Blog

Well guys, sorry I haven't been posting or 'blogging' but alot has happened since my last post. The economy is making a come back but you have to 'evolve' your self and your work. If you have been on the art show circuit for along time, your stuff becomes 'tired' looking and  people that have seen you for 3 -5 years at the same shows start to see it too. Time to relook your work and think of ways to 'update' it. What? Do I hear that is what my work is and I'm not changing a thing? Well, as artists, we evolve every 5 to 7 years wether you want to or not, it just starts to happen in your work. Take a look at your work that you did 5 years ago and look at the stuff your churning out now...do you see the difference? So does the art festival goers.

So go ahead...go play with that idea that has been churning in your head and work it. See what happens....and let me know!

 September 18 & September 19

Application can be downloaded from

www.tallgrassarts.org 

P.S. The Village of Park Forest was built for the purpose of housing GI's returning from WWII.  Incorporated in 1949, less than 6 years later, it was home to an arts association that operated a gallery, school and art fair.  The arts association was followed a few years later by a symphony orchestra, classical chorale and resident, equity theater company - a very welcoming home for creative people! Please join us.

***************************

Looking for some more sweet shows like this one to fill your 2011 art fair season?

www.CallsforArtists.com

Mid-afternoon view of the show, from the Spice House

The Wells Street art festival in Chicago is usually one of my best shows. It is also one of the hardest set-ups we do. Early morning. Crowded streets. Two rows of tents down the center of the street, with food vendors blocking straight through access in the driving lane. Assigned times for artists are supposed to allow everyone at least an hour for load-in and setup before the show officially opens at 10AM on Saturday. In practice, artists find anyway they can to get their equipment in place as early as possible.

Dog's-eye view of the show

 
I've had a double booth in the same location, near the Spice House and Topo Gigio, for several years. It's a high traffic location, because of O'Briens, The Fireplace Inn and a new club, the Benchmark. The main stage is in the O'Brien's parking lot, and provides a steady beat throughout the entire show.Friday night I didn't leave Michigan until almost 10:30 PM. I had to pick up Karyn in Ann Arbor, and by the time we got to Chicago, it was about 4:00 AM. No sleep for us. I walked down Wells to see where our booth spot was -- new numbers meant that I was moved slightly south. At 4:45, I was able to get my traile and truck down to the booth, about a block and a half in. My load-in time was officially 6:45, but there is no way that I could get the trailer and truck in and out that late. I think that the show has finally realized after 40 years that some artists are always going to need early access to the show. The coordinator told me that the show director had given permission to a few artists to come in early, after a phone call. I've called in previous years and been told that it's impossible.Some artists dolly in from the northern paid lot on Wells, The Carriage Lot. Some dolly from parking spots on North Ave. Some dolly from the side streets, Schiller, Goethe and Scott. Some do bring their vans in. By 10AM, the show does get set up. It's a minor miracle, but we were unloaded, the truck and trailer parked in the paid lot at Franklin School, the double canopy setup and all the art hung, with lights, by 10AM.

My credit card machine always has trouble connecting here -- server overload with all the cel=phones and texting

Saturday was cold and drizzly. It didn't out and out rain, but it was chilly. It didn't stop the young urban professionals from crowding into the show, and buying art in the morning and early afternoon. But the temps got colder by 4PM, and the crowd slowly changed to a party mood. Lots of beer and lots of strolling. A mix of dogs, strollers, couples and professionals. I sold a few smaller pieces, but nothing large. By 6PM, most of the crowd were there to party, not to buy. My neighbors, Jean-Claude Louis, another photog with a double that looked exactly like mine, and David Bigelow, the well-known printmaker, both closed up by 8PM. Usually we'll stay open, and send some art home with new owners, but the weather put a chill into the sales. We closed up and walked down to our hotel on Clark Street. Along the way, we stopped at Panang, a friendly Thai restaurant on Clark. Good food, efficient service, and inexpensive. Since we hadn't had sleep for almost 42 hours, it didn't take long to catch a few zzz's. Luckily, we waited until we got to the hotel for that.

