Vendor Opportunities Information

About Gallery La Crosse

We are a "juried" venue, to assure high quality wares and exhibits for our customers. Our business model is a sort of hybridization of the concepts of a traditional gallery, an arts cooperative, and an antiques mall.

Vendors lease and manage their own spaces within the Gallery. When juried into exhibition, it is left up to the exhibitor to select what to exhibit, as well as how to best display their wares and when to rotate items within their area. Detailed guidelines for exhibition are provided in the Vendor Contract.

A wide variety of spaces are available. We leave it up to the exhibitor to decide which space(s) will best suit their needs and budget. Within this framework, we are very flexible, and allow for changes to be made as vendor needs evolve. We would much rather meet the periodically changing needs for our vendors than be inflexible and see them leave.

The main street level Gallery is for Fine Arts, Fine Crafts, and fine Antiques & Vintage Wares. This level is handicap accessible, with a nice & clean public restroom. It also has a multi-use space that is used for receptions, artist live demos, classes, and visitor seating.

In the basement is our "Rustic Cellar". This area is intended for Rustics, good quality Handcrafted items, Primitives, Garden Art, Bird Habitat items, and an interesting assortment of accessories for these.

Prices for our spaces range from $ 10 to $ 90 per month, with most of the spaces in the range of $ 20 to $ 40. They vary widely in size & configuration. Visit the gallery to see which spaces are currently available.

Contracts may done for 1, 4, 7, or 12 months. Increasing discounts are given for longer commitments, with the 12 month contract giving the vendor approximately 6 weeks free.

Vendors do not staff the Gallery, but are always welcome to visit and also to do live demos of their skills to help promote sales of their wares. Days when we have live demos going on average much higher sales overall, and often the person doing the demo sees sales of their wares to the people who came to view them at work.

A commission of 25 % is applied to the selling price of wares. When discounts are given on purchases, they come out of the gallery's commission, not from the vendor's proceeds. All staffing and marketing of the gallery in general are provided by the gallery management.

Vendors are encouraged to promote their other venues around the region by use of materials in their spaces. Details for this are provided in the contract.

We promote our gallery as being very friendly for the general public, a place to shop just for fun things, for everyday gift occasions, as well as for heirloom quality fine art.

November 2009 ~ We are currently at capacity for Photographers

Currently, we are not accepting any more photographers.

If you are a photographer interested in exhibiting with us, please check back in a few months for potential openings.

We will certainly consider Jurying your work while you await an opening.

You might also consider exhibiting for a two-week Featured Artist showing.

To provide the best possible opportunities for our current exhibitors, we do need to impose some limits on the number of exhibitors within any particular style &/or media.

How to Become an Exhibitor Here

Arrange a time to bring a representative sampling of your wares to the gallery. We prefer to examine things in person, rather than viewing photos.

If accepted, you will need to take adequate time to review the contract before signing it. It is a lengthy document, designed to provide a very clear understanding of all terms and conditions for exhibit spaces, holding receptions, teaching classes, and various details.

We desire to see everyone get along with one another, and to maintain a very cooperative spirit within our gallery. With the cooperative spirit, it is managed as a very benevolent dictatorship.

Once you have contracted for your space, it is up to you to manage your space within the gallery guidelines. You are very strongly encouraged to market yourself, as our best selling vendors do this.

If you have a website of your own, you may provide it to us to include that link on our "Vendors Websites" webpage. This is a benefit offered only to our current vendors in good standing.

All Vendors may have their contact information on our "Current Exhibitors" webpage, along with a brief description of what they offer here. Additionally, former exhibitors in good standing have their contact information listed on the Exhibitors webpage. We have found that exhibitors do come and go, returning seasonally as their needs change, and we believe in always welcoming them back.

Thoughts on Why You May Chose to Exhibit Year-round At Gallery La Crosse

What's so different about our Gallery ?

OUR BUSINESS MODEL...

Gallery La Crosse is operated as a sort of hybridization of several different styles. Combining some of the best features of an Arts Co-op, with the Antiques Mall concept, and the traditional Art Gallery mode; we manage as a very benevolent dictatorship with a very cooperative spirit.

ARTIST AUTONOMY...

While Gallery La Crosse is a Juried venue, once an artist's work is recognized as being of high enough quality to exhibit here, it is left to the artist to determine what their exhibit will be. Each Vendor manages their own space according to their own preference for content and frequency of changes.

Receptions for individual exhibitors are simple to schedule, and may be arranged to go along with a special exhibit, or just because. We hold an open Reception on the First Friday of every month.

Gallery La Crosse will never require an exhibitor to restrict their offering of work to our gallery, and we encourage you to provide information in your space about where else your work can be found. We frequently send our customers to other area galleries to find what they are looking for; if we cannot provide it for them, and if they are just looking to view more local art. This is in keeping with our policy of cooperatively promoting the local arts community in every way possible.

DIVERSITY...

Gallery La Crosse will always feature a variety of goods, an eclectic blend of: fine Art, fine Craft, Jewelry, Antiques, fine Vintage wares, Habitat Art, Rustic Originals, and a winter Holidays "Celebrations Corner". Within this model there are two distinct personalities, with the street level main Gallery focused on fine things, and the Rustic Cellar having a very relaxed atmosphere.

Historic Downtown La Crosse attracts a wide range range of visitors, and our Gallery's mix draws in many people who never knew they would enjoy shopping in an Art Gallery.

We also do see a lot of the established art appreciation population coming by frequently to see what or who is new in our gallery.

