., and fills out a credit card sales slip so she's poised to complete the sale if the gallery decides to buy. If not, the gallery sends the box back, and Schneider tears up the sales slip.

"With a one-of-a-kind item, they must see the goods," she explains. "You can't just send photos."

Recently, for instance, a Santa Fe, N.M., shop owner called after seeing a friend wear one of Schneider's jackets. So Schneider sent her $6,000 worth of work on approval, and the shop owner bought them all.

Schneider never sends mailings out cold, and she's careful about sending pieces on approval. "I don't give it a try unless I know it's a pretty sure thing," she says.

INVESTIGATE RETAIL GALLERIES AND SHOPS CAREFULLY

Screening is a two-way street. Artists have to evaluate galleries just as carefully as galleries evaluate them. Torrens says he requires retailers to fill out financial applications and send photos of their space. He evaluates them for size and product mix to make sure his work would fit.

Brewer checks to make sure that galleries advertise. That shows they're active and serious about what they're doing, she says. She also asks other artists about galleries' reputations.

But the relationship goes beyond tangible factors. The chemistry must be good, too. "It's like a marriage in a way," Brewer says. "They need to like you and your work to be able to sell it, so you have to click."

DOING BUSINESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS

Linda Brewer, a Silver City, N.M., clay artist, jokes that every condition in her wholesale contract is a result of a mistake she and her partner, John Rohovec, made. For instance, a gallery once ordered a set of her pelicans. Brewer made the pieces and sent them off, only to get a call from the gallery saying there had been a misunderstanding when the gallery took the customer's order. "These were supposed to be penguins," Brewer was told. So now Brewer's contract states that galleries must keep what they order; it's their responsibility to correctly take orders from their customers. It pays to set terms carefully, artists say, and to hone them when necessary. Among the major terms to consider: whether to sell outright to a gallery or on consignment. Artists prefer the former, but most find it necessary to do some consignment when they're breaking into the gallery market. "I hate consignment," says Alexis Schneider of Two Heads Studios in Topanga, Calif. "They're my goods, and they're getting shopworn at my expense." Yet Schneider still sells her wearable art clothing on consignment, but only to promising new galleries that are well-managed. "You have to be cautious," she says. "I want to see the shop. One person's view of where your stuff will work and your view of where your stuff will work are very different." Other terms to consider before approaching galleries: Who will pay for shipping and handling, and will you charge a percentage for both or a flat handling fee plus the actual cost of the shipping? Are you offering exclusivity, and if so, for how large a radius? When is payment due -- up front or in 30 days (net 30)? And what's your minimum order amount? Susan Reynolds, a potter in Truth or Consequences, N.M., says she learned a lot about how to set terms from other artists. "It comes down to communication," she says. "Be very specific about your expectations, and listen very carefully. Hold fast to your terms." Exclusivity, for instance, can mean different things. Reynolds says, "I wouldn't sign an exclusive, but I let them know I'm very sensitive to [their interest in having a unique product]." Tom Torrens of Gig Harbor, Wash., who sells his functional metal garden sculpture to a variety of galleries and stores, takes care not to sell work to two competitors in one city but may sell his work to two outlets in one area that serve different markets, such as a bird feeder store and a fine art gallery. Schneider, meanwhile, does not guarantee exclusivity, but she's careful to send different styles to shops in the same area. Brewer, on the other hand, is very specific. She says she immediately offers a gallery an exclusive agreement, usually with a radius of 150 to 200 miles, for 90 days, at which time it's evaluated and renewed if sales are going well. Gallery owners welcome the offer. "You don't want to be everywhere. You want to be unique," she says. Your terms should protect you, but they can also serve as sales incentives. Jewelers Janey Boyer and David Hayes of Bloomfield, Ky., waive their handling fee to clients who do net 30 and order more than $300. And for clients who prepay, they offer a three percent discount and free handling.

GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS CRITICAL

Once a relationship is established with a gallery, top-notch service and open communication are the keys to maintaining it. "Every once in a while, people will call with a special order," says Patti Greer, artist Wally Kohler's sales manager for Bear Grass Studio in Arivaca, Ariz. "That's hard for us because our work is one-of-a-kind, but I think it's worth it to solidify the relationship with the gallery."

Kohler makes Southwestern-style wooden lamps and copper lampshades. He adds personal service by visiting galleries in areas where he does retail shows. "That way they save on shipping, and they can see us," Greer says. "And they usually end up buying more if you're right there."

Boyer and Hayes go the extra mile by guaranteeing that their work will sell. "Either they sell it or we take it back," she says. Usually they extend credit for the next order. Like many artists, they also offer to replace or repair anything that breaks or is lost.

Brewer stresses that attention to tiny details adds up to good customer service. To make it easier to unpack her pieces, for instance, she puts tiny signs on the joints of the packing material showing where to cut. "When they actually get the piece, they go snip, snip, snip, and it unfolds like a flower," she says.

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

Inevitably, however, problems arise. The important thing is to resolve them quickly. Susan Reynolds, a potter in Truth or Consequences, N.M., recalls the time she forgot to send an order to a gallery. As soon as she realized her mistake, she sent the pieces and included an extra one for free. "As a result, they've ordered several more of those pieces, and (the gesture) produced tons of good will."

Galleries aren't perfect either. Some well-intentioned owners are terrible about paying on time. A well-placed call by the artist can go a long way to mending that problem. "When the 30 days are up, I don't wait until 32 days. I call right away," Brewer says. "It's a good thing to do because you set a pattern."

Boyer says her partner, Hayes, is so good at collecting on late accounts that they never have problems getting paid. "He's always polite, and he just states the facts and asks to know when we can expect to be paid," Boyer says. "He also asks them if there's a problem, and if there is, we will work with them."

Yet every now and then a relationship can go sour. Most experienced artists have a tale or two about being stiffed or mistreated.

Reynolds recalls one gallery that wouldn't pay on time or pay the right amount. When she'd complain, she was told to wait a month until the gallery cut the next paychecks. Then the owner would call her and demand a huge number of pieces on short notice. She finally stopped doing business with the gallery.

"If it's not working, it's like a bad relationship -- it can be self-destructive," Reynolds says. "I try to be really accommodating and find that it's really easy if the gallery respects me."

Although things may go wrong occasionally, sometimes they can go unbelievably right. Wendy Silver, for instance, got along so well with a gallery owner, she married him. "Talk about a good relationship with a gallery," she quips.

Barbara Marquand is a Grass Valley, Calif.-based freelance writer.

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