Jean-Claude Louis, from Agoura Hills CA

David Bigelow wins for Works on Paper -- Congrats, and well-deserved!

Sunday was bright and blue. The sun was out, and cheered me right up. We stopped at the trailer to restock, and opened the booth up about 10:15. Sunday was better for sales, but still slower than previous years. I saw a couple of previous customers, including Liz Hein, who posed for a shot with her favorite piece, "No Exit". My friend Maureen stopped by. I got to step into the Spice House for some fresh cumin and some Moroccan spices. The show provides a break room in the offices of the Old Town Merchants Association, and serves up coffee, pastry and fruit all day long. The bathroom is clean, too, but you might have to wait a minute for it. We spent a lot of time talking with David Bigelow in between sales. This year's crowd seemed much more intent on partying and being seen than in previous years. My sales reflected this, too. I did about 50% of what I did last year. Enough to pay a few bills, but maybe not enough to reflect the long hours and brutal setup.

The lovely Elizabeth Hein shows a little love for "No Exit"

 
I know that some artists did well at Wells this year. Photography was perhaps over-represented. My friend Lisa sent many of her well-designed t-shirts and tanks home with happy owners. Jean-Claude had a better show this year than last year. But all in all, it seemed to me that the energy was directed more towards having a good time than feathering the nest this year. It's an expensive show to do, when you add up all the extras. Electricity costs $150, and puts you in the middle of the show. Parking ranges from $75 to $150 for the weekend, and is definitely worth it if you have a hard-to-park rig like I do. The booth fee is average. Hotels are out-of-sight downtown, and I can't recommend the Howard Johnsons on Wells. Many stay out in the suburbs, at the airport hotels, or out in Schaumburg, which is a lo-n-n-n-n-g hike. 

Load-out is efficient. Artists begin closing at 8PM, but vehicles are not allowed on the street till all the partiers go home, which can be as late as 11PM. Many dolly out the same way they came in. Vans have a definite advantage over trailers here. Some folks rent an Enterprise van or cube truck specifically for this show. We didn't really start breaking down until about 9PM, had a couple big sales at the end to make it all right. The trailer was into the show at about 10:45, and by that time, over 75% of the artists had found a better way out. We were on the road by 11:45. A very long weekend. We can't drive the entire way back to Michigan after this weekend, so another night in a hotel is required. This year, I stopped in St. Joseph, and made the rest of the drive on Monday morning. Exhausted but happy. 

A last word: There is a lot of buy-sell here. Some is blatant, some is not. While the show says that all work must be original, some is clearly not. It doesn't matter. Bring whatever you want. At $7/pop "Suggested Donation", I'd estimate that the show grosses about $1.5 in gate fees alone. It's still fun, still unique, and one of the best parties in Chicago in the summertime.

Glad to read something about the Excelsior Art show, I see it in the midwest arts and craft guide, but know of no one who has done it. 

I had to cancel the June 18th Solstice Art show in Chippewa Falls WI due to a funeral to go to, so if any readers were there, would appreciate some info on sales, etc.  Thanks.

Here's a small animation I did when I set up a black & white booth a couple of years ago.

Here is a show in Chicago that I love to do so sales could not make feel bad for the weekend  and I will back year after year. I usually get there by 6am and the show runs until 7pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday. Everyone knows who you are in this show after while. It is simple approach but is a pleasure doing the show and working with the staff.

The show goes next to 57th St Art Fair and you only get help load and unloading the car. Parking is the City of Chicago. The crowd for this show has go down year after year and that also means sales are down. I did better this year but still not what I hope. Saturday the show end around 4pm because of the storms that later on hit Columbus Ohio. This has become a small show or filler (same for 57th St) so if you are not local or strong email list or mailing list skip the show.

Wells St Art Fair is held at Wells between Division Ave and North Ave in Chicago, IL during the second weekend of June. I got in from the wait list a month ago and was ready for this show.

