I shouldn't over egg this, but today was an exciting first for me and Sonning Creatives, my first 'exhibition'. Well more of a sale really…
It's Christian Aid Week - the key fundraising moment of Christian Aid's year. Thousands of volunteers on door steps, services and collections around the country, and CA staff all get stuck in with fundraising around the office. So I took a deep breath, prepared some stock and set up a sale, with 35% of all sale proceeds going to Christian Aid to support their fabulous work around the world. As a result of today's sale I will be donating £38 to them, with a possible few extra sales to come later this week.
So what sold? There were two clear winning images: Ripples - a minimalist seascape, and Autumn in Pastel - a gentle, slightly muted shot taken at Westonbirt arboretum. Most sales were of cards, but these were helped by having A3 and A4 prints on display in 20x16 inch and 16x12 inch mounts. A few London shots were sold including St Paul's in HDR and St Paul's the dome, with Tower Bridge Blues also popular.
Among floral shots,Outstanding Lily was popular.
So what did I learn? Well its fun discussing photos with colleagues... Price point is important for a work place sale - £2 cards (14cm square) outsold the £2.50 A5 cards. Solid, middle of the road cards that people can keep in the draw for when needed. Black & White shots are marmite: you really love, or you really don't! £15 A4 16x12s will sell if they touch people's interest. But its not the chocolate box floral prints that really sell at this ad hoc sale. Its the shots that are a little different, that succeed in bringing a little of the photographer's vision to life. And when you can do that, people will purchase.
All I have to now is make more shots like that!
Christian Aid Week runs until Sunday 19th May. I'm happy to continue offering the 35% donation on sales up till 26th May:
A5 cards £2.50, 14cm square cards £2.00. Prints, mounted and backed: 6x8 inch, mounted to 8x10 £8.00; A4 mounted to 16x12 inch £15; and A3 mounted to an impressive 16x12 inch £25. Carriage at cost - lets discuss. Email me at Colin@SonningCreatives.co.uk if you would like to discuss an order.
