Review of our Open Studios
An in depth look at how it went and how we got on!
Dear Reader
It’s been a week since our Cornwall Open Studio event at Lowenek studio with Pippa Alston and Fiona Thomas finished and I wanted to feedback with you on how this event went.
I think writing this post will not only give you an insight into this type of event and maybe some valuable tips for fellow artists considering hosting an Open Studio but also help me evaluate what worked and whether it’s something that is beneficial to my art business.
I will be sharing figures as well, as I think it’s always helpful to be as transparent as I can about this. If that is something that is of interest or you are curious to know about do read on!
What is Open Studios?
Open Studios is an event that happens usually yearly and encourages artists to open up their spaces and give people a chance to interact with them in person and technically ‘see how the sausage is made’. I’ve found this type of event is not just limited to Cornwall but runs across the country and internationally too.
Who runs Open Studios Cornwall?
Open Studios Cornwall is run by Cornwall 365, a creative consultancy promoting Cornwall as a year-round sustainable creative destination. Cornwall 365 is part of the Creative Kernow Group. Find out more about Cornwall 365 here.
When did the event happen?
Open Studios Cornwall ran Saturday 25 May – Sunday 2 June 2024, and usually runs over the May bank holiday weekend. Artists can choose to be open for all of the days or as we did close for a couple of days in the middle of the week for a break/ catch up on admin, other work or chores.
How many took part?
There were 295 artists taking part in this year’s Open Studio event spread out across the county, from North to South East, Mid to West Cornwall displaying a range of disciplines across art, illustration, drawing and craft.
How much does it cost to participate?
Unless you are participating, many people don’t often realise that there a cost involved in doing something like this. To participate in Open Studios Cornwall 2024 the fee was £95+VAT amounting to £114. The fee and registration deadline is around mid January, so you will have to decide 6 months in advance whether you want to commit to it. The fee gives you a spot in the printed booklet which includes a map and you are also added to the online directory with links to your website. In the lead up Cornwall 365 advertise on a variety of media outlets with written pieces in local newspapers, blogs, and social media. I found out my picture made it in to the Falmouth packet!
We also have a lady in our area who writes up pieces each year advertising the Open Studios events and includes Lowenek Studio in that. Advertising and marketing the event yourself is just as important in getting people through the door, so we also printed our own leaflet which we popped around the area to local galleries and shops a couple of weeks before.
I noticed other artists in the area getting creative with creating a stamp trail and visitors collecting stamps from each participating studio. If they managed to get a full set of stamps they would be entered into a prize draw at the end of the week. Being part of a group does help as it spreads the load of the advertising plus visitors may be more likely to visit a more rural spot if they know there are several artists based there.
How much space/time do you need?
You will need to make sure you have a space you can show your work in. If you don’t feel you can open up your home or simply haven’t the space to accommodate visitors, like myself, then you could partner up with another artist to hire a space for the week or share another studio which is what I did.
As the studio was not my own I couldn’t just get on with admin tasks, so that is something to bear in mind if you are sharing or showing outside of your own studio.
There is also the time aspect- you’ll need to consider that in your preparations and make sure you block out the dates for this in your diary as well as the preparation it takes to get ready for this type of event. I started thinking about it in March and making a list of everything I had to do to be ready. I had my originals already framed from the event I did in October and so just focused on creating new cards designs and get my zines/postcards printed in time.
Where and who did I do Open Studios with?
This is my second year doing Open Studios in Cornwall. Although I have participated in Open Studios previously when I used to live in Aberdeen, and do enjoy touring Open Studios the week it is on.
I was invited back by Pippa Alston to show my work at her pottery studio with textile artist Fiona Thomas. It is a lovely, airy space and large enough to accommodate 3 artists, their work, and visitors. It is situated around 16 minute drive from where I live in Mullion, on the east side of the Lizard in an area called St Martins. The studio is a converted barn on her parents farm which Pippa transformed during 2020.