My arrival time was 6am. Your arrival time for set up is set by the promoter and wont let you in until your arrival time or feel free to dolly your display and work but be there 30 minutes before your loading time. I pull in, drop off and then park my car. Your choices for parking  are find a parking space in the street and hope you get tow or paid 30.00 per day in a parking lot. Show start at 10am and ends at 10pm. You can not pull your car until 11pm. You will need electric for 125.00. Food around you is great. In my photography field there was 35 or so.  The crowd as large but they where more for the party than buying. Still you get a good crowd that will buy art from you. The closer you get to North Ave your sales will improve but you be closer to band stages the crowd going to Old Town Art Fair.

My sales was half of what I was hoping and will give another try to the show but if you can get into Old Town that is better show to do. The weather is nice both days but a bit cold Saturday.

I'm confessing here that when I am looking at jewelry at an art fair I have rarely thought to myself, "I wonder how this was made?" As a buyer you may be looking at the style, the intricacy, the inlay, the gems, the color, thinking how it will match an outfit, justifying one more pair of earrings, wondering if the artist will let you make payments, etc. Right?

This month's featured artist is jeweler, Carla Fox, who is a metalsmith, constructing wearable art from various metals using heavy machinery and chemical processes. It gives one pause and elevates "jewelry making" from "pretty nice work" to "amazing!"

Carla grew up with talented parents who were both handworkers; she took those skills to her first art, soft sculpture. This turned into a business of making large scale fabric & metal art banners for commercial buildings. The metal banners downsized when she discovered precious metals and her love of making small sculpture---jewelry.

Until I studied Carla Fox's jewelry pieces I never thought about how jewelry was made.  Visiting her website and seeing the amazing machines I have a new respect for this art. Did you know that in jewelry fabrication, millimeters matter and degrees make all the difference?

As a result Carla says, "I have become part artist, part scientist - perfecting my craft through trial and error, creative thinking, and dogged problem solving. Every finished piece of jewelry is built from many smaller pieces of metal. Gold, bi-metals, silver, and copper sheets are cut, hammered, filed and soldered. They go from 2-dimensional building blocks to 3-dimensional forms."

About her jewelry she says, "Jewelry says something about the person wearing it ... if I'm doing my job designing you will see jewelry you've never ever seen before."

Meet Carla and see her metalwork in June at the  

Des Moines Art Festival, June 24-26.

Learn more about Carla and her work:  

www.ArtFairCalendar.com/featuredartist

Enjoy this YouTube.com video of Carla in her studio:

I'm not a big fan of mall shows, too much compation for the dollar with the brick & mortar stores so I was a bit apprehensive about this show. I need not have been as it turned out to be worth the trip from FL.

The Summit is east of downtown in a very upscale neighborhood and the show layout runs along the street in front of the stores. The booths were single file and you could either pull in front or behind your space to unload. This is one of the Howard Alan shows that has a Friday setup yippee. Breakfast was provided both days by Costco, very much appreciated. Advertising was very good, lighted road signs, commercials, and live artist interviews on a local station on Sunday morning.

Saturday was very hot, mid 90's which unfortunately kept crowds down, I didn't even make expenses. The next day was polar opposite, sunny, low 80's, no humidity and packed with people wanting to buy art, I didn't sit down all day. My neighbor was a dress maker and she did very well, busy all weekend. A painter I spoke with said it was one of his best shows.  Breakdown was was also very easy, most of us could pull behind our booths, pack, rack and go.

This was the first time I've done this four year old show but it's  going to be added to my summer lineup as it's well worth the drive.

Here are a few pics from the Hinsdale "Sushi Encounter", you will notice there are no "green" smears hanging from anybody's nose.  That is Lynda Wallis  in one of them.  The other guys I have never heard of before, probably some fly-by-night artists posing as "vendors."

I will give one small hint.  One of them is related to Bill the Cat.  Gee. I wonder who that is.

"Shane, Shane, come back.  The show really needs you."

BTW Lynda.  Nice shots.  I think I am going to hire you to do my booth shot next year.

Click on the blue player widget below to listen to special LIVE online radio show “Pledge Drive” episodes of Art Fair Radio!

You can hear some great (free) art fair business-building tips from ArtFairInsiders.com publisher, Connie Mettler, and learn more about the annual Birthday Pledge Drive, too.

