As I started preparations for my first Craft Show (not Artisan show as I had hoped and believe me there is a difference) I had really tried to plan out what to make and take. I knew going into this that my stuff would be different than most, I just didn’t know how different. Here’s a quick run down of how my stuff differs from the typical Idaho handmade fare:
1. It’s contemporary
2. It’s colorful
3. Due to higher production costs, the price of my items are a bit higher
4. While some of my stuff may be considered “shabby chic” it is by no means “country” or “cowboy”
Around the end of the show I hit a low low point during which I had convinced myself that I needed to start making cow print lampshades and lamps made out of old stinky cowboy boots. Not only that but I would have to abandon the hope that I would actually make a buck doing what I love. This is not to say that I didn’t make any sales. My Grandma Pat bought a few things along with my friend Jemme.
After the first night of my show some blessed soul in Colorado purchased an item on my etsy site (dotandline.etsy.com for those of you who may be interested) that a craft fair attendee poo poo’d for being too expensive (this is after I marked it down for the show mind you). This fortunate happenstance left me with a deeper understanding of something that I innately knew to be true all along. There are two forces constantly at work in the reactionary universe of onlookers. One beautiful force which will always see the value of a well made expression of creativity and one dark force which will always find something wrong with the very same expression. Now I know that there’s probably some middle ground to be had here. A way to stay true to my own vision for my business and still accommodate local taste, but like any artist or designer, my ultimate dream would be to get paid making only things that are visually stimulating to me.
1. It’s contemporary
2. It’s colorful
3. Due to higher production costs, the price of my items are a bit higher
4. While some of my stuff may be considered “shabby chic” it is by no means “country” or “cowboy”
Around the end of the show I hit a low low point during which I had convinced myself that I needed to start making cow print lampshades and lamps made out of old stinky cowboy boots. Not only that but I would have to abandon the hope that I would actually make a buck doing what I love. This is not to say that I didn’t make any sales. My Grandma Pat bought a few things along with my friend Jemme.
After the first night of my show some blessed soul in Colorado purchased an item on my etsy site (dotandline.etsy.com for those of you who may be interested) that a craft fair attendee poo poo’d for being too expensive (this is after I marked it down for the show mind you). This fortunate happenstance left me with a deeper understanding of something that I innately knew to be true all along. There are two forces constantly at work in the reactionary universe of onlookers. One beautiful force which will always see the value of a well made expression of creativity and one dark force which will always find something wrong with the very same expression. Now I know that there’s probably some middle ground to be had here. A way to stay true to my own vision for my business and still accommodate local taste, but like any artist or designer, my ultimate dream would be to get paid making only things that are visually stimulating to me.
1 comment:
Annie! Found your blog through Facebook. Your stuff looks fantastic. I have a few former colleagues at Iowa who're big Etsy fans. Will sic them on to you!
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