Artists

Financial, legal, advertising, pricing, marketing, accountancy, bookkeeping, employment, taxation, etc.
Post Reply
CalicoFraming
Posts: 298
Joined: Sun 25 Sep, 2011 12:55 pm
Location: Hertfordshire
Organisation: Calico Framing
Interests: Picture framing, fine art
Location: Bishop's Stortford
Contact:

Artists

Post by CalicoFraming »

I just finished my Art Foundation course and many of the other students are now going on to art school/university. I didn't because I'm not as I don't fancy a £30k student loan (I've already got one mortgage thanks very much). When I explained this to my colleagues, know what they said? "But if you don't earn more than £21k you'll never have to pay it back." :roll:

Anyway, the point of this anecdote is that whilst I love making art, and I love artists, and would above all love to make frames for artists, most of the fine art / art school crowd will never make it big (more than £21k p.a.) and so I'm guessing won't even consider framing or will want it at stupid prices.

Is anyone making money out of framing for artists? What sort of artists?

Calico
User avatar
Jonny2morsos
Posts: 2231
Joined: Wed 12 Mar, 2008 10:28 pm
Location: Lincs
Organisation: Northborough Framing
Interests: Fly Fishing, Photography and Real Ale.
Location: Market Deeping

Re: Artists

Post by Jonny2morsos »

"Artist" is a very broad term. There are artists who paint as a leisure activity and perhaps belong to a group who may exhibit a few times a year.

There are very successful artists making a lot of who may paint to commission or be contracted to print publishers but these are a minority

Then there are a vast number of artists falling between these two examples.

Artists selling work at high prices through galleries will require frames that reflect the quality of their work and these wil inevitably be hand finished and possibly gilded. For examples look at Richard Christie's website (forum member Framemaker )

Artists at the lower end of the market don't achieve a price that is high enough to warrant a great expense on a frame. Last night I went to a preview evening at an exhibition by a local art group and I noticed one very nice watercolour I had framed on sale at just £7 more than I charged the artist for the frame!

I do not set out to target the artist market but I do encourage them to use me and for regular customers give them a discount and in return they will often recommend me to their acquantances.
framemaker

Re: Artists

Post by framemaker »

I think J2M covers this broad topic very well in his post, and cheers for the mention! :D :oops:

There is a vast range between an artist and another artist. I do work for much of the spectrum, from members of the small art groups who put on exhibitions in village halls and sell originals from £10 to £70 who obviously have price as their most important factor. To those who want a frame that looks uniquely made and where this is the most important issue, with price being pretty much irrelevant. Then there is everyone in between!

With the lower price range I find that it is often just mounting, and let the person who buys it get it framed, or just simple and as inexpensive as possible framing.

Many galleries that I do work for know that a good frame will help to sell a painting or at least make it look as good as possible, and try to make their artists aware of this fact.

Framing for artists can definitely be very worth while.
Not your average framer
Posts: 11013
Joined: Sat 25 Mar, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Devon, U.K.
Organisation: The Dartmoor Gallery
Interests: Lost causes, saving and restoring old things, learning something every day
Location: Glorious Devon

Re: Artists

Post by Not your average framer »

Yes, I make money out of artists, but they have to be prepared to pay a fair and sensible price. As some are expecting something for nothing, they have to go elsewhere and that's their problem, not mine!

I will give appropiate discounts, if artists are willing to either order an appropiate quantity of frames, or consider using mouldings which I have bought cheaply as discontinued, or bargain lots. The important thing to remember, is that you are doing this to make a reasonable living and this must take priority over trying to please those who don't understand this.

Lower value framing jobs only make sense if the mark up is large enough for you to earn a worthwhile hourly rate for your time and skills. This means that lower value jobs usually need to have a higher mark up that some higher value jobs, but it need not mean that you cannot offer what does not appear to be a good deal.

