Seedless Watermelon Head

Wow, I'm feeling really overwhelmed right now.  If you've been following  my blog (admittedly, there haven't been many posts to follow lately) or my facebook page, you know that I signed up for a craft vendor booth at the Carytown Watermelon Festival coming up soon.  Well, "soon" has become 6 days away, and I am now filled with self-doubt and anxiety.  Awesome.  I have been working my ass off trying to get enough jewelry made for this festival, as well as trying to figure out displays and marketing.  I have no idea what I'm doing.  None.
Last fall, I decided I would have a small table set up at the Barbeque Festival in Lexington, NC in conjuction with High Rock Outfitters, an awesome coffee shop/kayak/outdoor adventure shop which sells some of my jewelry.  Well, the festival was a complete bust for me.  I didn't sell a single piece of jewelry.  Apparently, barbeque folk are not art jewelry folk.  I know, big surprise, right?  Fortunately though, I didn't have anything but time (making jewelry, etc) invested in it. 
This festival is a different story in that regard.  I think I may have bitten off a big ol' piece of somethin' I can't chew.  I have been wanting to break into the craft fair / festival scene for a while, and when I found out about the Watermelon Festival, I thought it might be a great opportunity in my own new town, etc.  I applied in April, and when I hadn't heard anything by June, I figured I hadn't been accepted.  No big deal.  By then, I had talked to more people, and had been given some advice about not applying for shows that were really about something else, like music or food or whatever.  Fine.  Well, one day I checked my bank statement and my check for the entry fee had been cashed.  No email or acceptance letter or anything, just a cashed check.  So I had to dig around and find someone to contact, who got back to me a few days later saying that yes, information would be sent soon, but that if my check had been cashed then I was in.  Ok...... So that was my first clue that this might be a little squirrelly.  But I had paid my booth fee, so I was doing it.  And I got to work. 
Now, knowing that this festival was not just a craft show, I thought I better make some lower end pieces because that's probably the crowd that's going to be there.  Hopefully a little more willing to spend some money on jewelry than barbeque folk, but still, it would be mainly impulse buys.  I'm thinking $30 and under will be the majority of sales.  So I have a stockpile of small simple copper earrings in circle and triangle shapes that I will sell for around $10.  I have sets of wine glass charms that will be $12-15.  I have sun-catchers made of copper wire and sea glass for about $20, and I made watermelon enamel jewlery! 

Now, I was a little afraid that making watermelon jewelry specifically for the watermelon festival was a little whorey.  But I actually like them.  I think they're pretty cool.  And they're not way off from my style.  I mean, yes, it's literal, but I don't think it bothers me.  I'm going to try to keep the prices lower, but I did actually spend some time on these, and I don't want to sell myself short either.  Maybe I will offer a  festival discount on these to boost sales.

I'm also taking new disc jewelry - the smaller earrings are $35-40.  And I'm taking some of the new Reef Jewelry line, even though I don't really expect to sell any of those because I think they are probably pretty expensive for this kind of event - $40-80 - but they're eye-catching, and maybe someone will see them and be drawn into the booth or maybe take a business card for and remember them future purchases.

But I have invested not only a lot of time into this, but a sum of money as well.  The booth fee, tables and chairs (I was able to borrow a 10x10 tent from my parents though, so that's good), display items such as trays and sand to fill them as well as table cloths, Mark made me very nice framed screens to hang jewelry on, and other jewelry-related items such as chains and earwires, and whatnot. 

And now it's six days before the show, and I feel like I've made a huge investment in something that will have little return.  I'm just freaking out a little bit because I have no idea what to expect.  I feel like my head is a seedless watermelon.  I'm excited, too, but mostly anxious right now.  I'm sure my moods will fluctuate a lot as all the preparations come to a close this week. 

I'll post a checklist and other prep stuff in a few days, and definitely an update on how the festival goes down.  So check back soon!  And if you're in the Richmond area, please plan to stop by and see us at the festival!  Thans for reading!

