Maybe, This Stuff Works...

Just about five years ago, I started down the path of playing with polymer clay, and not long after, learning everything I could about the business of being in craft. You might think that someone with an MBA, would not need to learn much. But I have never in my life presumed expertise. And, after working in so many industries in the past, I knew I would have to learn what made the business of craft tick.

What have I learned in the last five years? LOTS! Some things the hard way, some the traditional way. But I certainly know more now than I did then. I'll try to summarize a few of those lessons here,

1. Doing matters. In the end, without action, it is nothing. Talk truly is cheap. Acting takes guts and often funds. But without taking action of some sort, nothing happens. And even when things go wrong....there is always an opportunity to learn, or to gain experience. Nothing has ever been a complete waste of my time. A few things came close. But I never came close to making those mistakes again.

2. The most successful are those who are usually just plugging away. You seldom see them complaining about much. Not because they are successful, and have nothing to complain about. No. It seems to me, that more often it is because they see little is gained from the complaint.

Complaining about ignorant or irritating customers, wholesale or retail, seldom does much except allow you to spend more time in a time drain. Complaining about artists who rip off others seldom is a well-spring for creativity. Complaining about how lousy the market is does not help you find new customers.

The successful are not Pollyannas. If anything they are hyper-realists. They realize that the only thing that is going to get them closer to their goals, whatever they might be is themselves. And no amount of complaining ever moved anyone forward. Usually it keeps them firmly planted in place as the rest of the world moves forward.

3. Perfectionism can be a crutch. It can be a way to avoid trying. It can be an excuse for item number 1. Good enough really is good enough. Don't get me wrong, craftsmanship matters. But, there is a line. Cross that line and you will never have anything leave your studio, and you will never be able re-coupe your investment in time if you try to sell your work.

4. Craftsmanship develops best in volume. Make something over and over and over again, and you will learn it and understand it in ways that are not possible in the first, the fifth, or possibly even the 100th piece.

5. Pricing never ever gets easy. You just reach a point of peace. You know you are covering your costs. You know your work will sell at a price. You are not selling it faster than you can make it. An equilibrium of sorts is reached, but it never maintains itself indefinitely.

6. Packaging matters. The best work in the world is enhanced with good marketing support materials. Some sort of packaging that tells your story or presents the work to best advantage will nearly always help sell the work a bit better than without it.

7. Understanding your customer is essential. It will help you answer so many other questions about how to bring your product to market. What shows to do? Pricing. Packaging. Colors. Designs. Where to advertise or publicize.

8. Even in a good market some will fail. Likewise in a lousy market some will succeed. Our success is more often influenced by our own actions than by those of the general climate. Those things matter, but they are not the only factor.

9. The world keeps moving, and so should you. New designs. New markets. New ways of getting your work out into the market. The internet is going to play an integral role as we move forward. If you are reading this you probably already sense this, if not know it and live it. Stay still and you will be left behind.

10. Going it alone is lonely. I love time on my own. But I can't say I would ever have learned as much, or gone as far as I have so far without the company of others.....virtually or in person. That new person at the show that you have been doing for years may know just the web guru that you need. The craftsperson who seems to be able to set up his booth with his eyes closed, because he probably can....will probably have some good advice if you are willing to listen. Sharing your dreams with others may mean that when they see the opportunity that is perfect for you, you will find out. Be a friend and make a friend. Your business will benefit, and so will you.

The title? It seems as if I should be in a lull right now. The economy is faltering. I had a large order with a catalog company cancelled. And yet, I am working like crazy. Orders are coming in. Opportunities dropping in my lap.

Why? Luck, perhaps. But maybe because I am working to stay focused on these essentials. I don't know. But I do know that the more I do that is alignment with the things I profess here, the more success comes my way. I get it wrong, like anyone. But I allow myself the error, and move forward. I hope that you can do the same with your business, and that it brings you the same satisfaction and success. I am looking forward to the lessons that the next five years will bring.

My Oprah Moment,...or Not??

I saw a message on a discussion board yesterday about my cranes. Someone was posting because she thought she saw my cranes on the Oprah Winfrey show in the bedroom of a home being redone by Nate, the home dec guru of the show. You can imagine the excitement there was in my house for about ten minutes when we thought that my cranes had been on Oprah!

I seldom get a chance to watch her show these days, or much television at all, other than my faithful viewing of Project Runway! And we don't have Tivo, or any other way to record shows. How could I find out if this was indeed true? I went to the website, and poked around. All I could find was a video of the before shots of the house, and there were several paper cranes hanging in one girl's room. Was this the reported crane sighting? Perhaps someone mistook these paper cranes for my polymer clay ones? As far as I know this is the case. the after video doesn't show the girls rooms.

If you saw the show, or better yet recorded the show, maybe you can confirm for me that this is a case of mistaken identity. I have sent off an e-mail to the show, but given the number of emails they recieve, it is unlikely that I will hear from them any time soon. Were any of my polymer clay cranes really on the Oprah show?? I doubt it, but I am holding out for confirmation! Someone out there must have a recording of the show.....

A New Focus

I have made a decision to focus on selling wholesale this year. My decision has come from several vantage points. First, I have seen terrific growth in this area of my business, and I want to be able to continue that growth. Second, retail shows have been more problematic for me.

Retail shows are a terrific way to get a first hand reaction to your work. This can be misleading and confusing though. I have had shows where the work flew out of my booth, and another show with the same work was dismal. Which information was correct? Both, most likely. Demographics, flucuations in the economy, weather, and many other factors can effect the outcome of a show. My energy level, or my display can also have an effect.

And retail shows are time consuming. Before the show I typically will do a mailing. This means updating my mailing list, printing out labels, and stamping postcards. A day to pack things up and organize. A day to travel and set up. Three days at a show, tearing down and traveling home on that last day. Crash and burn for at least a day. A week out of the studio. If the show was great, this was a week well spent. If not, it was a week away from family, and out of the studio. Then there are sales taxes to be paid, credit card sales to be entered, unloading the van, and putting everything away again. And more names to add to the mailing list.

In the past, I have felt unable to really think through, and follow through on developing a consistent and cohesive marketing plan for my work. It has been catch as catch can. Part of why I want to try focusing just on wholesale this year is because I want to be able to give enough attention to marketing that it can be more effective, and opportunities are not dropped or lost for lack of follow through.

Here is part of what I want to do;

1. Mailings. I still will do postcard mailings, but now they will be to galleries, and planned to promote some sort of special offer. A call to action, if you will. I also plan to mail out my new catalog to anyone who as ordered from me in the past or has asked for information. It will build on the past interest, and perhaps generate some sales. Too often in the past, I would send out a catalog after an inquiry, but leave it at that. I will make use of the mailing list of galleries I have built up over the last three years.

