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Dan River Art Market
After my recent Trek to Hanging Rock State Park, I took a slight detour on the way home. I had been wanting to stop by the Dan River Art Market for some time now, and this was to be the day. After many trips through Danbury, I had seen billboards and other advertising for the DRAM. Of course this holds a special interest for me as they house several regional artists and craftsmen.
A quick check on the internet showed that the featured artists are juried in to ensure consistantly high quality among the products. They hava a prominant location right in the heart of Danbury, mere miles from Hanging Rock State Park. Everything sounded great from my research, so I figured it was time to drop in and see what they were all about.
It is a small space that is rented out of a historical building which is shared with the the Stokes County Art Council. There is a wide variety of arts and crafts on hand in the store, however, not much in the way of photography. I spoke to one of the Council Members who showed me around and discussed the process to become a member, and how things work. What I discovered is that this is very much like Art Walk in Boone, NC with one glaring difference. Art Walk was going to cost in excess of $1000/year to rent a space, and then they also took commision from your sales. The DRAM is much more reasonable at a mere $24/year plus commission. The nice thing about the DRAM is that if you choose to volunteer your time once a month, they will lower their commission off of your sales.
I am still considering this prospect as a place to display my work in a stick and mortar environment. The location is both good and bad. The fact that it is located so close to Hanging Rock means that many of its customers are those that hike and camp in the park. Many of my photographs have been made within those boundaries, which gives me an automatic audience. However, Danbury is not a wealthy town, and I'm not sure just how much money comes through visiting the park. While I probably won't sell any gallery sized prints, I imagine that there will be a market for my smaller prints with their customers. From what I'm told, summer as well as the Christmas season are very busy for the DRAM and they make lots of sales during those times.
I'm thinking that the initial investment here will be small enough that I could gamble a bit. If it doesn't work out, I'm not really out much, and I will have been exposed to a new market. I have reached the point that it is time I started having some non-internet displays. I am looking into options at this point, and this one souds like a very good place to start.
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Cool idea!! Go for it! Laine xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/elainey2465/laines-world/ -
I think you are very logical in your process...the price difference alone makes it seem much more feasible to start at DRAM. Best of luck whatever avenue you choose.
Lisa -
EXCELLENT IDEA, OLE CHAP! seriously, i do believe for the nominal annual fee, you cannot bypass this opportunity. as you said, you will not be out much but time and effort if you do not do well..........but from what i have seen first hand, i don't think you have any reason to think you will not do well, even if only with smaller prints. we would all love to sell one item that is large for a large amount, than dozens of smaller items for smaller amounts. but i think this would be well worth your time. best wishes on your endeavor.
regina
(ps: thanks for the kind comment in my journal about my "photography") -
Sounds like a great forum to get your feet wet in. At least this way you can see what is more likely to sell, to this kind of crowd. (Hugs) Indigo
http://journals.aol.com/rdautumnsage/ravens-lament/
4/11/08 8:20 PM
Martha :-)