10 Money Saving Tips for Artists

Happy New Year everyone!  We hope all of you have rested well over the holidays and are getting ready for an exciting and profitable 2010!  With that said, I want to talk a little bit about profitability...the key to survival for any business.  There are several ways to be profitable including (but not limited to) increasing the price (or margins) of your products, reducing the quality or time spent producing your products, or reducing the cost of materials used to create your products.  The one that is probably the best for your reputation and least likely to affect your customers is to reduce the cost of the materials used to create your products.  So, how do you do this?  Well, everyone has their own unique tricks and we've got the inside scoop on 10 money saving tips to help you lower your cost of materials.

1. Planning

Use a planner to plan all of your business activities. This could be as simple as trip planning so you can save money on gas or buying all your materials in the same visit to save you time.

2. Canvases

Subscribe to DickBlick, Utrecht, Aaron Brothers and Michaels to get coupons for big money saving options.  You can buy canvases in bulk during the Penny Sale at Aaron Brothers (twice a year) and if you miss that event, you can still use coupons.  Additionally, you can make your own canvases, but trying to make your own canvas can take a lot of time and effort so shopping with coupons and sales may save you a lot of money and time.

3. Paint

Buy Oops Paint at any hardware store or paint store.  It can be used as a base coat for your canvas and it is much cheaper than buying your favorite paint.  If you want to save more on special colors, see if you can make your special color with the primary colors.

4. Easels

Only purchase easels when they are on sale.  If you  are looking for inexpensive easels, look in garage sales, on craigslist or even send an email to your artist friends.  You can really save a lot of money here as easels are expensive and if you want to create your own, here is a great blog by Saver Queen on creating your own easels using recyclable materials.

5. Varnish

Always purchase varnish at a local hardware store.  My perfect place to purchase varnish is either Home Depot or Lowes.  There are many great types of varnishes to create different effects so explore and be creative.

6. Brushes

Purchase only the low cost brushes from your local stores and to keep your brushes lasting longer read "How to Clean Your Paint Brushes" by Marion Boddy-Evans.  Also, I would recommend signing up for her free painting newsletter where she offers a wealth of great information.

7. Cleaning Supplies (Paper Towels)

This tends to be a cost many don't notice...it's like tap water. I was surprised how many paper towels my son was using painting and I got a great tip from my his art teacher to purchase them from Costco as they are much cheaper.  You can look around for other little things that you use regularly and find ways to buy them in bulk.

8. Packaging Materials

Have you shipped any artwork lately?  Wow, it is so expensive to use the shipping boxes from UPS, FedEx, or USPS.  Costco, Home Depot and Lowes have great deals on bulk boxes that can save a lot of money.  If you can figure out a way to lower your cost in the packaging materials, it can be like winning the lottery.  Today, packaging materials cost almost the same as actually shipping the package, so anywhere you can find cheaper boxes, take advantage of those prices.

9. Shipping

This one is a really hard nut to crack.  I have spent a lot of money on shipping and still have not found a perfect solution, but after doing some research I found TrueShip.  They have figured out amazing ways to reduce shipping costs and it seems they are always innovating their services so I plan to use them in 2010.

10. Marketing

I know I shared some very specific money saving tips for artists, but there are also some general tips that I think are applicable to all of us so I hope some of these might help you in your quest to save money this year. 

• Set a goal for your profitability.  Based on past experience and some ideas of what you would like to do this year, plan your profitability.  When you have a goal, it is easier to see where you are at any given time and make any adjustments along the way.
• Never pay full price for your supplies/materials.  Many online stores today like DickBlick and others provide deep discounts to save money and they also ship directly to your house or office at very low cost.
• Buy in bulk as long as it won't go to waste.  Especially with the basic materials like cleaning supplies that you don't usually think of as a business expense as it is a big money and time saver.
• Always use coupons where you can.  By subscribing to email newsletters, often you will get these coupons notifying you of the sales you're looking for.
• Always check the clearance rack as you might find some great materials to use or even some creative inspiration.
• Create a system for pricing custom orders or requests.  You should have the standard fixed price for your products, but with custom orders/requests you have the ability to be creative and don’t forget about materials, time, packaging and shipping.
• Go green!  Recycle all art supplies or any other material that you use...here is a great post by Diana Moses Botkin on 12 Ways Artists Can "Go Greener"

I surely hope that these tips will benefit you for an incredible 2010 and I would really love to hear the money saving tips that you have come across to share with the Meylah community.