ccommins Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 On Dec. 31 I received an email that the gallery I display and sell my work will close on Jan. 31. None of us saw this coming, it was quite a shock. Now that I only have 2 days left, panic is starting to set in, I have alot invested in framed and unframed prints. I do have a website but it does not generate the sales as the gallery. I wish we would have had a few months notice. I do some shows each year, but most of them want a large amount of money for a space (anywhere from $1,200 and up). Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 <p>It will probably help, Carol, if you mention what city (or at least what continent) you're on. What you shoot. Who your buyers are. Are we talking about $50 prints, or $500 prints? What was the gallery getting from your sales (vs. what that percentage, replaced as art show overhead, would look like, etc). Are there any other galleries in your area? Why did your current one close ... lack of sales? You can imagine that folks will have more to say if you give them a little more to go on, here.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccommins Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Matt, I live in PA at the foot of the Pocono Mts. My prints sold from $75.00 to about $800 dollars. The gallery's partners were not getting along and decided to close. Art show overhead would be much more than the gallery cost that I was paying. Galleries in my area want paintings not photography and if they accept photographs you are on a waiting list. My clients are business men and women, one of my pictures was choosen for brochure of a winery and some for Florida ads. I guess for now I will wait, make some phone calls, expand my area looking for galleries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 <p>Just skimmed through your personal home page, you have some really nice work, I really like the pictures of the grapes. I am assuming that most of these pictures were taken in that area, so moving somewhere else would not be an option. Any way you can rent out some space somewhere ?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_t.1 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 <p>Any way you can take over their gallery? Or re-open it as your own in a new location? You could include the artists that sell through that gallery.</p> <p>Lemons to lemonade. Good luck.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kahn Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 <p>There can be a lot of different reasons for a gallery to close, and I think I've seen a few. I was in a gallery in Winslow, AZ that did well until the building on the "Standin' On A Corner" corner burned out and the tourists stopped coming; another one that closed when the owner died; and, most recently, one that closed because the owner, a very nice lady, had no sense of how to run or promote her business. I'm beginning to feel jinxed - or, maybe I am the jinx...</p> <p>Carol, one thing you might try is looking around for restaurants that show and sell artwork. I worked with one several years ago, a very touristy place near the Grand Canyon, and actually had more sales out of there than most of the galleries I've been involved with.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_daniel1 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 <p>Step one: Get to the gallery and retrieve your property before the doors close. If not, they'll likely be gone forever. It happened to me.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccommins Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 I am leaving to retrieve my photos this morning, going to try some of the suggestions that everyone has given me. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Cavan Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 <p>How did you get started with this gallery in the first place, Carol? You may be able to go back and duplicate that approach with someone else. Perhaps one of the gallery partners is interested in starting again, somewhere else, and is looking for a new partnership?</p> Dave Cavan https://davecavanphotographics.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccommins Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 David, your post brought back memories of the assertive Carol, with portfolio and pictures in hand, I marched into the gallery and showed them what I could do. Was accepted on the spot. The partners are all going in different directions and the expense of taking it over myself is just too much, even with a partner. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I can get the old assertive Carol back with a little practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy_cooprider1 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 <p>Any state parks in your area? The local one here hangs prints with prices for tourists to view.</p> <p>Randyc</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saad_hu_ayun Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 <p>nice post buddy congrats have a good life through out the way!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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