As I am finishing up a project here at work, waiting for pages to load, all I can think of is the song, "On the way to Cape May" because that's where the Husbee and I are heading on Sunday to celebrate our anniversary. We have gone overnight every year since we have been married on the Sunday closest to December 6. It's a little respite in the midst of the hectic fourth quarter here at work and I always look forward to it.
Some years have been very warm, once as high as 80 degrees, but this Sunday it will be quite chilly, with maybe some snow on Monday. There is something that I love about the beah in the winter. It seems so still and calm, even more than in the warm weather.
Even though I have to come into work tomorrow for a little while, I feel great knowing that our little winter oasis is Sunday.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The craft show
This past weekend was my biggest craft show of the year. I was apprehensive going into it because I was unprepared. This past year has been difficult on my creativity. My day job is practically all encompassing of my time, even when I am trying to sleep. The year started out very roughly and continued to be extremely mentally taxing up until about a month ago. Even though this is the busiest time of the year for me the stess level has subsided tremendously.
Saturday was the busiest day of the show, with the aisles being difficult to navigate because of all of the people. Everyone around me was doing extremely well. They were selling the kind of stuff that people love to buy as giftes, but most people dread receiving. You know, plastic bag holders, angels made from towels, t-shirts with Sponge Bob cutouts surrounded by glitter. This stuff always sells. The lady behind me made almost $500. There was a woman at the end of our row selling gift baskets made from Dollar store stuff and she made over $3000. She sold out the first day and didn't come back Sunday.
There I was, at 3:30 Saturday afternoon, counting my $71 kicking myself for not being prepared. They moved my table for me so that I could finally have electricity and I ended up facing the most popular jewelry artist at the show. She has a great following and her booth is always crowded. I was thinking that maybe that didn't help, but I really have no one to blame but myself. I haven't been spending enough time on my work. I know that. I was and still am in a major rut when it comes time to be creative. Having a lousy work space doesn't help. Our spare beadroom (correction bedroom) which was to be my little workspace has turned into a closet/storage space. (Yes Melissa and Michael, I am a pack rat of sorts, we don't need to go there again)
Talking about Freudian slip. I just looked back at the last paragraph and noticed that I typed beadroom instead of bedroom.... hmmmm.
I was planning on going home after the show Saturday night and making up a few necklaces to fill in some holes on my table, but after we got home from dinner, I decided it wasn't worth it. the show on Sunday started at 10 am, so I planned to be there at 8am and start working on some things. I got there at around 8:30 and lugged my rolling bead suitcase down the flight of steps to the cafeteria where the show was being held. I didn't expect any of the other crafters to be there yet, but they were. I was hoping for a quiet hour to get some things ready. No such luck. The people around me are very nice, very funny people, but they are distracting to my concentration. I wasn't able to get into deep creative mode so I ended up just making a bunch of quick Christmas earrings, some of which I had sold the day before.
Sunday was very slow. I didn't have my first sale until 12:30. I was resigned that this would be a learning experience, that I would never go to a show unprepared again. It was funny. Most of what I sold were the little $3 Christmas earrings that I had made that morning. Sundays are notoriousl slow at this show, leaving us all to wonder why they have the second day. The most I ever made at this show on a Sunday was $24. Well, I ended up doubling my record. I know it doesn't sound like much, but maybe thigs are starting to turn around.
My mood at this show was very different than at most shows I have ever done, because the people around me were so much fun. I found myself looking back into my sale book from previous years and I realized how much my jewelry has changed. I used to do a lot of different things where as now I am trying to anticipate what people will like. That was a little revelation. People that want the same old stuff, can go to the popular jewelry artist. My stuff used to be different, kind of weird some might say, but noone else had it. I also need to overcome my fear of working with sterling silver. The techniques are the same, but obviously the value added rises.
I think maybe its time to go back to being different. My next show is March 18th, 2006. I guess I should get started...
Saturday was the busiest day of the show, with the aisles being difficult to navigate because of all of the people. Everyone around me was doing extremely well. They were selling the kind of stuff that people love to buy as giftes, but most people dread receiving. You know, plastic bag holders, angels made from towels, t-shirts with Sponge Bob cutouts surrounded by glitter. This stuff always sells. The lady behind me made almost $500. There was a woman at the end of our row selling gift baskets made from Dollar store stuff and she made over $3000. She sold out the first day and didn't come back Sunday.