2. Newsletters. This is a step I have already begun. I sent out my first e-newsletter this week using Mail Chimp. They have a 30 day free trial, and flexible pricing plan that works for my volume and frequency. And it works! I had an order within 12 hours of my first mailing. I plan to send one out every other month, alternating with the postcard mailing. Not all galleries even use e-mail. But for those that do, it is a great way to stay in touch and let them know what is new with your work. These newsletter services would work well for retail as well. The nice thing about services such as Mail Chimp, or Constant Contact, is that they tell you how many people opened your email. How many times, and which links people clicked on. They clean up the list automatically, removing bounced e-mails. You could do this your self with a standard e-mail, but the background information is helpful to gauge the success of your newsletter.

3. Advertising. One of the tenets of effective advertising is repetition. Some people will contact you with the first advertisement. But others will have to see your ad repeated times before they take action. In the last year, I focused my advertising dollars on the Buyer's Guide put out by Wholesalecrafts.com. It is open to anyone who is on their site, and it goes out four times a year. I had planned to only do two ads last year, but ended up going with four. I also increased the size of my ad. The results were well worth the expense.

This year I plan to run ads in at least one, maybe two periodicals on an on-going basis. I am starting with Niche magazine, put out by the Rosen Group, and sent to galleries. I can run a co-op ad, again through Wholesalecrafts.com, and gain broader exposure for my work.

What I have learned in the last year of running the ads in the Buyer's Guide is that I get a different clientele contacting me as a result of these ads. I get phone calls from galleries who do not visit the Wholesalecrafts.com website, and do not want to place an order on-line. They prefer to talk to me on the phone. Perhaps have a catalog to peruse at their leisure. Some customers love the flexibility of ordering on-line, but others prefer a different approach. Being able to respond to all the various styles of your clientele is important.

4. Wholesale show(s). I will be doing the ACRE show in Las Vegas again this year. This show gave me exposure to buyers who like to come and see and touch the work in person before placing an order. Doing the show last year took me out of my comfort zone, but was well worth every minute of anxiety.

My approach to this is pretty much like it has been all along with my business. It is a trial. An experiment. I will allow myself this year of focus and see what happens. I may even do a retail show or two this year. But maybe not. I like the idea of traveling only once this year to do the wholesale show. I like the idea of taking the money I would have spent on retail shows this year, and using it to boost my advertising, and exposure.

I will let you know how this experiment works out. I am sure I will have more adjustments to make next year, but I feel like I have a map for the coming year. Each time we try something new, we learn new things. We may learn that it doesn't work for us, but we know it with certainty rather than fear.

Attention Polymer Clay Artists!

You have a wonderful opportunity to generate some free publicity for your work. Polymer Cafe has a new editor, and she is looking for submissions, now! Yesterday even. But tomorrow will do.

The secret that many people don't know is that editors need us to send them our work, and our ideas. That is what fills all those pages of the magazine. And in return we get publicity we could not otherwise afford. Editors do not use every item that crosses their desk, but without those submissions, there is no magazine. Editors do not base a magazine solely on hunting down quality work and begging the artist for the opportunity to feature them in their magazine. Editors have time constraints like the rest of us, and they depend upon the majority of what goes into the magazine coming from submissions from artists.

It is just these sorts of opportunities that we need to have a press kit, with a CD with images of our work, ready to go out the door, or at least put together quickly. Even if you do not have that, maybe you have an idea for an article that you have thought about writing, or some great pictures of some recent work. Submit it! Take advantage of this opportunity. And, know that these opportunities exist all the time. Waiting for us to take advantage of them.

Chop, chop. Time's a wasting.... What are you waiting for? You know you want to see your work in print. Go for it. I can't wait to see what ends up in the magazine.

Press Kit; Where to Begin?

I have talked about having a press kit in the past, and how helpful they can be to getting publicity for your work and your business. But, I have not gone into detail about how to put one together. There more than one way to approach this, so feel free to apply your creative genius to the concept. I find by the time I get around to putting one together, I have do not have the creative time or energy to go beyond the basics. But don't let that hold you back!

The first step is to gather together copies of any publicity your work has received. This could be articles or announcements in your local paper, or features in national magazines. They all qualify. Sometimes a publication will provide you with a .pdf of an article, which is helpful for reprinting, or they may offer you additional copies of a magazine for a reduced cost.

If you do not yet have any articles about you or your work, don't worry. Your press kit will help that happen eventually, and we all start at zero. But, if you do, it shows that others have deemed what you are doing "newsworthy". When an editor sees that you have numerous articles, it can be a cue to look further.

Head off to Kinko's, Staples, or your nearest copy center, and make copies of the articles, or at least the first page of the articles. For some magazine articles, I have copied a two page spread onto a single page. Smaller articles might be able to be combined onto a single page.

If you happen to be at an office supply store, look around and see what you can find to hold your material for your press kit. You can get jazzy and have custom printed folders. Or you can use a standard, two pocket folder, and perhaps attach a postcard to the front for image. Get several, because you will be sending out more than one.

I put my press clippings, and press releases (future post), into the right hand pocket. I arrange them in chronological order, with the most recent in the front.

In the other pocket I add visuals. Postcard(s). A CD with several high resolution images. The CD should be packaged in such a way that it will not be easily damaged in handling.

Next, I include tear sheets or sell sheets. A sell sheet or tear sheet is a one page flyer that shows images of your work. I have one sheet per collection, or line. It is not necessary to have every style and every colorway of your work shown on the sell sheet. It is a way for someone to get a quick overview of your work. They can be used to announce a new line of work.

The sell sheet should have your logo, and it should have contact information. You can have dimensions of your work under each image. It is primarily focused on visual information. A collection of sell sheets with a separate price sheet can serve as a catalog for prospective wholesale accounts. By the way, I do not include a price sheet in with my press kit. But, you might include the wholesale and/or retail price range somewhere in your kit.

Next, you want to include your Artist Bio and Artist Statement. Recognize that you are not writing a bio or statement that you must live with for the rest of your career. We grow and evolve as artists, business people and human beings, and our Bio and Statement should change over time with us. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have re-written mine.

If you are not comfortable with writing it yourself, get some help. Find a friend who is a good writer, or hire someone. Look on Craig's List or DoMyStuff.com. Nothing is impossible.

I put those in behind the sell sheets on the left hand side.

Finally, I insert a business card into the space that is usually found on the left hand pocket. That is it. Nothing too extreme or too difficult. Yes, it takes time. But think of publicity as advertising you could not afford. On that basis, it is time well spent.

In a future post, I will write about press releases, and about where to send your press kit and/or press releases. But this should keep you busy in the meantime.

