Last fall as I was a few days before the Field and Supply market, I received an email from someone at the e-commerce site, 1stDibs.com. 1stDibs was interested in my work and contacted me to see if I would like to sell through their site. I reached out to someone I know and respect that had been selling on 1stDibs for a few years. He graciously walked me through his pricing process and gave me some advice on his sales approach. It was all very helpful and informative but here was one thing in that conversation that really struck a nerve with me. He said that regarding selling our stuff we like to think that if our furniture is beautiful, it will sell itself… but that just isn’t the case. You need to get out there and sell it.
I realized that I was guilty as charged. Although I had started doing shows within the last few years, I wasn’t really getting out there to sell my furniture. I had just been making it and taking commissions through word of mouth or my web site but was mostly hoping it would be seen and the sales would just start to roll it. Most artists I know don’t have a good understanding of the value of their work. And, like me, have never really been educated about how to think about it. If you’re a maker, chances are that you’ve heard that your work is too expensive by people that are, just not your customers. Far too many people are quick to tell you that they would buy it, but they just can’t afford it. That is about their priorities, not mine.
Most things take a lot of education to fully embrace. Often, I’ve found that a change in perspective is a good first step. As I continue to educate myself on selling, I found that I needed to better understand my goals. For me, being able to design and build furniture is something I enjoy immensely, and I can’t imagine anything else I would rather be doing. I want to keep doing it, I want to do more of it, and I want to provide for my family through my work. Embracing the selling of my work is the door I need to walk through to make that happen. I also need to make work that I’m happy with. I can find a job making pieces of someone else’s work, the design choices of others, but, if I’m going to be building pieces with my name on it, I need to be happy with them.
Right now, you can find my work on 1stDibs, Wescover and Artful Home. In about a month, the Bent Table Lamp will be available in person at my alma mater, in the store at The University of the Arts. I’ve also added a store to my Facebook and Instagram pages and to my website. If I’m in, I’m all in.
