The Golden Ticket

If you ever read the book or saw the movie, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you know what the Golden Ticket is all about. It is a golden opportunity. A chance to do something exceptional. The National Polymer Clay Guild will be issuing three golden tickets of a sort. An opportunity for three polymer clay artists who are members of the national guild to attend the ACRE wholesale crafts show in Las Vegas next spring and sell their work to galleries and shops from the United States and Canada. You can see the announcement on the national website.

Why would a national guild do this? Part of the reason arose from the experience of the national guild president, Judy Belcher. Judy was able to attend the show this past year along with her state artist guild, The Tamarack Foundation. She saw what a step up this opportunity gave her and her business, and she wanted to see the the National Polymer Clay Guild offer the same opportunity for its members.

Wholesalecrafts.com, who puts on the ACRE show, has supported the idea of non-profit arts groups gaining exposure for their organization, and the work of their members. It would be possible to use the booth space as just a showcase of polymer clay work from a range of artists.

The board of the National Polymer Clay Guild decided that having three artists there who could sell their work would do more to gain exposure for the work of polymer clay than a simple exhibit.

So how will the lucky three artists be selected? A jury of three, from outside the polymer clay community, will be selecting the artists who will be handed a golden ticket. The jury includes artists and a gallery manager. The work will be judged on craftsmanship, design, and saleability. The artists who apply must be residents of the United States or Canada, and members of the National guild. They must have some experience selling their work to shops and/or galleries. But they cannot have attended a major wholesale show in the past. This is for someone who is taking a leap forward in the growth of their business. Someone who is ready to take on new wholesale business.

Once the artists are selected, mentors will be available to help them with the preparation for the show. We want these artists to succeed. Their success will be a positive reflection on polymer clay as a craft medium.

So, do you qualify? Will you take this opportunity to increase the exposure of your business to the wholesale market? Are you ready to have your work represent the National Guild? The applications will be available on-line. In the meantime, you will need at least five jury quality images of the type of work you would have at the show.

Why am I announcing this here? Because I have agreed to help make this program happen, with the help of several other members of the National guild. I want to see other artists get an opportunity to move forward with their businesses. To move a step forward as an artrepreneur. I will be there at ACRE 2008. Will you?