I Stole a Pair of Kathleen Dustin Earrings

Got your attention, huh? I didn't literally steal them of course. But it felt like it. Family Services of Greater Boston is the organization who puts on the Crafts at the Castle show each year. It is a fantastic show....gorgeous work by extremely talented artists. And like many non-profits who run craft shows, they look to the artists to donate items that they can auction off to generate more income for their organization. Kathleen Dustin donated a pair of earrings to their auction. And I won them in the auction for only $50. These are a pair of her new pod earrings that would normally retail for $150. A steal!

So here is the thing....what are the consequences of these auctions? Beyond some great bargains. Are they really a benefit to the artists or to the organization? If you go and look you will see plenty of beautiful work.....all going for substantial discounts to the retail value of the items. A gorgeous Natalie Blake vase, I wouldn't mind owning, went for under $300, versus a retail price of $425. A lovely necklace of sterling and polymer clay by Mary Filpek and Lou Ann Townsend did not even get a bid. A sublime scarf by Jeung-Hwa, knitted, felted and hand-dyed, went for less than half it's retail price in spite of a bidding war, which I watched from the sidelines, debating whether I should jump in. I could go on,.....a basket from JoAnne Russo, a museum quality piece. NO bids.

What is going on? For one thing, not enough people who might be interested in the work of the artists are aware of the auction, or participating in it. When you have a small pool of people engaged in an auction, prices will not be bid up enough to get to a price that reflects the true value of the work. Add the emergence of the online services that will enter a bid for someone at the last minute....which happened on two items I was watching in this auction,.... and you get less bidding overall. It drives the bargain.

And there is that bargain mentality that people approach an auction with. They want to get a deal. The deal that no one else could get. So they can brag about it over cocktails...or in their blog!

But it seems to me that it is doing a disservice to the artists and to the organizations. What if, instead of auctions, they raffled off the art work? It might increase the participation. A raffle could increase the pool of people who are willing to enter the competition. The show I am doing at the Fitchburg Art Museum this weekend is doing this. They asked each artist to donate an item with a value of approximately $25, and then they are raffling off the work.

Or, Craft Boston sells gift certificates. Each artist can donate a certificate worth $50, $100, or maybe $250 dollars. The show organizers (The Society of Arts and Crafts), then sells the certificates, and the buyers can redeem them with the artist. I had two people vying for the certificate I donated on the first night of the show. It does not diminish the value of the work, the organization gets a better value, and it has better tax implications for the artist.

When we donate a piece of art, we are only allowed to deduct the value of the materials. Our labor is worth nothing in the deduction. Insane. But if we donate a gift certificate, it is more like cash. We can deduct the value of the gift certificate.

But, here is the thing. How many of the people who are getting steals in these auctions can afford to make a substantial donation to the organization....as opposed to the artist being able to afford making a donation of their work?? The artists are already paying a fee for the booth space. Artists are more typically living at the economic edge. Should they be the ones who are making the greatest sacrifice to support these non-profits?

It is sometimes argued that the auctions are a way to generate publicity for your work. Exposure to people who could become collectors. If they truly are potential collectors, why do so many things go for so little money?? Aren't collectors usually people who appreciate the work of the artist? And, is this the kind of publicity we need for our work?

I used to always donate items when asked by organizations. I no longer will donate to an auction, unless it is an organization I would happily support otherwise. I will donate a small item for a raffle. I will donate a gift certificate. Or, if the booth fee is high, I may just pass. We can say no. It does not make us a bad person. Just because someone asks, we still need to evaluate if it makes sense for us and our situation. How much does it benefit the organization? How much does it benefit us? And what are the potential risks? This requires careful consideration, and there is no one answer that will fit every situation, or every person.

What Can We Learn from Those Stats?

There has been some serious grousing lately on a discussion board. It is about statistics. This is a discussion that happens regularly anytime someone is trying to sell something, and is using the services of another company to facilitate that process. If the outcome is not meeting their expectations, there is the inevitable outcry...."Where are the buyers?" "We want to see the numbers...." Attendance, visits, who is visiting?..... Raise the cry, and you will be sure to hear the back up chorus chiming in, in full harmony. I have seen and heard this over and over again, for wholesale shows, retail shows, on-line outlets (EBay, Etsy, and Wholesalecrafts.com), etc.

The latest discussion leaders want more statistics about the buyers. Who is coming? How often do they come? How often do they buy? The thinking seems to be that valuable information can be found in those statistics. If they had the statistics, they could then "prove" that the particular outlet is not performing. Or it is not their fault that things are not going the way they want. It is the quality of the buyers. The lack of buyers. The wrong buyers.

But at any of these places, you can also find artists who are connecting with buyers. Why? Is it because they are selling "cheap stuff"? Is it because they are lucky? There are endless reasons why they may be having more success than those who are focused on getting more statistics. But I am willing to guess that the main reason they are doing well, is they putting in the effort to promote their work. They are keeping their work fresh. They are constantly adjusting and adapting.

Etsy has become a hot place to sell your handcrafted work. But it takes a lot more than just putting up some pictures and waiting for the sales to come in. Successful sellers on Etsy are promoting their presence on Etsy elsewhere, on the web and off, and they are working the site. They are on the discussion boards. Showcasing their work. Active on the street teams. Success on Etsy just doesn't happen. It takes work.

At a retail show, you need to do the mailing, display your work to best advantage, and sell your work. Be present to the customer. Have a story to tell about your work, your inspiration, or your life as an artist. Have a good product at a fair price. Buyers are more selective than they may have been in the past. Being talented is not enough. In order to get a sale, you need to have the rest of the package in place.

On a site like Wholesalecrafts.com it takes effort to get sales. You might as well just put $400 in an envelope and hand it to a stranger if you are not going to invest any other effort...or money...into making the site work to your best advantage. Being on the site is only the first step. Anyone who has an on-line shop with their website will tell you that you must be able to get the traffic to your site to be able to have a chance at making a sale. Likewise, on a site like Wholesalecrafts.com, where there are over 1000 artists on the site, you need to do more than post images of your work to generate a sale. You need to keep your work fresh, run ads, online and in print. And being on the site doesn't mean you shouldn't be pursuing other opportunities off the site.

So, let's say the people raising the outcry get the statistics. And they find out that buyers are coming to the site. What then? Do they ask for a financial audit of the buyers? It must be that the buyers who are coming are just not buying enough stuff, right? Or they don't have a big enough budget to buy quality work.

It's the statistic thing again. Statistics can give us valuable information. But they don't eliminate the need to do the basic work. Develop a good product. Control your costs. Make sure you are doing the right shows, or are on the right sites for the work you are producing. Promote your work. And follow through. Be there for the sale. Better yet, exceed your customer's expectations. Those are the things that help you develop a following. And that, takes time.

