Sunday, June 7, 2009

This is NOT your Grandmother’s Tea Party


A group of friends and I have joined together to promote our work. We are calling our group the "Covert Potters Association" and our first event is a tea party. The following is our press release...


The event:
Guests are invited to join a small group of ceramic artists at an exclusive event, a late afternoon tea party, held at a charming restaurant. What makes this tea party different is the guest get to pick out a tea cup (made by the artists for the event) and are then served from tea pots also made by the artists. The artists visit with the guests as they enjoy their delicious tea and goodies. When the guest leaves, the guest gets to take their tea cup with them to enjoy for years to come.
Why a tea party?
The new economy requires rethinking how/what people are going to spend money. They are more likely to spend money on an experience rather than just a product.
Mass market producers have artists beat at the quantity and pricing game. They can produce a huge quantity very quickly with quality and style that can be sold at a lower price-point than an artist’s work.
Artists who want to succeed in this economy have to out-play the mass market/big box stores. Generally people buy from an artist because they have connected on a personal level, either with the artist or the work of art. So, we needed to find a creative way to facilitate this connection.
This event is really about marketing and building a potential client list for these artists. There will be additional functional ware for sale (matching cups, tea pots, pitchers, platters, etc.); however, the value to the artist is in the human connection made for the next event.


For more info check out http://www.teacupparty.com/

What creative ways are you considering to sell your work? Please comment and share!

4 comments:

Patricia Griffin Ceramics said...

THIS is an incredibly wonderful idea. I hope it goes well for you all. Please let us know!

Chris McCormick said...

We are selling some tickets already. Working on press releases for all the local media outlets, we shall see!

Linda Starr said...

Hi Chris, this is a wonderful idea, I loved looking at all the pottery from each website too. I wish I lived closer to go, but alas the fuel prices and watering and yard care keep me tied to this place all summer without a break. You have some wonderful tiles on your site and I was wishing I could see them larger to appreciate all the texture and colors of them. Perhaps you need a post about yourself and an interview right here, you have such wonderful pottery.

Chris McCormick said...

Thank you Linda! maybe I will do that.