You make it.
We sell it.
The word “collective” gets used loosely. Here’s what it actually means in practice — for the artists who join, and for the people who buy their work.
What artists get
Each artist who joins the Collective rents a space in the gallery — a display area, a section of floor. They own their work outright. They set their own prices. When something sells, they keep the majority of it. We take a percentage to cover the overhead: the building, staffing, online shop, payment processing, the work of managing everything that isn’t making.
In most gallery arrangements, the gallery sets the terms. The artist gets paid after the fact, often months later, and has limited say over how their work is presented or priced. Their relationship to the customer is mostly invisible — the gallery is the brand.
In a co-op, the artist is the brand. Their name is on the piece. Their story is on the wall. Their prices are their prices.
- Gallery sets the prices
- Payment months after sale
- Artist invisible to buyer
- Gallery owns the brand relationship
- Consignment or flat purchase
- Artist sets their own prices
- Real-time sales visibility
- Artist name on every piece
- Artist profile on wall and online
- Monthly payout, transparent split
The Artist Hub
Every member of the Collective gets access to the Artist Hub — a dashboard where they can see their sales in real time, manage which products are listed in our online shop, and track their monthly payouts.
This isn’t the standard approach. Most small galleries track sales on a spreadsheet and send paper checks. We built something more transparent because we think artists deserve to know exactly how their business is doing, without having to ask.
Why it matters to the buyer
When someone buys something in our gallery, they’re not buying inventory — they’re buying work from a specific person who made a specific decision about how to make it. Knowing that Coastal Maine Drifts threw the bowl you’re looking at, in her home studio in Waldoboro, changes the transaction.
You’re not just buying something you like. You’re buying into a story. A mug made by someone who’s been throwing clay for years in midcoast Maine is a different thing than a mug from a store. Same clay. Different object.
Our artists come by the gallery. There are events where you can sit with the makers and hear them talk about the work. The chain between person who shaped the thing and person who brings it home is short — by design.
Who joins
Artists who join the Collective are making things by hand. Not designed-in-Maine-manufactured-elsewhere, not print-on-demand. Work that takes time, requires skill, and carries some mark of the person who made it.
We take all mediums — pottery, jewelry, weaving, painting, silk art, prints, woodworking. What we’re particular about is that the work belongs in the space. The gallery has a feel, and everything in it should belong there. If you’ve seen the Edgecomb gallery, you know the feel. If you haven’t, read about it here.
Interested in joining?
We’re selective, and right now space is limited. But if you’re a Maine maker looking for a serious home for your work, we’d like to hear from you.
Apply →