[TerryCurley]

OK I decide to do something to actively sell my paintings. I know I'm not great and I won't ask much for any of my paintings but I love entrepreneurial adventures even if they are tiny ones.

So I went to a flea market that I thought looked nice and I was able to rent a space for only $35 a month! My husband is going to build me a 8' x 6' peg board wall (that's 2.4m x 1.8m) that I can put hooks on both sides to display my paintings.

I know you really good artists are probably thinking this is not the best way to go, but I never intended to sell any anyway and now that I do every now and then I thought why not give it a shot.

So I opened this thread and I will be posting pictures of the set up as it develops.

 

[ARTadmin]

That is a wonderful idea! :vs_closedeyes:

 

[Susan Mulno]

Cool! Maybe you will inspire us to give it a try?

 

[TerryCurley]

If this place doesn't work out, I'll try another. On route 65 which is fairly close to my home there are 6 Flea Markets within 6 miles. I'm not into flea marketing but around here it's pretty popular. This place I picked has mostly collectable stuff and craft stuff like homemade jewelry , not cloths or household goods. My problem is going to be to keep from spending money there.

 

[chanda95]

I think it's a great idea. A lot of artists I have seen will have booths at flea markets. They also do an arts and crafts show here at Christmas - you might want to check into that and see if your area offers one. This gives members of the community a chance to show off, and sell, their artistic creations.

Just a thought also but you could do like I did and enter your local county fair in the open barn. Give you a little more exposure. You could also see if there are any visitor centers or cafes or coffee shops that have art by local people. We are a small small community here but the coffee shop and visitor center both display and sell pieces by local artisans...

I am very glad you are doing this Terry!

 

[ARTadmin]

I saw an artist at the flea market this weekend. Although she wasn't charging much, she was selling quite a few of her paintings. I did notice she had framed them.

 

[TerryCurley]

WOW Cricket...that artist better hope it doesn't rain.

Thanks Chanda. I don't think I'm up to doing any competition. I may go to some local restaurants, but for now just the flea market is a big step for me. I never planned to do anything. I do have a goal to have a picture displayed at my bank, but I need to get a bigger canvas done before I do that.

I have been going over older paintings that have been slated for the dumpster and seeing about making them better. Right now I'm working on the first two tries for my sisters roses. Here is another before and after.

Before:

Spoiler

After:

Spoiler

 

[Asancta]

Oh boy Terry am no good with that.Promote myself?Probably I would throw everything away 1st thinking that none is good LOL
But you encourage me...I must confess

 

[ARTadmin]

Another thing to consider if if you have any local mom and pop type diners or cafes in your area. Our local sandwich shop decorates their walls with the work of local artists. Under each is a little basic sign with artist info. This would work with many settings.

 

[Bushcraftonfire]

Wonderful idea Terry.. Hope it works for you!

 

[TerryCurley]

I started setting up my display at the flea market. I have one side of the display board finished. Tomorrow I'll finish the other side. Below is a picture of the building and my display.

 

[TerryCurley]

The way this flea market works is ideal for me. The owner of the building rents the space to the vendors like me. The vendor sets up the display and tags the merchandise. The owner of the building is there all the time and when someone buys something she takes the money and keeps the tag. Once a month the owner settles up with vendor. She does not get any percentage of the sale just the rent money. So I won't have to be there at all if I don't want to. But I will probably hang around a bit anyway.

 

[FanKi]

Yeeeep, it's so nice Terry!
I hope it results good ^^ Let us know when you sell something :3

 

[chanda95]

So how does it work. The flea markets here are mostly outdoor and you have to go every weekend (not open during the week) and the sellers set up their booths each day and are responsible for the selling of each piece. Is yours up all the time and someone there to watch it or do you have to be there?

 

[TerryCurley]

The post before last I kind of explained how it works. These are buildings. The owner has a large area set up for her stuff. The rest of the space she rents out to other people (vendors). The road that the building is on has 6 flea markets pretty much one right next to each other so it draws buyers to the area. People pretty much come there looking for bargains or something unique. The owner is there Sunday through Saturday (it is only closed Mondays). If she is not there an given day she has someone working for her that is there to handle the purchases. She keeps the tags of everything that is sold and she settles up with the vendors once a month. It is the vendors choice whether or not they want to hang around, but there is no need.

All the owner gets is the rent. Since my area is very small 8ft x 6ft, my rent is only $35 a month.:biggrin: She does not get any commissions, everything taken in for the pictures is mine.

The way you have the flea markets working in your area is pretty much the way it was done in New York also....kind of a fair environment...this is more of a store environment albeit informal.

I have to admit so far I haven't sold anything, but that's OK, I really think I will eventually. There is no contract so I can move my display to another flea market any time I want to. So far I like this one. It seems to have a lot of traffic. So it's just a fun adventure....that's what life is about, right?

 

[chanda95]

The post before last I kind of explained how it works. These are buildings. The owner has a large area set up for her stuff. The rest of the space she rents out to other people (vendors). The road that the building is on has 6 flea markets pretty much one right next to each other so it draws buyers to the area. People pretty much come there looking for bargains or something unique. The owner is there Sunday through Saturday (it is only closed Mondays). If she is not there an given day she has someone working for her that is there to handle the purchases. She keeps the tags of everything that is sold and she settles up with the vendors once a month. It is the vendors choice whether or not they want to hang around, but there is no need.

All the owner gets is the rent. Since my area is very small 8ft x 6ft, my rent is only $35 a month.:biggrin: She does not get any commissions, everything taken in for the pictures is mine.

The way you have the flea markets working in your area is pretty much the way it was done in New York also....kind of a fair environment...this is more of a store environment albeit informal.

I have to admit so far I haven't sold anything, but that's OK, I really think I will eventually. There is no contract so I can move my display to another flea market any time I want to. So far I like this one. It seems to have a lot of traffic. So it's just a fun adventure....that's what life is about, right?

LOL. I don't know how I missed that previous post but I did. Thanks for clarifying! It sounds AWESOME. If we had something like that here I would SO do it. The only thing we really have here is an art gallery that doesn't get a ton of traffic and it jacks prices up and takes a 25% commission. I have better luck just doing my little commissions here and there.

 

[ARTadmin]

This is soooooo exciting!

 

[Jason]

any updates?

 

[TerryCurley]

any updates?

It's working out great Jason. Thanks for asking.