Creating a community of collaboration

It’s no secret — and nothing new — that customers are seeking an enriching experience at your garden center, in addition to plants and products. Much of the art of gardening is experiential and so it should come as no surprise gardeners are also looking for an artful experience when they shop for gardening goods. No doubt there are at least a few local artists in your area who would love to use your venue to provide just that sort of enriched customer experience. There is also no doubt you share an ideal target customer.

As many garden centers are getting back to the business of hosting on-site events and classes, there’s no better fit when it comes to art in the garden center than botanical art classes. Professional artists obviously need appropriate venues that attract their ideal target customers, be it for classes or art showings. Renting space for classes or art sales can often be expensive and prohibitive for small-scale artists. If you have classroom or covered patio space at your garden center, you should consider offering up such spaces fee-free for local artists to hold drawing and painting sessions.

Botanical illustration is of course a no-brainer when it comes to a regular class series you can offer. Painting wildflowers, succulents and birds are also very popular topics. I’d say, given current trends, that classes on drawing and painting popular houseplants and leaves would go over very well, especially with younger customers. Plant and nature photography, pottery making and urban sketchbooking are other artforms popular with garden lovers.

Sure, you can take a cut of the class fee from the instructor as a way to capitalize on the classes. Or, you can let the artist keep the full fee and instead entice students to shop by providing incentives to be used on the day of the class or during a future visit. You can also coordinate specific inventory with specific classes (think houseplants or succulents) to recruit new customers and bolster sales.

Provide a venue

If you have an appropriate space that can accommodate wall hangings or easeled work, don’t pass up the opportunity to hold special art shows. Items can be placed on consignment with your garden center or sold directly by the artists. Personally, I didn’t like managing the administrative work of consignment sales. Allowing direct sales by the artists whilst capitalizing on the additional foot traffic it brought to the garden center typically worked out better in my experience. You can work with each artist on a case-by-case basis.

How do you find art instructors or artists who want to show and sell work? My go-to strategy is to first check with the local community college or university continuing education programs. Chances are you have at least a few active drawing and painting instructors working in your area who may welcome an additional venue. That’s exactly where I found botanical illustration and painting instructors for classes at the IGC I managed in Dallas.

Another strategy is to pay attention to local artist studio tours or shows advertised in your area. You may be able to recruit new instructors or find a bevy of talented artists prime for wholesale or consignment sales for your garden center. Local, handmade pottery is especially on trend and can elevate your in-house selection. And of course any time you can offer garden art or whimsical sculpture that isn’t plastic and found en masse at every buying show, that’s a win in my book when it comes to elevating perception of value.

Have you ever thought of renting out your space for video or photo shoots? Creatives, be they in the advertising space or fine arts, are always in need of the right backdrop or environment for video shoots. Commercial shoots require advance planning and an appropriate rental fee, but you might consider opening up early or staying open late for special “photographers only” events. Consider contacting your local community college marketing and art departments to let them know you welcome students and related businesses.

By collaborating with local artists and creatives you are cultivating many new cross-marketing opportunities. Collaboration creates cross-marketing opportunities via the artists’ websites, blogs, e-newsletters and any other direct marketing or promotions they do to spread the word about their work and your events. Such cross-marketing is also valuable in that it creates new networking and advertising opportunities.

Another unexpected perk of artistic collaborations? In essence, you and your business become a patron of local arts. This is an authentically aspirational PR opportunity for your IGC and your brand. Collaborations that support local artisans are always press-worthy. Supporting the arts will bolster your brand image and artfully enrich your garden center experience.