Missed this one!
If you already have an Excel spreadsheet, a database would be a logical step
up. Reason is that this way you can cross reference who buys what and where
your work is at any time. Advantage of databases is that they are limitless
in the way you can query them, produce reports, mailing lists,
resumes/vitas, artwork information, etcetera etcetera
I have a home-made Access database set up with three tables: works,
contacts, shows.
Took a while to build but it is really eternally modifiable and produces any
information about my art career I can possibly want.
Works table has all my works, obviously and any info including size, theme,
paper, block, ink, date created, framing size (for ordering frames),
picture, edition, on-hand, etc. A unique ID number precedes all that so that
I can link works to both contacts and shows.
Contacts table has all my collectors, show promoters, galleries, museums,
anywhere I have exhibited my work and even groups like Baren. Each contact
has name, email, website, address, phone, purchases (drop-down from table
Works) and whatever else. Again ID allows me to link works and contacts and
when someone buys or shows a work, I have drop-down menu that allows me to
link.
Shows table has festivals, gallery shows, museum shows, Baren exchanges,
etc. Anywhere my work is seen. Again I have basic demographic info. This
table allows me to produce a current artistic resume at any time.
When I finish a work, it goes in my Works table.
When I sell something, I simply go to my Contacts table and either find or
enter the contact, drop-down to the Work and they are linked forever. If I
want to know how many pieces any contact has bought or shown, I can do that
with a query.
Also, when I sell a work and enter the sale in the contacts table, the form
automatically deducts from the on-hand number in the Works table so my
inventory stays current as long as I'm diligent in data entry.
When I show or attend a festival, I enter the info.
When I sell a piece online, I "suck" the customer info directly from my
Outlook folder into the database and then enter the sale. This fails
sometimes and I just enter the customer and venue (ebay, etsy, artfire,
etc.). This also helps keep track of where my work is selling and failing to
sell.
Takes some maintenance and I learn something new about the power of
databases every year. I keep good backups and prior to entering anything, I
have a legal yellow pad where I hand-write every piece I finish and keep
hand written receipts for all sales, so all the info is really recoverable
if the gods of I.T. ever decide to strike me.
All in all it took some time to figure out how to set it up and I have
upgraded/automated some tasks over the years as I see fit. The data entry
was a lot worse when I was producing more work or going to 20 festivals a
year but now it's a breeze cuz I'm being lazy.
There exist a few programs out there that I have explored but none of them
gave me the flexibility I wanted and I hate to pay every year or so for
upgrades. Also, many of the cheaper programs tend to be made by companies
that go out of business so watch for longevity.
Here is a blog post about the main contenders:
http://www.artbizblog.com/2007/11/updated-database-software-for-artists.html
And here is one they don't mention probably because of the cost:
http://www.artsystems.com/
This is the closest I came but just really couldn't justify the cost when my
primitive database works so well for me.
Hope this helps!
Maria
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www.1000woodcuts.com
www.artfestivalguide.info
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