Advice for Surviving a Selling Event, 3

Publicity and literature

• Research press contacts for magazines, papers etc. Target smaller newspapers as they like writing about local people.
• Make sure you have sufficient supplies of publicity handouts, trade information, press pack and artist's statement. Make handouts easy to understand, easy to carry and easy to store. Magazine editors cruise around so have a press pack available. Find a good photographer to work with for good publicity shots.
• Make sure your website is up-to-date, as people who go away with information will then look at the site.
• Don't have any financial barrier between you and the public - have a range of prices. Your price lists should include information about postage and packing. Give the landed price - the price a piece costs, then add postage and packaging. Find out about and include notes on the costs for national and international delivery.

Objectives for the event

Aim high, they have a lot more money than we have.

Takings should be 10 times the cost of your stand. Almost half the takings may be commissions.

Exhibition offers

Never commit to exhibitions with galleries until you can check them and find out as much as you can about the gallery. Never be intimidated into feeling inferior by a gallery. Is exhibiting with that show worthwhile? Sometimes it is very good for the career.



Expect the best and be prepared for the worst.

More information is available from the Business Fact Sheet for Scottish Crafts at craftscotland

Advice for Surviving a Selling Event,.2

Customers

Don't judge people by their appearances.

Keep smiling and never lose your cool even with difficult customers. Listen to them. They may actually have a point. They know what they like and don't like and they're not afraid to tell you.

Never undertake something that you don't really, really want to do. Steer them round to what you make. Be firm if a customer is making unreasonable demands. Is the job actually worthwhile?

Commissions

Once they decide they want something give the customer your time. Find out what they like about it, what they don't like, what space it's going in, is it on the wall? The time spent will pay dividends as the most important thing is your time and they'll remember it afterwards.

Write everything down in one place - name, address and add something which you can easily remember them by. Agree a price and usually include delivery and insurance as extras.

Never give discounts.

Timescale - you'll have lots of work after the event - so start commissions several weeks or months afterwards. Be good and let them know if there's a delay or a problem.

For a commission people do expect to pay a deposit. Ask for a round figure. Give them a receipt.

More information is available from the Business Fact Sheet for Scottish Crafts at craftscotland

revised 28.12.24

Advice for Surviving a Selling Event, 1

You have to be really comfortable.

• Bring a high level stool so you can perch and still have eye contact with the customer
• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
• Wear something bright to help them remember you. It helps if they can point you out in a crowd.

Food, drink and consequences

Eat well, have a good breakfast and have loads of water to stop dehydrating

Bring your lunch

Make friends with the people beside you. This is very important, especially when you've drunk a lot of water!

Plan ahead

Plan the stand display in advance, where everything is going, display cases and what is going in them. Make a plan of the space. Then try it out to make sure it works.

Consider who is beside and opposite you - you need to be aware of what is around you to plan your space best, so it might be worth getting in touch with them before you arrive.

The stand should be clean and tidy. Having no clutter means the customer can see what they are looking at. Have a storage unit for paperwork, pens, water, packaging etc. Have a space where you can write orders and pack purchases.

More information is available from the Business Fact Sheet for Scottish Crafts at craftscotland

Use of the Glass Cutter

When cutting glass your are first scoring the surface to weaken the glass and then breaking along the score line. The glass will always follow the path of least resistance. It is important to keep this in mind when “cutting” glass as it has significant implications for scoring and breaking.

Use the cutter by moving it away from you, so you can see the cartoon lines as you score. When using a straight edge, you can pull the cutter toward yourself or push it away, whichever suits you.

Grasp of the cutter
The classic or traditional grasp is for use with a pencil cutter. The cutter is placed between the first/index and second /ring fingers with the thumb at the back of the cutter. This initially is awkward. Its advantages are that it transfers most of the work to your arm rather than fingers and wrist, and it restricts the movement of your wrist, leading to smoother curves.

The modified grasp is also for use with pencil cutter. The cutter is placed between the thumb and first/index finger. The second /ring finger is also most often used beside the first/index finger. The fingers should be straight to avoid excessive strain on the fingers and possible carpal tunnel problems later.

In this image the cutter is at an angle to vertical.

The fist grip for use with pistol grip cutters. The cutter is held similar to a gun, with the first/index finger pointing down the shaft holding the cutter head. This pointing action seems to aid the accuracy of cutting. This applies to cutters with right angle handle attachments also.