I like statistics. They tell me a lot. But sometimes they tell me what I am doing is not working, and I need to do something differently if I want a different outcome. What are you looking to find in the numbers? Salvation? Justification? Or perhaps just a little information?

Wholesale Shows, How?...Part 2

So you've applied to a wholesale show....and you got in! Congratulations. Now it is time to start preparing for the show. If you have done retail shows in the past, it will be a fairly simple adjustment. How is a wholesale show different?


First and most important, at a wholesale show, you only need to bring samples. At a retail show, it is cash and carry. At a wholesale show, people will be placing orders based on the samples you have at the show.


In addition to having samples to display at the show, you will need to have a catalog or some sort of handout that will provide information to interested buyers about your work and your product lines. This may be four color printed material, or it could be simple copies of line drawings. It could be a collection of postcards, and some supplemental information about your work. How many? The advice I received before I did my first show, was to calculate how many sales pitches could I do per hour. Then multiply that times the number of hours the show will last. If over three days, there are twenty hours, and you can do 3 sales pitches per hour, you should have at least 60 sets of your sales literature.


Along with the sales literature, you will need a price list. I print my price list seperately from my catalog. That allows me to make any necessary changes to prices and terms easily and quickly. Have a copy for each set of your sales literature.


You will need to think through how you will want to display your work. There are not dramatic differences in display for a wholesale show and a retail show....except for pricing. You want to make your prices very visible. The buyers will be walking a large show, and will be making many, many decisions. You want to make the process as easy as possible when they come to visit your booth. Your wholesale prices need to be clearly displayed with your work.


You will need some way to write up your orders. This could be a customized order form that you can get printed up, or it could be a standardized order form that you purchase from an office supply store.


At a wholesale show, there are fewer numbers of buyers walking the aisles. But those buyers are going to be spending much more money than the buyers who are walking the aisles of a retail show. They are not there to look. They are there to buy. They have a budget. But they want to buy.


Does this mean that if your sales presentation is brilliant that you will be able to sell your work to any buyer who approaches you? No. They will be assessing your work with how it will fit with their shop, gallery, or catalog. They will be evaluate the workmanship, the price points, and the appropriateness of the work for their shop. So you want to learn what you can about their needs. You may quickly find out they like your work....personally....but don't see it as a good fit with their gallery.


But, let's suppose that your work is a good fit. Then you need to be ready to answer the questions you are likely to get. What is your story? Why do you do what you do? What do customers like about your work? What are your best sellers? What is your minimum? Will you accept terms? What would you recommend as an opening order? These are the kinds of questions you need to be able to answer quickly and easily.


And when it comes time to write your orders, have a calendar. You will need to know when you can deliver the work, and determine when the buyer wants the work. As you commit to deliveries, mark off the necessary time on your calendar. You need to be able to plan your production schedule as your recieve orders.



One last thing. Bring your press kit. Kits, actually. There will be people from various publications who will also be at the show. The money you are spending on the show will be nothing compared to the free publicity you might be able to get from this one move. So far, I have had my work featured in New Age Retailer (at right), and Gift Shop magazine since the ACRE show this spring. Simply because I brought along my press kits. This was exposure I could not have afforded.


Those are the essentials. Definitely doable. Most importantly, don't forget the comfortable shoes!

Wholesale Shows, Where and Who?

This is the fourth in a series of posts about wholesale craft shows.

Wholesale shows can be regional, or national, or perhaps even international. Shows such as the New York Gift Show will have importers as well as craft artisans from the United States and Canada. The size of the show will impact, to some degree, the numbers of people who come to the show, and how far people will come from to the show. The two big wholesale shows in the world of craft are The Rosen Group Buyer's Market of American Craft (referred to as the Rosen show, or BMAC) in Philadelphia, and The American Craft Council Wholesale Market (ACC) in Baltimore. BMAC occurs in both February and August, and the ACC show is in February. These shows draw buyers from gift shops to top galleries, and from local shops to galleries from across the country.


There are Gift Shows that occur all across the country. Boston, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Seattle, etc. George Little is one of better known promoters for these shows. Some of these shows are geared toward specialty retailers, others are for anyone selling gifts. Some have a reputation for lots of importers and very little work in the "fine craft" category. Before doing a show, visit if you can. At the very least, talk to other artists who have done the show to try and find out if it is the right show for you. A great resource for finding out about shows is some of the forums online, such as at the Craft Report website, or American Craft Forum. Like all online groups, the traffic and intensity of conversation can vary over time, and the quality of information can vary. But the archives can be a good resource, and a way to get a range of experiences and opinions.


Who is at wholesale shows? Primarily Vendors and Buyers, naturally. But there are other people who will visit a show. People from various publications will go to a show to see what new things are out there. Being prepared with some press kits to leave in the show office is a good idea. You never know what kind of publicity you might be able to generate by bringing materials to a show. My work was featured in two different publications due to ACRE. and at least 8 or 9 copies of the press kit were picked up at the show. Those articles have led to phone calls and inquiries from shops and galleries.

Next, and last in this series....How??

Back to School...Math Lesson

It is that time of year again. For a long time I felt like September should be when the year began. My whole rhythm was on the school calendar. I am back on it again, with kids, but I don't feel that same sense of new beginnings that I used to.

Fall is time to gear up production. Galleries and shops are placing orders for their holiday inventory. Shows are coming up. (I will be at the Lyndhurst show in Tarrytown, New York from September 14th to 16th). Special holiday sales are lining up their artists. It is time to hunker down and crank out the work. January now seems to offer more time and space for renewal and reflection.

I came back from my trip thinking that was going to dive into production. I knew I had a few orders that had to get out after I got back. And a few catalogs to send. But the trip threw me off my game. My back was seriously out of whack for about a week, and I was jet lagged and exhausted. My studio was in a state of chaos when I left, and the cleaning fairy never showed up to tidy things up.....she always seems to miss my place.....

So Labor Day weekend was one of serious labor for me. I had three orders to crank out. I had some inventory I could draw on, but... One order had slipped my radar until I went hunting for the paperwork for another. Today, I shipped all three orders, and sent out information packages to five shops/galleries. After that I took a well deserved afternoon off. Whew! Tomorrow the kids go back to school and I can get back in the groove. Top of the list, dig out the studio!

One of the advantages to shows, or delivery dates for wholesale orders is that they give me deadlines to focus on tasks that I am prone to put off. I finally put together a product insert for my jewelry, that can also serve as an earring card. It has a paragraph blurb about me and my inspiration on the back/inside. I know these things make a difference and are important to do. But, do I make them a priority? Nope. They keep sliding down the list. Never bumping up to the top of the list. My inserts for the cranes have been an important element to their success. Why do I think I can just skip that step with my jewelry??

