surtex/national stationery show -- afternoon

NSS IN THE AFTERNOON

Refreshed from lunch, I began walking through NSS. Surtex and NSS were adjacent to each other on the same floor. There was a different energy at this show, and I felt like I had walked into a parallel universe! NSS was more than 3 times larger than Surtex. Some of the booths were quite large, like mini-stores. The more years you exhibit, the better the booth location. The big companies were positioned at the front of the show floor.

The name is misleading, for it is much more than stationery products. It is anything that you might find in stationery stores and gift shops: paper, invitations, envelopes, greeting cards, address books, calendars, candles, craft and hobby supplies, decorations, eyewear, frames, games, gift accessories, jewelry, magnets, novelties/souvenirs, party supplies, ribbons/bows, rubber stamps, scrapbooking materials, stickers, wax, and writing instruments. I could see why retailers would come to fill their yearly orders, for there was much to choose from.

I meandered down the aisles, gravitating toward those with themes or art of interest to me. Most exhibitors were very business-oriented and focused on interacting with buyers to make sales. NSS exhibitors, generally, were not as open to conversation with me, showing little interest in me as an artist.

I was very encouraged to see a sizable representation of environmentally friendly products: Banyan Paper, ClearBags, Green Field Paper Company, Mountain Valley Paper Company, Sustainable Threads, MichaelRogerPress (recycled record products), Sustain & Heal, Mr. Ellie Pooh's elephant dung paper, and Paperroot, to name just a few.

There were individual artists with small booths tucked away in the back area of the show. These artists had their own artwork reproduced on products, and were looking to sell their products to retailers. Their exhibits intrigued me. The displays were really well done: attractive, inviting, professional. It took a lot of effort and courage for them to set up booths and compete with the larger, well-known companies. Compared to the traffic in the front of the show, though, these booths were very quiet.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

When I finished with NSS, there was about an hour to go before I had to meet my MassArt group and head back home. I could have rushed through the Furniture show, but my energy was too low. Check out Jeanne's blog, since she did go to the Furniture show and has another perspective:

http://jeannewilliamson.blogspot.com/2009/05/surtex-field-trip-part-one.html

I chose instead to rest a bit and revisit Surtex. I checked back with some artists that I really enjoyed talking with in the morning. Cathy Locke, Viv Eisner, and threesistersink were among my favorites. There was also a group of first-time exhibitors who had just graduated from art school, and I really enjoyed visiting with them.

Prior to attending the NSS, I was considering renting a booth and selling my own products, which have my art printed on them (notecards, postcards, and giclees). Now, I am leaning more toward participating in Surtex and going the licensing route instead. There are 2 basic reasons for this: (1) why compete with the largest names in the industry who already have a proven track record and developed solid relationships with retailers? (2) Licensing offers more diverse channels for selling art. I'm not sure if I'm ready to do Surtex yet. An artist needs a lot of strong "inventory" for licensees to select from. The budget is substantial (approx. $5000 to cover all expenses, including the booth, prep. materials, transportation, housing, PR).

One final factor is the downsizing of the shows during the past couple of years. No one knows, of course, if this trend will continue, but it is something to watch. The Licensing Show, which used to be held in NYC, is moving to Las Vegas this year. It will be interesting to see how things go at that show, and what attendance figures they report.

We had a lot to digest during our one day visit. Going to Surtex/NSS was a valuable experience and I highly recommend it to any artist and designer no matter what your intentions are for your artwork. Even if you don't think your art and/or designs have licensing potential, definitely check it out. There's a lot to learn and be inspired by.

surtex/national stationery show -- morning

LIFE IS LIKE A RIVER

Sometimes life presents unexpected options to you. If you follow the options, great learning adventures can occur. That's what happened with my trip to Surtex/National Stationery Show (NSS) in NYC.

I first learned about Surtex at a presentation about selling & licensing art & design at MassArt (see my blog post http://askdesign2.blogspot.com/2009/05/selling-licensing-art-design.html). I had heard about the NSS, but not Surtex, which is odd considering that Surtex is THE premier design show in the U.S., and all artists and designers should be told about it! At the end of the presentation, it was announced that MassArt was taking a group of graduating painting & illustration majors to Surtex. There was room on the bus for alumni to come along. Register with Career Services if you were interested. The very next day, I registered!

On May 18, we gathered at MassArt. The bus left at 6:30 am. I am not a morning person. This was an early wake-up for me. I chatted with a few people, met Jeanne (fabric artist/printmaker who sat next to me) and Heather (painter), closed my eyes, and slept most of the way. We got to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center around 11 am.

SIZE AND SCOPE

Our entry badge (labeled "Student") got us into 3 shows: Surtex, NSS, and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. There was a fourth show opening the next day that I would have enjoyed seeing: The Supply Side. Perhaps next year.