Listen to the Connie Mettler interview here or download an MP3 here.

You can also download an MP3 of the recent "Nels & Munks Interview" here.

Thanks for listening! (and for pledging here, too!)

Just got this important email from a good friend this morning.  Read it, do it and pass it on.

Starting this month the US Government is releasing all cell phone numbers to telemarketers and you will receive sales calls, and have to pay for them.

To prevent this, call this number (it is free and is run by the Federal Trade Commission)

                            888-382-1222

It is a national DO NOT CALL listing. It will prevent calls for five years.

Important.  You must call this number from the cellphone which you want its number blocked.

It takes about 20 seconds.  This is good info, pass it on.

The number again    888-382-1222

Aloha, Nels

Hot, Hot, Hot! and Humid!  It is coastal Maryland in June, but really!  Traffic was light, very little advertising we could see ( we did see an ad in the local free paper) and $8 pp entry fees.  The demographics in the area are very good, so it should have been a better attended show.  Wine and local food tastings in the big cool tent where everyone hung out.  Not a bad setup, but the staff was not to be found when a huge thunderstorm came thru at closing.  They did learn from last year and moved the show onto the field (used to be grass) and off the black top - cooler, but very dusty and dirty.  I had to buy bags of mulch to fill the big divots in my site.  The show is held at the Navy stadium, not a place anyone just happens by - low visibilitiy.

Lots of very nice art and artists, but also lots of crap, obviously buy and sell.  I dont belive it could have been professionally juried, but then they let me in!  Perhaps too many booths to fill with not enough applicants?

This is only the second year for this show, but it made me appreciate shows run by neighborhood/business/arts organizations as opposed to shows run solely from the profit motive. 

This is my first blog post here. Many of you have heard of the storm that hit the Columbus Arts Festival. This was my first time in the show, and the first show I've done alone since my last spine surgery 5 months ago. I really wasn't supposed to be lifting more than 20 pounds yet, but we artists must do what we do to make a living. Am I right? So off I went to Columbus with the hopes of sunshine and solid sales. Here's my report:

Fifteen minutes before the storm hit, a show person rode up in a golf cart and said "we had the possibility of some rain soon." Full disclosure here: I got a text message at the very same time from home telling me some heavy winds were going to hit and I'd better find some rope and something to tie down to. I immediately told my neighbors and started pulling everything inside the booth. Then I began the task of attaching my flimsy side walls of my EZ-UP tent knowing that the rain would KILL my pastels hanging on the outside wall of my booth. Yes, I'm not using my Craft Hut anymore. Three back surgeries will do that to an artist. (Ever notice how many of us are using pop-up tents these days?)

Just when I had one side wall on, all hell broke loose. I struggled to get the other two sides on while the rain blasted down at a 45 degree angle. I'd get one side wall on and another would "rip" off in the wind. The booth was starting to move, swaying and listing forward, Pro Panels were popping away from their moorings, paintings were falling and glass was breaking all over the ground. The rain was so fierce that within minutes my booth was filled with over a foot's depth of water. I ran to the front corner of my booth and pushed against the force of the wind. I knew I didn't stand a chance and was yelling at the top of my lungs, "help me, please, somebody help me!!!" I was terrified. A small break in the wind came and I lunged for the small original pastel paintings soaking in the water on the floor. My credit card machine was floating. All my LIVE electrical wires and breaker bar were floating! The wind kicked up again and more paintings came crashing down around me. I just kept yelling "no! no! no!" The booth gave one last kick in the wind and the upper bars smacked me in the head, snapping my neck to the side. This is where I had my surgery and the bone is not yet fused. It was a bump on the head that took me over the edge. I started crying....

I'll save the rest of the details. They involve many hours trying to pack up all my damaged artwork and equipment into my van. No one saw I needed help.....until......around 9pm Mikel Robinson's (2D mixed media photography) beautiful wife ran over to lend a hand to a fellow artist who just couldn't lift another thing. She whipped a couple of show people off their golf carts to help. Mikel came and helped, leaving their own mess of a booth and darling 2-year-old safely in their dry vehicle with the babysitter. They were so kind and compassionate. As for my neck, well...my fingers are numb again and I will need to go back in for another procedure.

