MARKETING WALL ART

I've blogged several times about the lengthy preparations for my solo exhibit at the NC Arboretum.....which is finally now ongoing through October, 2013.  

I was so intent on getting the display up that I neglected to take photos of the stunning grounds.....except for this snap shot of a fountain in front of the educational building.  My bad!!!

 It was a good thing 'the husband' came with me because none of the hanging devices that are normally in place were up.  What should have taken no more than two hours, ended up taking well over four.  I'd still be there if I didn't have his help!

 The facility is not your typical gallery.....there is ample wall space but it's located in hallways...making photo taking difficult.  That's an advantage for viewers though, as they can get 'nose close' to the work and the lighting is quite good. 

 This grouping of 4 Seasons quilts ended up being much closer together than I would have liked.  It wasn't as much a space issue as the lack of functioning hanging devices.  Normally the quilts displayed are large, requiring far less equipment, however because most of my exhibit featured small quilts, we were scrambling for hangers.  In the end, all 28 pieces I brought got hung! 

I suspect many of you following this blog might be at a stage in your fiber lives, like me, where we've given everyone we know a quilt...at least twice. Yet, more ideas must be explored and our inventories continue to grow.  After 25+ years of workshops, books, magazine articles, cruise/tour projects, plus all my new work, well...you get the picture. Finding new homes for my wall art is a huge priority.  

Paying commissions for retail sales are a way of life.  It may surprise you that it's not uncommon for the retailer to charge 50%.  That can really bump up the price of the work!  Obviously, finding new ways for your pieces stand out in a crowd is helpful....

So....here's what I wanted to share in this post.  Do you know what a QR is??  It's that little black and white square containing a pattern of more squares that you see popping up on just about everything these days.  When a QR reader app is downloaded on your smart phone, a QR can be scanned to obtain more information about the product or service it represents.

STRK.IT is a new service offering stickers that can be applied to paper products, plus sew on and iron on squares.  I've added separate signage the higher priced quilts in the hopes that it will encourage the viewers to take more time studying and considering the pieces.

I chose to record 'the story behind the quilt', allowing the audio to run about 2 minutes each.  Services such as text, or video are other innovative options.  

I found it fast & easy to use....even for me who is not very techy.  I even added an iron on stkr. to a quilt that will be a gift....recording a message for the recipient to find when it's unwrapped. 

 You youngins' that read this blog may have already embraced this type of technology, but for me it was new and hopefully it will help to generate sales in this particular setting.  Maybe it will be helpful to you too!