The Journey of an Artist Advice for Building a Business
As Tammy Wolter continues to evolve as an artist, her business grows right alongside her.
“Looking back, I can see where the path was,” said the owner of A Touch of Glass, a gallery and working studio in rural Wisconsin.
She started making jewelry in 2002. That happened because her friend’s daughter was getting married and Wolter told the friend she could figure out how to make the jewelry.
Delving into that task was easy for Wolter. “I always did something artistic,” she said.
Raised by her grandparents on a farm with no television, Wolter remembers receiving a book and a craft project for Christmas and on her birthday. “I was constantly reading and making something,” she said. “I played three instruments.”
Wolter was a music teacher for about 20 years — initially, she taught beginning band in the Milwaukee Public School System before teaching at a private school.
When she agreed to make jewelry for that wedding, Wolter had no idea bead stores existed. She soon signed up for a bead-making class at Milwaukee’s Bead and Button Show. Fifteen years ago, she started making glass beads.
Start With a Pop‑up
“If you’re an artist and just starting out and making lovely things — and you want to make more — you sell so you can buy more supplies to make more lovely things,” Wolter said.
There are various ways to sell art, and she started with a pop-up shop during a Friday night event in Milwaukee’s historic Third Ward. Wolter also began doing craft fairs.
“When you’re starting out, you need to pay close attention to pricing,” she said. “You have to pay yourself. There are some good business mentors for the business side of the art world. A lot of them have pretty good spreadsheets. They do the calculation for you — everything you need to put in the pricing.”
Artists should not use Etsy as the bar for establishing their prices, Wolter said. She also said that once an artist gets into the level of juried art shows, there may be store owners walking around who are looking for new products for their stores.
This is an opportunity for artists who are interested in getting their products into gift shops. “I don’t currently do much wholesale but am still set up to do so. I would like to add a couple wholesale accounts,” she said.
If an artist already has a store in mind, the artist should tailor the product, style, and price point to fit the store, she said. “Follow them — go to their website and social media,” Wolter said. “Also, try not to make something that looks like what everyone is selling. Unique sells.”
With in-store shopping back, she advises artists to figure out a product line they could wholesale. Wolter said there are online resources like Faire (faire.com) and IndieMe (indieme.com) to help artists get their wares in front of store owners. “You may have to pay for advertising,” she said.
Artists are ready to make connections with store owners when they have their line sheets and photos and when their pricing is spot on, Wolter said.
Show Considerations
In 2020, Wolter had one show under her belt and was scheduled to do 30 days of shows that year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and all the shows were canceled. “At that point, that was about 50% of my income,” she said. “That experience made me look at my finances.”
Wolter now has a new standard related to shows. “I need to be able to sleep in my own bed and that they not be on my open days,” she said. A Touch of Glass is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
There are shows that Wolter knows will give her exposure, and they are also an opportunity for her to collect more names of potential customers. She recommends that artists display a sign in their booth with a QR code on it instead of providing business cards.
“I will encourage people to take a picture (of the QR code), because people will scroll through their pictures,” Wolter said. “They will lose your card.”
At shows, she also gives people a flyer with information about her working studio. It includes a coupon for 15% off a regular-priced item when they visit her shop for the first time.
Those who have websites can do the same thing there, she s