[Ashbys]

Hi all,
This past weekend , there was an arts and craft feastival , near where I live. I decided to go to see what carvers might be there and to watch and learn what I could.
When I got there I walked around until I saw my first carver. The guy was making bowls. Ok , so I watched him a bit and since he was talking with a friend I looked at what he had for sell. To be honest I almost fell over , he was asking 350.00 per bowl average. So after looking at his cheery , and walnut bowls I went ahead to see what else I could find. The next place I found was a person turning wood on a lathe. So looking at the items there , I was again amazed. 175.00 for a 3 leged stool. 190.00 for a sawed piece of burl ( about 1 quarter inch thick )with a small clock in it. The next stop was another bowl maker and again prices 250.00 - 550.00 out of cherry and walnut.
So as I am about to give up on seeing anything , there in the far tent , I saw a wood spirt. Going over I met Christine of Christine carvings. Her work was excellent , wood spirt matchstick holders, carved mantels, in walnut and oak, some really nice work. She also had haging up a certificate from an Austrian woodcravers school.
I watched as she used her tools while she worked on a new piece of walnut. Then we started talking and I learned a great deal about many different things. But beyond that I was amazed that she had traveled 300 miles to attend an was not doing very well. Yet as I looked at the work she had put into her carvings , and then compared it to the guys making the bowls, I realized she was way under priced in comparison. At least in my opinion.
Is it so difficulte to sell carvings that that the work is almost free? Or is there something special about making a bowl which would make it worth so much more than figure carvings ?

And no I am not carving to make money. But The more I see of wood carvings the more they seem out of step with the rest of the world. So if you could please enlighten me, as to what I am missing.

Thanks

[rick-in-seattle]

Ash,
Woodcarving, like most art is worth what the collector is willing to pay.

Being a collector myself, I have passed up very high quality carvings that did not appeal to my taste. I have also purchased broken carvings that I really liked.

Placing your work before the correct audience is more important than what you carve.

Fine Austrian sculpture most likely would not sell in the Tennesee hill country. Likewise, Tennesee folk carvings probably would not sell in Austria.

Carving your niche is not just a saying, finding the proper venue is very important to obtaining sales.

A little example:
A friend of mine was at a festival in the North Carolina mountains. There were more than a hundred vendors, but my friend was one of the few that was selling. Why?

The customers were country folk and times were tough, so instead of selling his usual $50.00 walking sticks, he was carving (on the spot) large pencils for $3.00 each.
He had maybe 50 or 60 precarved pencils for sale also; he sold every pencil that weekend, along with three walking sticks.

[Ky_Whittler]

I too think it strange that a turned or hewn bowl is worth more than a carving. But at craft shows and fairs that seems to be the way it is. It takes 17 hours at the minimum to build a rocking chair that sells for 150 here. I can put that same effort into a carving and it may not sell for a year or more. And yet I can sell a twenty minute wood spirit in bark for twenty . I do good if I sell a walking stick for fifty and that's usually a commisioned piece that someone wants special as a gift.

I once did a horse head cane that took at least ten hours to do. All one piece from ash. Priced it at 50, I still have that stick today. Whittler

[Clifford_Parker]

I have found that at certain fairs I need to price my work as "crafts" ($20-$50) while at others I need to price the same pieces as "ART" ($50-$100) in order to sell.

A customer looking to buy crafts expects to pay less while a person looking for art will pass up items as "inferior" if they are priced too low. People who will buy a $300 bowl may not buy the same item at $100.

I have had weekends where I couldn't sell anything the first day, re-priced everything up or down 20%-50%, and nearly sold out the second day.

[Ashbys]

I can understand that certain areas and certian economical conditions would result in changes in price, as far as selling the carvings. I guess the part I don't understand is the value placed upon the craftsmanship. To me it seems that bowls are rather simple, at least in comparison to most of the carvings and as such the value I would place upon them would be in line with that value.
It is hard to understand where an item that is produced in a couple hours can be valued so much higher than an item that took perhaps days if not weeks.