There are just so many things to balance. In addition to being creative, and productive, we need to make sure that the business side of things stays up there on the to-do list. I also put together a flyer for the new star ornaments, and a sell sheet for my new jewelry. Both of these went in the packages and the information packets that went out today. It was tough to pull all of this together, but it felt really good to know that I gave those tasks the attention they had been needing.

I can easily lose a day in my studio. Going from production to play and back again. But if I do not do the other work, the business side of things, it all might as well be play. I was reading a newsletter sent out by Paradise City Arts Festivals to artists. In it, they report on sales results for their spring and summer shows. They did an additional analysis of the self-reported data from artists this time. They looked at the correlation of sales with advertising and direct mail efforts by the artist. It was not clear if this was just using the services provided by Paradise City, or if it included seperate marketing efforts by the artist. Either way, the end result was that the average sales were 24% higher for those who did the mailings and/or advertising for the show than for those who did not.

Twenty-four percent. The average sales for their shows are between $5000 and nearly $7000. I did the math. If we assume an average sales of $6000, and that half the artists advertise, and half don't.....

Artist who advertises and promotes their presence at the show: $6642
Artist who skips advertising and promoting presence at show: $5357

The difference: $1285.

Percents are one thing. Dollars are another. Paradise City offers to do a mailing at NO COST for any artist who provides them with the mailing list. They have a website, that can link to the artist's web page....assuming the artist has a website. Artists can also purchase ads in their show guide they mail out prior to their shows.

How much time does it take to send a mailing list in to have someone else do your mailing? If you are keeping up your mailing list, ten minutes tops. Do you have a website? If not, put it on the top of the list, right after updating your mailing list. A website is essential today. You do not need to have a merchant site. Pictures, artist's statement, bio, contact info, and of course images of your work. You do not have to be a programming whiz. You can either hire someone, or use a hosting service that offers a template that you can easily do yourself. You cannot skip these steps. Look what the potential costs are. Are you willing to walk away from nearly $1300 because it is a hassle? I didn't think so.

No wonder I loved math so much. And marketing.

How Much Control Do You Need?

An important ingredient of any artrepreneur's business plan is promotion. If you don't get the word out in some way about what you are doing, you reduce your chance of success. How can someone buy that amazing creation of your's, or sign up for your classes, if they don't even know you exist, let alone know about your work??

There are a few basic ways to go about this. One is advertising, another is publicity. The third is creating buzz....the internet is the main hive for buzz these days.....blogs, forums, etc. The differences between the options come down to two main things. Price and control. If you are willing to work a bit, and let go of some of the control, you can get exposure you could not otherwise afford.

This month I have had an abundance of publicity, from a variety of sources. Contests, magazine submission, and articles. Some of it expected, some of it a surprise. I found my inner control freak starting to peek out a bit, before I quickly reminded myself, it was mostly free! Here is a partial run down:

I just received my copy of The Buyer's Guide on Monday, and ...Woohoo!!!....there was a picture of one of my cranes on the cover. It was the same crane that came in third place in the National Polymer Clay Guild Progress and Possibilities 2007 exhibit in the alternative use category. The Buyer's Guide features advertisements from artists who have their work available on Wholesalecrafts.com. It is mailed to artists and galleries across the U.S. and Canada. It is the main place I spend my advertising dollars. I am paying for my ad space, so I can decide which picture I will use, and how big the ad will be. I can't control placement, but this time I had a great spot....centerfold....top, right-hand page. And then the crane on the front. Woohoo!! Thank you Wholesalecrafts!

Last week, the July issue of Mothertown Monthly, a free feature magazine in my area came out. It had a profile of me and my work. A local gallery owner had suggested me for the article to the editor. The first paragraph was one I would love to live up to:

"There are some people who truly love their jobs. Easy to spot, they’re always smiling and eager to talk about their craft. They tackle each new project with a zest that most don’t recognize.
Judy Dunn is one of those people."

As I read further through the article, there were details that were off a bit. But with a start like that, who really cares??? It is the control thing. If you are not writing it, and having final control over every word, then guess what....you have to let it go.

I have never had an article that someone else has written about me or my work, going all the way back to college, that has not had some minor details that I flinch a bit as I read them. In the end, those details really do not matter. They happen with everyone. The only way to make sure that it does not happen is to make sure no one ever writes about you or your work. That is a pretty steep price to pay for control.

Last week I also had a blurb in the Crafts Report Insight section which highlighted polymer clay. (page 67) I was happy that the submission was accepted, and they used the picture and text I sent them.....but I was disappointed by the picture. I was surprised that a magazine focused on such a visual subject matter would have such an itsy bitsy image. It was barely over one inch square. The picture I sent in was more than 1600 by 1400 pixels....not microscopic. Oh well. They spelled my name and contact information correctly. :-) Sometimes that has to be enough! Here is the picture in a larger format....in case you didn't have a magnifying glass....just kidding Crafts Report!

All this publicity I was so fortunate to receive has more to do with taking chances, and submitting work to people, than any talent or success on my part. Doing your best work is important. But getting it out there for others to see matters to your success as well. Whether you want to sell your work, teach classes, write articles....whatever your goals are with your craft, promotion is something that you need to work at, from time to time, if you want to move towards those goals.

If you were brought up like I was, to not draw too much attention to yourself, it is hard to get comfortable with the idea of publicity at first. Just look at it as drawing attention to your work....not you. It is about the business, not about your ego. It is trying to get the advertising you could not otherwise afford, stretching those tight funds.

Accept the so-so publicity, and embrace the "wow!" And be willing to accept that sometimes you get nothing at all from your submissions. It is a bit of a crap shoot. Sometimes you get the perfect storm effect of lots of things happening at once. You cannot control when or if this will happen. The wave will pass, and life will go on as before. But do be sure to save the clippings....they can be used in your press kit!

Why Compete?

Competition.

For some it is a dirty word. It connotes all that is dark in our spirits. But for others, it spurs them on to new heights of performance. Some seem to pass that boat all together....and are not necessarily any worse off for it.

When I worked in marketing, a lot of what I did was looking at the competition. Understanding their product. Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses. Figuring out how to improve our position. It was really all about competition.

Now that I am a craftsperson, I look at the "competition" differently. First off, my competition at a show is every single artist, in every single media who is there. Overwhelming in shear size and scope. We all, on some level, are competing for the dollars of the buyers who come to the show. My competition is not limited to those doing similar work to what I do. It is across the board.

Given that scenario, worrying about what everyone else is doing, within a framework of competition is a complete waste of time. Instead, I try to focus my attention on myself and my work. Is my work the best it can be? What can I do differently to improve it? I listen to the input I receive from others, and process it along the way.

I look at my booth and how my work is presented, and how I talk about my work. Merchandising and sales. Am I doing all I can to make the work shine? Is my booth an inviting space? Am I listening enough to what people are asking me or telling me?

