Prior to the Show
PREPARING THE PANELS/SCREENS
Fabric Backing on Display Panels
All exhibit spaces will be inside the Fellowship Hall at the Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church. Each artist is provided with two screens that are 6 ft TALL and 3 ft WIDE (a total of 6 ft TALL and 6 ft WIDE). Artists need to supply their own fabric backing. Screens with fabric backing are more attractive. Here are some tips and recommendations based on what has worked well in the past.
- Many artists use felt fabric (usually black, gray or white) – it holds its shape well and can be held in place with a few drapery hooks. When purchasing, artists may want to have it cut with a little extra on each side for wrapping around the display panels. For example, you might purchase a 7′ x 7′piece of fabric to cover the 6′ x 6′ space.
- If not using felt, it is important to use solid cloth that is porous enough to push a drapery hook through. Let us know if you don’t have any fabric available, as some exhibitors may have additional fabric they would be willing to lend to others.
- Let us know if you have fabric available to lend. If lending fabric, be sure that it is marked with the owner’s name in a discreet location to make it easier to return to the owner.
Preparing paintings/drawings for hanging
- Use wire attached to eye hooks or d-rings for the safest results. Place d-rings on the inside of the canvas frame rather than the back, so that the canvas will lay flat on a wall.
- A twisted wire is recommended rather than a single strand wire. To reduce the chance of pricking fingers, try something like this Super Softstrand, Vinyl-Coated Wire.
- We do not recommend sawtooth hooks to hang artwork. If you decide to do so, use a small wire or paperclip to hang on the drapery hooks.
Preparing other items for hanging (e.g., ornaments, cards, prints)
- Reproductions of original artwork are allowed to be sold in various formats. All prints or reproductions must be identified as such. All artwork must be displayed on the screens. The proportion of reproduction works should be ¼ or less of your total exhibition space.
- All items must be hung on screens. Tables, portfolio bins and other objects placed on the floor are not possible given the limited space.
- Some items can be attached to drapery hooks (e.g., ornaments on ribbons; cards packaged in sleeves with holes)
- There are a variety of products made that can clip to a screen that may be useful including wire baskets, business card holders, and display racks
Arranging your panel
- It can be useful to lay out the arrangement of your artwork on your panels in advance of the show to make sure everything will fit and to showcase particular pieces.
- If you are going to display a sign or an artist bio, be sure to leave room for these items as you plan your arrangement.
Lighting:
The Fellowship Hall has lots of windows and is well lit. However if you choose to bring additional clamp lights for your screens there are some inexpensive options to consider:
- Clamp Shop Lights which can be found at hardware stores or online.
- Adjustable Clamp Desk Lamps can provide slightly more options and control of placement and brightness.
- The lamp can be battery operated or need a plug in. You will have access to electricity but you need to bring an extension cord, electrical tape (for taping down the cord), and a powerstrip.
- Be careful not to buy a heat lamp accidentally.
- Be aware of how hot the light may get to ensure adequate distance between the clamp light and the artwork.
- Only LED bulbs should be used to eliminate any hazards due to hot bulbs or undue load on extension cords.
- Floor lamps, uplights, and lamps on tables are not permitted at this show.
- The Show Chairs or club leadership have the right at any time to remove extension cords that are a safety hazard
PREPARING FOR SALES
Artwork Pricing
- Label each painting with a price tag that includes name of painting, medium, dimensions and price. One sign may be used for a group of similar items: ex. “$15 for 8×10 prints”.
- Pricing is extremely subjective and varies greatly depending on size, medium, complexity, demand and artist experience. Pricing is up to the artist; however, consistency in price across your work is recommended.
- In sales, you want people to assume it is better to buy now, because if they wait, the price will increase. By lowering your price, you send the message that it is better to buy later, as the price will probably continue to decrease.
- Consider including items with a range of prices to attract customers at different price points.
Types of Sales
Artists are responsible for handling their own sales, The three types of sales are cash sales, credit sales by artist, and the Stripe account at the Hospitality Booth.
- Cash Sales
The club cannot handle any cash sales for artists. Each artist should bring a variety of denominations for providing change and have a place to put the cash from sales. A $100 in cash should be more than sufficient. It is recommended that you bring something small enough to keep with you at all times.
