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TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 16 - 4pm ET

Around just about as long as the Internet email marketing has been pooh-poohed as "old school" and no longer relevant. Our guests Mckenna Hallett and Scott Fox beg to differ.

In 1992, Mckenna launched her own business selling jewelry. Living in Hawaii she had to figure out how to reach a much wider audience. She turned to the fledgling Internet, built a website and developed an email marketing campaign. Since then Mckenna has sold more than 40,000 pieces of jewelry to more than 200 shops. Today she continues to sell steadily to over 50 shops and galleries across the nation. 

Best-selling author, Scott Fox was in Silicon Valley as the Internet was exploding into new opportunities. Instead of pursuing his intended law career he became engaged in strategizing on how to capitalize on the new technology, starting and consulting in many e-business start ups. Today he hosts a popular online business training forum, podcasts about online business opportunities, consults on new online businesses and coaches entrepreneurs worldwide.

They are both passionate about email marketing and see it as the best way to reach others - in their inboxes. They share a commitment to helping others use the power of the Internet to design successful lives. 

We talk about:

• building and growing your email list
• integrating your website with your email marketing
• ways to manage your list and possible providers
• best practices in reaching your audience
• the top reasons for using email marketing 
• email vs Facebook and other social media
• optimizing for mobile

OK!! So maybe it wasn't the perfect show. The perfect show would pay us to be there because of all the money artists generate by coming. That's not going to happen any time soon. However, there were so many things to like about this show that it is as close to being perfect, in 2014, as a show can get. I complain a lot that shows are not like they were in the 1980's and 90's. Most of you don't know what that means because you started doing shows after 2000.

The whole time during this show, I thought we had time warped back to the '90's and not just because sales were good. There was so much to like about this show, it should be the model for all shows. I think Cindy Lerick is the best director in the country and all shows, especially the mega shows, should hire Cindy as a consultant to fix their shows. More on that later.

The SLAF is a 3 day show. Setup starts at 11 AM on Friday. The show runs from 5 PM to 10 on Friday, 10-10 on Saturday, and 11-5 on Sunday. You have to register before you can start setting up. You can register Thursday evening or Friday morning. A lot of people registered Thursday and that turned out to be a good idea.

It pays to show up the day before, at this show, and get well rested for Friday because it can be hot and humid, in Clayton in September and setup can lead right into the show start. You want to be fresh for opening. Each 10' x 10' booth has 2 feet between each booth, and two feet behind for easy access to storage. This also creates a stress free, casual, environment that puts us in a really good mood.

Contrast that with Madison where they pack people in with no space between booths and a constant subtle tension the whole weekend. Setup and take down is really easy. You can drive right up to your booth. Booths are back to back in the middle and you park against the curb leaving the middle free for vehicles to come in.

Every section has its own entrance, so, there are no bottlenecks. Also, they leave it up to artists to work it out. So, there are no problems. We do this a lot and know what to do. I hate the shows that control setup. It seems that if we are allowed to manage things, setup takes 2 hours and there are no problems. If they control things, it takes all day to get in and out. Also, the police are extremely friendly and relaxed. At lot of shows, the police act like they are doing us a favor and treat us like the street people we really are.

The show opened at 5 PM and the serious buyers came out. There was nothing for the first hour, as people perused the show and then I started selling. I almost couldn't keep up with selling and wrapping, at the same time. I couldn't believe it. That hadn't happened since before 2000.

And then... we got a text message that they were closing the show at 7 PM. NOOOOOOO!!! There was a storm coming in. Unfortunately, it only lasted for 5 minutes and it was mostly huge gusts of wind. To be fair, the radar looked ominous and there was thunder and lightning.

The worst part missed us and why take a chance. So, the decision was the correct one. Three booths blew over. This is a show where every booth was properly weighted, so, it wasn't as if the booths that got destroyed were the $200 Costco specials. I know one booth was a Light Dome.

So, Friday ended 3 hours early. Too bad. Some of the veterans, who live in St Louis, mentioned that the Friday night people only come on Friday night. So, those sales were lost. The weather was good on Saturday and great on Sunday. My sales were good on Saturday, very steady, and great on Sunday, one after another. $200-$225 is my sweet spot.

