Podcast: Studio Tours
Being part of a studio tour is a unique opportunity to show your work in the one place where you feel most at home with your work, and where you have total control over what to show and how it will be displayed. It’s a time when you can meet people who are excited about what you do and of course, make direct sales and helpful connections. Especially when your open studio is part of an organized and publicized regional event, you can expect a steady flow of visitors, and the sales that result can be significant. What do you need to do to prepare for being part of a studio tour or open studio event? How can you maximize sales and connections, and keep your energy during all the preparations and planning? Today we’ll talk about some tips and considerations, and ideas for making things run smoothly.
The most important thing to remember is to pace yourself, because there’s a lot to do to get ready, and many different tasks to keep track of. But doing a little each day for about four-six weeks ahead relieves a lot of stress. Small accomplishments add up! The following is a list of tasks and the suggested schedule for getting ready for the big days.
Starting 4-6 weeks ahead
• Send out newsletter with all your info, and some photos of some of the work you will be selling. You will have a decent mailing list for this if you’ve been keeping a sign-up guest book each time you have had an open studio event in the past. If not, use whatever emails you have collected via other methods.
• Order new business cards if you need them, and maybe post cards or brochures.
• Start promoting on social media—you can post what you are working on for the tour, pictures of your studio, etc.
• Evaluate your inventory –will you show older work, only newer work, or a combination?
o Are there gaps you want to fill? You still have time to make new work.
o Do you have various price points for your work? Higher prices are not a bad thing if you have a track record, but some lower prices are also good.
o Are there pieces that need to be touched up, cleaned up, or worked over?
o Decide if you need any mats or frames—you should go for the best presentation you can reasonably afford. Off the shelf frames are fine—if you have things that will look best frames, frame at least a few so people can see how they will look.
• Order any other supplies you need for wrapping and protecting work that you sell, like bubble wrap and cardboard.
• Pricing—think about this as you go along, don’t leave to the very end especially if you plan to make some changes. Sit with your decisions for a while. Be wary of pricing too low. If you’re not sure, get some input from a friend or two.
• Consider what help you will need—if any—on the days of the tour and if you want help, line someone up now to give them plenty of a heads up. You might think about help for parking, wrapping work, watching over the food table, or just someone to keep you company and give you a break.
• If the studio is a group event help out willingly and where you can—you may have an assigned job or make other efforts where you see the need, like picking up trash on your street.
About 2 weeks ahead—
• Start cleaning and organizing if you have a messy studio.
• Put fresh paint your display walls and hang your work even if it isn’t really ready. That helps give you a view of how your studio will look and you can see what you have at a glance and what work needs attention. Consider how to group things and organize so it feels welcoming.
• Think about what food/drinks to serve—you can go easy on yourself by using packaged food or be more elaborate, but it is good to have something.
• Make sure you have a guest book, and a receipt book if you want to use one (handy for your own records.)
• Check that your Square account for credit cards and your Venmo account if you have one are working well—remember it is good to have several payment methods available.
• Keep up with your promot