Out on Jackson Square, every artist is a CFO for their little business. The demand is there, ready and willing. The artists’ responsibility is to provide it with the supply. For some artists, this is easy. The supply is fleur de lis or jazz players under lamp posts. You will see these two images repeated constantly not only in the Square but also throughout the French Quarter. These items sell no matter what. They are the underwear and athletic socks of art in New Orleans. Always a demand for them. So for certain artists, the challenge is not the subject matter but the quality, style and presentation of it. How are they going to produce a lamp post and jazz man that is different from the dozen or more others on the Square? Their worry is that some tourist will prefer the color choices or brush strokes of another artists’ jazz man over theirs. The law of averages dictates that there will be a split that isn’t always even.
For myself, for my friends in the Club du Decatur and for many of the more unique artists out there, the challenge is different. We must create art that contains subject matter that is both fulfilling of our larger unique style yet also generates income to pay the bills. To do this, many of us make what are called our “baby boos: (singular, “baby bu”). Boos are small, luggage-sized representations of larger pieces that we have for sale. Al large 2×3 painting draws the client in and the baby bu leaves with most of them. Occasionally, the larger pieces sell as well. This combination of boos and larger pieces represent the simple economics of many artists on the Square.
Recently, a friend of mine finally found her niche among the boos. She began selling a dozen or so boos a day and was having some sucess at managing the time she spent on them vs. their value to the clients. She was consistently selling them at a decent price and was considering raising the price to generate more revenue.
“What are you going to add to them?” I asked.
Reason I asked was because I have had a couple increases in price of my boos in recent years and each time, I gave the client a little something extra for their financial commitment. It seemed like good business. Even though many of the clients we sell to won’t see us again, some do. And what would I tell that client who bought a boo back in April and came back in October to buy three more for her friends only to discover the inflation? Well I say, “Now they have a clear coat applied to them and the edges are stained.”
This way they won’t feel like I did when I found out Discover had raised my interest rate 5 percent for no other reason than it being “a decision that was made company-wide.” I since switched companies.
So what does all this have to do with po boys? (Or as the vexatious Tom Fitzmorris calls them “real New Or-lee-ans poor boy sandwiches.”
Well, as we all know, a po boy can be found within a few blocks of anywhere here in New Orleans. Most commonly in the fried shrimp variety. Many corner stores have them and they are generally priced pretty damn low – the baby boos of New Orleans cuisine. It’s an exquisite part of living here. These po boys aren’t anything special unless you consider delicious special. What I mean is, they are awesome but common. There is a place up the road that sells 16-inches for like $5. That’s a true po boy.
So that’s the standard for me now. I hold every po boy up to the standard of quality and price that my local corner store has dictated. If more is expected to be paid, more should be delivered. The reason this has come up is because I was at a local restaurant on the Best side of the river recently and they were asking $10.50 for a standard shrimp and oyster po-boy. Okay, I understand, times are hard. But where is the clear coat and stained edges on this baby boo?
Now there are po boys in town that are well worth 10 bucks or more. Ye Olde College Inn has one. Liuzzas has one. Parkway Tavern has one. Napoleon House has one. But these sandwiches are special. They have earned their price. There should be no reason why a standard, dressed, fried shrimp po boy should cost over $10 while the corner stores are still doing them out for less.
Drizzle something on it if you want to charge that much.