Overall, my sales were very good, not great though. I don't want anyone congratulating me for selling like "gangbusters." It wasn't like that. However, if I had a full Friday night, I might have had a great show. The significant thing, here, is that everyone had a solid show. I know that some people had great 5 figure totals but most people had solid 4 figures. Most shows that I do have a few people who do great and the rest of us barely make expenses.

Here, everyone made money.

Why do I consider this show to be so great? It isn't about the money even though it was, by far, my best show and a lot of other artist's best show financially. There are so many things that make this show the best show in the country. We can start with the fact that they limit the number of artists to 150 and that 1 in 10 get in. This insures that the quality of the work is good and that, in turn, brings out the real buyers.

There are no reproductions allowed. Everything must be made by the artist and they have quality control people who walk the show to make sure this is adhered to. I didn't see one S on a Stick go by me. Do you know how frustrating that is when it seems that everyone who walks by me has SOS? Broad Ripple had 5 SOS sellers. I will never go back to that show again. My customers do not buy SOS. It really feels good knowing that everyone who comes into my booth or even passes by, is a potential customer.

Another thing that makes this show great is that people thanked me for coming and hope that I come back next year. Do you hear that Cindy? This only happens at one other show and that is Smoky River in Salina, KS. The people who attend this show love it. They are proud of the fact that the SLAF attracts really good artists and they have a lot of quality choices.

Another reason why this show is so successful is because it hasn't forgotten what has made shows so good. It's still about the artists and the art. There are no beer hawkers, no stilt walkers, no loud music, no miles of unhealthy food booths, etc. There are some sponsor booths but they are limited. Cindy told me they turned away plenty of sponsors who didn't fit the image. Think about that one.

Parking is free and plentiful on the street. I did see parking for $5. Contrast with the money grubbers in some cities who charge $15 and up per day. And, the show is free. I guess when you don't have to pay for name brand music and other crap that passes for entertainment, you don't have to charge a gate fee and you get plenty of sponsors knocking on your door to underwrite your show because when art is the main focus, the show attracts people who contribute to the economy, people who may buy their products.

Any show director reading this should read this two or three times. It's the thing that makes this show great and is the same thing that is killing your show.

There are many other things that make this show great that I left out like the Artists Showcase, where you send a piece and it is on display in a gallery setting weeks before the show with directions to your booth. And, the great staff that works tirelessly to make the experience great, like Yehuda, who has to deal with all of us, making sure all the paperwork gets in on time. I want to publicly thank Yehuda for his time and effort.

Earlier, I mentioned that Cindy Lerick was the best show director in the country. She is ultimately responsible for all the policies that I mentioned that makes this show great. She's the one who keeps the quality of the art at a high level. She's the one who makes sure there are not too many sponsor booths and their placement. She's the one who sets the tone for this show, the one who makes this the classy event that it is.

I talked to her at length because I knew I was going to write this review and I wanted to know some things. And, btw, she will take the time to talk to any artist, not just at the show, but, during the year. Unlike other directors, she is available and accessible. I asked one simple question: Does the SLAF make money or do they lose money? After all, some shows, and we all know who they are, charge a gate fee, have up to 450 artists with a substantial booth fee, sponsors who pay to have the prime spots and they still lose money. Cindy tells me they make money.

I guess spending all that money to be a mega show doesn't pay off. I believe if you really want to be successful then go back to the roots of your show and make the art and the artists your focus. I think you should hire Cindy to consult with you to make that happen. She's proven she has the winning formula. While you're at it, bring me in, also. We can work as a team. I've done this long enough and have the training to help you make your show a success, like it once was.

January 24 & 25, 2015 
Key West, Florida
Whitehead and Caroline Streets
10am-5pm daily
100+ Artists

The Key West Craft Show, which attracts buyers from locals, cruise boats and tourists, was rated by Sunshine Artists in the top 100 shows, most recently at #45.  The 2014 show had attendance estimated over 25,000 visitors.  This show is popular with locals and tourists alike and only one block from popular Duval Street.

Since this is our 30th annual we have planned a special advertising section in a local paper that will include a two page spread with artist names and maps sponsored by local businesses.  

This is a two day juried outdoor craft festival.  This nationally recognized festival brings over 100 fine and skilled craft artists to this beautiful historic area of Key West.  Exhibitors set up along Whitehead Street from Greene Street to Eaton, and on Caroline Street through the famous Presidential Gates into the beautiful Truman Annex.  

