Hello Wholesale!

Day; 201. Sunny and beautiful. A little breezy. Gorgeous Fall day....

Temperature on outside kiln; 59 degrees
Kiln firings; bisque kiln to cone 04 ( 1,945 degrees)
Music in the studio; Bonnie Raitt (practicing  "Something to Talk About" ...  for our next gig)

Long and interesting meeting this morning with the buyer for the fancy downtown hotel interested in my work.. Felt guardedly optimistic going into it and now really feeling excited about it. NEVER thought I would say that about wholesale/consignment...!!  However,  she really knows what she is doing and answered all my endless questions with grace and enthusiasm. And I did grill her for about 1.5 hours...

*what is your price point?
* what percent of the retail price are you taking?
*how many other functional potters will be in the store?
* when are you launching the re-opening?
*how much space do you expect me to stock?
*how old is your store manager? (in other words, can they do social media without freaking out?)
* do you have a separate website from the hotel? a separate Instagram presence, logo. signage? etc...
* do you expect exclusivity from me in the downtown area or can I sell my work in other venues near by?
* do you expect that I will sell my work myself at the same hotel-prices?
* do you have a minimum amount of work you want each month?
* mid-century designs or birds/bees?
* consignment for 6 months and then wholesale? or?
* functional or decorative..

I think you get the picture.. After answering these questions and more, I felt really satisfied. With 22 years experience in the retail world, this person knew what she was talking about. And I also came away with a different idea about wholesale vs. consignment; if I set the price I need to get for the piece that I think is fair for MYSELF then it is up to the hotel to sell it for whatever they feel they can get for it. I was always under the assumption that with consignment I still owned the piece and I set the retail price.. But this was not what she was saying; I ask for what I need and then they want the freedom to sell it retail for whatever they want, either way, wholesale or consigment, I have no say in the final retail price. Hmmm, interesting, I have never done business like this before. A first I didn't like it, but if I am getting what I need out of it, what does it matter? As long as I am not expected to meet those prices myself in town, then I am cool with that.

And they are launching at the slow/soft time of the year for me, Jan-Feb. This could work! I imaging selling a lot of work to tourists and having someone else shipping it, I like it!