Sarita Kamat opened the glass display cabinet, unveiling her wares: citrine earrings on delicate gold and silver earwires. Three weeks ago, producing 100 pairs of the hardware, no larger than half an inch, cost the independent artist $4 a piece. Today, she said, the materials cost her twice as much.
“The price of materials doubled, but I can’t double the price of my work,” Kamat said.
The earrings are just one of the pieces in Kamat’s store, Artem Pop Up Gallery on Sherman Avenue, that are becoming more expensive to create because of rapidly rising raw material and transportation costs.
While the artist-owner hasn’t increased her prices yet, she said she may need to soon – though she worries doing so will discourage potential buyers amid a turbulent economic landscape. According to the University of Michigan consumer confidence index, consumer sentiment is down 11% from last year and remains below its historical average despite a peak since the outbreak of war in Iran, meaning shoppers nationwide are prioritizing essentials over discretionary items, such as art. These twin realities — the rising cost of materials and shifting consumer behaviors — have led many of the store’s 57 independent painters, sculptors, designers and illustrators to grapple with a difficult question: to raise or not to raise prices?
“As artists, we think art should be a priority. It makes you happy,” she said, adding that no artist wants to make their art more expensive. “But happy doesn’t buy your food. Happy doesn’t pay your bills.”
Kamat and her family bought the gallery from the original owner in 2019. Since then, Artem has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and a temporary four-month closure. Even as the cost of electricity and rent go up today, the long-term marketplace for artists to display and sell their handmade pieces continues to break even, according to Kamat.
Yet, the impact of economic uncertainty has still been clear: customers are making purchases worth a fraction of their past orders. “If a person initially would probably be spending like $300 in a transaction, they don’t spend more than $50,” she said.
When determining prices, Kamat said, retaining profitability is just half the battle. Whether customers will be responsive is often dependent on the state of the economy.
“Fear is always there in the back of your mind. It is like, ‘How are people going to respond?’” she said. “You want a piece of art, or do you want to pay rent? Do you want to buy jewelry or do you want to pick up groceries? That’s a choice people have to make.”
Kathleen Toledano, a Chicago-based independent artist who has been with Artem for seven years, said the cost of her sterling silver and gold has tripled. Still, she is reluctant to increase the prices of her jewelry because of the need to retain customer relationships.
“I certainly have some repeat customers, so it’s hard to just increase your prices and say ‘well, that’s the cost of things’ and not think about how they would feel about it,” the 66-year-old explained, adding she has been selling half of her average stock the last two months.
The daughter of an artist father, Toledano said she was warned about the uncertainty that comes with art as a career and chose to pursue a Cultural Anthropology major at the University of Illinois, Chicago. For decades, she held a traditional office job at a non-profit and only made occasional appearances at weekend art fairs.
“Some months are great, and some months you’re barely scratching by,” Toledano said.
Now retired, Toledano said she has been able to dedicate more time to her practice without worrying about making ends meet. But, she said, she is “more fortunate” than several of her artist friends, who are moonlighting to pay the bills.
“We’re just hoping for the best that the economy gets better and that people can see their way through to buying artwork,” she said.
Ceramicist Frank Seter, who displays his pieces in Artem and at Artsy Heart in Glenview, said he is selling fewer of his handmade ceramic bowls, mugs and serving pieces than usual “across the board.”
“Years and years ago, my ceramics would just fly off the shelves,” he recalled. “When the economy goes south, the arts feel it.”
Regardless, Seter is undeterred by the decrease. A retired entrepreneur and current ceramics teacher, the Glenview-based creative is comfortable after selling off his old consulting business and frequently gives away pieces of art. While money “comes and goes,” he said, his ceramics will “stay with [recipients] forever.”
As prices continue to climb and sales stagnate, Toledano said whether she will alter her pricing remains up in the air. She is sure, though, the value in art transcends its sticker price.
“We want [our art] to sell because we do want to make a living,” she said. “But we also want to get it out there for people to enjoy.”
Kamat echoed that sentiment. “This is our happy place,” she said, adding that every artist brings their own “good energy” to the store. “We want everyone coming in to be happy and walk out wanting to come back again without the pressure of purchasing something.”
