[singlepic id=1840 w=320 h=240 float=left]I have work up as usual – but unusually this time it’s been split between two floors. Some is on the 2nd floor corridor, some on the 3rd floor – both parts are beyond the fire doors at the far end. I’m showing Southern Xposure this time, so if you missed my images of cute emperor penguin chicks, a rare Ross seal and Antarctic landscapes at Studio 61 in October, this is probably your last chance to see it. (Unless there’s any other galleries out there that would like it to grace their walls?) But I’ve slashed my prices on these by roughly 30% for this weekend – all bar one are under £100, and the expensive one is a moderately large canvas at £125. Normal prices for these would be much higher, but I’ve got a good deal with the costs of displaying work at Banks Mill for the Open Studios, and am passing those savings on to you.
I’ve also got lots of work in the retail studio (found in Studio 4.6 on the top floor) this time – lots of greetings cards, mounted A3 images and a signed limited edition calendar. I’m doing a special offer on my greetings cards again – normally all are £2.25 RRP, but for this weekend only, if you get yourself to the retail studio, they’re £1.75 each, or 6 for £10. There’s several new designs, and the cards themselves are a mix of my traditional design on textured paper, the new design that I’m moving to on smooth paper, and some commercially printed ones.
Last year’s calendar looked fantastic, but was expensive to produce and had a higher minimum print run than was really viable (especially when one gallery (that no longer exists) failed to sell most of their stock (despite other shops doing well at selling all their stock!) Which ended up costing me quite a lot of money, and that’s not a good option.
So in a “tightening-my-belt” option, I’ve designed printed and put together a very limited edition Antarctic Wildlife CD Case style calendar. It’s not the cheapest calendar around, (though it’s cheaper than many “print your own” options on the internet!) and I apologise for that, but tiny production runs make for high unit costs,. On the plus side, it is a very limited edition this year – as I’m dong a maximum of 15. Banks Mill have half this number for sale this weekend at a 20% discount, and after that they’re only available on special order direct from me, until all 15 have gone! I’ve signed and numbered each one to make it that bit more exclusive too.
Finally I wish I could be at the Open Studios this weekend and be able to talk to everyone about photography and photo tuition in Derbyshire. Southern Spain, Antarctica and all the other places Ive travelled to, but I’m learning myself this weekend! I’m brushing up on some of the finer ponts of climbing and mountain biking photography from a couple of photographers at the top of their game, on the masterclass at NASOP (the National Academy for Sports and Outdoor Photography) in the Lake District. Hopefully I’ll pick up some useful additional techniques there to add to my skills, and get even better images in future!