The “State of the Crafts Industry” was the topic of the Howard Avenue Arts Incubator first panel discussion on January 25th, 2011. Gary Rosenthal, mixed media sculptor and founder of the Arts Incubator, led a panel discussion with Tony Glander, owner of Fitzpatrick Glass, and Deborah Simon, owner of the Waygoose Gallery in Rockville and Waygoose Redux in Bethesda.
Twenty-five guests toured the studio of the Gary Rosenthal Collection on the second floor at 4218 Howard Ave., then gathered in the Incubator Gallery on the third floor to socialize, network, and interact with the panelists. Attendees could not miss the address, as the building was dramatically lit with gobo lighting effects!
The gallery was also decked out with a variety of paintings, mixed media collages, pastels, photographs, and sculptures by founding members of the Incubator and local guest artists.
Gary started off the panel discussion by asking the panelists to describe their backgrounds in the craft industry, and then discuss what changes they have noticed with the unstable economy. The panelists gave many insightful observations, such as:
1) A change in the number and scale of custom orders;
2) Less traffic at the standard industry shows (New York gift show, Philadelphia, etc.), with many smaller shops going out of business;
3) Fewer artists going into production crafting, and instead coming out of art school and only pursuing gallery sales;
4) A drop in customers buying for themselves, which has only recently begun to return; and
5) Customers buying either at a low price-point below $20, or a higher gift purchase point of $100 and above, but not much in-between.
Overall, the panelists agreed that business is beginning to pick back up. They advised attendees to be strategic about approaching store owners, for example: keeping in touch monthly with the shop owners who carry their work to make sure they have enough in stock; emailing the owner to ask about representation rather than going into the shop; and offering work in a range of price points.
The Howard Avenue Arts Incubator thanks Gary, Tony, and Deb for contributing their time and wisdom to this event. For more information on the panelists, please visit their websites at collectgaryrosenthal.com, thewaygoose.com, and fitzpatrickglass.com.
Our next event will be Wednesday, March 23rd – Dinner with An Expert: Fran Abrams:
Fran Abrams is a polymer clay artist whose work has been widely exhibited in the DC metro area. She served for 41 years in government and non-profit agencies and recently retired from her position as Grants Director at the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC). Fran has an undergraduate degree in art and architecture and a graduate degree in urban planning. She is a member of the Foundry Gallery in Washington, DC. As a contractor for AHCMC, she manages the county's public art program and the new Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room in the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans' Plaza in downtown Silver Spring, MD.
