Serendipity sales

Still Life with Chair, by Lindsey May

2007

At the San Francisco Writers Conference, I participated in a marketing workshop by the public relations consultant and expert, Elias Southard (http://www.elisasouthard.com/ ). One of the key points she made was that marketing opportunities—moments when you can complete that “sale” can happen unexpectedly. Southard’s advice? Be prepared.

Last Thursday, I was involved in just such a serendipitous moment, although as the buyer rather than the seller. A small town near where I live has a summer-long event where every Thursday evening local artists of all kinds, from writers to musicians, from painters to goldsmiths, are guests of local downtown businesses. My father and I stopped at the downtown pharmacy to pick up some vitamins. Seated near the register was a new graduate of the UW-Stout art department named Lindsey May. Several of her paintings caught my eye. One in particular, an elegant still life of a chair, really pleased me. So I decided to buy it. May was surprised and delighted. In fact, it had never occurred to her that she might actually sell something at the art event. She had no business cards, no brochures, and hadn’t even signed her paintings. A number of other people stopped by, including a retired art teacher. Everyone, from the pharmacy staff to my father, jumped in with valuable advice to her on calculating what she should charge for her painting to how much the sales tax should be. Everyone went home happy—I got a beautiful painting for a very reasonable price, she made a surprise sale, and everyone was delighted.

Now, I suspect, May will be better prepared for the next sale, and I hope she has many more. A good reminder that we might by chance meet someone unexpectedly who will turn out to be in the market for our painting, our book or our idea. Let's be ready for it.