Set among historical attractions such as Audubon House, the Little White House and Mel Fisher Museum, the City of Key West closes two blocks of Whitehead Street and another block of Caroline Street to vehicle traffic for the show.  

Visitors can leisurely browse the beautiful displays of pottery, fabric, glass, wood, jewelry and other colorful handmade works by the selected artists.

The show, in its 30th year, is sponsored by the Key West Art Center and was created to complement the Old Island Days Art Festival held in February.  

2015 application: http://www.keywestartcenter.com/2015%20Craft%20Application.pdf
2015 Prospectus: http://www.keywestartcenter.com/2015%20Craft%20prospectus.pdf

This show is run by the Recreation Department under Lynette Santurro's supervision. (It is a Zapp show)

At one time I considered this one of the best one-day shows in the midwest, especially in September.

Times have changed.  It is still a good show, a little too craftsey, but not numero uno anymore.

The show is held on a big recreation field in Upper Arlington, which is a very monied northwest suburb of Columbus.  Think Jack Nicklaus.  He is from Dublin which is just around the corner.

Ohio State is also, just around the corner.  You have great homes around the area, many filled with young to middle-agers-- a welcome demographic for artists.

A lot of these folks won't bother going to the downtown June show and instead, will gladly walk two blocks from their houses to buy art here.

I have done this show for many years since the 1980's.  I have a great following here which never hurts to have.

In the old days, one could do $2K by lunch and be at $3K at show end.

You can set up leisurely, the day before, on Sunday.  Or, wait til Monday morn and do it then.  About 50% do it one way or the other.

Most have ample storage space behind, usually some hanging space on one side.

They feed you a breakfast and also a bagged lunch--sandwich, cookie and ice water.

They have a very zealous fire department which checks to see if artists booths are properly staked down in to ground.  No weights allowed.

So here is the only rub.

Too many booths, almost 225, for too few high end buyers.  Low end price points do best here. I only saw about five large framed pieces go out of here--one of them was mine.

You don't see a lot of pros from the circuit do it anymore--sales are not there for them--they will wait for the June show. In the old days I would see photographers like John Galbo and Luciano--those were the days.

There is a lot of loving hands jewelry and pottery in the show.  A majority of artists are from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.

I always stay at a Red Roof Inn, nearby on the river--get it on the CLC card for under $40.

I would say it is a worthwhile bet to do if you live within 6 hours of it and only want to stay one night in a hotel.

I will always go back and do it again so I can be beside Peter, the Mennonite broom-maker.  The committee takes friendly bets on what time he will sell out of his stock, usually before 3 PM.  This year he had a lot of brooms leftover, but he also brought 400 more than usual. Even Mennonites can dream large.

We have been looking for a show in November to fill our schedule, and there is a show on Zapplication titled The Highland Art and Craft Show, in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.  The primary jury deadline has passed, however the application indicates they will accept applications for several more weeks.

Have you ever done this event?  What has been your experience.  I recognize the experience can vary drastically dependent on what you sell.  I hand dye silk, and make funky fiber pieces.  My husband makes cold processed soap.    If you have done the show, would you do it again?  Have any recommendations?  I value all feedback!!!!

(Its a hike from Cleveland Ohio to this Philadelphia suburb, so i am trying to really do some research before i commit to this.)

I watched a documentary on an artist whose work sells for $65,000 - over $250,000 each.

I have seen his work before and it is interesting and really cool... I've always been so impressed with his skill, and the amazing amount of detail.

His work sells to collectors and museums.

I was really digging it until I saw the part where he is in China painting. They showed his a crew of like 10 Chinese painters doing all the backgrounds and the clothes.Wait, what?

The artist picks his models, he has someone else do the photography [he does art direction], imports his background images from wallpaper and/or other patterns. I watched as someone else put it all together in photoshop.

So how does he get the image on canvas? It looks like he uses a projector [!!!] and/or prints the images on canvas or fabric from photoshop.

Now I feel like I just found out my parents didn't really send my pet duck Donald to a "farm" after he broke his leg.

