Hello lovelies!
I sincerely apologize for being irregular here, but there's a super important reason why I couldn't find the time to write. Well, as you guys must already know by now, I applied for an art stall for the famous Kirribilli Markets and to my surprise, I was eligible to sell my art! Painting/art has been my passion ever since I was five or something. Markets have always fascinated me. So I put two of the things I love together and I was on my feet for eight hours straight showing the world what I had created. I wanted to get this post up ASAP because my inbox has been flooded with DMs ever since and I wanted to share my experience with you all.
Right from my childhood days, I have tried my hand at free hand sketching, painting with water colors, fabric painting, designing clothes and various other forms of art. I never found my calling until a couple of months ago where I found solace in abstract art. I picked up a palette knife, some brushes, some acrylic paints and canvases and in no time, I was painting my heart out. People who visited us, some friends and some family were amused by my art and even took home a few pieces. That's when I was determined to display my art in a market stall. I spent nearly two months or so playing with colors and textures. And I literally painted every single day! There were people who appreciated what I was doing and gave me a lot of constructive criticism which helped me improve. But there were those who didn't understand my art and said things like, "My kid could do this" or "You should go to school", but that didn't stop me. What one needs to understand with art or anything one creates is that it all depends on a person's taste. Not everyone's gonna love your creations. Not everybody's gonna appreciate the effort you put in. But that really doesn't mean your art isn't good enough.
So the d-day finally arrived and I packed all my precious art work in suitcases and cartons. Since we had to be at the venue at 7 in the morning, my husband and I woke up at 6 to get ready. The night before was traumatic for me because I was insanely anxious! We went to the market on time, set up our little stall and wait for some action. There were people coming to my stall every two seconds, but they'd smile, look at my collection, say nice things and walk away. We decided to remove all the price tags. The response was the same! We put the price tags back up with reduced prices. There was nothing happening! We had invited all of our friends, so they were a breath of fresh air. It was almost 2 pm and the market was going to close at 3:30 pm and guess what? I hadn't sold a single item! All of a sudden, a nice lady walked to my store and grabbed a few things, paid for whatever the price was. I was thrilled. After a few minutes, we had another customer and another and another. Basically, things had turned around for me in the last hour. I did not make any profit, but I did recover my stall cost and some extra dollars. I was exhausted, but really happy that people actually paid for my creations.
Now let's get to the part where I share my learnings. First and foremost, presentation is everything! Our display scene was a massive flop. We didn't plan that well and our stall looked too cluttered. We didn't even take chairs with us, so it was pretty tiring for us to be on our feet for so long. Another major learning for me is to not be disheartened if you don't make a sale. I was pretty sad for the first few hours considering I did not sell a single item, but there was a fellow artist in the next stall who told me that it's okay to not sell. Markets are a place for making contacts and not so much to make money. The third thing I learnt is that researching about the market beforehand is very important. The market I was at, unfortunately for me, had people who were inclined towards clothing and food. Anyway, overall, I learnt lots of things and made some money too.
So, that sums it up. To all the aspiring artists and market stallholders, go for it, guys! This is a really exciting experience that you wouldn't wanna miss!
Love,
Hand On The Hip
I sincerely apologize for being irregular here, but there's a super important reason why I couldn't find the time to write. Well, as you guys must already know by now, I applied for an art stall for the famous Kirribilli Markets and to my surprise, I was eligible to sell my art! Painting/art has been my passion ever since I was five or something. Markets have always fascinated me. So I put two of the things I love together and I was on my feet for eight hours straight showing the world what I had created. I wanted to get this post up ASAP because my inbox has been flooded with DMs ever since and I wanted to share my experience with you all.
Right from my childhood days, I have tried my hand at free hand sketching, painting with water colors, fabric painting, designing clothes and various other forms of art. I never found my calling until a couple of months ago where I found solace in abstract art. I picked up a palette knife, some brushes, some acrylic paints and canvases and in no time, I was painting my heart out. People who visited us, some friends and some family were amused by my art and even took home a few pieces. That's when I was determined to display my art in a market stall. I spent nearly two months or so playing with colors and textures. And I literally painted every single day! There were people who appreciated what I was doing and gave me a lot of constructive criticism which helped me improve. But there were those who didn't understand my art and said things like, "My kid could do this" or "You should go to school", but that didn't stop me. What one needs to understand with art or anything one creates is that it all depends on a person's taste. Not everyone's gonna love your creations. Not everybody's gonna appreciate the effort you put in. But that really doesn't mean your art isn't good enough.
So the d-day finally arrived and I packed all my precious art work in suitcases and cartons. Since we had to be at the venue at 7 in the morning, my husband and I woke up at 6 to get ready. The night before was traumatic for me because I was insanely anxious! We went to the market on time, set up our little stall and wait for some action. There were people coming to my stall every two seconds, but they'd smile, look at my collection, say nice things and walk away. We decided to remove all the price tags. The response was the same! We put the price tags back up with reduced prices. There was nothing happening! We had invited all of our friends, so they were a breath of fresh air. It was almost 2 pm and the market was going to close at 3:30 pm and guess what? I hadn't sold a single item! All of a sudden, a nice lady walked to my store and grabbed a few things, paid for whatever the price was. I was thrilled. After a few minutes, we had another customer and another and another. Basically, things had turned around for me in the last hour. I did not make any profit, but I did recover my stall cost and some extra dollars. I was exhausted, but really happy that people actually paid for my creations.
Now let's get to the part where I share my learnings. First and foremost, presentation is everything! Our display scene was a massive flop. We didn't plan that well and our stall looked too cluttered. We didn't even take chairs with us, so it was pretty tiring for us to be on our feet for so long. Another major learning for me is to not be disheartened if you don't make a sale. I was pretty sad for the first few hours considering I did not sell a single item, but there was a fellow artist in the next stall who told me that it's okay to not sell. Markets are a place for making contacts and not so much to make money. The third thing I learnt is that researching about the market beforehand is very important. The market I was at, unfortunately for me, had people who were inclined towards clothing and food. Anyway, overall, I learnt lots of things and made some money too.
So, that sums it up. To all the aspiring artists and market stallholders, go for it, guys! This is a really exciting experience that you wouldn't wanna miss!
Love,
Hand On The Hip
1 comments
Nice
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