What's the one thing you wish you'd known before your first gallery conversation?
I sent my first gallery email with zero idea what I was doing. Didn't even have a proper artist statement, just three photos and a "hola, here's my pots" energy. They said yes anyway somehow. Now I look back and laugh, but also cringe at how unprepared I was on pricing, on commission, on all of it.
What's the thing you wish someone had told you before that first conversation? Something nobody warns you about. For me it's that the gallery takes their cut off the top and suddenly your "sold!" celebration is doing math in your head. Worth it still. But I wish I'd had the numbers ready.
Tell me I'm not the only one who went in blind.
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The commission thing got me too, but honestly what I wish someone had told me is that the conversation isn't as scary as you build it up to be. I spent weeks rehearsing what I'd say and nearly talked myself out of even reaching out. Then I finally did and the gallery owner was just... a person. We talked about paint brands and local fairs for half the meeting.
The other thing nobody warned me about is that they might actually want to see way more work than you think to bring. I showed up with maybe six pieces and she asked what else I had and I was scrambling through my phone for photos. Bring a full portfolio, not just your best three.
I'm still mostly a small local fair person myself, so I have so much respect for you just going for it with the gallery email. That first one is the hardest.
The paint brands and local fairs thing is so real, that's the part nobody tells you. You build this whole mental image of a serious art business meeting and then you're just two people talking about glaze for an hour. All that rehearsing and the actual conversation is the easiest part.
And yeah, the "what else you got" moment is brutal. I showed up with a box of maybe eight pieces and they asked about commissioned work and I pulled out my phone like a kid showing their parents their report card. Now I bring a whole folder of photos on my laptop plus the physical pieces. Learned that one the hard way too. What did you end up showing them, did it go well after the scramble?