Artist Studio Tours

Are you thinking about joining some artist studio tours?

Imagine dozens of perfect strangers walking into your studio off the street unannounced, eating your food, drinking your refreshments, asking questions about your creative process and buying your art.

Joining artist studio tours organized by your local artists' association can be a great opportunity for selling your art. By partnering with many artists in the area, you gain added marketing power to reach a wider base of potential customers than you could on your own. You'll be reaching a very targeted group of people who appreciate art and the time and skill that goes into making each of your individual pieces.

This sales strategy has a lot in common with hosting your own open house, except you are not limited to your own mailing list of customers and contacts and you have increased marketing power as a result of partnering with other artists. You'll find a lot of tips that are relevant to participating in a studio tour in the home parties article, as well as the open house article.

Customers who attend artist studio tours will typically be curious about the processes and techniques you use to make your paintings, sculptures, pottery, photographs, or whatever media you work with. Be ready to talk about and show how you make your art. While customers are learning about your work, all of this interaction will also help you to learn a lot about what is important to your customers.

If your studio is in your home, letting your neighbors know that you're on the tour can be a good way to maintain a good relationship when they see all of the cars on their street, and also a good way to subtly promote and get the neighborhood out to your open studio. Also, keep in mind that you may want to have an assistant available to help out if you get a lot of customers at once, or so you can take a quick break if needed.

One issue to consider when entering artist studio tours is whether you have adequate business insurance. I'm not an insurance expert, so this is not intended to be legal or expert advice. You should always check with your insurance agent for specific advice on your coverage. However, it's my understanding that many home business insurance policies specify whether customers will be in your home or studio or not. So if you have a policy that specifies no customers will be in your home or studio, you may not be covered for anything that may happen when customers are there. If you contact your insurance agent, he or she will help you to determine what you need to be adequately covered for this type of sales event.

Do remember that anyone could come to your open studio, so you may want to hide any valuable supplies or equipment. If your studio is in your home and you're not comfortable having strangers in your home, you may be able to partner with another artist on the tour. Some studio tour organizers will assist with this type of partnering for artists who want to participate in the tour but don't have studio space that is appropriate for the general public.

Participating in artist studio tours can be a great strategy for selling your art. You'll attract a targeted group of new customers who value handmade work. You'll gain increased marketing power as a result of partnering with several artists, and your work will become better known within your community.