Category: the business of art

When I first started my art business, notecards quickly became a huge part. Packaging the cards was sometimes a family project, with my parents (I had 2 parents back then) and a few friends pitching in (most moved away—can you blame them?)

The packages had 2 each of 5 designs, and they sold for $5 a package.

Times have changed. (Duh, I know.)

Now packages have 4 designs, all the same, for $10. Further, I make no profit if I sell them wholesale, so I only sell them directly or have a few stores with the cards on consignment.

You can see my available designs here. Cabinart/Store/Notecards  

Just enough customers like cards, I love to draw, and I still write notes. So, I press on. . .

Not all the changes are bad. Now it costs the same whether I print a pencil drawing or one with a bit of color.

 

Before I started my art business, notecards were a side hustle. I worked in a print shop, so it was easy to get cards printed. The printshop was in Visalia, so it was easy to distribute card packages to a variety of stores.

Times change. Email came along and people gradually lost the habit of writing notes by hand. Some people still buy cards, mostly from me in person or on the internet, because almost all the shops that sold my cards have closed.

Instead of variety packs, I began packaging the cards with all the same design. This eliminated the need for a label on the top or an insert showing the pictures inside.  Instead of having to print 500 or 1000 cards of each design in order to hold costs down, it is now possible to print 100 (or even fewer) at a time.

The printing process is now computerized instead of mechanical. I email my designs to a local printer and only go there in person to pick up the finished product. Other designs get sent via the World Wide Web to some unknown printer in some unknown location, and I can order as few as 10 of a design.

Instead of selling them resale, I now allow a handful of trusted places to sell them on consignment. Although consignment is a nuisance, it is better than not having them in the public eye. Consignment is the only method that makes cents, because my costs are too high to make a profit selling them wholesale. (“Sense”, I know—couldn’t resist.)

It takes a lot of time checking the inventory, restocking and trying to keep track of what has sold, what has and hasn’t been paid for, making and remaking lists for the vendors. Sometimes a vendor puts a sticker on with the sales tax, sometimes a sticker without the tax. When they decide a certain design isn’t selling, I replace it with another design and then have to repackage the cards with irrelevant stickers. It isn’t horrible, but it certainly isn’t profitable either.

More about notecards tomorrow.