Bohemian Mermaid Palace

For my first long awaited story from my trip to Oaxaca, I want to share about one of the most wonderful adventures we had there. I haven't posted about my trip at all yet, which is kind of weird. But this trip had so many layers and moments... I've had trouble organizing it all into words. Not a problem I have very often. Ha. And there are other current distractions as we know. I'm starting with this experience because I gave one of these red pottery items to a friend, and due to social distancing I couldn't tell her the cool story that went along with it. So here it is! Ok quick intro, the whole reason I picked Oaxaca for my 50th birthday trip was for the art and crafts traditions there. Entire villages will focus on one craft, everyone does it and has for generations. It's all very down to basics, which I love. I also speak some spanish and have always wanted to visit Mexico. So when I saw an article about how you could go stay with native Zapotec famil...

How to Get Comfortable with Selling Your Artwork I wrote a little bit about this here: Make the Switch to a Business Mindset . But I want to go more in  depth about getting comfortable with selling what you make. I know it's different. You start out making for the sake of making, it's fun, you get good at it, people want more. Boom suddenly you have a little business. Now you have to get a bit more "businessy" and actually try to sell stuff. You don't want to be pushy or annoying or ask too much of anyone. I totally get it. But if you ARE in business, you just have to get over that. At least somewhat. Because you will have to "sell" your work, and the idea of it. I'm going to share how I overcame those feelings and gained a different perspective. What I did was work on a marketing plan . I found some kind of outline with questions that helped me fine tune what it is I am selling. And to whom. Going through that process helped me to...

Please. Artisans. Advertise Your Craft Shows! Well, it seems I am just writing things that get my attention at any given time. Ha. So far it's working for me. Write when the inspiration hits! So yeah, it's holiday show season right now. I thought this year, since I'm not vending at all (still weird to say out loud), I'd try to hit as many local craft fairs as possible. Just to check them out, see what's happening out there, since I don't usually do that when I'm working. Here's the problem. I just missed I think 3 craft fairs this past weekend because I didn't see ANY reminders on facebook. I am on fb a lot lately, I follow many many artists and local groups. What. The. F. Okay it's not all on the artists, the organizers need to be advertising their shows for sure and getting the word out. But you can't count on only them! It takes so little effort to do a few things yourself, and costs nothing. So I guess it's time for...

Taking Custom Orders - Keep it Simple This was on my mind today, as I saw a horror story in one of my embroidery groups. The stitcher had taken a custom order, and the customer fought payment every step of the way. So much back and forth and craziness, until this poor woman was just done with custom orders. It can be frustrating! You put a lot of extra thought, planning, supplies and work into a special order, only to spend days (maybe weeks!) playing email tag and trying to get paid. At some point you have to decide what your boundaries are, and stick to them. Figure out a process that works for you, and spell it out for your customers ahead of time. Everyone will be happy. I guess my general advice here is to make sure you are not doing a lot of extra work for free. A custom order should cost the customer more, not you. And also to keep the process as simple as you can . I'll outline some options in a moment, but overall you want to do this transaction with as...

Craft Fairs Need Feedback! Your Fear is Killing Them Ok I'm feeling frustrated right now, so I guess I'll rant a little bit. Just Idk, about how powerless fear can make us! And it's so easy to get fearful sometimes. Ugh, ok start from the beginning.  A concern I see expressed often in many artist groups I'm in, is how they *must* keep out the show promoters from these groups, so we can freely speak about our experiences at shows. I get that, I do. In my own groups, I have that rule as well. *Unless* it's an artist who is also involved in running a show. I feel like we can trust our own people, artist to artist, and I don't think I could regulate that very easily anyway. I've gotten some flack for it too.  But honestly, even though I understand the desire to feel comfortable expressing opinions freely, I don't worry too much about who's listening. Even if the organizers walked into my booth in person, I would absolutel...

The Ultimate Craft Fair Checklist As I finished up my last post about Your First Craft Show , I was looking around my fb groups for an opportunity to share it. I actually saw a lot of first timers asking for *specific* items they might need that maybe they hadn't thought of yet. I get it! I have said to put everything on your checklist. But of course you may want to know *exactly* what is on that list! So here I'll share my own checklist that I've used for years. As I've mentioned before, the checklist is maybe the most important thing you can use to prepare for your show. Because, if you're like me, you will be stressed and possibly overwhelmed by alllll the many details and items that you have to remember. Using a checklist will help you organize all those swirling thoughts and worries for you. At least mostly. And I'll bet you one crisp dollar bill that you will sleep a whole lot better when you have one.  I started using my own chec...

Your First Craft Show! Everything You Need to Know I am in a lot of different facebook groups for artists and festival vendors. In fact I run 2 of my own: West Coast Artists & Artisans , and Artisan Vendors of Humboldt County . Since I am a total craft show nerd, I soak up all the information posted there. Just like when I attend shows with my booth, I observe and listen to everything. I'm into it! Some of the groups focus on tips for making your booth better, or specifically selling at shows. So I love to chime in, and also take stock of what newer sellers are thinking about. It interests me and I'm always thinking of how I can help.  Very often I see someone say "Help! It's my first show coming up! What do I need to know??" Kind of cracks me up, because that is a huge question! They will get all kinds of answers, long and short. It's always a little chaotic because like, where do you even start? So I thought I'd make a post tha...

  Selling at Craft Shows Has Been Great for My Depression Here is something I've been thinking about lately, esp since I've been on craft show break now for about a year. Wow that's trippy to say out loud, but more on that another time. It's all great actually, just unexpected. Suddenly I felt like it was time for a break, didn't see it coming. And I'm not sure when I'll go back, so there's a lot of pondering the path of my life right now. I guess I should start with the fact that I've struggled with depression most of my life. I consider myself a functional depressive. Like I can mostly do everything I need to do in the grande scheme of things, but day to day I sometimes can barely function at all.  I use many coping techniques,  but mainly I set up everything in my life with strong boundaries. Those boundaries help me keep my life really mellow and drama free, and as much as possible stress free as well. Just a way to limit si...

Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival - Winthrop, WA Craft Shows, Art Fairs, and Street Festivals: What's the Difference? My last post about the hierarchy of art & craft stimulated a bit of discussion in some of my fb arts groups. Something I realized reading through it, is that some people have a strict idea of what a venue will be like according to its name. Some artists put a lot of credit and credibility on an event named Art Fair or Fine Art & Craft show. Likewise, some of them have a very specific idea of what a Craft Show is or is not. They have a vision in their minds of what is for sale at a craft show, as if it's always the same. It's not. At all.  I think it's really strange. Because unless you live under a gallery rock, you have to know there is a VERY broad range of shows out there. They are named to be descriptive to their audience yes, but there is no master checklist for naming a show Art or Craft or Fair or Festival or wh...

The Judgement of Art vs Craft is Useless Ah, I have been wanting to write this for a long time. The discussion around Art vs Craft has been happening as long as I can remember. Especially in art school, I heard this talked about a million times. What is art? The conclusion I came to then was that this debate is futile, similar to talking religion. Everyone has a different view, and none of them are wrong. It's a debate you cannot win, and so has always frustrated me. I just don't participate, unless asked directly.  But recently I saw a thread in an artist group I'm in. It's a national group on Facebook called Art Fair Reviews. Many people in that group have very high regard for what they do, and lesser regard for those they consider to be... lesser. The discussion was so arrogant and gross, I had to leave. But I've seen it a so often. And in my own group, West Coast Artists and Artisans , I have struggled with this same tendency toward something I ...