So here I am today, a business destroyed and no money to pay the bills and no artwork to sell. It's a tough, tough place and I have no idea yet when or if I'll recover. But I'm not taking it lying down. I'm fighting. I've created a site where fans, friends and family can pre-order a calendar (first time I've ever done one), original artwork at discounted prices or simply offer a donation to my "PAY IT FORWARD" Save An Artist Relief Fund. I've reached out on my Facebook personal page and Fan Page, and had many good responses. I plan on reaching out to my customer base through an email newsletter blast. And I'm asking folks that if they believe in me, my work, and the arts, to please pass along this story to their friends and families. As one artist said to me, "Reach out to your fellow artists. They are the best people in the world." 

On Friday I leave for my annual mission trip to Peru where I take art supplies and teach the extremely impoverished children how to experience freedom and empowerment through the creation of art. When you have a great pain in your life, you need a greater purpose. This is mine, and even though it makes me very uncomfortable leaving in the midst of chaos, I know it's God's perfect timing. As it is written, "Give and it shall be given unto you."

For other artists who have lost their livelihood in the storm, hopefully my ideas will help you rebuild your businesses too.

To see my sales and "Save An Artist" donation page, visit: shopartworkbymeredith.bigcartel.com

To read more about my art mission trips to Peru, visit my website.

Separated by several city blocks, these two festivals could not be more different from one another.

Old Town is in a residential neighborhood,  quiet, genteel and filled with outstanding high quality art.  Wells Street is a party festival where food, drink and music seem to take a priority over the artists, who, while there are some excellent artists, the majority seem mediocre with buy/sell mixed in.  

I had never been to Old Town but had always heard it was a good festival.  I was not disappointed.  There did seem to be too much jewelry  which isn't good for the jewelers and it was of really good quality.  I had not seen most of the jewelers before.  It was an exercise in restraint.  The rest of the media seemed to be divided pretty evenly.  Placement of booths was strange.  There were glass artists next to each other and jewelers next to and across from each other.  I don't know if this was due to cancellations or poor planning.  

I got to see my favorite ceramicist, William Kidd, making his lone Chicago appearance as well as Stephan Cox, a glass artist whose pieces are unusual and hasn't shown in the Chicago area for several years.

I finally got to meet Phil and Amy of Fobot fame.  While it was early, their booth was filled with people checking out their whimsical pieces  (hey Amy, that is probably the best word)  They reported a few sales already.  Michael Stipek was away from his booth when I stopped by but I got to meet his better half.  His collection for this show would look perfect on the brickwalled  condos in Chicago.  Jay McDougall was taking down the canopy on his tent as we passed by and it didn't seem to be the time to stop and say hi.  I know there were other AFI'ers there but things got a little too hectic to try and meet everyone.

We made two mistakes.  We ate lunch at the Old Town Fair and it was so-so.  It was better than the usual festival offerings but nothing to write home about.  The second was going to the Wells Street Festival.  First we had to see all the wonderful food offerings that we missed.  This was all restaurant food, not festival food and the prices were reasonable.  As a food festival, this fair would have been wonderful.  With the exception of a couple of jewelers, including Heidi Sever (who was not at her booth when I stopped by, darn) most of the jewelry was not good.  There were several painters and photographers that had some nice work.  I would say that the majority of attendees were in their 20's, out to socialize and party and for them, art was incidental.

The food was at the beginnings and ends of artists rows  so this made it harder for the art show goer to navigate the street.  

Similar to Coconut Grove, this was a weekend where a significant outlay of cash was necessary before you walked into the festival.  Event parking was $30 and it was worse for the artists ($50) and admission at each show was $7 per person.  My husband and I spent almost $60 before we saw art.  In this economy, it was a large chunk of change for people.  Heck, I bought a fun necklace for less than that.  (And I won't complain quite as much about the Grove)

All in all, we saw some great art, got some wonderful pieces but I won't be going back again.  Old Town is fabulous but it isn't an easy drive for me and at this stage of my collecting, not worth it for me.  I am just a suburban girl at heart I guess.  While I love seeing AFI'ers (everyone is so nice to me when I introduce myself, it is wonderful), I will have to meet you at other shows.  

