How to host studio visits for collectors

A collector's studio visit works best by appointment, with the studio prepared for it. Clear a path and a place to sit, set out a chosen group of finished pieces with a price list, leave work in progress visible so visitors see how you make things, and be ready to talk about commissions, delivery and installation. Give each visit enough time for questions without rushing, and follow up within a few days with photos and details of the pieces that caught the visitor's eye.

A sculpture studio is a workshop: dust, tools, armatures, kilns or welding gear, pieces too heavy to move on a whim. Visits by appointment let you stop work, clean up and give the visitor your full attention. They also tell you who is coming and why — a first-time buyer, a collector following your work, an architect or a gallery looking for a piece for a space — so you can choose what to show.

Choose a coherent group of finished works rather than everything you own, with a few pieces in different sizes and price ranges. Show one or two pieces in progress: an armature, a clay model before casting, a carving half out of the block. The finished work sells; the process gives it a story. Have small studies or maquettes available, which can be a first purchase for a new collector.

Keep a clear price list with title, material, dimensions, edition number for casts and price. It saves visitors from having to ask. Be ready to explain what the price covers and what is extra: plinth, delivery, installation, outdoor fixing for garden pieces.

Say early which pieces can be touched and which can't. Heavy works must be stable on their bases; never let visitors lift or tilt them. If children come along, keep them close to an adult and away from tools.

Studio visits are a natural moment for commission enquiries: a portrait, a piece for a garden, a memorial, a work for a company lobby. Listen to the project, show comparable pieces, and explain your process — first meeting, sketches or maquette, approval, making, delivery. Don't quote a final price on the spot for a complex piece; propose a follow-up meeting once you've thought it through.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a "Studio visit" service and open slots at the times you are ready to receive, for example on chosen weekday afternoons repeated weekly. Visitors pick a slot and book with their name, email and phone, and can say what interests them in the optional note, which you read in your new-booking email before they come. In the description, give the studio address, access details and whether children are welcome. A separate "Commission meeting" service lets people book a longer conversation about a project.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. If you need to move a visit, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the visitor yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract. It doesn't handle the sale of works or payments.