I started redoing some of my etsy photos. Mine were clean, sharp, and said nothing about the product. I realized that I was shooting the way one shoots art pictures for entering juried shows. The judges want to see the artwork only. Etsy isn't a juried show, not by a long shot.
I like the idea of being able to sell through something like etsy, but it's not the equivalent of the shows I used to do. I never did well at shows that mixed real art with little kitchen crafts, like so many small town shows do. In that respect, juried shows are their own niche. People who want cute refrigerator magnets aren't shopping there. I also never did well at shows that featured "country" crafts, you know, painted wooden ducks, or wooden spoons made into dolls. Most serious art and artisan shows specifically said "no country." It's simply not a good mix. It's a different market.
Etsy has everything from vintage to high end art, but mostly crafty stuff. Lots and lots of jewelry on there. My reason for wanting to do it is that I like doing art, and selling without having to do the sales end of it sounds great. In a sense, it's the lifestyle I'm after.
I have a lot of enamels, probably thousands of dollars worth, bought a little at a time. All have long since paid for themselves thought previous artwork sold, with the exception of the 8 oz of white that I bought recently. I have the skill. It would be crazy not to use it, even if I'm not using it to its fullest artistic potential.
In the era in which I started selling artwork, the fact that the colors lasted through the years virtually unchanged, that they were easily cleaned, etc. was a selling point. It made the price worth it. You bought a switchplate once and you had a piece of artwork you could enjoy every time you turned on the light.
In today's world of disposables, permanence and quality is not so much of an issue. Kendra's right. I need a gimmick.
I thought of a few themes, like weather geeks or musical genres, that could work with what I already do. One of my friends suggested targeting hikers, because I have so many pieces based on nature. It's a thought, but in truth, they tend to buy camping gear, not jewelry, and there are a lot of companies out there selling it to them. Finding a gift for a hiking enthusiast is most likely not a problem. Still, I'm willing to consider.
I've also thought of incorporating my other strength, which is cooking. I'm thinking of themed sets for the cook in your life, stuff centering around oranges, say, or pears or chocolate. A purchase may include a spoon rest, a pendant, earrings and a recipe, all with oranges (and have it where they can buy each item separately too.) My thinking is that these are gift items, and I can make a number of items within each theme. The trick is to keep the ordering simple and the items attractive. I'm open to suggestions.
Thoughts?
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