Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Maybe I was a little harsh with the last post. I was in a bad place that day, disappointed with just about everything. I'm better now, but there is still no excuse for bad manners at a craft show.
Oh, I said it. CRAFT SHOW. What exactly is wrong with saying CRAFT SHOW? Some people say, "Art Fair" or "Craft Fair" or "Art show" but CRAFT SHOW is taboo if you consider yourself a 'real' artist. It's been craft shows to me forever. The ACC show in Baltimore is the biggest, most professional, and I believe they refer to that as a Craft Show. The high school puts on a Craft Show at Christmas.
So get over the semantics people. Get out there and do your thing.
So much for not being grumpy...
Oh, I said it. CRAFT SHOW. What exactly is wrong with saying CRAFT SHOW? Some people say, "Art Fair" or "Craft Fair" or "Art show" but CRAFT SHOW is taboo if you consider yourself a 'real' artist. It's been craft shows to me forever. The ACC show in Baltimore is the biggest, most professional, and I believe they refer to that as a Craft Show. The high school puts on a Craft Show at Christmas.
So get over the semantics people. Get out there and do your thing.
So much for not being grumpy...
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The last outdoor show of the year was yesterday. It was windy. It was chilly. I know I always say "Craft shows aren't for sissies" but for some reason this year was tiring. I won't whine, much, but it's been a hard year for outside shows. I'm glad we're done with the outdoor ones. The weather wasn't very cooperative this year. Not as bad as it was a couple years ago when it rained at nearly every event, but bad enough.
Joe calls this show the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Everyone who ever read a bead magazine was there selling jewelry. This pair of trendy ladies were the best though. They had the whole set up, but about a dozen necklaces and a few pair of earrings. The ginchy and oh so trendy trays of lentils and black beans for display, but one or two necklaces draped over the beans. Why go to all the effort if you're only offering a few things for sale? Explain that to me please. They get the 'grain of salt' award too, as one of the trendy girls was standing in front of the booth texting every time I walked by. These chicks would be the same ones who would panic if it rained, and probably wouldn't think twice about bitching out the organizer if their sales were poor. (Even though the other 90+ vendors had good days and had nothing but nice to say about the show) (Put down the iphone and pretend you care about your customers) If it put it on a tray of black beans, the world will beat a path to your booth.
Then there were the Suburban soccer Moms in their hybrid crossover SUV raging at the lady directing traffic because they can't drive their SUV to their booth. Later I checked out the booth, and they were tentless, had displays made from narrow PVC piping, and were selling crocheted items.
No really. Their entire inventory fit in two tubs. TWO. Here's the sense of entitlement kicking in. Guess they all won a trophy at T-Ball too.
Maybe I just need an attitude adjustment.
Joe calls this show the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Everyone who ever read a bead magazine was there selling jewelry. This pair of trendy ladies were the best though. They had the whole set up, but about a dozen necklaces and a few pair of earrings. The ginchy and oh so trendy trays of lentils and black beans for display, but one or two necklaces draped over the beans. Why go to all the effort if you're only offering a few things for sale? Explain that to me please. They get the 'grain of salt' award too, as one of the trendy girls was standing in front of the booth texting every time I walked by. These chicks would be the same ones who would panic if it rained, and probably wouldn't think twice about bitching out the organizer if their sales were poor. (Even though the other 90+ vendors had good days and had nothing but nice to say about the show) (Put down the iphone and pretend you care about your customers) If it put it on a tray of black beans, the world will beat a path to your booth.
Then there were the Suburban soccer Moms in their hybrid crossover SUV raging at the lady directing traffic because they can't drive their SUV to their booth. Later I checked out the booth, and they were tentless, had displays made from narrow PVC piping, and were selling crocheted items.
No really. Their entire inventory fit in two tubs. TWO. Here's the sense of entitlement kicking in. Guess they all won a trophy at T-Ball too.
Maybe I just need an attitude adjustment.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I love books. Jewelry making has opened up a whole new world of books for me. Thank goodness for Amazon, or I'd REALLY be broke. This came today, and oh man, I can't wait to play!!
Hammer, saw, patina...wheee!!!!
Hammer, saw, patina...wheee!!!!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Beading Daily!
Here's something I enjoy greatly. Beading Daily is an awesome resource for beaders and jewelry makers in general. Free downloads, tips, tricks, and the forum is a great place for sharing work, as well as techniques. It's a wonderful thing! Go check it out...
Yesterday was the Festival of Leaves in Front Royal, VA. The bar was set pretty high this year, as the pop up was badly damaged on Tuesday, and my car crapped out on Thursday. I bought a new tent and Joe rented a van to make sure we made the show. The hole was deep and red (as in "in the red") before we even left the house on Friday night.
The hole only got a little less shallow by the end of the day yesterday. The Festival of Leaves didn't seem to be as big a deal as it's been in the past. The booth set ups were weird, with large gaps between them, (dead space is never good) and the crowds were way, way down. We sold lots of kid necklaces, and a fair number of earrings and onesy-twosy jewelry items, but not a lot of anything.
Even if we didn't have to rent a van and buy a new pop up, we wouldn't have been terribly happy with the bottom line. I hate to put this one on the "Endangered Species List" of shows, but damn, this is supposed to be a money making operation. Breaking even is NOT making money.
There's no point complaining to the organizers, they got their booth money, so why should they care if anyone 'wins'? Oh well. No point in complaining and pointing fingers. If the weather holds, next week should be really good. No hotel, 5 minutes from home, and traditionally a big winner. Again, let's all hope for a beautiful crisp, sunny, fall day!
The hole only got a little less shallow by the end of the day yesterday. The Festival of Leaves didn't seem to be as big a deal as it's been in the past. The booth set ups were weird, with large gaps between them, (dead space is never good) and the crowds were way, way down. We sold lots of kid necklaces, and a fair number of earrings and onesy-twosy jewelry items, but not a lot of anything.
Even if we didn't have to rent a van and buy a new pop up, we wouldn't have been terribly happy with the bottom line. I hate to put this one on the "Endangered Species List" of shows, but damn, this is supposed to be a money making operation. Breaking even is NOT making money.
There's no point complaining to the organizers, they got their booth money, so why should they care if anyone 'wins'? Oh well. No point in complaining and pointing fingers. If the weather holds, next week should be really good. No hotel, 5 minutes from home, and traditionally a big winner. Again, let's all hope for a beautiful crisp, sunny, fall day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)