You know, there is that constant "artist" dialog about how using a projector is "cheating" - using any of sort of tool...except the artists that are making the most money in the WORLD all seem to use one, and a crew of painters, sculptors, fabricators.

So are the collectors really buying "his" original work or is it just his concept?

I work so hard, with my hands in and on everything. Why aren't my pieces selling for $250,000?

Hi my name is Kara and well I have slowly tried to enter this site and learn some things about art fairs, including whether I want to do them. I have been preparing myself to do them by going to any fair in my area for the last few years. I am just concerned to be honest. Maybe someone out there can direct me down the right rabbit hole cause I'm not making much progress on my own.

I am a very sensitive person, and to be quite honest it makes me sick to my stomach when people are rude to me. If it makes me somehow not qualified to do shows, that very well might be true. But for now, since I have created work to be shown, I still need to earn some kind of wage. I keep coming up against remarks as opposed to helpful information. What I am asking for is helpful information. I hope I can get that here.

For some reason many people seem to be successful in the fairs, if there are some magic recipes please share. My intent in life was always to do fine art and sell it, but I kept changing directions when I came against a wall. Generally I would get a sense I was choosing an art I enjoyed but didn't want to have solely as what I was known for, so I would move on.

I found moving on as an unfortunate repeated offense until I found clay and sculpture. I had to work on my talent, then I had to work on a plan. Well, I am as broke as they get so I don't have room for guess work. When it comes to fairs and getting started, that seems to be just how it is, guessing. I have lost many years running in a circle. Anyone who has known me, knows how hard I have tried but, I just don't understand how to make a living at being an fine artist. There is some little piece of information in my head that is missing, I just know it, but I can't seem to figure it out.

Here are my concerns

1. I am a victim of two very violent crimes, because of this I have panic attacks. I have to have someone with me, so I feel safe. Is there a problem or does it generally cost more , if I have someone with me at all times? are there rules I should know?

2. I can't sell my work cheep and then slowly raise my prices as I get known. I need to be in shows where the buyers purchases are approximately $2000.00 not $200.00.  I have been told that I need to be in little shows before I can be in big shows. Not that I know what a big show is.

3. I won't be able to travel a lot due to the chances of breaking my sculptures, they are truly fragile.

4. If you were going to suggest a show in all of the states, where where higher price art sells, and you are accepted on the quality of your piece not how well you are known, what show would you suggest?

5. Are any indoor shows in the states that meet these criteria that you know of.

I realize these are confuse questions, but I am stressed. I'm beginning to feel like I have been going down the wrong rabbit hole again.

We were excited to get in to this fair because we believed the reviews that it was truly a fine art fair. It is not. 

Although the show is well run and people really did their best to be helpful, the prevalence of booths filled with inexpensive craft items, especially in our row, hurt our ability to sell more expensive one-of-a-kind glass art. 

Positives about the show? Helpful staff, very good entertainment on main stage [only once was the volume enough to interfere with conversations with potential customers], a beautiful setting, easy loading, and a great value on a cooperating hotel. The promotional campaign is very strong and brings lots of people, as do the main stage acts, which seem to attract the families and friends of the local performers. And no dogs are allowed in the park during the show, which seems to invite more attention to booths.

Negatives? If we were the only ones to have poor sales, I would assume it was our work and that we were a mismatch. We talked with lots of artists with similar price points, however, and only one was having a successful show. When we spoke with artists who had been there before [with one notable exception], their sales were down. We're not knocking crafters -- our neighbors could not have been nicer. We just think that if we had been in a row full of higher-priced items, we might have done better. People spent time in our booth looking at our work, but our sales were abysmal, which has not been as true at other shows. Another negative: the hours are unnecessarily long: Friday night 4-7:30, Saturday 9-7, and Sunday 9-4. 

We did have a fierce storm on Friday night, and the staff and fire and police departments were attentive and helpful about closing the show down early. That didn't necessarily help sales, and the ground was damp all weekend, but there were crowds there nonetheless. 

We can't help but wonder if this show is living on its past reputation. Apparently it once was a first-rate fine art show, but now they seem to be adding a fair number of craft booths.

Suggestion: If you choose to do this show, ask for a booth in the main upper section, above the sidewalk. That had the best array of fine art and heavy foot traffic.