Now, let's hear from the artists about the sales!!

Originally posted on my HappyArt.com blog

Recently I heard from a gal who is planning to set herself up in the self-designed note card business when her full time employment ends within the next year or so. She contacted me for some advice as to how to go about some of the basics. I’ll start by addressing some of her questions.

Marketing Yourself

Q: These are the things I don’t want to deal with but understand it’s all part of marketing yourself. I know that when I get to the point of selling that I want to do it online mainly because that seems to be the most simple way of marketing products.

A: She uses the phrase “marketing yourself” which is an awesome starting point because as we who have been doing this for awhile know – it is all about marketing yourself. There are a zillion super talented artists out there in the world so one of the major tasks of any successful artist is to find a way to get noticed and separate yourself out. This is accomplished using a matrix of available tools not the least of which is building your own tribe of ardent followers.

Hello shows, competitions, fundraisers and social networks; face-time and online versions. As with any new product seeking entry into an overloaded world of buying opportunities what sets your work apart from the rest, what makes it unique and tempting usually has a lot to do with the back story of the product; its promise. Your Mission with it.

Simple? Ummmmm…..

The other word that caught my fancy was “simple”. When done properly and well coordinating your online presence probably couldn’t be characterized as simple. Able to be done in one’s pajamas, yes. Simple, not so much.

Set up an Etsy Shop

Use Etsy Well

Q: One area I get stuck on is where to market online, do I open an Etsy account or create my own website

A: Yes! Both. Without question. Esty is a nice interface for creating a safe shopping experience for your potential customers. It’s also hugely popular and thus jammed with page after page of awesome items created by others! But no matter who you are or what you’re selling you can’t count on your Etsy store doing all the work for you.

Happily there is a network devoted to sharing insights as to how you can maximize your potential selling experience on this super-popular art buying site. Check out: the Estypreneur site. Join it and start learning from successful Etsy artists immediately. Also, friend me there when you join! I’m Songpony.

Same name as my Etsy store. (Why Songpony? I market several of my creative existences via that store – and quite frankly wasn’t entirely sure where Etsy was headed when it first came to my attention several years ago. I didn’t want to devalue my work if that’s where it was headed – much like I think eBay did to artists early on. Songpony was a pseudonym – I got HappyArtStudio later on – my dog is using it currently.)

Your Own Site

But Esty isn’t your only solution – you need to design a beautiful website where you can:

• tell your story,
• add layers to the experience of buying your work for your customers and
• personally connect with them.

On your own site you can control how your customers view your work and interact with you. There are so many options for creating gorgeous fully integrated experiences these days – I won’t get into them all here. I will say I use a self hosted site with WordPress and a ton of widgets installed to integrate my multiple online HappyArt presences with each other.

Here I can show people my new work, give them access to some of my archived things as well as create a sense of depth to the commitment I’ve made to my art through my lists of accomplishments, shows and upcoming plans.

Why blog?

To keep your information freshly updated for practical human and search engine reasons. Be real, timely and entertaining or informative when you can. Again we’re talking about creating legitimacy for your message and mission with your work.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Beyond

Facebook has become the king of all the social networking sites for artists (and just about everyone else) to connect with their tribe. I only just started using it for my re-entry back into the art career so I’m still in the beginning stage of gaining followers for my HappyArt Facebook page. Set up a page for yourself right away. Do not use your personal presence for your business.You want to keep your personal self sacrosanct and part from your professional self. Keeps your messaging better targeted and clear for your customers.

My Merry Horses account is a whole other story! She’s been at the Facebook thing for about a year and a half and has over 5000+ followers now. These are people who pay attention when this persona of mine mentions things. It is among my goals for HappyArt to eventually create a similar following.

