KEEP TRYING NEW THINGS....

My first craft show is Saturday.  I have been a shopper at many, but never sitting on the other side of the table.  My avoidance of doing one of these to date was because I believed I would need to make a lot of the same thing in different colors and sizes and it seemed a bit overwhelming.  Or at least that is what I have been telling myself, to support my reluctance.  To get myself out of this ‘box’, I decided to take an OOAK approach.  Where everything is ‘one of a kind’.  The good news is that this is a small, church event that is also their first craft show.  So it should be fairly low pressure.  This should help me decide if this is a good avenue for me and the my art.  If all goes well, I may just try another!

Not having done one before, I had to do a bit of shopping, besides getting all the pieces made!  I hung out at Staples last night picking up a cash box, sales slips, bubble wrap and even a PayPal device so I can process credit cards with my phone into my current PayPal account.  I was thinking I would not be able to get something like this setup before the event, not knowing what was involved, the options and what the cost was.  Turned out that it was only $15 for the device and the charges are the same as when someone uses our online PayPal account.  One of the ladies at a recent Goddess Garden Studio open bead group was talking about how taking credit cards made the craft show events so much easier and created more sales.  Luckily I have a very talented husband, that technology is second nature to, and I am sure he will have it connected in no time!  Lucky me. ;-)

I have completed the bracelets, had the initial trial on the glass tree ornaments and the second set looks like it will be great for the show.  So the next few days I really need to wrap up the glass work and finish up the last few details and I should be ready for Saturday… and fit that movie in Friday that my husband and friends want to go to!  It is all a delicate balancing act.

Looking forward to teaching napkin collage on Thursday evening…. I know I will have a few more people LOVING this art medium.  There is just so much you can do with it.  FUN, FUN, FUN… And yes, I think I can fit in this AND be ready for Saturday.  Would not want to miss out on a little, messy, creative art class.... ;-)

Stepping off onto another new adventure… good or bad, you don’t really know, if you don’t try…

 

A-HA MOMENTS...

Life is full of these a-ha moments and sometimes it is not what we expected.  I have been ‘off work’ for the past few months as my consulting assignments ended.  This gave me more time to catch up on a few things around the house, supporting my husband’s business and time for my art.  On the surface this sounds like exactly what I was asking for, but in the process I learned my inherent need to be busy, very busy.  When my world is ‘overloaded’ I start systematically organizing my time and making time for things that are important to me.  I actually find I am more productive with my time, and I am more engaged in my art with the time I set aside.

The last few weeks have been a series of new adventures…  I agreed to my first craft show Nov. 23^rd in Charlotte.  I am now organizing my work and deciding what to bring to the show and what else I should make.  I will be bringing my glass and jewelry, to see how these two fair.  It will be a fun and new learning.  

  

I also had my first job interview in over 13 years.  Oh my.  I would like to take my project management career on a little adventure of its own.  I have found a few companies so far that are different enough from what I have done the past 10 years in project management to make them intriguing.  It would be wonderful to start something new.   It will also be nice to fill my days with projects and my evenings and weekends with art…. Sounds pretty wonderful.

On a more artistic note, I had the wonderful pleasure of donating an item to the Right to Life of Holland Area auction that ended last week.  It is nice to be able to lend a little support to good causes.  If you find yourself in Holland, stop at Creative Corner, to see all the Christmas items starting to appear in the booths.  I have added Christmas ornaments to my table… be sure to check them out!

Time keeps moving forward, throwing us little curves and providing us glimpses into ourselves.  With the right mindset, it can be quite an adventure! 

REMEMBER TO KEEP GETTING UP

Starting out in the artistic world is a very slow process; at least it has been for me, which makes it very hard to keep moving forward.  I think that is why I like this quote from Mr. Elliot.  It is easier to ‘stay the course’ with short term goal setting than long term ones.  Even when you miss your target in the race, you can ‘brush yourself off’ and be ready for the next one.  Remember, you still need to make sure your overall direction is not veering off course and stays true to the end game.  I need to plan out my upcoming ‘short races’ to keep persevering.  

Creative Corner is my 2013 experiment to see where it will go.  When you are paying out monthly to be in a co-op you need to make sure it makes sense with your direction.  Sales have been very small (not covering the monthly fees so far this year) so by the end of the year I need to evaluate if this is the right fit for my art as well as overall growth.  In fairness to Creative Corner, my glass art might be too highly priced for their market.  There are 2 parts to these decisions for me; the obvious being whether the sales cover the rent and the second being exposure.  Did this shop help me grow my art business?  Because of Creative Corner exposure, I received a call from a new shop in South Haven, Stokes HomesteadFarm Market.  It is a farm market and local handmade gift shop.  I stopped out there Tuesday and dropped off 2 wind chimes and a few Christmas ornaments.  You can see the products on the 2dogsglass website.  They are only open until October 31, so it will be a short exposure for this year.  After visiting the shop, it might be another store where I have the highest priced art pieces.  I really need to find more galleries where my art is priced in the mid-range, much like Glass House Designs in Lowell.  I am hopeful that spring will be a better fit for some of my outdoor glass art ideas for 2014, which hopefully will be in a better price point.  This new shop does not have a monthly fee, so it will be good to see if it gets enough traffic and my pieces sell or again, provide more exposure for my art.  I will not know that until next year, making it my 2014 experiment.  

How is my perseverance holding out?  That is a good question.  As I mentioned, I have not had a lot of sales so far, so the ‘challenges’ continue.  Looking at it in a positive light, I am learning and there continues to be room for “learning adjustments”.  The key is to continue to pick myself up and move forward.  It is time to put on my “project management hat” and plan out the balance of 2013.  The broad areas where I am focusing the “short races” are Christmas ornaments, stands for my glass art for next year, etsy advertising and teaching.  I have a few ideas to dig into these areas further.  Good thing there is a nice long weekend coming up to get a good start on that plan.  So yes, it has been slow, but I am ‘still moving forward’, albeit slowly.

I have put together a few more paper crafting classes and may have found a new location this week to teach them and possibly jewelry classes as well.  I spoke to a local art shop that might be interested in having me teach a few classes.  It is a start down that path anyway.

As you plan your artistic path, remember to persevere.  It is a KEY ingredient in staying the course to see where the road will take you.  Don’t cut your trip short and remember with each bump in the road we get smarter and stronger.  At least that is what I keep telling myself and I want to believe I am not the only one on this crazy road!