The palm grasp is for the small Toyo and other palm cutters. The cutter is placed on the pad beneath the thumb and held with the first/index finger and thumb.

In all cases it is important that the work is done from the forearm rather than the fingers or wrist. The forearm should be held closely to the body. This reduces the freedom of movement, giving clean flowing score lines. It also reduces the actions that can lead toward repetitive strain injuries. Any turns required by tight curves can be done by turning the body from the hips or shuffling around the bench.

Avoid Finger Cuts at the Grinder

Before serious grinding, first run the whole perimeter of the piece very lightly against the grinding bit. This removes the worst of the 'scalpel' edges and avoids the micro cuts on your fingers.

And,

Let the grinder do the work. Many people seem to put huge pressure on the piece to grind away the waste more quickly, but this is actually counter-productive. Less pressure means less fatigue, less chipping at the edges, fewer broken pieces, and most importantly, fewer cuts to the finger tips.

Glue chipping, 9

Glue Ratings

The glue used for chipping glass is generally called animal hide glue. Many companies sell animal hide glue, but to get the best results, you must use glue that has been formulated and tested for strength.

There are many grades available, such as:

80, 110, 135, 164, 192, 222, 251, 280, 315, 347, 379, 411, 444, 478, 512 jelly gram strengths

The three grades suitable for glue-chipping are:
5x (weakest) = 135 gram strength
4x (suggested) = 164 gram strength
3x (stronger) = 192 gram strength

Glue chipping, 8

Different Glue Weights

The main control over the chip design relates to the ratio of glue to water per area of glass.

140gms glue to 850 centilitres water per square metre is the minimum. The chip will be spotty or absent entirely.

425gms glue to 850 centilitres water per square metre gives the best results – a uniform chipping usually in a fern pattern.

570gms glue to 850 centilitres water per square metre gives a larger more iceberg-looking chip.

850gms glue to 850 centilitres water per square metre is wasteful and usually the glue is so thick the glass won't chip at all.

Experiment with the intermediate amounts to see what you get. Keep good notes of all the variables involved, so you will be able to repeat a pattern if you need to.

Glue chipping, 7

Variables Affecting Chipped Patterns

The glass chipping pattern is subject to many variables. The duplication and uniformity of each pattern is dependent on control of these variables.

There are many variables to be considered, The major ones are:

1. Glass - type and surface preparation
2. Room temperature during preliminary drying stage
3. Glue - type, concentration, and temperature at time of application
4. Weight of dry glue applied per area of glass
5. Dryness of glue film at end of preliminary drying stage
6. Temperature of drying room during chipping process

Glue chipping, 6

Secondary Drying and Chipping Stage

The secondary drying and chipping stage is when a small space heater can be used to warm the glass up to around 52C (125 F). Do not point the heater directly at the glass. Keep it at least one metre away from the glass. You don't want to cause the glass to get too hot and crack.

This indirect heat will cause a rapid evaporation leading to curling of the glue and the chipping of the glass surface. The glass is under extreme stress at this point and should not be handled unless absolutely necessary. On sunny days the glass can be set in direct sunlight. This is the easiest way to get the glue to chip the glass.
The chips of glue can pop off and travel some distance, so take appropriate precautions, i.e. safety glasses, gloves, aprons. You might want to place a cloth over the surface.

After all the glass is chipped, some glue may still be left on the glass. The glue is water soluble, so you can soak the glass with warm water and scrape off the softened glue. Be careful of the extremely sharp shards that are now concealed in the water.

The glue and glass shards left from the chipping process can create a big problem if not cleaned up. Because the glue is an animal by-product, cats and dogs love to eat this stuff. This can cause your pet extreme harm and even death! Dispose of the waste carefully.

Glue Chipping, 5

Drying time

The glue will go through an initial drying stage. This is in the first hour or two, depending on the humidity and temperature of the room. Make sure to keep the glass level during this period.

The next drying stage takes between 12 to 24 hours. This is where the glue will cure and loose almost all of the liquid. A fan to circulate the air will speed up this process. The glue should be left to dry at its own rate, do not hurry it by heating. Uneven curing may result in a poor chip pattern.

The secondary drying and chipping stage is when the glue actually starts to peel or chip. The glue shrinks considerably during the total drying process. As it shrinks, it grips into the pores caused by the sandblasting and literally rips the top of the glass off.

Use precautions when handling glass that has a dried layer of glue. Goggles, gloves, aprons are the minimum precautions against the slivers of glass.