How to Sell Your Jewelry Through Art Galleries
by Rena Klingenberg
One way to sell your higher-priced, one-of-a-kind jewelry is through art
galleries. Customers who shop at galleries expect to pay higher prices, and
they're looking for unusual handcrafted pieces that can't be found anywhere
else. Gallery owners and staff are experienced at selling art to this type of
clientele, and they are always in search of new, high-quality handcrafts.
The Best Galleries for Your Jewelry
Many galleries specialize in a particular art niche. If you find one that
specializes in a theme, material, or era that characterizes your jewelry, it
could be the beginning of a successful business relationship for you.
For example, if you make dichroic glass bead jewelry, seek out some galleries
that focus on glass art.
And be sure to get a good idea of the gallery's personality - a conservative,
traditional atmosphere would be a good bet for Victorian-theme jewelry, but not
such a good fit for trendy polymer clay bracelets.
Here are some ways to locate galleries that are likely to be interested in your work:
1. Check your phone book's yellow pages for galleries in your town and in other
towns near you. If they're close enough, visit likely prospects to scope them
out before making any appointments to show them your work.
2. Look in the classified ads of art magazines for gallery advertisements. Some
art magazines also publish annual listings of galleries.
3. When your friends and family travel, ask them to be on the lookout for
galleries that seem compatible with your style of jewelry. Your loved ones are
usually happy to step into a likely gallery and pick up a business card for you
to follow up on.
4. Do some Internet searches for galleries that pertain to your style of
jewelry. For more accurate search results, try using quotes in your search terms
- for example, "gallery" + "glass art".
Study these galleries' online presence and see whether they feel like places
that are right for your work. Bookmark at least a dozen, and see if their sites
state their preferred procedure for artists to submit their work.
5. To show your work to galleries within driving distance, call first and set an
appointment with the person in charge of accepting new work. If they say they're
not accepting anything new at this time, thank them politely and move on to the
next likely prospect.
6. For galleries farther afield, you can send a brief email to the gallery
owner, introducing yourself and stating why you think your jewelry fits well
with their gallery. Include a link to your website so they can peruse your work
at their convenience. If you don't hear back from them in two weeks, call the
owner to follow up.
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