She has also planted a small lawn and flower border in front of the studio making it a pleasant place to sit and enjoy on a Summer’s day. It’s where we sat for our lunches if it wasn’t too chilly and ate our ice pops on one of the more warmer days we had. It is also where the resident Peacocks liked to hang out and admire themselves in the reflection of the glass doors.
Pippa’s work is inspired by the sea and colours of her environment. She currently makes mugs, coasters, jugs, vases, vessels, lamp stands and most recently a fun light-house tea light holder.
Fiona is a textile artist and storyteller. Each time I have shown with her she has created an installation piece which incorporates her carefully formed and curated textiles infused with stories of her life. All are hand made and either stitched, knitted or pieced together.
Her working title for this year was Ebb and Flow and visitors were guided through her making process along with stories and personal challenges Fiona faced along the way. If you’re a fellow textile artist you would certainly have enjoyed seeing and hearing her craft.
What work did I show?
All my personal work is inspired by sketching on location. Something that I began doing in the September of 2017 when we moved from Falmouth to Porthleven for 8 months. Up until that point, although I was illustrating daily I didn’t keep a sketchbook in the manner I do today.
My short sketchbook story
I’m not entirely sure what it was that prompted me to start going out that September morning but I couldn’t ignore it. After going through a considerable amount of change and upheaval, grieving the death of a few close friends, and moving to a new place I felt an urge to return to something simpler, something that I had forgotten; drawing for the sake of drawing, without brief and without pressure.
The simple act of drawing what you see in front of you allows you to switch off your brain and focus purely on the subject that you are looking at. All worries slip away as you lift your gaze from yourself to what is around you.
I find drawing from my surroundings allows me to feel a greater connection with where I am. It also helps me discover a place and see it with fresh eyes.
I often think if I’m getting too familiar with a place I should draw it. That soon shows me something I hadn’t seen or noticed.
All the work I shared at Open Studios comes from this starting point and below I describe how I displayed it.
Display one - my sketchbooks
This area was ideal for a more informal sharing of my work. My sketchbooks were laid out on a low coffee table, some stood on display stands open, others kept in my wicker picnic basket and people were encouraged to sit on the comfy sofas, have a cup of tea and leaf through the books. The area was opposite the coffee/tea making so it was ideal to sit on the sofas whilst you waited for your drink to be made.
This area was by far the most used and certainly where I could interact most naturally with visitors. I had some visitors sit for over an hour or so chatting and flicking through the pages. Lots of conversations would happen as the images would invite thoughts and feedback, some more emotional than others.
Displaying all my sketchbooks in a picnic hamper
Display two- my printed products
This was arranged more like a craft table setup and I had a range of my printed products on show. The table was set up directly opposite the door opening so it was pretty much the first thing you saw if you came in through this door. The studio also had 2 sliding glass doors which lead directly into Pippa’s pottery space so you could bypass Fiona and myself if you just wanted to visit Pippa. Most people came through the first door which I am thankful for!
The products included my greeting cards, zines, A4 giclee and art prints, postcards and a selection of unframed or smaller originals. The majority price point of this table was kept under £10 apart from a few of the originals that were individually priced. I found that my best selling items were the greeting cards, postcards and zines.
Display three - my framed originals
These were arranged on a separate table opposite textile artist Fiona. Ideally I think they may have been better hung on a wall but as wall space was limited and pretty hard to nail into, it worked under the circumstance. I had arranged around 10 pieces of my framed pieces on the table- 3 were standing on easels and the rest laid flat and were priced from £95-£200. I had also positioned a rack to the left of the table which contained unframed originals of landscapes and larger giclee prints.
Abandoned cottages at Kynance framed original Watching the flow of people coming in I found people would not see the table until they had done a walk around the entire barn and then notice it. I wondered if this was because when you come into the barn the table does not face the door, rather behind and you tend to see things in front of you first. Anyway I did not sell as any of these pieces but I did sell an unframed original that was in the rack to the side of it.
