Question of the Month: Would you ever do an art show where you knew you wouldn’t sell anything?

Recently, I did exactly that!
Our town has been holding an arts fest for a couple of years now, called Art Smart. Local artists, musicians, teachers, and organizations are invited to participate. It’s the only “show” that I do anymore, and even though I sell very little (sometimes nothing) at it, I still like to get out there once a year and hear what people are thinking.
Why do a show that you know doesn’t cater to your target audience? I love my town and …read more

Sara Hardin, aka SoftFlexGirl, shared some stats that she found from CHA, the Craft & Hobby Association.  CHA conducts quarterly assessments of both attitude and behavior in the craft world, and the results of the June 30th posting are encouraging to say the least.  Check this out from the report:
The CHA A&U Study reports the U.S. craft industry is estimated to be $27 billion dollars, with 62 million households, or 56% of households, crafting in the past year. The A&U research provides attitudinal and behavioral information to guide decision-making, whether you are a manufacturer, designer, distributor or retailer.
The A&U results …read more

Do you have a jewelry blog?  If so, you already know that it’s not a matter of “if you write it, they will come.”  Now it might depend upon your goals whether or not you care whether they come, but if you’d like to have more than just your closest circle of friends (online or off) reading your blog, you really have to pay attention to your content.

Only a very few people can manage to build an audience by just free associating or ranting.  The rest of us need good solid content.  But that content can vary a lot: a …read more

In the world of art, ethics can include many different topics: copyright, fair trade issues, green issues, customer disclosure, and fairness in contracts and other legal matters.  I’m not a lawyer, so whenever I want to learn about these types of issues, I turn to sites that have some legal status.

For copyright issues, in the United States there is only one authority: the US government copyright office.   There are some helpful sites that will help you untangle some of the language, but ultimately you’ll need to read the rules for yourself.  The Business of Art has some great articles that …read more

Think of this new book as an overview of what is possible.  It’s not nearly detailed enough to be a true how-to book, but it covers so many different materials that it will probably boggle your mind with possibilities and send you racing for your notebook!

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jewelry Making Techniques
by Vannetta Seecharran
This book covers far more than beading techniques, so look elsewhere if you’d like an introduction to beadwork.  This is a guide for an experimental jewelry who wants to create one-of-a-kind jewelry using modern techniques and materials.  There are instructions and photographs outlining how to work with …read more

Getting good publicity for your business is a great way to up the odds that you’ll sell more.  So often we just think about advertisements, but they are enormously expensive for someone just starting out.  Actually, they’re enormously expensive, period, but they are (probably) worth it for folks who are well-established.  To get there, think about adopting some of  Jan Hansen’s tips in Get publicity for your jewelry business.
Build your own ultimate press list Meredith Keller’s steps to success helps you to think outside the usual box.
9 things to do to make sure your next blog post is read by …read more

Understanding how color works technically is one thing, being able to choose lovely colorways for your designs can be another!  Beverly Ash Gilbert, who shared a wonderful artist profile with us back in March, is an absolute master at chosing palettes and working with color in her pieces.  Now Beverly has published a new tool called The Eye for Color system which will help you put into practice the principles behind great color selection.

Beverly’s packet has two color wheels and six color harmony templates with a unique snap-together construction.  There is a beautiful inspirational booklet that comes with the system, …read more

Margie Deeb has a brand new color report out and ready to rock and roll.  “Subtle contrasts” are the catch phrase for the fall/winter palette for 2009.  Margie discusses the top Pantone colors that will be found in clothing this fall, based upon Pantone’s survey with Fashion Week insiders.

The main section of Margie’s report takes each of these ten directional colors and provides a report on Delicas and Swarovski beads that represent each.  She then provides several suggested palettes for using that color, including color schemes that will delight both the classic and the avant garde among us.   I …read more

In this installment of Beyond Spring Cleaning (jewelry and bead business tips), we’re going to consider sales. Yes, there are other ways to make an art income, including teaching, writing, designing for others, etc, but for most people, sales is the backbone. If you’re really serious about making your living from your art, sales will most likely figure into the mix somehow.

Alyson Stanfield has an absolutely excellent series called The first four steps towards selling your art.   She is careful to say that these things aren’t all you have to do, but they are the way to get …read more

Here are a few random thoughts about jewelry and bead businesses that I’ve been collecting for awhile.  They don’t seem to fit anywhere else, so it made (some sort of sense) to just lump them all together!

Think long and hard before you commit to a name, a logo, or any kind of branding materials for your business.  Here’s why   I know that someone has recently corrected this over-simplified chart, and you can visit the new link if you’d like, but the point is still worth considering.  Consistency is important.
Aileen Wong has written a very thoughtful article on how …read more