What a Great Fit!

Seven Steps to Developing Artists Relationships

1) Find an artist whose work you love.

2) Have them leave samples of their best work and present them in the sizes and packaging and details that the customer can expect to take home.

3) Make an appointment sheet with 5 or 10 minute intervals for the entire time your shop is open on the day (or days) of the event. Sometimes it will fill up in a matter of days and other times it may take few weeks but offer the service to every customer who walks in. If the artist lives nearby, it may not seem too big a deal if the schedule is not filled but especially try to have it at least 75% full if they are traveling from a greater distance. They need to be able to pay for their gas and perhaps a hotel room so their day needs to be as full as possible.

4) Call clients a day or 2 before and remind them of their appointment. If a scheduled appointment is a no-show, you should consider charging a sitting fee to be paid to the artist. They are taking time out of that artist’s schedule and you could have signed other people up who would have come.

5) Promote the artist all day to anyone who walks in. The more people who take advantage of this artist, the more loyal they’ll be to your store.

Tip: Don’t tell the customers that your artist will be in every month or any regular routine (even if you plan to do so). If a customer thinks they have plenty of other opportunities to get this artwork done, they will put it off and walk out of your store saying, “I should have that done sometime.” Let the customers know this artist is hard to pin down they are so busy and you are lucky to get them when you can. This will convince the clients that they had better take advantage of this while they can.

6) Have an agreement with the artist that they cannot appear in other boutiques within a certain mile radius.

Again, if these customers see the artist will be appearing in several stores within their beaten path, they will put it off and never feel pushed to schedule an appointment.

7) Ask the artist if they have their own client list and if you may add those names to your list so they can receive announcements about the artist’s appearance in your store. If they already like the artist, chances are they’ll want to come into your store during the event.

Do customers beam when they walk in your shop? Do they look around with gazes imagining a niece in that dress, a daughter in those shoes or a son in this vest? You know they will be back to do more shopping. Once customers see your gorgeous displays and unique gift items, they are hooked. But how do you get more people in so they can become hooked too? How do you go from a small trickle of the same people in at the peak sales hours to a steady crowd of new customers in your store all day from open to close?

While you are pondering these things, imagine an artist at home in their little studio, handing over their latest commission to a very pleased client who drove miles out of their way to pick up this piece. The artist thanks them again and the client tells them they will be sure to tell their friends. The artist would love to meet more clients like this - a mother who seeks out artist renderings of her children to display in her home. It’s not hard to find that kind of mother but it is hard for the mother to find that kind of artist.

People go to boutiques when they want to find something elite or one-of-a-kind. You sell hand-made clothes so, why not offer hand-made portraits. If most of your clients have young children, wouldn’t they be willing to drive a little farther to purchase their gifts at your store if they knew they could walk out with silhouettes of their children at the same time - or pencil sketches of the grandchildren, or perhaps commission a pastel portrait?

When you have an artist appear in your store, two things happen. First, the artist is instantly accessible and creating beautiful pieces that will have friends and friends-of-friends asking, “Where did you get that done?” Second, people leave your shop not only satisfied with what they expected to find, they leave with an original work of art that is priceless to the parent because it features their child(ren). They are amazed at the new possibilities that they can have done now that they know where to go. Not only that, but if they go to this artist for their 2 children, then when they have a third child later or if they choose to have them sketched again as they grow, they will want that work done by the same artist in your shop.

It is usually easier for the customer to pay you, the shop because the artist may not be set up to accept credit cards. If you and the artist both keep records, at the end of the day, you pay the artist what they earned minus a percentage you agree upon ahead of time. If you paid to advertise this event, you deserve a larger percentage than if you only wrote down the appointments over a few weeks time of various customers. Pay the artist at the end of the day, or if they are taking work home to return in a few days, you may want to pay them for those pieces when they are in your store ready for pick up.

When the event is over, not only will you make a percentage from the artist’s earnings but you will also sell more merchandise to all the new customers. And best of all, both you and the artist will benefit from all the great word of mouth!

If you don’t know where to find that artist sitting in their studio, and if they haven’t walked in to your shop to leave a card, you could visit fine art shows/exhibits. You could also contact the Portrait Society of America. They have state ambassadors who may be able to find a portrait artist near you who is willing to come do live sketches or silhouettes or pastel portraits etc. If you do a little searching, you may find an artist who is the perfect fit for your boutique!

Editorial Provided by Patti Rishforth. Patti is a portrait artist in South Carolina who has been visiting children’s boutiques, schools and fairs for several years specializing in the fine art of silhouettes as well as pencil portraits and paintings from her home studio. You can see more of her work at www.pattirishforth.com or contact her at (864) 845-0559.

[ Current Issue ] [ For New Store Owners ] [ Manufacturer Listings ] [ Product Update Pages ] [ Past Issues ] [ Calendar ]
[ eBabyShop ] [ FREE Subscription ] [ Add Listing ] [ Search ] [ Contact Baby Shop Magazine ]