I finally ended my last consignment gallery account. I felt like I was rescuing my pots from ARTFX Gallery in Annapolis. Some of them had been there for years, just getting older. I avoided this band-aid yank for over a year, because of the gallery's owner, Penny Harden. She is hard-working and responsible, and a sweet person. But that didn't justify keeping my pots there, they just didn't sell from her store. The end was awkward. It was like breaking up with someone who really likes you. Penny begged me to change my mind (no), then she begged me to leave a few pieces (no), then she asked for a few months, until after the July 4th weekend (ok). After I hurriedly packed my pots yesterday and headed for the door, she said "have a nice life, Mea." I said "thanks for understanding" and bolted.
Granted, this wasn't nearly as horrible as Artspring in Silver Spring (they forgot to keep track of the art they sold, then cheerfully maintained an "aren't we great" attitude during the months it took to untangle their mess, then scapegoated somebody else) or the now-defunct Baltimore Gallery 321 (crazy owner closed shop and disappeared with my pots, you should hear how I finally got my pots back, and here's a tip for art thieves, be careful what you put on facebook!).
Boy, I wish I knew better earlier! Now I have the perspective of working with wholesale galleries, so I can see that consignment is a really bad idea. It's fraught with danger, as with Artspring and BG321. And even when I felt "safe" leaving my pots in ARTFX, the relationship was poorly-defined and unproductive.
These are the fundamental differences between a wholesale gallery and a consignment gallery. A wholesale gallery makes an investment, of both money and judgement, before they bring work into their gallery. Then they try hard to sell it. A consignment gallery gets their inventory for free, and they don't have much impetus to sell it. Wholesale galleries treat artists like partners. Consignment galleries act like they are doing us a favor. Wholesale relationships have clear boundaries. Ending a consignment relationship is a real pain!!
Granted, this wasn't nearly as horrible as Artspring in Silver Spring (they forgot to keep track of the art they sold, then cheerfully maintained an "aren't we great" attitude during the months it took to untangle their mess, then scapegoated somebody else) or the now-defunct Baltimore Gallery 321 (crazy owner closed shop and disappeared with my pots, you should hear how I finally got my pots back, and here's a tip for art thieves, be careful what you put on facebook!).
Boy, I wish I knew better earlier! Now I have the perspective of working with wholesale galleries, so I can see that consignment is a really bad idea. It's fraught with danger, as with Artspring and BG321. And even when I felt "safe" leaving my pots in ARTFX, the relationship was poorly-defined and unproductive.
These are the fundamental differences between a wholesale gallery and a consignment gallery. A wholesale gallery makes an investment, of both money and judgement, before they bring work into their gallery. Then they try hard to sell it. A consignment gallery gets their inventory for free, and they don't have much impetus to sell it. Wholesale galleries treat artists like partners. Consignment galleries act like they are doing us a favor. Wholesale relationships have clear boundaries. Ending a consignment relationship is a real pain!!
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