A Day in the Life

Lately I haven't been very inspired to write blog posts.  Things have a way of getting a little overwhelming when you're trying to figure out how to build a business, market yourself without annoying - or worse, boring - your network contacts, figure out how to get things together for a craft show, and make the work itself.  Much less deal with all the other distractions of life - family issues, travel, psychotic dogs....  yes, Mr. Buster is still insane.  But we love him.
Especially since finding out that I had been accepted to a craft show in August, The Watermelon Festival, I have had to break down my days into a schedule to help me use my time more wisely.  I'm sure I will have to stop sleeping soon, but for now I can get in a little.  But it helps to see it written down in front of you, so you can see where you are wasting time, and where you can be more efficient.  So I thought I would share my daily schedule here:

6am - wake up, feed Gabardine (our sweet 18lb kitty who, after 2 years of calling "her" my pretty pretty princess, we just found out is a boy.  oops.), stagger downstairs and sit with Mark while he eats breakfast, make sure his lunch is packed, etc.

6:30 - take Buster for a good walk (because he is neurotic and will have an absolute fit when Mark leaves for work if I don't distract him in this manner.)

7:00 - have coffee and a bite of breakfast while I try to plan out what needs to get done today, make lists, play the rope game with Buster, try to prevent Buster from eating the things in the recycling bin, remote control, etc; sometimes I go running or otherwise work out, but not as much lately, tsk tsk.

8:00 - shower, get dressed, more coffee, Buster settles down to nap until Mark gets home. (yay!)

8:30 - computer stuff: check email, facebook, blog list, sometimes do a blog posting, marketing research, check etsy, update calendars and dry erase board lists of daily, weekly, and I'll-get-to-them-soon tasks.

10:00 - start on the physical work for the day - this might be making work, photographing work, editing photos, posting new work on etsy and my website, packaging and post office run if I've sold something, dealing with other tasks at hand (for instance, yesterday, it took me 2 1/2 hours to deal with buying a plane ticket to Colorado for the CoMA Conference - I'm traveling with NC Black Co. to work the vendor room doing demos and selling tools. By the way, don't EVER use cheap-o-air to try to buy plane tickets.  Cheap doesn't work if the flights they "offer" don't exist or are already sold out.  I probably could have done this in 30 minutes had I gone straight to orbitz or something.  And it was only like $50 more than the cheap-o place "offered."  Lesson learned.)

12:00 or so - break for lunch (my poptart is long gone at this point)

12:30 - back to whatever I was doing or the next task at hand

5:00 - snack and tv break with Mark

5:30 - check email and web things again, wrap up loose ends

6:15 - take Buster, who is now wild again, to the dog park

7:15 - cook and eat dinner (I love cooking and trying new recipes, so sometimes this runs a little later)

8:00 or so - if I cook, Mark cleans up the kitchen - best.husband.ever!  so I'll check email and do web things one more time, other administrative tasks - for example, last night I did an inventory of all the items I have so far for the up-coming craft show. 

9:00 - time to relax with Mark and the pets (if Buster will settle down and let us chill - a  peanut butter-filled Kong often helps with that - a glass of wine often helps me)


So, yeah, I have pretty full days.  And some days I do have to attend to domestic duties, which I usually throw in pre-lunch.  You know, errands (we gotta have food), chores (the laundry doesn't do itself, nor does the pet hair miraculously vanish off the stairs... too bad.) 

Now personally, I would prefer to get up about 8 and stay up until midnight-2am or so (In college, not once did I ever go to bed before 2am, and often I was in the metals studio until midnight - then we'd go out for a drink or something - ahhhh, college...)  But that just doesn't work these days.  Things have to be adjusted.  But I will say, I do love working for myself.  For the most part, that is.  Sure, it's totally stressful and frustrating at times, there's not much money in it (yet!), and it takes a lot of discipline to keep myself on track and not get caught up in that silly movie that comes on tv when I sit down to have a bite of lunch, or to get distracted in Target or Trader Joe's on errand day and fritter away a few hours. 

But it's worth it. 

Reef-tastic

The new Reef pieces are now in my etsy shop!  Yay!

