Cleveland By Hand

Last November I did the Cleveland By Hand art fair at the I-X Center in Cleveland and really had a fun show. Time with friends and plus nice sales means I can't wait to go back. That plus one of the best Mexican meals I've ever had at a funny little restaurant near the show. Can't wait!

The show is connected to the Fabulous Food Show and this year, Pat and I are going to find a way to go get in. We could hear all the enthusiasm so now I want to see for myself! That was a huge draw for patrons, some of whom I would bet had never been through an art fair before so it think we benefited from them being next door, in the same room. Boy you knew when Paula Deen hit the stage! A big roar from enthusiastic fans!

Back to the show. Not sure how many artists were there but it was the perfect size show. Easy to walk, easy to go back and find that favorite person again. Tons of clean bathrooms so no lines (okay, that's a personal favorite). A show director, Jay, who actually walked the show solving problems and looking for input. I saw him constantly throughout the show. Do you know how rare that is??? And he stopped and listened. This is a very good thing to be reminded of a few days before the event, the Garage Sale Art Fair, that Michael and I put on.

Here's to show directors that consider the artists to be the important part of the show!

simplifying my work

I've been trying to simply things in my studio, my work and in my business. But this is an example of what happens.

When making my mixed metal jewelry I generate a lot of small scraps of 22k and sterling. So I designed a line of jewelry originally called "Bits and Pieces", then changed to "Sticks and Stones". The piece to the left is an example. It also comes oxidized so the silver is black which is my personal favorite.

So this seemed to be the perfect way to use up the little gold scraps! Except, it became really popular (that's the good news) so I started having to cut up big pieces of gold to make the little pieces (that's the bad news). Totally defeating the purpose of making the line to begin with!

So, because I'm trying to simplify things, I'm dropping this whole line of jewelry and closing it out. I've taken it to 2 shows and quietly told people about it's "special pricing" since I'm not going to use big signs saying CLOSEOUT! I'll take it to Cleveland By-Hand in mid November and then to Etsy!

This has been so much fun that I'm starting to eye other pieces, saying to myself that it's time to retire these designs - LET'S CLOSE THEM OUT! I mean, let's simplify...

Doing an e-mail blast

I've now found a new way to use up a lot of time. Composing an e-mail blast advertising an upcoming art fair, Cleveland By-Hand.

Over the years I've sent many thousands of postcards to my customers, telling them about the art fairs where I'll be showing my jewelry. I would be very pleased to NEVER stick another label or stamp on a postcard so I'm transitioning over to e-mail show notices. Sounds so easy since I send out e-mails all day long. It sure isn't easy yet!

If I'm sending an e-mail blast to my customers, I want it as pretty as the postcard would have been. Plus, the advantage of doing the e-mail is that I can give more information, links and pictures. All of which I now know takes time to do. Ugg. And what do you concentrate on?

So I decided that what I personally would like to see is a discount, to help me buy something. So I added a 15% discount on my 14k gold earrings. That's something I've never done before but times are very different now. I'll make a little less and my customers will spend a little less. Hopefully we'll both win...