The focus is not on what others are doing, or not doing, so much as it is on what I can do. The beauty of this is that it removes the "dark energy", lol! I can enjoy the work of my fellow artists at a show. I can recommend shows or galleries that might be a good fit for them. I can share information I have learned about selling, merchandising, marketing, etc. without fear or trepidation.

Life is not always a zero sum game. One person's win being another person's loss. Sometimes it is more viral. Sometimes success breeds success, which breeds more success. Celebrating others work and wins does not diminish our own. Likewise, a defensive and competitive attitude can close off the sharing of others.

I enter my work into competitions. Winning is nice. But truth be told, my motivation is more from a marketing perspective. It is exposure. It is credentials. With or without the competition, my work is what it is. And given the creative process it is always in evolution anyway. One piece, at one point in time, with one set of judges, may or may not do well. I make my work because I have to. I enter it in competitions because it may generate some publicity for my work, which will help my business. I don't make work specifically for a competition. I have never, ever, once, sat down and said, "Okay, I need to make a great piece for such and such a competition." That would be the kiss of death to my creative process. It would be too much of an all or nothing mentality for me. Remember Art & Fear. If a deadline is approaching, and I have the time, I will look around at what I have and decide what might be a good piece to enter. Perhaps this would seem as if I am not investing enough into the process of making a piece for a competition. Maybe. But being over invested in a contest just is not who I am.

Competition is not necessarily bad. Nor it is always so great. But in perspective and proportion, it can motivate. Are you driven by competition? Why do you compete? When and where does it feel safe, and when do you want to avoid it?

I have several pieces in competitions that I will learn about later this month. That may seem to have been the motivation for this post. But it wasn't. It was seeing someone whose work I love getting the recognition it deserved, and feeling thrilled to see it happen. Not only do I love her work, but I like her. She is a kind and generous person, with wisdom and humor. Seeing her achieve recognition for her work is exciting. Having kids gives us that experience over and over again. But it does not have to be limited to our relatives.

Celebrate someone else this week. Send them an e-mail or a note to convey your feelings. It will be viral. It will help them feel a little more special for the moment that the sun is shining on them.

The Customer is Always Right.....

You know the saying. The customer is always right.

Yesterday, I got a call from one of my new accounts. I had just shipped her some cranes last week. They were all of the hanging variety. She was expecting the sitting kind. I looked at the order form from the show....it showed hanging cranes.

My response,...I will get you a dozen new cranes sent out to you in the next few days. No charge. She offered to send back the ones I had shipped to her. Nope. I told her to keep those and see how they did. Perhaps hold them for the holidays when they would surely sell as ornaments.

She was very appreciative. She offered at least twice to send back the hanging cranes. No. I would absorb that.

Why? I had the "proof" that what she wanted was the hanging cranes. But what if what she intended was the sitting ones, and there was a miscommunication at the show? That could have been my fault or her fault. At this point, who knows and who cares. I want her to love my work. I want her to enjoy working with me. I want her to know that if there is any problem, it will be handled quickly and expediently. Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand has an line she uses on her blog and her podcasts.

"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how you made them feel."

I wanted her to feel good about working with me. I wanted her to feel like I am a pleasure to work with. Not a pushover. But someone who will solve a problem with no fuss or confrontation. What if I had argued the point with her? Is the potential gain to me worth the cost? Or is the cost of a dozen cranes a better investment in a future relationship with this gallery. I am betting on the later. I will try to remember to let you know in another six months to a year if the decision was the right one. Even if it is not the right one financially, it feels right to me.

The other call I received yesterday afternoon was from a local free publication that covers about eleven towns. A gallery I work with had recommend me to her. They wanted to know if I was interested in being featured in a profile in their July issue. Of course!

Those positive relationships with others can bring back all sorts of things to you. I enjoy working with this gallery that had made the recommendation, and she does a great job selling my work. I would bend over backwards to accomdate her requests. Turns out, I was one of her top selling artists last year. Wow. Who knows when, where, why or how? Or even if, really. And it is not about doing these acts of "good karma" for the payoff. Yet, inevitably it does seem to come around again.

Pause, take a deep breath, and think before the reaction spills out. Sometimes, that is all it takes to figure out what feels like the right thing for you to do, whether it is a business issue, or a disagreement with your kids or spouse.

How Do You Measure the Success of a Show?

So, how do you measure a show? The ACRE wholesale show is over, and I have signed up to do the show again next year. All in all, I would say I had a good show. But how can you measure a show?

The most obvious answer is in the sales. Did you write enough orders to cover your expenses, and make some money? A mistake some artists make is measuring their sales against their booth fee, as if that is the only expense they have in doing the show. The booth fee might be the single largest expense, but it is not the only show expense. For a show that is out of town, you have travel expenses (airfare or mileage, hotel, meals, etc). There are promotional expenses associated with the show (mailings, handouts, press kit, etc.). There may be the cost of shipping your materials. You can be creative and frugal in how you spend your money in these areas, but you can’t do a show without some additional expenses. And certainly don’t forget the cost of producing the product to fill the order (materials, labor, packaging). The booth fee is just one part of your sales expenses. Measuring your sales against only one aspect of your costs can be an expensive mistake.

But what are some other ways to measure the outcome? Here are 5 that I have come up with:

1. For a wholesale show, how many new accounts did you get? In wholesale you can’t measure the show solely by the orders written at the show. A good account will be re-ordering product from you again and again. Over and over, when I would write up an order for a new account this week, it was clear that people were looking for artists and work they could represent over the long haul, not just a one-time order. So that order for a few hundred dollars may be much, much more than that, over time.

2. What other benefits came from the show? Shows are a chance for your work to get exposure. At the ACRE show there were quite a few press people present. I brought just over a dozen press kits to the show, and left them in the show office on set-up day. When I went back to pick them remainders up at the end of the show, eleven had been taken. Not all will end up generating publicity. The half a day spent putting these together was time well invested. I already know about two publications that are interested in featuring my work. That is exposure I could not otherwise afford.

3. Post show sales. Whether it is a retail show or a wholesale show, post show sales are not uncommon. At one show last summer two different people contacted me about purchasing gifts for people who had seen my work at the show.
All those postcards or business cards that get handed out, can mean sales in the long term. I highly recommend having an image of your work on your business cards. Vista Print will print a picture on one side, and your contact info on the other. They are great looking, and better reminders of who you are than just your name and website.

4. Follow-up. The show is not over when the lights are switched off and you start packing up your work. I have cards from galleries who stopped in my booth and were interested in my work, but did not get back to see me during the show. These people are good prospects for potential future sales. Following up with a postcard or phone call in the next few weeks will keep my work in their minds. Certainly not all of them will end up buying my work, and I might even gain a few accounts without lifting a finger. But it never hurts to make that extra effort.

