Retail

[Jon_Brooke]

My workshop is in the front of a highstreet shop (Where people can watch me working through the window! Eek!) but I do have a bit of retail space in the window itself, on a card carousel inside the front door, and on one long wall.

Whilst picture framing is a fine occupation, what I really love is selling something to a drop in customer, as it's money for old rope.

Currently I sell a range of cards from Art Angels, Some ready made frames from the Ready Made Picture Frame Company for when people just want an A4 frame or smaller for a certificate or photo, clip frames, and some posters from a local artist https://www.watkinart.co.uk and occasionally original art from local artists for limited exhibitions.

There is also an artist working and exhibiting her own work + some work of others in the back part of the shop in a studio/gallery space.

Particularly in the summer there is quite a bit of passing tourist trade and I do reasonably well with the cards and prints which I would say are aimed at the tasteful mid market rather than high end fine art or the other extreme of tourist tatt.

Are there any other products or suppliers that anyone can recommend so that I can ring the changes and give my more regular customers something new to look at or buy?

[vintage frames]

If you're looking for things to sell, I'd advise going on a recce to other galleries and see whose set up you most admire and take inspiration from the sort of things they are selling.
You say you buy in ready-mades and clip-frames.
Why not dump the clip frames and make the ready-mades yourself from bare-wood mouldings.
Paint these in simple colours or experiment with stains. Then you will be doing something interesting.
People like interesting.

[JKX]

You could maybe optimise your window space with a tensioned wire hanging system, you can fill the whole window top to bottom AND the inside of it.
You’ll still be able to see out and in, depending on space between frames but you’d be less like a goldfish.

Unless of course being easily seen in action is desired.

Then maybe fix some shelves on the wall, possibly just one end so they cannot be walked past. The spring fair gift halls are great for inspiration. Even if you only have a tiny space to fill and a few acres of stands to choose from seems a bit much - you never know!

Regards ready mades, we made our own bar metal ones. We had great success with one range we stole from Next - clothes line frames! But we did them better. Basically a small but deep - frame - we used simons oak 9, stained and/or waxed or painted - metal eyelets with that tatty string between and a small (craft - you can get all sorts, eg with hearts on) clothes peg between each pair of eyelets, glass spacers in different colours.

[Jon_Brooke]

I do have a hanging system in the window. Here's a pic of my Chrtistmas card/advent calendar display.

I couldn't use a tensioned system though as that whole white shelf is on wheels so I can get it out of the way if necessary.

Quite like the clothes line frame idea.

[Keith Hewitt]

I did a recce of retail in the Caribbean end of last year
Asked "What's your best selling item(s) "

Quickly realised that anything that will fit in a handbag came top every time

Will look for some pics and post

20230101_085836.jpg

The smaller the better The 5 x7 ins sell 5 times more than the 11x 14ins
One girl is kept busy all day long just assembling the matted prints

20221219_120256.jpg

The best seller's by far are the fridge magnet size 10 x 4 cm, in bottom of pic
Ink jet printed canvas stretched over a 1cm wide square frame.

Now I realise that these items are targeting cruise ship passengers intent on buying something to remind them of the island they are visiting.
BUT I'm sure the many passers by tourist or locals will see the local scenes in your window that you could easily produce and stop and buy one.

WAREHAM has loads of possible images , Brownsea Island ( Boy scouts ) The many sea going activities, Poole, Bovington Tank museum

[JKX]

Glass fish and ceramic seagulls on driftwood, that's what you want

[Keith Hewitt]

Now easier to see
So quick and easy to make.

[Jon_Brooke]

You may have been speaking in jest re' the glass seagulls, but the artist who shares the space with me is selling these V tasteful (IMHO) glass birds on behalf of another local stained glass artist and has sold over £500 worth since just before Christmas.

[JKX]

I was - but was referring to the sort of tat you see on and around the average pier, you'd almost expect the stallholders to have an eye patch and a parrot on their shoulder.

[Tudor Rose]

Good quality ceramics, fused or blown glass art, stained glass decorative items or mosaic art items seem to do well in some of the independent small gallery shops in this part of the world. Particularly if made by local artists.