Ok, I am going to draw a lot of ire with this one, but I just have to.  Unless I am completely insane, you must dress for the event if you want to succeed.  If I were shopping for Art, Jewelry, or anything of quality, I don't want to buy it from an artist/craftsperson that looks like they got dressed in the dark in clothes that have been slept in.  You are not going to the beach, you are trying to pry hundreds of dollars out of my wallet.  If the average shopper is better dressed than you are, that should be a clue.  I won't listen to "It's hot", "It's cold", or anything like that.  The only appropriate T-Shirt is an event t-shirt from that event.  Men - buy a polo.  Wear solid color, non-faded shorts.  Ladies - there are tons of loose fitting, cool shirts.  Shorts need to be modest.  

DENIM SHOULD BE OUTLAWED!  Cleavage is not needed. Flip Flops are bad - and if you are not sitting all day, which is a good way to miss sales, your feet will kill you by end of day.

Same day setup?  Bring a change of clothes to change into after you have set up.

Cold?  Sweater, not sweatshirt or hoodie.  Really cold?  Nice coat or parka.  Cold weather is the only excuse for denim.

Of course, these are only the rules according to me.  But if you are next to me at an event dressed like a bum or like you are headed to the beach, biker bar etc., please don't complain to me about your poor sales!

After months of building inventory and putting together my 'outdoor exhibition gallery', I finally did my first art fair.

It was Houston's First Saturday Arts Market -- 2 miles away from my house; 40 artists; 11am - 6pm; good weather for the most part (being hot & muggy this time of year).

My inventory was decidedly light for two reasons:

1. I had another show that evening where I had a 12' x 8' wall to fill with artwork, and as I started all this only in February, I don't have a huge supply.
2. My medium is encaustic (hardened beeswax), and although I tested everything a month earlier with a booth temperature of 110 degrees, I did not want to risk the majority of my show pieces getting dinged during transport or sitting in hot cars.  So half my stuff was at the other show.

Sales-wise I only sold one thing, but it was the most expensive piece I brought, which more than put me in the black plus give me a shot of encouragement and satisfaction.

This art fair has been going on monthly for a very, very long time, and most of the artists were regulars.  Therefore the operation went very smoothly.  There were music groups that played a short distance from me throughout the day, so I was never bored.

The crowd was decent I guess, I have nothing to compare it to.

We had a brief rain.  It was just enough for me to see that the only place water was pooling on my tent was on the awning.

I was positioned with the rear of the tent flat up against a building, so I had no good place to hide away my packing/supplies.  Underneath the table was mostly coolers.

Lessons learned (in no particular order):

• Figure out a better place to sit, a place that doesn't block the artwork.
• My labels were constantly falling off, get them to stick better.
• Booking the earliest setup time in order to ensure a spot out of the afternoon sun was a smart choice.
• The temperature in the booth hit a high of 100 degrees.  I did not have any problems with the wax becoming tacky, nonetheless I think I will forego future outdoor shows in Jun, Jul, Aug, and Sept.
• I had electricity but my cellphone charger was bad.  Bring a spare one next time.
• Hide away all the non-art stuff better;
• My display table turned into a work table.  Keep the tape, scissors, water bottles etc off of it.
• I did't have any prints, just original pieces, and nothing was less than $150.  I guess it's time to think about prints and other lower-priced items.
• My first-thing-they-see pieces were pretty good eye catchers I think.  And every piece got at least one compliment.
• The husband & wife team across from me were really pulling in the people with their combination of unique art (alcohol ink), colorful display, branding, and chatty draw-you-in banter.  Not me.
• Be grateful for the one sale.  I think some of my neighbors had 0.
• Practice my artwork wrapping skills on various sizes of pieces.
• PayPal Here is A-OK for the customer sales experience, but I think I left it in a state such that the app was draining my smartphone battery.
• Pack plenty of fluids.
• My do-it-yourself make your ice cooler into an air conditioner was a flop.  Just use the fan as a fan.

Thanks for everyone that critiqued my home made display panels.  They worked out pretty well.

Well, it was my second year in Mundelein. Last year, I did about $1300. This year it was much lower at $805. Maybe they are tired of seeing me? I had people come into my booth this year said they bought my prints last year and then leave. Okay, maybe I will take next year off from Mundelein. Maybe I will apply to Arts and Apples in Rochester, MI - that would be a lot closer to home for me.