Annnnnnnnnd... I just found out that I got accepted to have a booth at the Watermelon Festival here in Richmond in August.  Oh my, slight bit of panic there since I had applied back in April and still hadn't heard anything (and technically I still haven't - I just saw that my check had been cashed so I emailed the people and they said nothing had been sent out yet, but yes, if my check went through then I was in) and I had assumed that it was a no-go.  Way to go with that, guys.  She also said it was a new system they were trying this year, and it had some major kinks, so hopefully I can chalk it up to that and hope that the whole thing isn't a disorganized mess.  A friend did tell me, after I had applied for this by the way, that she would highly recommend doing only juried shows, which I will probably agree with.  But as my first outdoor festival, I'll be happy if I make the booth fee and setups costs back.  So here we go.  I have so much to do, and I'm a little overwhelmed right now.  But I will get on a schedule and make it happ'n cap'n! 

I found some info about setting up for festivals which I will share right here:

What Makes a Craft Show Successful?

A Newbie's Guide to Tents for Craft Shows and Festivals

Free EBook : Prearing for Art and Craft Show Success

So let me know if you have any suggestions or resources.  And I will share what I learn in this whole process.  I'm sure it will be crazy.  But hopefully in a good way.

Sneak Peek

Here's just a li'l sneak peek at something I've got going on - new coral reef inspired enamel jewelry!  Stay tuned for more to come!

Seattle, Just for Fun

I'm always inspired by shapes and colors and things I see around me, so when I'm in a new or interesting place, I generally have my camera in tow.  Now that I've finally gotten most of the business stuff from the SNAG Conference out of the way, I just wanted to post a few fun photos that I took while I was in Seattle.

Seattle in a very cool city with a lot of great things to look at.  I did spend a lot of time at the conference, but I stayed at the home of my friends Ben and Annie (Annie, unfortunately, was out of town that weekend.)  But Ben took me around and showed me some great Seattle sites I might not have seen otherwise.  Thanks, dude!

Here are a few from Pike Place Market (the market of fish-tossing fame).  I was digging the colors inside:

 

This was in a neat artsy section of town called Ballard:

Love the troll under the bridge!  That is a real VW Bug he's crushing.

This was a lovely rocky beach called Golden Gardens Beach right on the Puget Sound:



And of course, I had to get in a couple Space Needle shots:

All in all, a pretty fine trip!  It's great to be around so many talented people in such a beautiful, inspiring city!

SNAG Conference (Part 3) - Photography Tips & Tricks

As promised (though a mite delayed), here are some photography tips and tricks I gathered at the Professional Development Seminar at the SNAG conference in Seattle this year.  There were several great speakers, so to properly give credit to everyone, I will divide the info into sections by speaker.

Doug Yaple - Photographer
- when doing product photography for art, the artwork itself drives the decision on how to represent the work. (i.e. if you have natural organic inspired work, you may want to photograph it in that sort of setting, displayed on dirt or stones, or hang a necklace over a branch, etc. - this applies to advertising, not photographing work for exhibitions, etc.)
- it is critical to position the work so that it tells the story.  (highlight the most important aspect of the work)
- bring out important textures
- background is very important to showcase the piece
   - it must highlight the piece but not distract from it
   - body forms can work to display jewelry and wearable art
   - creating shadows can emphasize certain elements
- take several shots and explore from different angles (you might be surprised what looks good in a photo vs. what looks normal in person)
- don't overlook getting in tight to access something critical.  (details are great!)

Christopher Conrad - Product Photographer
- work with good light - natural is the best
   - a room with large picture windows is perfect
   - do not mix different kinds of light
   - no flourescent or incandescent lights
- build a softbox for direct light (frame with pvc, cover with thin vellum or ripstop nylon
- always use a tripod
   - this allows for slower shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures (smaller apertures = greater depth of field)
- don't use a high ISO - lower ISO's reduce "noise"
- be optically square to flat geometric objects
- don't fill the frame, crop images later
- for knockouts (isolating images), adding a drop shadow in photoshop adds a ground to the object and eliminates the "floating" look.