With the economy is in recession, any work sufficiently profitable to meet your required hourly rate, is worth trying to get, but you have to be prepared and know how to make things work to your advantage. So it also makes good sense to study suppliers catalogues, prices, discount structures and carriage free order values, with a view to meeting your customers requirements and controlling your costs at the same time!

I'm talking about your key range of stock mouldings. It takes time and experience to get really good at this, but it is of primary importance to being a successful and profitable framer, when undertaking the general "run of the mill" bread and butter type work.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Graysalchemy

Re: Artists

Post by Graysalchemy »

I do. I frame for artist and an artist's agent depending on what deal he has with the artist. They are all successful professional artist and will pay for a decent frame. I am doing one exhibition now which is all in hand finished frames, so the invoice values are very good. :giggle: :giggle:

I often get 'artists' comming in some of which are having exhibitions in galleries but generally don't want to spend any money so they are not worth bothering with.
User avatar
prospero
Posts: 11492
Joined: Tue 05 Jun, 2007 4:16 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

Re: Artists

Post by prospero »

Most of the frames I do are for artists. I'm an artist myself and started framing to do my own stuff. As I had the gear I thought why not frame for fellow artists. I've only a handful of what I would call pro artists that want frames on a regular basis. But they keep me busy. I do get some good 'dabblers' that drop in and out over the years. One artist has a very good gallery biz but doesn't offer framing service so that works out well all round.

:D
Watch Out. There's A Humphrey About
CalicoFraming
Posts: 298
Joined: Sun 25 Sep, 2011 12:55 pm
Location: Hertfordshire
Organisation: Calico Framing
Interests: Picture framing, fine art
Location: Bishop's Stortford
Contact:

Re: Artists

Post by CalicoFraming »

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.
User avatar
JamesC
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed 20 Jan, 2010 2:52 pm
Location: York
Organisation: The Framed Picture Company
Interests: Printing and Framing, Canvas Prints, Perspex Mounting, Graphic Design, Football, Tennis, Golf, Computers, Film, Antiques, Mountain Biking, Bass Guitar, Music, Art, Mensa

Re: Artists

Post by JamesC »

A successful artist can be a very good customer but they are fairly well spread out and rare. Some value frames, some don't take it as seriously. Some are so disorganised or ask such out there things that they can be very time consuming and in the end low margin even if spending a lot. If that's your thing then great but if you have a diverse business they can make up 10% of your sales but 30% of your time which then becomes a pain - especially if it stops you growing the more profitable and easy side (the flipside is if they bring you publicity through high profile connections but from experience the effect on sales is not instant or huge). It's all about them commanding a decent price in their market, so you can in yours otherwise the relationship is doomed. Some will be worth backing for a while, others won't but if they are local it all helps to build some goodwill I guess. Some will quibble £30 for an hours work, but turn round and slap £5k on a picture that took a week or two - which can be hard to stomach but then we all have our choices to make in life and if they can get that they have a rare talent - still they should want to share the spoils a teeny bit. Many are not practical at all and can really benefit from a good framer to guide them past mistakes. That requires quite a bit of learning about glass types, moulding choice, conservation and mounting methods. Also frame design because there's no point spending £50 on a frame that detracts or the customer will want to change. I don't think hand finished is necessary (you can buy hand finished quality anyway) if you have a good range of catalogues and choose wisely, but it certainly does come into play more for originals I have found so a useful and enjoyable skill to have.

I would say we have one very good emerging artist we make ok money from and good PR potential, after a lot of ground work and innovation, then about 15 who order more sporadically but profitably for prints or frames. We are in a very sparsely populated region of Yorkshire though so local catchment not good. David Hockney washes around here in the Wolds but not many biggies after that (he is probably the biggest mind but has never popped in!) We have a couple of charity cases who get a few quotes and get odd stuff done, even drive nice cars, but still always trying to do things on the cheap. Problem is when the gallery wants half of the £120 they can command! Someone has to do it for love then and it should not be the framer in that case!
Post Reply