Marsha Markwalder shares how she held a very successful Art Show in her home!

In November of 2023, PPWS member Marsha Markwalder had an Art Sale at her home. Marsha sold $4,000 worth of art! Marsha was also one of our Featured Artists in December 2024.

If you’ve ever thought about having a home art show, now is the time to plan!

Marsha shared how she did it.

Prepare your art:

  1. Have original art pieces matted and framed with paper on the back, wire, and ready to hang. Attach a small flyer to the back of the painting, including a picture of yourself, a short bio, and your contact information. Place a price card on the front of your art that includes your name, the title of the piece, and the price.
  2. Marsha also includes unframed original art and giclee prints for sale. Make sure the pieces are matted and in a clear plastic sleeve. (available on Amazon) Include your flyer on the back and the price tag on the front. Marsha also suggests including the frame size and recommends standard sizes. She displayed these items in bins marked “Original Art” and “Giclee Prints.”
  3. If you have other miscellaneous art for sale, include that too! This could be note cards, arts and crafts, wooden plaques,or anything else you have made. Price each piece and make them all look as professional as possible!
  4. Make a written inventory of all art pieces for sale.

Prepare the House:

  1. Take down all art that is not yours or is not for sale.
  2. Have a sales table at the entrance.
    • Name tags if you want, but not necessary.
    • I did have a register book to help keep track of who came.
    • Cash box. Decide if it’s only cash and checks or get a Square credit card system set up.
    • Give a note card as a thank you for each purchase.
    • Wrapping material available. Most people didn’t need any, but it’s good to have just in case.
  3. Arrange furniture so there is a flow of traffic to go from one area to another.
    • Marsha made signs on old matt boards pointing to different areas of the house. An arrow to the right for “Original Art” took them through the living and dining room. She had paintings on the wall and smaller paintings on the dining table on art stands, along with the bins of original art.
    • Have small bottles of water and cookies for your guests!

Marketing:

  1. Hopefully, you have been sharing your art on Facebook or another Social Media platform. These are wonderful place to get the word out. Start posting an announcement of your art sale a month ahead. Ask your friends to share the announcement and date, and be sure to include some of your art in your post. Especially those that are bright and colorful to catch the eye!
  2. Post your announcement every week. Not everyone checks their Facebook daily, and you don’t want them to miss it. Ask your friends to invite a guest to go with them. Marsha has three daughters in the area, and they all shared it on their Facebook pages and told their friends.

Design a flyer

  • Above is a copy of Marsha’s flyer so you can see how important it is to show your artwork.
  • Marsha printed her own in color and personally delivered over 100 to every person in my neighborhood!
  • She also taped copies of the flyer on both sides of the community mailbox.
  • Share your art sale flyer with all the groups you are involved in. Book clubs, bible studies, Sunday school classes, church friends, painting groups, friends, and your local neighborhood library bulletin board. Marsha also invited friends from Denver and Pueblo!
  • She also had a sign in her front yard advertising the show with a copy of the flyer 2 weeks before the sale.

Just be careful. Have a few friends over to help out and keep an eye on everything, as you will be busy talking to potential buyers.

A note from Marsha:

I hope this inspires you to step out and try it! It was a lot of work but worth it. I was personally very disappointed in the attendance from the neighborhood, especially those I didn’t know, but I knew 100 percent of the shoppers. I discussed this with some close friends, and they thought maybe because it was in my house, people didn’t feel comfortable coming, and it would have been better in the garage. I don’t know. I do know it would have been nicer in the house than it would have been in the garage!