Donate Lesson Rather Than Product
Ziemke Glassblowing Studio donated a glassblowing lesson to The Point, independent radio station in Vermont, for their April Adventurequest Month. The Point ran a full page ad in Seven Days, a weekly entertainment VT newspaper, listing four adventures people could win. The glassblowing lesson from Ziemke Glassblowing Studio was the first one. In this case, donating a lesson (an experience rather than a product) generated some great publicity and will bring someone to the studio who will, most likely, buy product.
April 09-16, 2008, p. 18B, Seven Days

Small Shops See Smallness as Their Big Selling Point
"(Small retailers)' most important step may be that they are trying to make the most of their inherent advantages over larger companies. ... The ability of small stores to react quickly and directly to customers may be one of the most effective weapons they have ... Gregory Choron, for instance, the owner of Merry Go Round Toys, a small retailer in New Rochelle, NY, is relying on his ability to glean intelligence quickly about what customers want and then order product for delivery practically the next day. ...
'Stores are upping the ante with more personalized customer service' said Mandy Putnam, vice president of TNS Retail Forward, a retail market research firm. ... The owner of Larson's Toys and Games in Columbus, makes sure his staff ... (has) a list of recommendations they can offer bewildered shoppers buying for children of different ages.
Stephanie Gamble, co-owner of the House Downtown, a home decorating store in Baltimore and Havre de Grace, Md., ... is offering free gift wrapping for purchases over $50.
... Ms. Johns of Gecko's Corner ... is (e)mailing special promotions to the people (on her) ... extensive e-mail list with members of the 15 or so community groups, from the Chamber of Commerce to the local country club, that she belongs to. ... (She) ... held a midweek open house strictly for (her) email contacts. Almost 200 people attended - and sales skyrocketed. 'It was the best day we ever had,' she said."
December 15, 2007, Business, p. 1, New York Times

Grant for Fiber Collage and Honorable Mentions
"Judith Plotner received a NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Individual Artist Grant from the Tri-County Arts Council. Her project is to create a stitched fiber collage contrasting the horrors of war with our idyllic life in the Adirondack Mountains. It will be displayed at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Gloversville, NY in September.
Members Marilee Litwa (2006 and 2007 Buyer Days exhibitor), Elizabeth O'Brien and Tom O'Brien received honorable mentions for work submitted in LARAC's March show It's About Time: Glens Falls Centennial Juried Exhibit."
The Arts Letter, April 2008, p.6, Saratoga County Arts Council

Posted four new studio tours at http://www.adknccrafts.com/:
The Artist at Work Studio Tour sponsored by the Adirondack Artists Guild in Saranac Lake, The Plein Air Studio Tour sponsored by The Arts Council of the Northern Adirondacks and the Westport Chamber of Commerce, The Spring Studio Tour sponsored by the Adirondack Artisans Guild of Lowville and the Farm Tours sponsored by Adirondack Harvest, are now posted at http://www.adknccrafts.com/studiotours.php. 20 annual and monthly studio tours in the region are listed.

Sales per Location:
In late 2004, sales per square feet for craft retailers with an average of $111,190 in sales was $136 per foot. Advertising budget averaged $4,695 at 4% of their budget. The average in inventory was $39,583. The sales to stock average was 2.81. Profit as a percent of sales was 17%. How do these figures compare with yours?
The stats are from 182 craft retailers (NICHE subscribers) mostly from the Northeast and the Mid Atlantic States. (thanks, Bernard, for turning me on to this one and thanks to the American Craft Council for posting it). I still think that for retailers and artisans, the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association annual survey is one of the most informative ones especially to monitor product line trends from year to year.
FMI: http://www.americancraft.com/BMAC/buyer/PDFs/PF06/CraftRetailerSurvey.pdf
and http://www.adknccrafts.com/resourcesstatistics.php

Welcome to
News For and About Artisans and Retailers of the Adirondack North Country here at http://adknccrafts.blogspot.com/ inbetween e-newsletters. The last e-newsletter went out in Nov., 2007. They are archived at http://www.adknccrafts.com/storiesaboutyou.php.

During the month of March,
to promote the 55 exhibitors of Buyer Days (April 2-3), the small regional gift trade show in Saratoga Springs, NY that I coordinate for the Adirondack North Country Association, I blasted all of you 4 times with exhibitor show specials, new products and best sellers and some product photos. They can still be viewed at http://adknccrafts.com/buyerdayslist.php.
Shopowners referred to the eblasts and website listing as part of their preparation to attend the show. The two day gift trade show with average exhibitor expenses of about $260 generated an average of $3897 per exhibitor in sales (orders and cash and carry) with 165 attending shopowners! The average sales per exhibitor was actually up from the 2007 show by $1147 when 156 shopowners attended. The exhibitor contact info pdf and show summary will be posted shortly at http://www.adknccrafts.com/buyerdayslist.php.

In the May 2008 Woodshop News
Bernadette Boyle, marketing and public relations manager for the American Crafts Council (ACC), said that for the 32nd annual ACC show (Feb. 22-24, 700 exhibitors) in Baltimore the turnout (20,000 visitors) roughly matched that of last year's show. Later on in the article she states that the outlook for upcoming ACC shows is positive. "Our shows saw a breakthrough in attendance in 2007. Because of the economy after 9/11, attendance slipped a bit. But in 2007 we definitely have seen it creep up so our hopes are even higher for 2008."
FMI: http://www.craftscouncil.org/ and http://www.woodshopnews.com/

In the March 2008 Woodshop News,
The Furniture Society's 12th annual conference which is to be held this year in Purchase, NY from June 18 to 21 was featured.
"More than 14 demonstrations/workshops will be offered during the conference on such subjects as working with cork, surfacing wood, composite materials, chainsaw carving and design software. ...
In discussions over the course of the conference, panelists will explore the position of studio furniture in the current debates about craft, design and fine art. They also will analyze how the perception of value gets shaped, question furniture making as a career choice and offer suggestions on how to distinguish a responsible environmental movement from a marketing" standpoint.
If I remember correctly from another article reporting on last year's conference, some 350 people attended.
FMI: http://www.furnituresociety.org/ and http://www.woodshopnews.com/