There I was, at 3:30 Saturday afternoon, counting my $71 kicking myself for not being prepared. They moved my table for me so that I could finally have electricity and I ended up facing the most popular jewelry artist at the show. She has a great following and her booth is always crowded. I was thinking that maybe that didn't help, but I really have no one to blame but myself. I haven't been spending enough time on my work. I know that. I was and still am in a major rut when it comes time to be creative. Having a lousy work space doesn't help. Our spare beadroom (correction bedroom) which was to be my little workspace has turned into a closet/storage space. (Yes Melissa and Michael, I am a pack rat of sorts, we don't need to go there again)
Talking about Freudian slip. I just looked back at the last paragraph and noticed that I typed beadroom instead of bedroom.... hmmmm.
I was planning on going home after the show Saturday night and making up a few necklaces to fill in some holes on my table, but after we got home from dinner, I decided it wasn't worth it. the show on Sunday started at 10 am, so I planned to be there at 8am and start working on some things. I got there at around 8:30 and lugged my rolling bead suitcase down the flight of steps to the cafeteria where the show was being held. I didn't expect any of the other crafters to be there yet, but they were. I was hoping for a quiet hour to get some things ready. No such luck. The people around me are very nice, very funny people, but they are distracting to my concentration. I wasn't able to get into deep creative mode so I ended up just making a bunch of quick Christmas earrings, some of which I had sold the day before.
Sunday was very slow. I didn't have my first sale until 12:30. I was resigned that this would be a learning experience, that I would never go to a show unprepared again. It was funny. Most of what I sold were the little $3 Christmas earrings that I had made that morning. Sundays are notoriousl slow at this show, leaving us all to wonder why they have the second day. The most I ever made at this show on a Sunday was $24. Well, I ended up doubling my record. I know it doesn't sound like much, but maybe thigs are starting to turn around.
My mood at this show was very different than at most shows I have ever done, because the people around me were so much fun. I found myself looking back into my sale book from previous years and I realized how much my jewelry has changed. I used to do a lot of different things where as now I am trying to anticipate what people will like. That was a little revelation. People that want the same old stuff, can go to the popular jewelry artist. My stuff used to be different, kind of weird some might say, but noone else had it. I also need to overcome my fear of working with sterling silver. The techniques are the same, but obviously the value added rises.
I think maybe its time to go back to being different. My next show is March 18th, 2006. I guess I should get started...
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Bursts of Creativity
My horoscope for today:
"Bursts of creativity will entertain you all day"
That figures....I'm stuck at work
"Bursts of creativity will entertain you all day"
That figures....I'm stuck at work
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Just make stuff
My biggest craft show is the weekend after this and I have done nothing to get ready for it. I wanted to change my display style to see if that would help my sales, but I haven't even thought about it.
I took Monday off from work to get some things together, but all I ended up doing was sitting on the couch tearing up magazines. I am in a massive creative slump and I don't know how to break out of it. When I come home at night, by the time I cook, clean up and shower, it's 9pm and I'm too tired to work on anything. Then it's back to work at 7AM.
Maybe I should just give up doing craft shows. I don't make any money really, most times I just cover my table. I see other artists and crafters with crowds around their tables while I just sit and watch. Is it my stuff? Is it my display? Who knows.....
All I know is that this weekend I need to dig in and get some things ready. I just hope I don't find some excuse not to....
I took Monday off from work to get some things together, but all I ended up doing was sitting on the couch tearing up magazines. I am in a massive creative slump and I don't know how to break out of it. When I come home at night, by the time I cook, clean up and shower, it's 9pm and I'm too tired to work on anything. Then it's back to work at 7AM.
Maybe I should just give up doing craft shows. I don't make any money really, most times I just cover my table. I see other artists and crafters with crowds around their tables while I just sit and watch. Is it my stuff? Is it my display? Who knows.....
All I know is that this weekend I need to dig in and get some things ready. I just hope I don't find some excuse not to....
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Should I do this?
Ok, I finally started a blog. I have been reading so many everyday now and M has recently started one, so I got the fever. Even the Husbee wants me to do it. I don't yet know how this will evolve, but at least I will have somewhere to post my favorite quotes and passages from other blogs.
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