It is also recommended that you discreetly check large denominations for counterfeit. There have been some recent cases of counterfeit bills in the Birmingham area. A Counterfeit Detection Pen like this can be purchased online and is quite reasonable.
- Credit Sales by Artist
Artists are encouraged to use a credit card reader or app. This reduces the number of steps involved for a buyer to make a purchase. Most artists use their own credit card processor, and there are many choices such as Square, Paypal, Stripe or Venmo accounts. A Venmo account can only be used by others with a Venmo account. The other 3 are credit card processing companies that can be used to process just about any credit card.
Artists will need to do their own research to select any of these services. We recommend that you set this up well before the event and practice a transaction and transferring the funds to your account.
Of course, there is always the possibility of malfunctioning. In this case, you can use the club Stripe account at the hospitality booth. Be sure you are familiar with the steps to use this prior to the show. Directions will also be included in your artist packet on the day of the show as a refresher.
- Stripe at the Hospitality Booth
The club has a Stripe account for artists who do not have their own way of accepting credit card payments. Be sure to follow the instructions provided in your artist packet.
Artists using the club Stripe account must complete a three part receipt. See receipt section below.
Collecting Taxes
- Each artist must collect 10% tax on all sales. City of Mtn. Brook 4%, AL 4%, Jefferson County 2%
- If your tax is included in your prices, please be sure to have a sign somewhere in your booth that indicates this to customers. Otherwise, they could assume that you are not collecting and reporting your sales tax. If you do it that way, you will need to keep a list of your pricing and how it is broken down, so that you know how much of each price is tax, since you will need to calculate it at the end of the day, and could need to have this info if you use the club Stipe account.
- At the end of the show, artists turn in 3 envelopes with checks to pay the sales tax for the City of Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Jefferson County at the Hospitality Booth.
Receipts
- Process
- Provide your customer with a receipt of purchase.
- Cash sales. Provide a written receipt for a cash sale.
- Credit sales by Artist. The service you’ve chosen may send the customer an email receipt. Artists may also want to provide a written receipt to the customer and for your own records. .
- Club Stripe account. Artists using the club Stripe account must complete a three part receipt.
- Artists give the top two copies to the customer to take to the Hospitality Booth.
- Volunteers at the Hospitality Booth complete the credit card transaction through Stripe and give the customer the middle copy of the receipt along with the machine generated receipt marked PAID.
- The customer returns to the artist’s booth, shows the receipt, and retrieves the art.
- The artist keeps the bottom receipt for records.
- At the end of the event, each artist will have their credit card sales tallied.
- Artists will get paid a couple of weeks later, less the 3-4% bank fee on the entire amount including tax. This is how charge companies work. Think of this as a fee for the sake of convenience for your customers.
- What to include on the 3-part sales receipt
- Artist name. This must be on the receipt for the association administration to accurately tally artists sales so that the artist gets paid the correct amount. They will send you a check with your net sales totals, less the card processing fee.
- Customer name and phone number. This is important for a number of reasons: a question about the transaction when reconciling, a credit card left at the table, etc.
- Art price subtotal: write in the net amount of each piece of art separately and subtotal them if multiple pieces were purchased.
- Calculate 10% of subtotal and write in the sales tax amount.
- Add both amounts together and write in the total. This is the amount the Hospitality Booth will charge the customer’s credit card.
Optional things to include on sales receipts
- Sales receipts can include a brief description of the artwork. This could help you if you have multiple customers making purchases one at a time or for your own records later.
- It is also a good idea to include your booth number on the sales slip so that the volunteer running the sales can easily find you should there be any questions.
- Additional contact information from the customer for your own records; ex. email or home address.
Packaging
- You may want to provide a bag when a purchase is made to make it easier for a buyer to carry around their artwork. A branded bag provides additional advertising.
- Consider whether you will wrap the artwork (e.g., bubblewrap) or include any additional information in the bag (e.g., business card,artist bio)
ADVERTISING
- Artists are encouraged to reach out to their customers prior to the show to let them know about the event/date/time. Social media, email lists, word of mouth can all be useful ways of getting the word out.
- Visitors will be able to view an online map of the event and printed handouts that include the map will be available at the reception and the day of the show. The link to the online map can be shared with visitors before and during the show.
- MBAA will also advertise the show through yard signs and social media.
- There is a video where members share their advice about participating in a show and a panel discussion on a range of show topics.
