Galleries

I have no good advice or tips for getting into galleries. I don't think I've ever shopped around a portfolio or cold-called a place; pretty much every gallery I sell in chose me. They saw my work at a retail craft fair, or possibly online, and reached out to see if I was interested. Most of them are consignment situations, though I do currently have one that pays wholesale net 30 (50% of the retail price, by check, within 30 days of me delivering the work.)

For a long time, I took on galleries based on whoever would ask. I had work in Florence, Newport and Oakland, Oregon; Yreka, California. I did a lot of driving, or shipping, and every one of them went out of business on me, one while owing me three or four hundred dollars wholesale that I never did collect. (It's a long story, involving cash payments, a divorce, a death. It put me off galleries for a good long while.)

After a fairly long hiatus, I started selling pottery through galleries again in Washington state, because, as I said, they contacted me. And were willing to pick up the work. Mud in Your Eye Pottery had a van, and made pottery runs timed to coincide with Ceramic Showcase. Heron's Nest had an artist whose grandchildren lived in Eugene and who was willing to fill her trunk up with boxes of ware. Crow Valley Pottery began meeting me at Anacortes, and later started taking their van down I-5 to Portland, and lately to Independence, Oregon, about 45 minutes from me. I only deliver to one place, in Olympia, and I can't imagine taking on a shop where I'd have to ship. My pots are too heavy, bulky, and the profit margin isn't high enough to cover my time and cost.

One thing about galleries, at least on first contact: don't assume they know better than you what will sell. Every gallery buyer who ever stumbled into my booth wants me to wholesale animal banks and animal-handled mugs. Pottery World, Wood Gallery, even Made In Oregon (who made a huge order of cat, cow and moose mugs, net 30, and never ordered again). I tell them all that, though people stop and look at banks and cat mugs, what they buy are painted mugs, soup bowls, plates. The successful ones listen.

Right now I have three galleries, two in Washington and one west of Portland. Only two are consignment, and I'm not interested in more. There's a limit to how much of my product I'm willing to tie up filling other people's shelves.