Line It Up

Honing a Great Wholesale Line? That’s NO Easy Task

by Loretta Fontaine

had the opportunity to address a group of artists new to wholesaling at a Philadelphia Arts Business Institute workshop. My presentation was “Defining Your Line.” We covered a lot of topics. In this column I’d like to touch on just two: the importance of uniqueness and the need for depth of line.

When I do a retail show near my hometown of Albany, N.Y., I reach the regional audience of folks that come out to stroll the show. Through galleries, my wholesale work has been sold to customers across the country from Florida to California, even to customers in a small Alaskan town!

Ironically, with a larger audience I found I didn’t have to make jewelry that would appeal to everyone. By narrowing my focus, I could design the work I really wanted to create. Jewelry that was unique and artistic. There’s a smaller segment of the population that this work appeals to, but on a national scale I knew I could find the galleries that would have those customers.

At a wholesale show uniqueness is crucial. You compete against the best. A product with a distinctive design vision behind it is necessary to stand out. Buyers need to say “Wow!” when they pass your booth. If you’ve found success at regional retail shows, and are interested in wholesale, take some valuable time-out to revamp your product line. Wholesaling allows you to adapt your line for a unique niche in the national marketplace.

Wendy Rosen, president of The Rosen Group and producer of the Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia, coaches artists interested in wholesale to use words to broaden acceptance of their work to buyers. “We look for artists to add value,” Rosen says, “and it could be just by adding a hangtag, identifiable mark or signature.”

Work sold at retail fairs may need some adjustment. The Rosen Group looks for highly skilled artists with unique work who broaden their offerings to appeal to more buyers. For example, a series of the same pots could be offered in new glaze colors. Artists are also encouraged to take a successful item and then expand with similar items in new and different proportions. “If you’re making horizontal pieces, make vertical pieces!” Rosen says, “The more an artist branches out into different dimensions and sizes, the more marketable the work becomes.”

At the workshop I asked artists to visualize the final merchandizing of their work in a gallery setting. How many pieces might a gallery display, and in what amount of square footage? A wholesale line should have a depth of variety in price and style. Then galleries have enough choices to cherry pick the perfect display for their customers.

I offered up my jewelry line as an example. A gallery will typically show 12-25 pieces of my jewelry in about one square foot of space. I offer 74 different styles that all work together. I feel that’s enough variety for a gallery to choose their perfect mix.

Each wholesale buyer has a unique way of ordering. I offer a range of prices so a gallery with budget-conscious customers can pick a great selection, and a higher-end gallery can choose higher price points. A more conservative gallery may choose a selection of jewelry with my classic black and white photographs. From the same line, a gallery that focuses on whimsy and fun may choose the jewelry that features vibrant color photographs.

Hanson Galleries owner Donna Milstein looks for free-spirited work with bright, clear colors for her customers in sunshine-filled Houston, Texas. Milstein chooses enough items from an artist’s line to make an impact in her custom store displays.

For expensive, mid-sized glass it might be just three items. Milstein may choose nine to 13 items from a new functional ceramic artist. Jewelry might be 25 items in a case. “Note all the odd numbers!” Milstein says, “I also buy in ‘families.’ Think of a daddy, two or three mommies and several children… Now I have [my customer’s needs of] scale and price addressed.”

Leading the Arts Business Institute workshop was a lot of fun, and led to some great questions and discussions. I left the participants with worksheets and exercises to bring home. Honing a great wholesale line? That’s no easy task. Even world-renowned designers struggle with defining their lines!