Change Can Be Your Best Seller

rends come and go. Colors come in and out of fashion. The economy rises or falls, and customers respond by spending more or less.

Change is a constant for crafts retailers. There has always been the challenge to change with the times in order to keep pace with current customers while trying to attract new ones. Sometimes the adjustments required are small; sometimes major. Here’s how some successful galleries have approached the challenges of change.

Catering to demand

“Our clientele are part of the baby boomers, and now they’re all growing up,” says Lynn Komessar, who, along with Lori Schneider and Louise Shulkeri, owns Pieces Gallery in Highland Park, Ill.

When the gallery opened in 1985, it was light and bright, filled with lavender and peach, and known for featuring whimsical work. But several years ago, their customers’ tastes turned to the natural look, cushy home furnishings, and Asian-inspired work. The co-owners began shifting the inventory to neutral colors and added some imports, including old-looking Asian furniture.

At Pieces Gallery, the current look features a warm and natural feel, with touches of whimsy still part of the mix.

A gallery makeover in 2000 completed the transition. The original black and white flooring was replaced with a neutral color, and the black and white packaging was replaced with brown kraft and eucalyptus. Although whimsy is still a part of the mix, the new look is warmer and more natural.

Customer demand was also the driving force behind changes in Gallery Five (www.gallery5.com) in Tequesta, Fla. In 1982, Paula and Paul Coben opened a fine crafts gallery featuring clay, glass, metal, wood and fiber. However, an analysis of sales soon showed that wearables were what was selling, says Paul Coben. Jewelry and accessories were added and the clothing inventory was expanded. “In wearables, you have to have a substantial basic inventory for customers to take you seriously,” explains Coben.

The original “Fine Crafts” gallery signs were amended to read “Fine Crafts and Wearable Art.” The success of this shift in emphasis has enabled Gallery Five to expand from an initial 700 square feet to over 2,000 square feet. And although the gallery still sells fine crafts, wearables now make up 70 percent of inventory.

Julia Rush, owner of Julia Rush Fine Crafts in Hickory, N.C., says that a customer will sometimes say, “Your gallery has changed so much this year I hardly recognized it.” But, Rush explains, the differences are less a change in emphasis than a change in inventory. She keeps the gallery’s top 20 or 30 lines but continually brings in new work for the remainder of her inventory.

Over Rush’s 22 years in business, the gallery look has shifted from “very 70s” (lots of wood, macramé, browns and natural colors) to today’s “loads and loads” of bright colors and a higher level of sophistication. Rush points out that trends take longer to reach Hickory. “I travel a lot and see things early in New York and San Francisco,” she says. “I have to wait a year or so for them to reach us. You have to be careful that you don’t change and get ahead of your customers.”

Inside out changes

While change is most often market driven, it can also be initiated by internal factors such as a move to a new location or new ownership or management.

At The Escape Fine Crafts & Gifts, a move to a new, larger location in 2002 inspired major changes, including the expansion of jewelry and outdoor-related craft.

When potters Karen and Stephen Steininger opened Out of Hand (www.outofhandiowa.com) in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 1984 they assumed the main focus would be clay. However, the bottom line dictated that jewelry, garden items, and home accessories take the lead. In an internally driven change, the initial emphasis on classic crafts shifted to more contemporary work under the influence of Wendy Kiess, who became full-time gallery manager in 1991. ”That’s the way she wants to go.” Steininger explains. “And since she’s the one there selling the work, I believe it should be something she is excited about.”

A 2002 move to a new location that tripled the gallery space inspired some major changes for The Escape Fine Crafts & Gifts (www.ShoptheEscape.com) in Georgetown, Texas. In the old location, the gallery focus was on wood. The additional space has allowed owners Len and Judy Lester to build their inventory of jewelry and garden accessories up to the same level as wood. “We saw the potential for these items in our other location,” says Judy Lester, “but we didn’t have the space for them. We were just scratching the surface.”

Leslie Wright, owner of Out of the Ordinary in New Albany, Ohio, moved her gallery to a location formerly occupied by a gift shop. To keep the gift shop’s customers, she supplemented her crafts inventory with some of the collectables and imports that had been popular at the now-closed store.

When Rinda Hill and Holly Lantinen bought Worldly Goods (www.worldlygoodsnh.com) in Portsmouth, N.H., in 1998, they changed the inventory to reflect their own tastes. “We have filters we put items through,” explains Lantinen. “One is being able to see the hand of the maker. We have put more emphasis on that.” Currently, their inventory is shifting toward home furnishings. They’re also shifting marketing strategy, hoping their new Web site will yield year-round sales to tourists who visit the gallery during the summer.

The question is not “Should you change?” It’s “How much, in which direction and when?” Lag behind your customers or get too far ahead and you’ll lose them. Shift gradually; keep what’s working with the old while bringing in the new. And don’t ever stop changing.

-Grace Butland is market coordinator for the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council. She resides in Nova Scotia.