I did have some misfortune there! Hotel was $205. I had a flat tire Saturday night. $75 for putting the spare on the vehicle. Plus $452 for two new tires on the Escape. $30 for dinner Saturday and I only made $43 for the show. Okay I knew the tires were getting bad but to pay for new tires from my business account - well that just eats away at the weekend. Plus I spent close to $75 in gas for the Escape. So now I am -$32 for the fair.

I think I will cut this show out of next year. I was hoping for much more form this little show. It's a five hour drive for me to get there. Well, Christa does treat you good at the show but my sales took a dive. The crowds were there, but not too interested in my art...

Am I the only one out here that thinks it's kind of heartless to email rejections (oops - "Not Invited") to us on Saturday afternoon?  We all need the best attitude at every show, and if you were really counting on a show and got this love note at 5:00 on a sweltering Saturday with a beautiful forecast for Sunday is it possible that it would spoil your attitude?  How big a deal is it to hit "Send" late Sunday or Monday?  On the other hand, an "Invited" email would have the opposite effect, wouldn't it?  While the email we got on Saturday did not negatively impact US, I can imagine it would some (did not really expect to get in, took a wild stab in the dark but it was a Zapp show, and of the 5 shows we have been "not invited" to 4 of them have been Zapp, so hopes were not high, and an alternate in the wings).  So - am I just crazy?

Best of Show: Aaron Hequembourg, Mixed Media

Jurors Awards:

Dr. Stacey Tull Award: Steve Jones, Mixed Media

Chris Chapin Award: Mary Jackson, Fiber

David Glenn Award: Sue Mersman, Wood

Emerging Artist Award: Rachel Zolotov

First Place:

Deborah Mae Broad, Printmaking

Kina Crow, Mixed Media

Robert Farrell, Metalwork

Amy Gillespie, Mixed Media

Nicario Jimenez, Mixed Media

William Lemke, Photography

Julie Seymour, Jewelry

Thomas Wargin, Sculpture

Kimberly Willcox & Kevin Nordhausen, Sculpture

Betsy Youngquist, Mixed Media

Second Place

Michael Bauermeister, Wood

David Bjurstrom, Drawing & Pastels

John Costin, Printmaking

Robert and Tor Erickson, Wood

Michele Friedman, Jewelry

Richard Gruchalla & Carrin Rosetti, Ceramics

William Kidd, Ceramics

Suro Kim, Painting

Leon Niehues, Fiber

Justin Teilhet, Ceramics

A good story about the show and its economic impact on the city:

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2014/09/clayton-art-fair-fills-hotels-stomaches.html

Here is one of the nicest TV stories about an artist I've seen in a long time. A TV reporter who "gets it."

VIDEO: Great story about emerging artist program that just happens to feature Rachel Zolotov who won the "emerging artist award". You'll see why: http://www.ksdk.com/story/entertainment/television/show-me-st-louis/2014/09/05/st-louis-art-fair/15129841/

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I am competing in a fashion competition for the first time. Part of the competition is the Peoples' Choice Award. I would really like to win this so I am asking for your vote.

I learned about the MIT’s Descience project through one of the organizers, Claire Jarvis. The contest intrigued me because it was to be collaboration between a scientist and a designer. Inspired by the scientist’s work, the designer would create a garment that transformed the scientists’ ideas into a new and wearable form. The outcome would be a fashion show.

This four-part contest came at a time when I was beginning to feel the need to stretch my ideas and myself in my business, B. Felt. www.bfelt.com. The first part of the application process involved choosing three scientists, you would want to work with.

The second part is public voting through the Internet, at http://www.fashiondescience.com/ which will result in an award— the people’s choice— of $500 for both the designer and scientist.

The third will be the live, runway show which will take place on September 29 at the MIT Media Lab. Sadly the fashion show will not be open to the public. There is talk of it being simulcast and you and find out more at http://www.fashiondescience.com.