5. Serendipity. I often find myself scouting a show for work for a few of the local galleries that carry my work. Sometimes I see something in another artist’s work that makes me think it would be a good fit for one or more of the galleries I know. I will pass that information along, and perhaps that artist will gain a new account, maybe never knowing why that happened.

I am sure there are more measures of a show…like how well was the show managed? Was it a good fit for your work? Do the location and timing work out for you?

After you get back from a show, take a few minutes to think about the show. What were the high points, and what needs improvement? Can those improvement be made by you, or do they require someone or something else to change? If they require your effort, begin to work toward those changes. If it depends on others to change, you need to decide how critical those issues are, or if you can adapt. Not every show is a good fit for us or our work. And expecting others to change to meet our needs is often a fruitless exercise. It happens, but we can't count on it.

Be sure to celebrate the high points. Without relishing our successes from time to time, there is little point in making the effort. And, give yourself a day off to recover. Shows are draining on many levels, and you may need a day to just relax before you dive right back into the studio. This is advice I have had trouble following in the past, but followed this time. A day spent with my kids was just what I needed.

Show Post Mortem

The show is over. The car is unpacked. And I have shifted gears already to focus on the next show....ACRE in Las Vegas at the end of the month. I still want to say next month....but no....I will be boarding the plane for Las Vegas on the 29th. So there is lots and lots of work to be done.
But back to Craft Boston. Inquiring minds want to know....how did it go??? Am I right?! Well, it was mixed. On a strictly financial level, I am glad I did not have the expense of a hotel. Many artists were spending $100 to $200 per night to stay in a hotel. That means anywhere from $400 to $1000 of additional cost to be there, plus...meals, parking, etc. The general consensus seemed to be that the sales were slow. A gallery owner that I work with locally made it to my booth late on Sunday, and they said there were very few people who reported a good show.
But, I did sell more vessels here than I have at any single show before. Not as many as I hoped, but more than before. This show is also incredible for exposure. Roaming the aisles of the show are more collectors than the average show. The curator of the Fuller Craft Museum, Gretchen Keyworth, was everywhere on Thursday and Friday. And of course the staff of The Society for Arts and Crafts, who sponsored the show. I got to meet and befriend so many wonderful talented artists.
The response to my work was wonderful. Some people walk right past, of course. But those people who do enter my booth space often seemed to be drawn in. A cross between a smile and a curious expression on their faces. Is life so bad if your work makes people smile and want to come touch it?
I do not believe that it has much at all to do with the Society for Arts and Crafts efforts that the show was a slow one for many. They may want to rethink how the energy of the show is distributed. There is a big center aisle as you come in the door, and many of the activities centered around that area. It was the place to be. But, I think the softness in sales has to do more with a general softness in the market for craft, and a continued uneasiness that has existed ever since 9/11. We are at war. As much as our president wants us to go shop, there is much to be worried about. The housing market is in a slump. Gas prices are double to triple what they were when he entered office. Jobs are being outsourced overseas. Well paying, middle class jobs. I am not trying to get political here. But these things do affect people's willingness to spend. If you are not feeling optimistic about the world, is buying craft the type of spontaneous action we are likely to take?
All in all, I was happy to have done the show. It was not the best show I have done financially, nor the worst. But it was one of the best shows I have done in terms of the artists who were there, and the overall effort put forth by the organizers to make it a great show. Would I do it again? I guess that depends in part on if they will have me back!
I will be back to pricing in my next post, so stay tuned...

New Article

I sent my husband to the store last night on the way home from work. Not for milk or bread or any of the usual things. No. This time I wanted him to pick up the latest copy of Belle Armoire Jewelry.












I had one of those days yesterday that was spent mostly of it in the car with the kids. I never left town, but I also never seemed to be far from the car! One daughter was having a tough day, which meant she was taking it out on me. I needed something to get me out of my funk. I knew the new issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry was coming out, and I was supposed to have an article in it. I had not recieved my copy yet, so I was not absolutely certain. One of the things you learn about having articles published, is that like anything in life, things do not always go according to plan. So I was anxiously checking the mailbox looking to see if a copy was there.

My husband can be such a sweetheart about these things. Not only did he go to the store to get me a copy, he checked the website for the magazine to see where they sold it, and called to make sure they had it. They reserved a copy for him. And when he got there he found my article and showed it to the person in the store. She proceeded to gush over the article, and show everyone else in the store. Can you see my cheeks and neck reddening??

I was thrilled to see the article and the beautiful photography. And, I was also happy to see that 13 (I counted!) of the pieces/articles in the magazine included polymer clay and/or silver clay, the two media I use. Both media are infants in the world of art/craft. Neither has been around long enough to have anything really approaching a "tradition". But for me, that is part of the appeal I suppose. There are far less rules and standards. Experimentation is everywhere, and the creative energy is contagious. Both communities share readily as they learn and grow with the material. I suppose it can be dangerous as well, because it is easy to think about something else that could be tried out.

If you enjoy making or collecting jewelry, this is a great magazine. The photography is beautiful. The paper is nice heavy quality stock. And the work is inspiring. I will be spending many hours leafing through the magazine and taking in the creative energy.

But not for at least a few days. Remember the mailing list post. I have to get my mailing list in for that wholesale show. And the photography for the postcards. Deadlines are coming up for several applications. And I just got my shipment of silver clay so I can get back to work on a new idea...... Bye for now. I have a daughter to get off to school, and work to do.

Getting the Word Out

If you have ever taken a class in marketing, one of the first things you are likely to learn about is the 4 "P's".....Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. Each aspect is important to being successful in the marketplace. Let's assume that you have a product, and you have a price for your product....now you need to let the world know about you and your product.....Promotion.

Advertising, promotion, "guerilla marketing" or creating "buzz" are all ways to promote your product. This is a Primer of sorts about each of these alternatives, and the pros and cons.

Advertising: This is when you pay for an ad. The ad could be in a magazine, newspaper, show guide, or on the web. While there are often constraints with any place you decide to place your ad, you are paying for the space, so you have more control. Control over any images used, size, text, content, etc. But it does cost money. Anywhere from $50 or so for a small ad in a show guide, to thousands of dollars in high end magazines geared toward the collector market.

But to some extent you get what you pay for. There is no guarantee that anyone will read that ad in the show guide, or that it will have any life beyond the show. A well produced magazine will have higher quality paper, printing, and a longer shelf life. It may be the kind of magazine that is found in the waiting room of a doctor or an auto dealer. But that high end magazine ad may well be out of the reach of many artists. Resourceful artists have been known to get help in the cost of those ads. They may ask several galleries who represent their work to chip in for the cost of the ad. Their gallery name appears in the ad, and they get exposure for their gallery and any cachet that the artist brings.