Hearing about the shows is one thing. Attending them is quite another. The size and scope was beyond anything I had imagined. Surtex = 300 exhibitors attracting more then 6,000 buyers & licensees; NSS = 1,000 companies featuring more then 10,000 product lines. The energy was amazing.

These numbers were impressive to me, yet we were told that the shows' exhibitors were only half the number they used to be. NSS used to take up an entire floor. Attendance was also down. The directory was slimmer. For an interesting view on the history of Surtex, check out Carol Eldrige's blog: http://caroleldridge.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/reflections-on.html

I really didn't understand exactly what Surtex was and how it differed from the NSS until I attended the shows. To clarify: Surtex is a marketplace for showcasing and licensing original art and design. The NSS is where manufacturers/distributors exhibit their new products for retailers who come to order merchandise for their stores.

WALKING THE FLOOR

I was told to wear comfortable shoes, and I'm glad I did! A few days prior to the trip, I had scoped out the exhibit maps online and found where the coffee was. That was my first stop! Coffee in hand, I started "walking the floor" at Surtex with Jeanne and Heather, but we gradually went our own ways and did things at our own pace. The "Student" badge generated a lot of inquiries from exhibitors who wanted to know what school I attended; I had fun with it and stopped to talk with many people about their booths, artwork, and experiences. I was impressed with and thankful for the exhibitors' generosity of sharing.

There were 3 genres of exhibitors: artists, art reps, and licensees. The art was mostly commercial and decorative, with some fine art mixed in: patterns, textures, florals, landscapes, animals, people, ethnic, cultural, and holiday themes. The booths that I found most attractive and effective were those that had large printouts of the art, displayed neatly and cleanly on the walls. The booths that had many small samples were very distracting and busy. Artists would often display mock-ups of products that their work could be applied to, which included every imaginable product: giftwrap, wallpaper, apparel, floor coverings, linens, towels, furnishings, stationery, notecards, packaging, and publishing.

It was all very inspiring and stimulating!

My wandering through Surtex took at least 3 hours. While eating lunch, I had a lovely conversation with an artist from Oregon. She brought samples of her notecards, which had hand-cut renderings of leaves on beautiful textured paper. I showed her my notecards, too, offset-printed with my pastel landscapes. We happened to be sharing a table with an art buyer who overheard some of our discussion, gave me her biz card, and invited me to submit my art to her company! That was an unexpected surprise.

The afternoon notes on Surtex will be posted soon.

selling + licensing art + design

SELLING + LICENSING ART + DESIGN

(a presentation at Mass. College of Art and Design, sponsored by Career Services — 4/30/09)

PANELISTS

Lauren Scheuer

Artist: 10 years’ experience as freelance illustrator, specializing in children’s literature.

Leo and Laura Espinosa (Studio Espinosa)

Artist (Leo): “Neocomic” illustration style ranging from avant-garde to funky to whimsical and quirky.

Artist/Marketing & Licensing Director (Laura): Manages biz side of studio.

DISCUSSION

Licensing Defined

A contractual agreement between you (the artist) and a manufacturer of a product (licensee). They “rent” your idea to enhance their product and, in return, you are paid either a flat rate or a royalty. The artist holds the copyright on the art/design. The license allows the licensee the right to reproduce your work for a set period of time. Terms of the agreement are negotiable: usually non-exclusive, 2 yrs. & 5–10% royalty are std. Option fee is substitute for kill fee method, and can be extended.

How to Begin

There are 2 major licensing shows each year. Surtex is in May (NYC); The Licensing Show is in June (now Las Vegas; used to be NYC). At these shows, an artist or agent sets up a booth display and manufacturers from all kinds of industries come to find the work they will license on their products. By attending the shows, you will see the art and artists being represented, and it will help you decide if licensing is right for you. The National Stationery Show (NSS) runs alongside of Surtex; manufacturers/distributors showcase their new products for retailers. Target has their own tradeshow. One basic question to ask yourself: Can my art be applied to a product? If yes, it has licensing potential.

Surtex Booth Tips

Presentation is very important. Highly recommended to have your booth walls covered like billboards. Less busy gives you better chance of getting noticed. Research vendors for lg.-scale prints for booths (Microprint, CafePress). Product prototypes are helpful. Figure out ways to attract people. You own the copyright as soon as you create the work, but officially copyright your art & design with gov’t before you exhibit it. Before renting booth, attend show & “walk the floor” to see what it's like. Bring plenty of biz cards, talk with people, take notes, sketch booth displays. Check the participant/vendor listings, visit their websites, check submission guidelines. FOLLOW-UP is extremely important.

Surtex Costs

Approx. $5,000 covers all expenses, including booth, prep. materials, transportation, room/board (booth prices vary depending on size, but average is $3500, lower for first-timers).

Other considerations

Once an agreement is reached, the artist provides digital files to the licensee. You must get the scans & color corrections done yourself.