Twitter is a bit wanky. It’s a great tool for keeping some buzz going – but you have to keep up with it and know that what your tweet slides down the feeds fairly quickly. There’s all sorts of interesting articles available about how best to use your Twitter account. Again it’s all about relationship creation, building and maintenance. Do avoid overtweeting your sales pitches. Big turn off. Instead Tweet about the behind the scenes entertaining aspects of your work, your travels and other relevant content that helps build your work as a brand.

YouTube is a great place to build depth to your process or inspiration to embed into your blog. Also if you’re a natural born teacher with something to teach you can set yourself up as the go-to expert on your particular subject via this fabulous medium. Lots of artists have which has turned into new ways to monetize their creativity!

Pricing and Marketing Logistics

Q; The other thing I get stuck on is how much to charge for my notecards and if I sell one card or a group of cards?

A: This is a biggie. Let’s break it down.

How Much to Charge

Ah, the age-old question. Materials + Time + Related Expenses (marketing time, packaging time, shopping and shipping, time to get materials in, professional services, taxes, etc etc etc) + profit. It’s as easy and as tricky as that. Oh and don’t forget to research what the typical price range is for what you’re selling! You don’t want to go too much over what people typically pay for something like yours – nor do you want to under price your work. Do your research! And do be sure to compare apples to apples. If your note cards are giclee printed on acid-free recycled paper with earth-friendly soy inks – you can definitely get away with charging more. AND you’ve identified some very marketable selling points for your work!

You can work your equation backwards or forwards depending on your expectations for this new career. If you intend to clear $50,000 annually you have a number you can work backwards from as to how to identify how many sales that needs to be. If you’re clearing $1 a card that’s 50,000 cards or an average of 136 a day. You get the idea.

So now she gets to decide how she wants to package them! As a group you probably want to put them in some sort of attractive display. These can be had – but they’re not free. Depending on how many you buy at once a note card display box can add as much as a dollar or more to your expenses. Again work your numbers – see what makes sense!

Building Your Tribe

Making money as a professional self-employed entrepreneur artist is a lot about being a successful small business person in addition to harnessing your creative excellence. To do so consistently is more about perseverance than it is about luck. You need to make your work known, make it available and stand behind it every step of the way. You have to be fearless, you’re working without a net. You have to make it accessible and available! Sometimes this means taking it to the streets. With this in mind street fairs are a wonderful way to spread the word about what you’re doing! Art Fair Insiders is an awesome network that connects artists with opportunities in this realm. Join! It’s free too. Friend me there as well.

Look for competitions – enter and when you win announce it! Again, it’s another way to build buzz for your ‘brand’ and add to your list of accomplishments – something customers love hearing about. Makes you all look smart with impeccable taste!

You will absolutely delighted to discover how nice and helpful other artists are. It is the one thing you can always rely on in this otherwise very challenging business. These are Your People. They are on your side.

Shows

Selling at outdoor or other venues with other artisans or at farmer’s markets, fundraisers, etc, requires a lot of thought and pre-planning. Just as an intro to what this entails you’ll need:

• a tent
• tent anchors (for wind)
• displays for your note cards
• will you accept credit cards? You’ll need to set that up
• receipts
• inventory (you have to know what will sell and bring a lot of it!)
• business cards, etc etc

There’s a whole lot of planning that goes into creating an acceptable and attractive booth for a show. If you intend to try for juried shows – then you need to look at a whole other set of accoutrements too – not the least of which would be the original art presented to the jury in gorgeous photos along with your jury fees etc. Farmer’s markets work for some people – especially if your subject mater can be related to that crowd and your price point is snappy.

A Whole Different Approach

If all of that seems overwhelming – luckily for you there’s a whole different way you can generate some income with awesome cool designs. Hello Zazzle and CafePress! On sites like these you can upload your designs and offer them for sale with a small mark up that goes into your own pocket. They’ll produce things like t-shirts, calenders, mugs and note cards, as well as a bevy of other temptations.

The Wrap Up

So creating a successful business for your art is a challenging but hugely rewarding line of work. For me having to wear so many hats to maintain relevance is actually one of the bonuses. It is hard to get bored! It’s risky, exhausting and very very challenging – which is why successes are so dang sweet!

I wish you much luck with your journey. And stay in touch when you start building your presence!