Category — Art Shows

This weekend we did the Westerville Art and Music Festival and it was a smashing success!  So much so that I’m a bit panicked about rebuilding my inventory.  I have two weeks before the Art Expo in Akron to get ready and make more Fairie Bottles, necklaces and earrings.

Not much time but between the two of us we can get it done.  Jonny has asked for a whole week off at the end of July from her job as a Massage Therapist.  I had to really beg for her to agree to take the time off.  Neither of us could remember the last time she took off 5 days in a row, probably because she hasn’t.  We won’t go anywhere, aside from a day trip or two, we really need to stay home and take care of some household projects.

I want to mention a fellow polymer clay artist and her daughter, Ponswan.  Ada is her daughter who had a very serious brain injury several months ago.  Ponswan has created a blog which follows her ordeal and recovery.  Please visit and share your prayers with Ponswan.

Check out my big Obama Cane on my Obama Jewelry site !

When we signed up to be at the Easton Art show I remembered some awful stories of rain and flooding in tents that I read in Sushine Artist Magazine several years ago. I remembered that last year there was some rain at the show as well, but I brushed these thoughts aside and hoped for a sunny day, trying not to put energy into bad weather. As the week before the show progressed we saw storm after storm enter the area and leave. We thought that we could handle a bit of rain and it would pass through with no problem. After all the merchandise is pretty durable and water-resistant.

Jonny set up the tent Thursday night and returned Friday morning to finish while I got ready. We arrived Friday afternoon to set out the merchandise for the evening. The great thing about this show is that it is only 10 minutes away from our house! very convenient. Jonny kept telling me I didn’t have to stay, that I could go home and work or rest or whatever. Right!! I absolutely love being at art shows, talking to customers and showing off our work. Aside from that, it’s usually the only time I get to just sit and rest, enjoying the weather and her company for hours on end. Before I started the jewelry business and attended art shows as a patron, I envied the artists as they sat in their tall director’s chairs in the sun, selling their creations - What a Life!!! Well now I’m living that life and couldn’t be happier.

Back to Easton…the weather on Friday evening wasn’t bad, a bit windy but we thought and hoped that would dissapate on Saturday. Because of the iffy weather we had to pack up all of the jewelry on Friday night, not something I usually do unless there’s no overnight security. It’s a pain but necessary in bad weather conditions. That night as we slept, we didn’t hear any rain and presumed that things were ok at the show. Wrong. When we arrived at our booth, there were several booths around us that had blown over, actually tumbled out into the street, broken tent poles and broken merchandise. How awful for the poor artists. I was surprised that some of the artists waited until 30 minutes before the show to arrive and set up thier booths. Those with the damaged and catapulted tents had a big surprise and alot of work to do. Jonny makes sure we arrive at least two hours before showtime everyday, she just like that, she like to be well prepared. I’ve learned that it can be a good thing to be prepared and early.

I think that show promoters should at least call vendors to tell them that their tent is in the street or broken. It seems like the most professional and courteous thing to do really. We finished setting up and moved one of the tent supports that we bought from Canopies By Fred to the front of the tent, Jonny thought it looked like the pole might snap if we didn’t do something. All of this because of 15mph winds all night and all day Saturday. It was very windy all day Saturday, Jonny literally had to hold the tent sides all day, adjust the displays and re-attach things all day long. One of the concrete blocks we use for a weight broke right in half on Friday night. We had to buy some more Saturday to add more weight to the tent. The wind grated on our nerves all day, causing both of us to be irritable, customers weren’t buying much because the tent was blowing around. I managed to recoup my booth fee by more than double so that was good but other artists around us weren’t so fortunate. Around 3:30 pm we noticed the artist next to us closing up her tent, she told us a storm was about 10 minutes away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jonny move so fast!! We closed all of the sides, pulled the tables in and moved all of the cardboard boxes off the ground. As soon as the wind started to blow REALLY hard we knew this wasn’t an ordinary storm. Jonny grabbed the ratchet tie downs and strapped them over the middle bar of the tent and I held on to that while she held onto one of the side poles. I realized that I could strap the hook of the rachet to my 300lb power chair and did so with both hooks. What a sight!! me in the middle of the tent with the ratcheting tie-downs attached to me and the tent. It did the job though! Many of our carded items got wet, some cardboard boxes got wet, but that was the extent of the damage. We had also lowered the tent so that it was lower and therefore less likely to blow around. Needless to say, we were exhausted and decided to give it up for the day. I was a bit irritated, no, I was very irritated that directly across from us a booth of Peruvian musicians had set up their tent with music, cleap jewelry, toys and t-shirts. I couldn’t believe it ! This show cost $250 to ge in and was juried and judged! I should have found the director and said something, but I didn’t want to take the time away from the booth. The subject of by-sell art is one that has become familiar with artists who sell at art shows. More and more shows are letting people in who do not make their craft. Some of the scam artists I’m told are very good at concealing the fact that their merchandise is made in China. They cut into our sales and more importantly, they cheapen the shows where they display their wares.