PRICE POINT...

Vendors can set very marketable prices and still receive worthwhile income for their efforts. We charge only a 25 % commission on items sold. With spaces ranging from $ 10 to $ 90 per month, and rent reductions for 4, 7, or 12 month commitments, exhibitors select what their own selling/marketing costs will be.

FLEXIBILITY...

With display spaces available in many sizes and configurations, and several options for length of commitment to display, you select what fits your needs best. It is very common for Vendors to change their spaces by increasing or decreasing the size, or by moving to a different area of the Gallery, to present a fresh exhibit, or meet seasonal needs for more or less space.

Vendors can determine for themselves how much they wish to invest in marketing themselves, and how much of what style display space they wish to utilize.

Display here includes Internet exposure for all of our current Vendors.

FREEDOM FROM STAFFING...

A significant component of our business model comes from Ann's experience as a member of an Artists' Cooperative. One of the membership requirements that was often difficult for members (when the Co-op operated a Gallery for three years) was the staffing. Many members were challenged by fitting their shifts into their busy lives, and our Wisconsin winters offered special problems for those who had a fair distance to drive in to work.

Our Vendors do NOT have any requirement to staff the Gallery. All are very much encouraged to attend (at least come in for a little while) the many Receptions that are held throughout the year.

You have here the freedom to come in at any time we are open, to visit, &/or to do live demos of your skills as you desire. When you do these demos, you may work in our large front window, or elsewhere in the Gallery, and you are encouraged to interact with our customers.

WEBSITE...

We freely offer linking to personal websites for any & all of our exhibitors. Return linking back to our website is greatly appreciated, but is not required.

Traditional Galleries, Antiques Malls, Arts Co-ops, & Portable Shows

A BIT MORE ABOUT AUTONOMY ISSUES FOR THE ARTIST...

In the traditional gallery model, it is the gallery owner, not the artist, who makes all of the decisions regarding works exhibited &/or offered for sale to the public. This often restricts exhibition opportunities to well known and established professional artists. Who exhibits, and which of their works are exhibited is tightly controlled. Students, semi-professional, and many other skilled artists and folk arts artisans often find it difficult to gain the opportunity to exhibit.

Generally taking in revenue only from commissions on works sold, in order to survive in business, traditional galleries need to keep 40 to 60 percent of the selling price of what they present to the public, and they need to usually exhibit only the best selling works. This high commission requires the artist to either price their work above an optimal selling price, or to accept less income when their work sells at a lower and more marketable price point.

Traditional galleries are often visited by people seeking a fine art viewing social experience, and who may or may not be inclined to actually make purchases. Even top-selling artists in a traditional gallery may sell only a couple of pieces each year.

Some galleries also require exhibiting artists to sign an agreement to not offer their works elsewhere in the region, or even nationwide. Artist receptions are usually scheduled according to the gallery owner's preference, if the opportunity is even offered. Many of them will list information about exhibitors on their websites, and some of them will provide links to artists' own websites.

FOR THE ANTIQUES DEALER...

Typically, space in Antiques Malls is charged out by the square foot, with Vendors left to carve out aisle space from the space that they are paying for. Most offer only a couple of sizes or shapes to chose from for your "booth".

In this region, we have found that per square foot price ranges from $1.50 to $2.75, and some also require exhibitors to staff the store on top of this. No matter how good or bad your sales are, there is no option for lower cost spaces to maintain a presence and contact with the public through them if you find the cost too high. It is an extremely rare Antiques mall that will list Vendor's contact information on their website.

While their per square foot cost is set 50 - 275 % higher than us, they don't usually charge a commission on items sold.

Here at Gallery La Crosse, during the months that sales are low, you benefit from much less cost, and during the months of good sales, you will still see lower total costs than in most other locations.

We do not charge by the square foot for the space; Vendors select from our spaces space by the size, configuration, and cost that they find best fits their needs. Except for the one very large ($90 for 9'X9') space down in the Rustic Cellar, all aisle space is provided for by our Gallery.

PORTABLE SHOWS...

Whether as an Artist or selling Antiques, it is hard to beat the personal face-to-face interaction of the one or two day shows. However, being stressed-out and anxious, as well as physically exhausted by them, is one of the factors in why Gallery La Crosse was created. Just seem to find it harder every year to pack up and take the show on the road.

Sometimes they go well, but often it is hard to justify the many days or weeks of preparation, set-up time, jurying process, booth staffing time, transportation issues and costs, meals, lodging, etc; all on top of paying anywhere from $ 20 to $225 to lease the space for just a day or two.

Sometimes the money we are ahead of show expenses is only enough to cover the cost of materials for the items sold. Once in a while a customer from a portable show makes contact at a later date for a custom work, or something they saw in the booth and later decided to buy.

ARTISTS COOPERATIVES...

An Arts Co-op is a magical thing, beneficial in so many ways, and a place to create lasting friendships with other artists. The cooperative energy brings a special life feeling to the Co-op gallery.

Memberships are usually done on an annual basis, with the monthly cost of dues ranging from $ 20 to $ 116, depending on the region and retail location. Commissions on sales of items sold in Co-op galleries range from none or 10 %, to very commonly 20 or 30 %, and for some 35 or 40 %.

Members do have a great deal of control over what they present, and when and how. With governance of the Co-op's retail gallery by and for the members, members serve on committees and work days staffing the shop. Most Co-ops have websites, and some of them will link to member websites.

Our sincere Thanks to you...

Links to View Contracts... will be available here soon