Fifteen finalists will be chosen for the final voting, with the top prize being $1500, for both the scientist and the designer. There are fifty scientists with projects ranging from the virtual to the biological and everything in between, such as Team: “Yahuan” with designer Xiaozhu Li and scientist Hui-Min Chen, or Team: Transmutation, with designer Arielle Gogh and scientist Esther Baena of the UK or Team:” Eaten to Death” with the designer Evelyn Jia and the scientist Eric Baehreke,

Having made it through part number one, I am collaborating with Amanda James of California who is documenting the loss of the Southern California Coastal Sage Scrub plant community and the destructive power of the Mediterranean species such as Summer Mustard and Red Brome. We are Team: ”Invasive Species/Unintended Consequences” Her project excited me for a number of reasons.

First, I collaborated with my son, Ian Poole, in 2011 on a similar project, which we titled Invasive Species/Unintended Consequences, which resulted in a large installation at the Bromfield Gallery in Boston, MA.

Second, my mother, an amateur gardener, ended up growing Purple Vetch (an invasive species itself) not just in our yard, but throughout the area, much to the chagrin of our neighbors.

Having been chosen from over 250 entries and partnered with my first choice scientist, the first challenge was working with someone on the ‘left’ coast while I reside on the ‘right’ coast. Undeterred by distance, Amanda and I have collaborated through Skype to design our garment. Right from the start we were of one mind— a garment that transformed from the golden yellow flowers that used to cover the California landscape to the Invasive species now seen across the California landscape. Amanda loved the idea of recycling the title from my show as she felt it truly embraced her beliefs.

I started with drawings of how I envisioned the garment. The model would walk onto and down the runway with a towering headdress of spikey vines and beautiful yellow flowers, her garment’s bodice and skirt would be festooned in the yellow and orange flowers and peaking out from the skirt and trailing behind long spiky vines with a few flowers clinging tenaciously. At the end of the runway she would remove the flowered skirt and with a flourish turn it over and cloak herself in spike vines, only the headdress and the train would retain a precious few of the flowers.

The many components of the garment created an engineering challenge. I created a scaled version of the garment to work out structural problems. I then scaled my pattern up to a size 10 and created the components. I hand dyed the silk for the garment using a modified Shibori technique, known as Arashi. All the flowers and vines were individually created using merino wool. I then bound and dyed the flowers and vines twice, once for the dark and the second time for the lighter shades. To create the hat, I bent a lampshade frame into an oval shape and felted over it. I then made a separate hat covered in spikes and inserted it into the frame. Then I sewed on all the flowers and vines individually by hand and machine.

It soon became apparent that my model, when scaled to size was not going to function as planned. My original plan was for the model to lift her skirt, slide her arms through holes and drawstring it closed, thereby covering the flowered bodice and exposing the vined underskirt. The weight of the finished skirt scuttled that Idea. My assistant, Monika Pilioplyte, (also my model) and I brainstormed and the eureka moment came when we put the skirt over the mannequins head and it was stopped at the shoulders; we turned to each other and said “Cape!”.

With the final photo session behind me, I am ready to return to the making of garments for my company B. Felt, www.bfelt.com. Whatever the outcome, Descience, http://www.fashiondescience.com, has been an experience that has pushed me to expand my lexicon and to seek out unlikely sources for inspiration in my future work.

What I took away from this project was the powerful connection between science and art. In my Skype conversations with Amanda James, the scientist of “invasive Species/Unintended Consequences, I discovered that scientists and artists work from the same place and ask the same questions. The overriding question is “What If?” Scientists and artists at every stage of a project will ask this question over and over.

For both scientist and the artists it is the balance of the control with the random that determines the outcome. “Why and Why Not” are also constant companions of both artists and scientists. It is equally important to know why as it is to know why not. Though, I do not practice a truly scientific method when creating my wearable art, I do always begin from the place of, why, why not and what if. This is what keeps my work alive and fresh and it is the same for scientists.

For those interested in the statistics, the project took 2 people, 3 weeks and six hours per day. We used 15 pounds of merino wool, six yards of silk, 4 spools of thread, 5 machine needles, one lamp shade, 10 yards of wire, 2 days dyeing and 3 days photographing.

I was ecstatic that I was juried into this show having fellow artists saying what a solid show this is. It after all is billed as one of the largest one day shows in the States and "Indiana's nicest day"! This was my first show ever in the state of Indiana. 

