Ask Donald - Craft Magazine - April 2008

How long should an artist statement run? I've kept mine to a minimum, using my bio as a place to be more descriptive, but recently I've seen more and more artists including page-long statements with their work at shows. Is this a new trend, or should I stay with a concise statement to complement my work?

Virginia Woolf once apologized to Vita Sakeville-West for sending her a long letter by saying she didn't have time to write a short one. Virginia and I both believe in brevity. Collectors want to know your emotional and intellectual connection to your work. The artist statement should answer the how, what and why of your work as concisely as possible. Remember galleries often use your statements on show cards and that you may want to print it on the back of your business card.
I've created my own website, but don't sell off of it. How often should I update it: every week, every month, quarterly…I’m not sure what buyers expect, or what the industry is dictating right now. I usually change it when the changes needed are worth the time it will take from my schedule.

To be a successful marketing tool a web site needs the same attention as any bricks and mortar business. You don't say why you have a site if you don't sell from it. However if you mean customers have to call you to make a purchase that really is selling from your site. I also don't know if you are a production or one-of-a-kind maker. These are factors that would influence the frequency of updates. A craftsperson producing a line that changes once or twice a year may not have much to add in between. On the other hand a one-of-a-kind maker would want to get each new body of work on line as quickly as possible. Either use makes sense under the right circumstances. However neither will achieve the full selling potential unless you keep them current. Each time your make changes to your site you want to send an Eblast about it to you mailing list.
Is it best to have hangtags in color or in black and white? I don’t want them to take away from the appearance of my art, but I want them to be interesting enough to draw a customer to pick up the piece to find out more about my craft.

Filmmakers sure do love color but it may not be the best choice for you. I would place more emphasis on getting a great design and let that answer the color or not question. As you make the decision for color or not remember that everything you put out reflects on the quality of your brand. The most effective hangtags carry information about how you make your product, what it is made from and how the customer should care for it. You might want to print two versions of the hangtag. Leave your contact information off the ones going on items you are sending to wholesale accounts. Shop owners really don't want to compete with their artists for sales.
When packaging up a purchase, I’ve been using cheap plastic bags. However, I've noticed other artists using the more expensive craft paper bags, bags with their brand name embossed on the front, or even cloth bags with their names on it. Is expensive packaging really necessary in the consumer's eyes? Are there any added benefits to spending the extra money for better packaging? I just can't see spending three to four dollars on a bag the customer is just going to throw away.

What you need to know is that the customer doesn’t throw away the well-designed and constructed bag. In the December 16, 2007, New York Times, Michael Barbero wrote at length about the no longer lowly shopping bag in his article, Never Mind What’s in Them, Bags are the Fashion. He wrote, "Retailers are engaged in a heated competition to make the most durable, fashionable shopping bags. They are investing millions of dollars in new flourishes like plastic-coated paper and heavy fabric cord handles. Behind the battle of the bags is a significant shift in behavior that has turned consumers into walking billboards for stores. In cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, customers have begun treating shopping bags as disposable purses that can be reused for weeks, if not months, to carry laundry to the cleaners, books to the beach or lunch to the office. But only the best bags make the cut." I rest my case.
I make jewelry using recycled materials, like you featured last month. One thing I've been struggling with is the customer who questions my prices. They have actually been so bold as to suggest that because I’m using recycled products that would be thrown out anyway, my items shouldn’t be "so expensive." I do have a variety of price points, so it’s not as if I’m overpricing my line. How do I explain this?

You probably can’t explain the value of your work to the customer who issues that challenge. Their questions are irrational and rational answers won't satisfy them. As a appropriate response try pointing out that your prices don’t include just the materials but also the creativity, time and skill of the maker. It is also possible to pay as much for a great recycled item to use in a piece, as it would be to buy a comparable amount of silver.
At the last show I attended, I had a booth next to someone who obviously used pre-manufactured pieces to create his "handcrafted" art. It made me wonder where the line is drawn for most shows, if there even is one. And should I have reported this to the show director or promoter? I was afraid I’d be labeled as a complainer…but this show promoted itself as a handcrafted-only affair, so I was quite bothered by the incident.

This is a great question and one we have been asking for years. If I were asked to weigh in on this, and you did ask me, my response would go something like this. To be handcrafted the majority of the object must have been made by hand. Or the craftsmen must have manipulated the purchased component in ways that totally alter it’s original intent. Fabric used in quilting and dying, paper that is printed on, hinges for boxes would be permitted for example. These are examples of material production that requires a high skill level in an area other than that of the craftsperson using them. The majority of the item must have made by the craftsperson presenting it to be considered handcrafted. This would allow the maker to buy certain parts of a piece, for instance, buttons, zippers, belt buckles, and precut stones and yard goods. In turn it would preclude the use of purchased ear wires since they constitute a major part of an earring and making them should be an integral part of the jeweler's skill.

I’m sure show owners have different tolerances in their definitions for "handcrafted". I think it would have been appropriate to ask why this work was included. It’s our job to educate the public about handmade and this is an example of what we don’t want to be associated with our field.