[mdallensr]

Another issue is cheap, souvenir carvings. A lot of folks are used to seeing all kinds of carvings, bowls and fretwork for $5.99 in vacation gift shops. It's mass produced, and you know it's not "art", but most folks don't care that much. What they want is that ironwood dolphin from the Florida Keys, and they're not concerned that there's no ironwood in the Keys, and the carving was made in Indonesia.

Maybe another issue is the "I-think-I could-do-that" thought that goes through the minds of viewers. Some of our carvings look more like crafts than art, and most people think anyone can be a crafter if they work at it and take a lesson at the "Y". They're really not interested in collecting carvings or paying for the reputation of the carver.

[Irish]

Hi Ashby,

I think that you need to also consider the particular Arts and Crafts show when trying to understand the pricing of an artist. Some shows are much better organized and structured then others. There are companies that do nothing else but plan and put on shows. In doing so they have regular show dates at specific locations, do very heavy advertising, and jury in the crafters. Once an artist has passed the jury and been accepted as a participant the crafter often goes to all of the shows that the company holds.

The style of advertising that these companies do emphasises the Arts side of the Arts and Crafts. So the show-goers come expecting higher prices because they have been preped to see One of a Kind Artist! They also create a group of customers that come over and over again year after year looking for the artists that they purchased from the year before thus providing repeat sales.

Such show companies can bring in huge crowds but they also charge huge prices for the booth and often a percentage of the sales. So the company charges high prices but they also have the customer prepared for high prices! That $200.00 bowl may only land the artist $50.00 by the time they cover the show costs, expenses to get to the show, expenses to create the item ... and I won't even talk about taxes.

Although I have not done such a show as a wood carver I did some as a freelance oil artist long - long - long ago. My first painting, way back in the Dark Ages sold for $75.00, which was an exorpant price at the time. After I paid the show gallery, figured in lunch, gasoline, and sodas, the cost of the canvas and paints (just for that painting) I lost $5.00 on the sale. Now that $5 did not include taxes or time to make the painting or time away from the shop. Don't you think at the next show a comperable painting was offered and sold at the $250 range.

Susan

[squbrigg]

Ashbys.....it is strange sometimes as to what folks will be interested in. They do seem to love "machined" bowls, but will pass on carved figures, get excited seeing turned goblets, but yawn when the come across a lovely relief carved scene.

Some times it depends on the "presentation" too. If a beautifully carved piece is presented in a row of other similarly carved pieces, then folks think that there is some simple way of making them and de-value them in their own mind. Set that same piece on a pedestal covered with a piece of material or fur, by itself, and you can name your price.

There is no accounting for folks taste.......I'm so glad I just carve for fun and my own enjoyment. If they like it ....fine. If they don't....still fine. For me, it's much more fun to just carve for the sake of carving.

Bob

[KettleKarver]

I know exactly where Susan is coming from. Our club puts on a carving show each year, table fees are $20, and is open to anyone. A resort in the area holds a large event prior to the Christmas season inviting qualified artists from many areas and disciplines. Their registration fee is $700 and the event runs 10 days. That allows for more potential sales but also means more motel and meal bills if you don't live right in the area.

Jim

[decoycarve]

My wife and I have not been attending as many shows as we did in the past. I worked hard to get into a juried show two years ago and it cost me over $500 dollars for a 10 x 10 space. The rules stated hand made. There was so much stuff there that was actually an import that someone is modifying and calling it a craft. One lady was mad at me because I was selling a hand carved santa cheaper than she could buy the resin blanks and all she was doing was painting them. When ever I come up with a new Santa pattern and carve it we keep record of time and materials and come up with a price. We then set it on the dining room table and decide if we would pay that price for it. If the answer is yes he becomes a new pattern and I start selling them. If the answer is no I go back and see if there is differnt way of carving the pattern and try again or he becomes one of my wifes collection or we give him away as a gift. My Santas start at around $45 and go up to $175. Its funny at shows people will pick up a Santa and say how much, we give them a price and they set him down and walk away complaining about the price. Others will pick up the Santa and ask how we can sell them so cheap.
Goody