I made the trek from Tennessee to Indianapolis in about 5 hours. I was in the "Yellow" section which was the area for the Evening at Penrod preview party. I entered onto the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) off 38th Street West. I was greeted by the first of what seemed to be a minimum of one hundred volunteers. At check in they handed me a manila envelope and directed me to the unload area. There were several volunteers there with golf carts with the bed on the back to cart items to my booth space. That was nice even though I was only about 5 booths from the unload area. It was very efficient.

After my truck was unloaded I was required to park at a church building about a quarter mile away. The volunteer at the lot asked for my parking pass. I checked the manila envelope and there was my YELLOW SECTION parking pass along with the booth number tag to hang outside. Every festival I've done to date has at least the booth number and artist name. This was a 8 1/2 x 11" sheet with Y89 printed on it and nothing else. Perhaps a little advice to the Penrod folks next year. I'm not just a number. ;) After making the walk back to the festival site I set up in the 92 degree heat and became soaking wet with sweat. Additional volunteers came by while I was setting up with bottles of water. That was nice! 

After set up I made my walk back to my truck then drove to my hotel to check-in and shower. I made it back to the IMA about 5:30 and the Evening at Penrod event started promptly at 6. The artists were to be open from 6-8ish as directed in the emailed instructions. A steady stream of patrons came onto the festival area and the booze started flowing freely for the guests. I felt that were were the entertainment rather than the focus. It was definitely a social event. I spoke with a neighboring artist and his friends that did the inaugural preview party last year said that sales were slow. I didn't have any sales for the first 1.5 hours but had three quick sales near the end. The event was scheduled to to go until 10 pm with live music, food and alcohol. I wished there had been electricity for the artists so we could have stayed open past dark (8:15). 

I got back to the hotel about 8:45 and anxiously watch a line of thunderstorms that appeared on the radar from the west. There was no way that these were going to miss Indy. I stayed awake until about 11 and the thunder, lightning and rain were all around the area. Would my canopy be ok? Certainly my weights and structure would hold! Positive thoughts! zzzzzz.....zzzzzzzzzz

The festival opened at 9am and I was on site about 8:15 for the continental breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, fruit, coffee and juice. That's always a nice perk. My canopy held up, but there were several EZ ups that had crumpled from the overnight storms. 

The weather was cool compared to the day before. 68 degrees and a light mist/drizzle. Patrons started onto the festival grounds about 8:45 and my first sale was about 5 minutes later. Sales and patrons with umbrellas were slow for the first 90 minutes but then the drizzle stopped and the crowds came. Sales were brisk after that and were steady for the until about 4 pm. The show ran until 5 at which point the sun promptly came out but it was still very comfortable at 74 degrees.

Two neighbors of mine were potters. One still had not made back his booth fee by mid afternoon and the other said she was slow most of the day. The other artist next to me was a water color painter that was glad to be doing her final outdoor show of her long career. I had my 3rd best single day ever with a steady stream of folks in my booth and many more saying "I don't recall ever seeing you here before!" I gave out close to 500 business cards and this show exceeded many of my two day festivals I've done.  Another friend from Tennessee that was across from me made over 5K for the day. The same that he normally makes in a two day show.

For load out I broke down, walked back to my truck then waited in line about 35 minutes before I got on site. After I got parked volunteers were there to assist in getting my belongings to my truck and get me on my way. I decided to take a 5 hour energy drink about 7 pm, drive straight thru back to Tennessee & made it home about midnight.

 I am looking forward to applying to a few more festivals in Indy next year. Perhaps Broad Ripple and Talbot Street? Even though it was a whirlwind trip there and back, it was very profitable! 

The Bad: 

• Bring a helper with you. I never got a bathroom or lunch break.
• Prepare for a little bit longer load out. Limited access to the site.
• A little better communication about load out procedure.

The Good/Great:

• Tons of volunteers
• Help with load in and load out
• Large crowds, despite the less than ideal weather.
• Strong sales for my art. 
• Great live music all day long. 

OMG! Need a show review? Then you'll love these four posts:

• Nels Johnson - 8/5/2014, "The Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis -- Some Sweet and Some Sour"
• Bill McLauchlan - 8/12/2014, "Lewiston Art Festival, Lewiston, NY 2014 Review"
• Melanie Rolfes - 8/20/2014, "Colorado, Go West!!!!"
• Megan McKinnon - 8/26/2014, "My personal show experiences to date"

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