Roger Schreiber - Comtemporary Craft Photographer
- ask yourself, "who is your audience?"  this will indicate how you should photograph your work
   - everything that falls within the frame has an effect on the viewer
   - for advertising, use energy in the background
   - for juries, isolate the image
- when you're setting up for photographing work, make sure to allow yourself enough time
   - think about models if you're using them - clothing, hair, make-up
   - make a list of everything you need, props, etc
- think about the photograph even while you're making the piece (if you start the thought process early, you will think about what are the best angles and details, etc. that you want to include in your shots)

Suzanne Ramljak - Editor of Metalsmith Magazine
- make sure you have a shot that establishes your work for what it is
- acknowledge our media-saturated culture - you're in competition with all the other images out there
- remember that reprouctions on the web are never perfect and will look different than the original
   - you have to just accept that and put your best image out there

Marthe Le Van - Editor for Lark Books
- the body is the best surface for photographing jewelry
   - indicates scale and drape
   - gives life to the work - makes it dynamic and dramatic
- traditional American Craft photography has used a gradated background with careful lighting, but now a white background is becoming more and more popular
- Scandinavian images are using and dynamic models, which creates a very striking image
   - this has the effect of presenting the piece as more wearable and more accessible
- remember that on gallery websites and search engines, you often just have one tiny image and your name to grab people's attention and get them to browse through you work.  use something dynamic!
- have a style for all of your photos to follow to make them work together
   - black or white backgrounds tend to grab readers because they make the piece stand out.



So thank you to all of the above artists for all of your great information and tips!  That definitely gives me a lot to think about when photographing my work.  And it points out some mistakes I have been making with lighting, etc, too.  So I hope some readers will find this helpful as well.  Let me know of you have some other tips and tricks!  I'd love to hear from you!  Thanks for reading!

SNAG Conference - Seattle, WA (Part 2)

At the SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) Conference this year, I attended a professional development seminar that focused on the topics of Niche Marketing and Photographing Your Work.  Just thought I would share a couple of highlights from the seminar here.

Niche Marketing was the part that I was really looking forward to, but while they had good speakers who talked about the niches that they were able to break into, there was not a whole lot of information about how to go about establishing yourself in your niche or really much on marketing at all.

The first presenter was Hilary Pfeifer with her alter ego Bunny with a Toolbelt. 

I got this image off her etsy page.  Super cute custom cake toppers.  (Plus it made me think more about persuing the wedding niche with my copper cone boutonnieres.)

Then there was Emiko Oye who makes jewelry out of legos!  Also delightful.

She had some good information to share:

- You want good professional quality photos.

- Balance your exhibition work with your production work.  People will see your big exhibition work and maybe can't afford it, but might be inspired to buy something from your production line.  (I thought this was great advice and definitely something to try to remember, because I know I can get so caught up with one or the other depending on my current situation that I will forget entirely about the other for a while.)

- Be accessible.  Be online, but also in galleries - you will get a lot of exposure online, but people also like to touch the work, try it on, and see the craftsmanship with their own eyes - things that you lose on the web.

- Get involved in your community.  You'll make great connections for future opportunities.

Then there was Deb Stoner who found her niche in eyewear.

Her advice was this:

- Teach what you know.  Become the expert in your niche.  (Hers is a great niche because there are only about two other people known for making custom art eyewear, period.)

- Curate a show. (Now this is not really realistic for emerging artists like myself, I think you have to be rather established in your field to even consider this as a possibility, but I could be mistaken.  Please correct me if I'm wrong here, and I'll get in on that!!!)

- In addition to doing work for jobs (for money), make time to do what you love.  It will keep you interested and it will keep your work and your teaching fresh. 

So definitely some good advice from some very interesting and talented artists, but not a whole lot of info on making your work fit into a niche.  So I found this blog posting  4 Ways to Make Your Products More Niche, and I think there's some good information in there as well. 

So check all that out, and I'll be back later on to share some info about photographing your work.  Until then, thanks for reading!