Painting Auction + Wine Tasting, Sat, Jan 7

What could go wrong?

Here's a heads up for a new monthly event we'll be starting the beginning of the new year, a painting/artwork auction coupled with the wine tasting event, held on the first Saturday of every month.

The Benefits
I don't think it was the wine talking but after the idea was proposed, it seemed like one of those ideas that you wish you'd thought of long time ago, some of the benefits include:

• For Customers: They get 1) something else to talk about while wine tasting, 2) if they end up buying something, artwork can be a type of purchase that lasts forever, it adds ambiance or character to an environment, creates imagination with others, and 3) occassionally even increases in value.
• For Artists: They get 1) an opportunity to display and share their work with a receptive audience, 2) can set a minimum price to at least pay for cost of materials, able to do another while you could say increasing their market by having more of their work being shared and 3) could make more for their work than expected, from which they can do with as they wish, not to mention the positive feedback.
• For Loony's Brew: We get 1) another way to make an event a bit more interesting, more people, good for business, 2) it's complimentary to other stuff we're doing, such as Drunken Artists Day, work already up on the walls everywhere, providing feedback loops and 3) it will make the place more dynamic or alive, with encouraging various artwork to be moving through, no doubt some of it will be gracing the walls for a time before moving on to their new home, sort of like a train depot for a bunch of different perspectives.

The Details:

• Does it have to be a painting? No, the general theme is some type of art whether it be a painting, drawing, sculpture, etc. It's just that paintings will probably be 90% of what's there, so that's what it's called.
• Which paintings/artwork will be available? Not sure yet, one of the main reasons for this early blog posting is that we'd like to invite any artists in the area to consider including their work in the auction, give some time to consider. If interested, let us know by sending us an email or stopping by. You can bring your work over earlier (where we could maybe fit on the walls somewhere) or at least a day before the event.
• Is it limited only to work by local artists? Of course that's preferred, making it as original or unique as possible while supporting the people that are presently working on something new. That said, if there's space available, we'd be happy to consider other interesting items, to help make sure there's an adequate quantity of pieces on display. The only restriction is how many to show during one event and given the pub size, this number would be in the 5-10 range.
• What type of auction? This will be a silent auction, where you'll have a sheet with all the items listed, can write down your name and bid, give to the bartender and we'll pick the winner at 7pm. This way you can take the piece home with you that night, no need to return at a later time.
• Can there be a minimum price? Yes, the artist or seller can set a minimum starting price, such as the cost of materials to continue and do another one.
• How is it displayed? A small notecard will be displayed by each piece, where the artist can put down the name of the piece, their name, a minimum price, and any other relevant information such as a short description or if you intend the proceeds to go to a charity or benefit.
• How is the work paid for? The buyer can pay Loony's Brew with cash, check if local, or credit card. Loony's Brew will then write a check or cash (to a certain amount) to the artist for 85% of the sale, using the 15% for sales tax, credit card fees if used, and various setup/promotion costs.

Will it work out? We have no idea, I'm sure they'll be a few tweaks going through the first time, if anyone knows more about how to properly do something like this or how the event could be tweaked, feel free to let us know or come down, can have a pint and discuss.

Cheers and being Drunken Artists Day, the pub is open...