Packing it up

Mom and I did our last craft fair of the season this past weekend. Phew! What a crazy crafty world it is out there. Usually Christmas seems to sneak up on me every year. But this year I knew it was coming. At the craft fairs I was already hearing Christmas music, watching people shop for Christmas presents and it really helped me appreciate the hustle and bustle I usually avoid.

Here are some pics of our booths from the last show. We've learned a lot and have some new ideas for the way to find success at craft fairs in the future. Thanks to our "muscle" (or husbands) who helped us lug all of our stuff, pack and unpack every weekend and to our friends and co-workers who came out to support us.

And that's it for holiday craft fairs this year! We're packing it up....see you in 2010!

Sugarloaf Craft Fair 2009!

I had the privelege of a mother-daughter date to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival last weekend. Sugarloaf is a HUGE juried fair with hundreds of vendors and activities. We haven't made the trip in a while but now that my mom and I have been delving into the craft fair world we decided to check out the BIG one!

Of course there was amazing amounts of jewelry, photography, woodworking, clothing, and art. The best part for us was the time we had together and talking to people that we look up to in the business. Mom got to talk to one of the 5th generation owners of Pretty Baby Soaps. And I got to see one of my favorite artists, Eric Sturtevant!

It was great seeing them do their thing and also encourage our efforts in the business. Eric mentioned and I agree that finding a mentor is key. It is wonderful when artists who are succeeding are willing to share their story and their advice with us...the confused yet hopeful crowd who is just starting out. One theme remains clear....this is really HARD work!

5 Lessons I learned from Craft Fairs

It IS the season of crafty goodness. Fall here isn't complete without hayrides, hot cider, hot chocolate, pumpkins, apple everything and tons and tons of crafty goodness. I have been busy trying to balance normal life with crafty life and taking part in the crazy pre-Christmas festival season. I have a lot of respect for people who do this year round, all the time. I don't think I'm cut out to be a lifer but here's a little snapshot of what I've experienced so far.

If you wanna make it in the craft world.....

1) You have to draw people in....
Dozens of doggies in costume and competing for various puppy prizes at the Pumpkins and Pooches Festival....a must see for animal lovers.

2) You have to stand out from the crowd, you need to have an original idea...
This lovely local man started making reindeer from leftover wood a couple of years ago, he shows up with a truckload of little Rudolph's and often goes home with an empty truckload....even I couldn't resist having one of my own after staring at the little guy all day.

3) You have to be professional....your booth and your work should look like a million bucks but your prices have to make people feel like they're getting a deal.
Evelyn Villegas is a very talented woman who sells Peruvian jewelry, some of which is intricately woven together in the technique of her ancestors. Her prices were so amazing, I dropped a bunch of money on Christmas presents right there.

4) You have to be kind to your fellow crafter. It's amazing how many wonderful people I've met just by sitting next to them during a long festival day. Watching each other's booths, lending supplies, swapping ideas for upcoming shows.....by the end of the day, you feel like you've made it through an ordeal together and become friends.
My favorite crafter to sit next to is of course my mom!

5) You have to be brave. It is not easy to let people touch, look at, comment on or pass by the things you've taken hours to make. It makes you just want to sit down and cry when the wind knocks over your carefully placed display. It certainly is not logical to get up early in the morning, lug all of your wares out to the car, travel to the fair site, set them up frantically and then take it all down and start over again another day. You have to be gutsy (or nutsy!) enough to do this without knowing the outcome. This is the hardest part for me as it is with all of life.

If I knew that doing something would bring great success, much joy and plenty of moula....of course I would do it. But most times we don't know for sure, we're just stepping out in faith. You can't get anywhere if you don't start somewhere. Keeping your eyes and ears open along the way. So many times I want to stop and figure out if something is worth my time, worth investing my heart in....will I waste money, will I waste time, will my heart get broken? I believe in making wise decisions but if I waited for the answer to all of these questions I would be unable to move. In the wise words of Bob Wiley from the movie What About Bob? all you need is one baby step at a time. "Baby steps to the elevator, baby steps get on the bus, baby steps down the aisle, baby steps..." Happy baby stepping!

Cards and Magnets...ooh la la!

