How to market our turnings

[Walter Ambrosch]

So, after leaving the Production turning world, I now need to find markets for hand turned one of a kind Treenware.

Suggestions on how you price your work too would be helpful.

Any Ideas on how to start marketing these one of a kind products?

I would really like some country gift shops and such.

 

[hockenbery]

One avenue is the ACC show in Baltimore . It is every February.
It is 3 days wholesale and 3 days retail.

It is juried and sometimes difficult to get accepted. It is also expensive. If you have the right products it can be very lucrative.

During the wholesale days you would meet the the gallery and craft store owners.
You might get contracts with some for your products.

A whole bunch of well know turners have used this show to get established.

-al

 

[hockenbery]

For folks who do the ACC show the whole sale buyers become their client market.

When we did arts shows gallery owners would ask if they could carry our work.

You can always walk into a gallery with a bunch of turnings or photos and ask if they wold want to carry your work.

We always found we did better at shows that had other woodturners and in galleries who carried other woodturners.

Good luck
Al

 

[odie]

You can always walk into a gallery with a bunch of turnings or photos and ask if they wold want to carry your work.

Yep!

ooc

 

[David Wilkins]

Someone asked a while back about agents for woodturners/artists. If there was a good one around they would know how to put the right kind of work in the right kind of places. Lots of places have offered to take some of my stuff, but I never appreciated how they represented what was there, and I didn't want to be in that boat.

 

[MichaelMouse]

All have said, including me in a similar thread, that "art" shows are a great venue because they are destinations for motivated purchasers. Same goes for galleries, though it's generally more expensive to put your work there. I wholesale to galleries so I can be done with them right away. Those who want consignment goods may seek them elsewhere.

Co-Op galleries are a good place, but they do ask some of your time in return. I used to schedule my time when I was on call for ambulance, which meant sometimes I had to hustle a prospective out the door, but I also got a lot of carving and French polishing done as people wandered. If only other members had given half the time I did, we'd have lasted more than a couple years.

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

Walter - You got some pretty good responses. Maybe you didn't get more responses because a lot of members think that making woodturning all about making money is a really good way to ruin an otherwise very enjoyable hobby.

Not everybody is in it for the money. But since you seem to be, here's some additional ideas:

Join your local AAW club(s) and participate in any shows where they sell their stuff. Craft / Art shows are a tough way to make a living. But who knows, maybe you make the one thing that will sell like hotcakes.

Invest in tent/table/whatever and join the craft / art show circuit yourself.

Find local retailers that sell stuff like what you are making and talk to them about handling your product.

Sell your stuff on ebay.

Set up your own website with a sales capability and then start visiting every possible forum you can find that has people that might be interested in your products. Participate in the forum and start subtly talking up your products without violating forum rules.

Turning is a lot of fun. If someone approaches me about buying something I made then great. But I can think of hundreds of ways I can make a lot more money doing other things though.

Ed

 

[Patrick Miller]

Etsy

www.etsy.com is also an option for art and craft sellers. Might be worth a look.

 

[Thomas Stegall]

While we could all give you responses, without seeing and knowing the type style and price range you are attempting to sell we can't give you relevant suggestions. Etsy is one option, Ebay, your own personal website, juried art fairs, craft fairs, store fronts, galleries, co-opt galleries, specialty stores like wines stores to sell wine stoppers etc are all considerations. You have to know your the market range for your type of work.

 

[Jake Gevorgian]

I don't want to sound negative, but there isn't much market for woodturning trade at this time. And whatever market there is, it is already full. From my experience, we didn't have much sales at the woodturning gallery in Los Angeles. The top seller items were cowboy hats and some segmented turnings. Honestly, I think they were under priced anyway (some were made many years ago and only were sold after many years...) So, I figured, you can't make a living off of bowlturning----and the spindle turning is taken over by the CNC type of machines. Even the baseball bats are made on CNC machine now. I think that the only way of making living off of spindle turning would be in living in a small Egyptian or Moroccan town and make Masharabia panels.

But, like everyone else said, you can try promoting your works on ebay, etsy, craigslists, your website, galleries, home furnishing stores like crate and barrel or mom and pop stores.

 

[Bret Hinz]

I agree with the etsy comment.

I make soap as a hobby, and while I don't make enough to sell on etsy (mostly friends buy it, and i use a lot, too), quite a few soapers and crafters sell on etsy.

check it out.

i don't look to sell any turnings, but i would imagine i would run out of people to give my stuff to (not really )

 

[Barry Elder]

Walter, unless you personally know someone who makes a living, verified by the IRS, by selling woodturnings, I'd like to know who they are and what their secret is. Most of the POP people seem to make most of their $$ with teaching, demoing, and selling DVDs, or so I've been told.
Down here in the wonderful weather of Florida, we have no economy and even the tourists, rare as they are, don't want to spend money except for dire necessities. Of course, there are people with more money than the banks so when they find an exceptional piece of turned wood art, they get a really good deal! But they are few and far between. The past six years have been bleak and the future outlook is bleak. Keep looking up!

 

[Paul M. Kaplowitz]

Marketing Our Products

I am working on an article for the AAW Journal that outlines in detail how I am marketing my bowls. It should be ready in the about 3 months. It has taken me about 3 years to refine my product, venue, price and client base. 2011 was my first year of turning full time, ( about 25 hours a week), I grossed $14,000. and expect to double that this year. My kids insisted on making me a web site ( thebowlturner.com). I don't know if this will help at all, it is still being built, although you can see what I do. One thing you can do is subscibe or get a copy of Sunshine Artist and/or Craft Report magazines. I'm sorry I'm not giving you more details, but I need to write the article. Don't be deterred by the nay sayers, you may not make a living solely on your turnings, but it can be an important suppliment to SS.