Michael Bertrand has been selling his photography since 2001. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Bertrand has seen his photography business grow stronger each year. We spent some time recently talking with Michael about his experiences selling his art. We think he is an excellent choice to launch our Customer Success Stories feature. We thank Michael for his time and his longstanding business.
What were the first few years like for you?
At first just the thought of someone wanting to buy my work was quite humbling. At the time I was cutting my own mats, which meant a lot of time was spent late at night putting mats together. By the end of the first summer I was getting way over my head and falling behind on production trying to keep up.
Cutting mats was actually keeping me away from what I wanted to do, which was to capture images. The production and business end of things were the most challenging.
What do you think was the best lesson you learned in the first few years of your business?
Don't cut your own mats. Companies like Documounts are there to help remove that obstacle for you.
Use high quality mats. I sell at a lot of art festivals and have a chance to see how others present their work. Skimping on mat quality and not double matting makes a difference when buyers are comparing artwork. I have had people come into my booth and tell me how professional my matting looks.
What Documounts products do you use and why do you find them to work best for your business?
I use Alphamat double matting with an 1/8" foam core backing. All products are archival which is important. It does you no good to have an image that is rated for 85 years and then have a mat that deteriorates after 3 or 4 and damages the image. The foam backing gives the customer a frame ready piece of art, which makes them very happy. That is what it is all about. A lot of my customers are repeat buyers. They wouldn't come back if the quality wasn't there.
What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started?
Being in tune with what customers want is the most critical. Sometimes my favorite images don't sell. So, if you are trying to make a living at this you have to observe what types of images your clientele are interested in. If you are too proud about your work and put out only what you like, your booth or store will become a museum where people come to just look, which is fine if you don't need to at least make your expenses back.
What would you do differently?
It is not so much what I would do differently; it is how am I going to mix it up this year. To keep it interesting for me, I try new things at the beginning of each season. Some work, others don't. I have found that when you sell in the same setting year after year you have to be creative to make things fresh so your customers are excited about your art.
What advice do you have for other people regarding the business of selling your art?
As I have stated earlier, don't cut your own mats and don't skimp on the quality of the mats. It shows when your artwork is displayed. My pricing is a little more than some of the others, but I have found that the people that are shopping for art understand the differences. It does help to point them out though.
How do you market your artwork?
My wife Kim and I have an artist booth at Roche Harbor Resort on San Juan Island, Washington. People come there from all over the world. So it seems that word of mouth of satisfied customers works quite well. Also I do 8-10 art festivals a year here in the Pacific Northwest.
What are your favorite parts of your business?
Interacting with the people. In my real job (Planning Director for Friday Harbor, WA) I deal with people who are angry a lot......My art is my therapy. Making people smile because of something that you have created is very satisfying. I have made many friends because of my artwork and that is truly the test of how successful this has become for me.