I also brought along my art materials and current sketchbooks so in the lulls I took opportunity to sketch my surroundings and if visitors were interested could share with them the materials I use.
Workshops
Both Pippa and I had workshops available for visitors to engage with during the week.
Pippa had an untutored paint a bud vase option and this really worked well for family groups looking for an activity for young children to do. They paid £12 a vase and would have the option to either pick up in person or have it sent for a small delivery fee.
I on the the other hand ran a tutored session on colour mixing, wildflowers and collage. In the run up to the event I advertised it as I would any workshop session and got people to book on in advance. I find this is a helpful way to cover the cost of doing Open studios.
Last year I had run 3 of these but this year decided to limit it to 1 and then if there was demand open it up again. It meant I could fill up the spaces on one date rather than have a few people scattered across 3 and I found it worked a lot better for me this way. We had a lovely full class on the Thursday and engaged participants making a colourful wildflower inspired zine. It ran for 90 minutes and participants paid a very reasonable £15.
Scores on the doors!
Visitors
Fiona kept track of all the visitors that came through the door with a metal clicker and it was surprising to see how many we did get over the week.
Saturday 36
Sunday 27
Bank Holiday Monday 52
Thursday 50
Friday 24
Saturday 26
Sunday 14
Total Visitors over 7 days: 229
Sales
Here is what I took during the week
Workshop sales: £120
Product sales over 7 days: £597.50
Total takings £717.20
minus costs to participate: £114 + Flyer printing £24
Total Sales after deductions £579.20
We were open 11-4.30pm each day, which I think was a good enough time with the bulk of people either coming before lunch or after and on a couple of occasions at 4.30pm!
Just a card
I think it’s important to note that the products I sold the most of were my greetings cards which were priced at £3 along with zines and postcards. It is surprising how quickly these figures add up, and having smaller priced items are certainly significant to have on your table. If you are a visitor just buying a card really does make a difference!
Overall I find the event an encouraging one, and although you can’t guarantee big sales, events like this help me to connect in real life to people around the area and further afield, and give me more opportunities to share and talk about my work. So often we are working on our own and perhaps don’t realise just how important conversations are with others to help spark new ideas or ways of working. You may also meet some one who can help you out with a project you’re stuck on or are planning, like I did this time!
Plus hanging out with Pippa and Fiona was a treat!
If you are considering doing an event like this I would say go for it just make sure you are fully prepared and have costed the time and energy it will take to do it.
If you visited in person thanks so much for taking the time to come and visit, chat or do a workshop, I hope you enjoyed the experience.
If you missed the Open Studio event but still want to see my work in person, you can find it at Roskorwell Farm over the summer season. They are open Wed-Sunday weekly 10.30-4pm (closed June 15th) and you can pop in to have tea, coffee and homemade cake whilst browsing the gallery of local art and craft.
I’ll also be leading some drawing workshops there in July- you can book those here.
I hope you found this interesting to read and do let me know if there was anything you found helpful to hear in the comments below.
Looking for a creative course this Summer? Sign up to our Summer Creative Course!
Back at Lowenek studio Pippa and I will be running our 2 day collaborative Creative course. You’ll be sketching on location with myself, getting inspiration from your surroundings and then the next day creating and sketching in clay to produce a final piece. Lots of fun and a opportunity to work across multiple mediums inspired by the wildflowers and life surrounding Lowenek studio.
Classes are limited to 9 and you can book your place here.
Thank you for sharing, it’s lovely to hear your feedback. it was my first time doing open studios and I found it so joyful, the conversations and lovely people that visited.
We found our artist trail really helped encourage visitors to go to all of our studios within our collective, and hopefully made for a lovely day out for visitors.
My numbers were similar to you, I guess the two 50+ days were workshop days? I would love to run stitch workshops but would need to find a bigger venue. I’m so glad it was a success for you, and hope you will do it again.
Love the details, description. Great feel included. Thank you.