But advertising is something that can't be a one-shot deal. You need to have repetition in the ad before you will see any significant results from it. The rule of thumb is that you need to run an ad at least three times before you can judge the results. Most of my advertising dollars go to The Buyer's Guide produced by Wholesalecrafts.com, and in advertising on their site. After two years on the site, and a more consistent effort in this area, I am seeing a difference.

Let's say that you are still in the early stages of your business, and don't have much money available to spend on any advertising. This is where promotion comes in. I like to think of this as the "free" advertising. Promotion is the press releases, the articles or pictures submitted to magazines, the contests, etc. The cost is your time and effort in pursuing these opportunities. There are no guarantees of return for this effort. You may enter a contest, submit a press release, or send pictures for the gallery section of a magazine. This does not mean that your work will be accepted. You give up the control that you have with an ad. But you may gain some credibility. Even if a newspaper or magazine uses every word of your press release, completely unaltered, there is the perception that editorial content....articles, etc....are less biased than an ad.

Promotion can be a win-win. Magazines are in continual need of content. 4, 6 or 12 issues a year. 8 to 20 articles in an issue. Local newspapers have less reporters on staff these days, and are often looking for articles about local people. You are helping them find material to fill that constant void. But you need to make sure your work is a good fit for the magazine or newspaper. Each publication has different standards for submissions. They can often be found on their website. And the pay-off is often not immediate. But over time, it is one way to build your exposure, and credibility.

Competitions are another great way to build your exposure and credibility. Win an award in a competition, and now you are an "award winning" artist. Lists of competions can be found in many magazines including The Crafts Report. There are an endless stream of books that are being published in the world of craft. They will often include a gallery section. Lark Books for one, has a place on their website where you can see what types of submissions they need for upcoming books. You risk rejection in each case, but the potential rewards are great.

Finally there is the guerilla marketing or buzz factor. This is the more organic type of marketing. It can be a blog where you post your latest work, or about your upcoming shows. Or it can be networking with other artists. This takes time, and effort, and without some sincerity in your message, is likely to fall flat.

I am someone who loves to share finds. Good or bad, if I learn about some new product or service that I really liked or absolutely detested, the people in my life are likely to learn about it. Some companies are trying to build on this in a more formal way. There are Bzzz Agents, or guerilla marketers and You Tube. I had joined Bzzz Agents because I thought it would be fun to do, and a natural fit with who I am. Turns out, for me, you can't force something like that. I did not Love or Hate any of the products I tried out, so creating buzz felt artificial to me. I am a flunk out of a Bzzz Agent. But I am opinionated, so this blog, or on-line forums are a great way for me to share my opinions and thoughts, and perhaps help people learn about my work.

Do you have plans for Promotion for your business? If not, now is a good time to start thinking about where and how you can get the word out about the gorgeous work you are creating.

Thinking outside the Photo Box

Images are everything in this business. Having pictures that can clearly show off your work is essential. Whether it is for jurying into shows, for postcards, magazine or book submissions, line sheets....you need good pictures of your work.

Hiring a professional is the ideal solution. They know what they are doing. As with any service, getting recommendations is best. And one source is books and magazines. If a professional photographer took the pictures, they will have a photo credit.

But, if you are like me, and starting out, the cost of getting your work professionally photographed could be prohibitive. It is not unusual to pay $50 to $75 per final shot. A good photographer is worth that and more. I just don't have it in my budget right now.

Sometimes "do it yourself" is the only solution. With time, patience, and good equipment, you can get a decent result. But it does take practice, and ideally, you will invest in the right equipment. If you are going to do your own photography, I strongly recommend going to www.tabletopstudios.com and looking at their photo booth set-ups. They are worth every penny. Be smart. Get the package deal. It may seem like a lot of money, but you will ultimately want it. I did it bit-by-bit, and wish over and over again that I had just bought the set-up right from the get go.

The photo booth set-up they sell is a has pop-up nylon cube, lights, gradient paper, and in some packages stands or specialty lights. The lights are full spectrum, long-life, low heat. The booth diffuses the light so you don't get any harsh shadows. And the gradient is what really makes your work stand out.

I started out with a blue gradient paper. Nature is a big influence in my work, and I associated blue with water and sky. When I looked at my pictures, that is what came to my mind. But it sometimes did not provide enough contrast to the work. Or it would sometimes look just "too" blue. Now when I look at some of those pictures, I want to turn the blue down.

Eventually I decided to try a gray background. I loved the way it worked with my vessels and with a larger piece of jewelry. I got that nice gradient, giving depth to the picture, and the colors popped against the gray. But when it came to shooting smaller pieces of jewelry, I was not so pleased. They would sit on the front end of the cube, and you did not see that dark gray color. It almost looked like a dirty white background. Not the look I was going for.

Yesterday I was down in the basement shooting pictures, and suddenly it dawned on me. Why did I set those small items down on the light colored portion of the paper? Was there a rule? If there was, who was going to enforce it? I put the paper in the larger cube, laying it flat, and pulled it forward. Set the piece of jewelry right where I wanted it on the gradient paper, and voila! I was getting the results I wanted. The black cord and edge of the piece disappear a bit, but the part of my work that most of my energy is focused on, the drawings, and layering over the drawings, comes to the forefront.

Being creative outside of the studio is as important as in it. In this case thinking outside of the photo box was called for. Now I have lots of pictures to retake. But I think I will be happier with the end result.

Let the Jury Decide

Too often, artists jury themselves out of shows or competitions. They see a show they would love to do. Or a competition they would love to enter. But then the self-doubt begins to take over. Those nasty little voices that many of us carry around with us. “Are you crazy?" "You’ll never get in." "They won’t like your work." "You’re not good enough.”

Who says so?

Until you are on the jury, let the jury do that work. If you want to try and get into a show, or enter a competition, go ahead. Do it. You may not get in. I have one show I enter every year. And each time, I end up on the wait list. Purgatory. Not good enough to get in, but almost….But I keep trying. Eventually I may cross that line.

Enter that contest. It will push you to go further in your work. You will look at it with more scrutiny, and maybe learn something that you normally would overlook. And who knows, you might just win a prize, or receive recognition for your work.

Submit your work to that magazine. They have 6 to 12 issues to produce every year. Each issue has 15 to 20 articles. Who is to say that your work is not good enough? Let the editor decide that.

Your job is to get into the studio and do the very best work that you can. And continue to try and make your work better. To explore the boundaries of where you can go with your work. And then to put your work out there. Let others see and appreciate what you have created. You might experience rejection. Sure. But you might just be jumping up and down with joy when you get that email or letter that says “You’re in.” If you’re like me, you’ll get both! Go ahead. Take a chance.