The other subject of my irritation is that the judge of the Easton show never entered my booth. Not only that, but she didn’t even slow down when passing my booth. I purposely arranged things in the booth for the judge to take notice. One of the reasons for getting there early was to prepare the booth to be judged. After winning several awards, I’ve come to realize that perhaps I should take more time to consider that I’m being judged at these shows. I don’t pay attention to that fact most of the time, but after winning I kind of like the idea of being noticed.

All in all the Easton show was a bit of a disappointment for us. Because of the venue, we thought there would be more people attending, perhaps it was the weather, I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ll return next year, it’s just too expensive and not much in return. I think it’s jinxed too.

I took picture of my new display set up at the show:

Aren’t they beautiful!

One of my new designs, chatoyant fossilized leaf and autumn jasper beaded necklace

When I started the jewelry business 7 yrs ago I was naive. Like childbirth, it’s probably a good thing you don’t know about the pain part, if you did its very possible you’d never succumb to the temptation. Not that I’ve had children or anything but I’ve heard plenty of stories. As I was saying, the Arts and Crafts Show business is for the naive, then once you’re hooked theres really no backing out. Had I know that I would go through about 5 display systems, two tents, rain and mud, dust coating every piece of jewelry I own, wind and dogs knocking down every display, waking up a 4am, going to bed at 7pm after a long day in the booth, eating sno-cones and cheesecake on a stick, roasting in 100 degree sun, wondering if my polymer creations were going to melt before my eyes, and last but not least, watching as people pick up the Fairie Bottles and spill Fairie Dust all over my table 20 times a day, I might not have entered into the crafts show business with such excitement.

Seven years later I’m still doing this and despite all of the drawbacks I have to admit it’s gotten under my skin and in my blood. I absolutely love this life. I think having a partner who supports me and does most of the heavy lifting (literally) makes it 200% better. Having someone believe in you and your art makes such a difference to an artist. I would never have come this far if it weren’t for the unconditional support of my partner Jonny. Being an artist herself, she fully believes in the process and the devotion each of us must have in order to thrive. What I don’t understand, is how she can provide me with such an undying support while she gets no time to practice her own artistic gifts. She is an incredible portrait artist and painter/sculptor of kinetic art. Yet, she has little time to create her own art. She has jumped into the jewelry business with great enthusiasm, creating her own niche of beautiful gemstone and swarovski bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Her contributions fill the booth and make the business complete.

If the tables were turned, I personally don’t know if I could sacrifice my own art to assist her. Perhaps I could, but I feel incredibly lucky and spoiled by her. She insists that she’s completely happy in her position as jewelry partner and I believe her, and am in awe at her devotion.

One of her tasks has been to revamp and beautify the booth display system. Under her skilled hands and vision during the past seven years the booth setup has undergone an incredible transformation. This, she says is what she loves doing and it truly shows. Jonny has a great eye for detail and beauty, she considers every little corner, background, and fabric choice. One would think that there were more display options available for the 10×10 jewelry booth, and the display setup was something I didn’t give much thought to when starting my business. I soon learned that the display and setup is the single most important aspect of my success at art shows. Your booth must be attractive and inviting enough so that people are tempted to enter. Think about how many booths you pass up when at an art show, I simply can’t afford an unattractive or uninviting booth.

Because I use a wheelchair, other considerations were important as well. I need lots of space in the booth in order to move around and I think that consideration in the design has a real benefit to customers as well. The booth is roomy allowing for more traffic than the average booth.

After several variations I think we’ve finally hit upon a beautiful and well-constructed display unit.

Take a look:

The picture at the top left is the necklace display rack, I’ll post another picture once we have the booth setup tomorrow and you’ll be able to see how nicely the necklaces drape over the knobs (one of those details Jonny thought of). To the right is a picture of the earring rack, I took the picture so that you can see the wood and the carving, another nice Jonny touch! The earring cards fit very well over the slats and tuck under so they don’t fly off when the wind blows. The bottom picture is the newest addition to the display, it’s for pendants. Jonny found a place here in Columbus that sells display’s for the retail trade, they have new and used slat walls!!! I’ve never considered a slat wall because of the weight, but this is a small enough unit that it’s perfect. They cut it to our specs and it was only $10!!! Well, of course Jonny had to make it match the rest of the booth and she put the nice fabric covered strips on it, I just LOVE IT!!! and can’t wait to see how my pendants look on it.