I just added some great new crafty items to my shop! Check 'em out if you're interested in stationery and magnets. I'm still in the middle of craft fair season here. The hard part about being an artist/crafter is that every weekend I attend a craft fair I think I'm ready for the next one....but in between the fairs I'm making more art and of course want to bring the new things along! So I'm never ready! It's a lot of work but also a lot of fun. At the Scarecrow Festival a couple of weekends ago I met so many great families and amazing kids. One in particular kept coming back to visit me (if you're reading this...Hi Leyah!!!) and bringing people with her to exclaim over my work. To see kids spend their dollars on my prints because they love them so much certainly warms my heart. Now if only I could hire Leyah as my spokesperson on these crafting weekends so I could shop around myself! (Leyah? Wanna be an artists' apprentice?!)

We are enjoying fall in New England as everyone should with hayrides, apple crisp, walks in the leaves and head colds! If you're in the area come by Colchester green for the Pumpkins and Pooches fair this Sunday and visit me....or at least check out all the pooches in costume! Happy Autumn everyone!

When you stay up late....

you get no sleep but lots of things done! Working on lots of new things as the weather gets cooler and we head into fall. It seems that I'm not the only one that suddenly has a burst of energy and ideas around Autumn time. I'm not sure what it is about the season that makes you re-invent yourself. For us New Englanders, maybe it's the knowledge that winter is right around the corner and we have to kick it into high gear before we bunk down with our blankets and hot chocolate!

Finally, as promised, I'm close to finishing my Turtle Girls of Summer paintings. This is a sneak peek of them almost done. With a few finishing touches and a beautiful ribbon for them to hang on, they just might make their debut this weekend.

Also making their debut.....MAGNETS! Don't the turtles look great in glass! I'll be adding these to my Etsy shop, but I'm bringing them along to some great fall fairs coming up.

If you're in the area, stop by the Preston City Scarecrow Festival tomorrow (Saturday, the 19th) from 9 to 6pm. I've been before and was pleasantly surprised by how big this small town fair was! It's free to the public and there will be food, crafts, pumpkin painting, a moonbounce, a scarecrow competition.......fall fun for everyone! I'm looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!!!

Starving Artists Craft Fair 2009

Thought I'd show you a little taste of what life is like if you're one of those crazy people that does craft fairs. My first two-day, all weekend fair was on the muggiest, hottest weekend! Thank goodness we were in the shade and it didn't rain! My mom and I enjoyed talking to each other, some visits from friends and watching all of the hot people heading to the beach! It's a lot of work to prepare for these things. Lots of stuff to bring, setup to work out, packing and unpacking the car. It must run through every vendor's mind whether it's worth it or not. For me, I love to see the expression on people's faces. I love to hear their feedback. I loved being outside amidst my art, coming up with more and more ideas while I was sitting there. It's hard to put yourself out there and let others critique you or walk past you. But the sense of pride and happiness you feel when someone loves what you do and decides to take a piece of it home is priceless.





Oh! I almost forgot. At the fair I had a drawing for a free illustration. The big winner is April G! Hooray for you, April! I'll get in touch with you soon to work out an illustration just for you!!! Thanks for coming by!

Oh what a tangled web we weave...

when we strive to overachieve!

After a whirlwind driving tour of New England visiting family for Thanksgiving weekend we jumped headfirst into another busy week without taking a breath. Filled with work, doctor's appointments, work, driving to work, getting ready for another craft fair, driving home from work....well you get the picture. All I can say is, it's a good thing our dog can go 10, 11, sometimes 12 hours in between potty breaks (wow, that's awful) and that we have nothing really expensive to ruin when the cat realizes he's not getting enough attention.

So on the agenda for this weekend....I'll have some collages up starting tomorrow in The Lighthouse Voc-Ed Center Gallery. This is a first time opportunity for me. This exhibit will be up December 5th-29th showcasing various local artists. The open house is Friday the 5th from 12-7pm. Stop by if you have the chance, there's a lot of art to look at and you just might find a special Christmas present for someone!

This Saturday, Dec. 6th I will be at Fitch High School for their Holiday Craft Fair. Stop by if you're in the area!

I have some other surprises I've been working on that I hope will be ready soon! Stay tuned for more.....because I certainly don't know how to stop! I think I should go to bed now....yeah, that's what I'll do....