Hi everyone! I'm happy to be here. I just started doing shows in November of 2012; basement of a church....does everyone start that way? Anyway, I've learned a lot, but I feel like there is so much more to learn. I'm hoping that I can learn from all of you on this site, and that perhaps I'll have some insight that will help someone else, as well.
My business is jewelry, which I am finding is fairly saturated. I live in the Chicago area and I did several street fairs last year and will be very careful about how I choose those in the future. I also got into several of Step by Step Promotions shows which are indoor shows, although some of it is very "crafty."
For this year, I applied to 5 of Amdur Productions and got into 4 of the 5, wait listed on the 5th. I am still assessing the rest of the year. I would possibly like to do some shows next January and February on the west coast of Florida where my mom lives.
My biggest questions have to do with booth lighting, booth set up, targeting your work, and finding the best way to market myself, etc.
A little about my jewelry business, Jacocalo Design.
Jacocalo Design is a family shop of several generations of jewelry artisans. We come from a long line of creative women that have always endeavored to bring beauty to the functional. Currently, I produce the bulk of our items, focusing on wirework, semiprecious stones, steampunk and repurposed materials. My 76 year old mother contributes a large share, working primarily in bead weaving and semiprecious stones. My daughters delight in creating what they can given busy lives and careers. They focus on vintage repurposed, wirework, and assemblage pieces. My 6 year old granddaughter is now beginning to produce pieces and has actually sold a couple of simple things. While there is crossover in our work, we each bring a unique perspective to the process. Our body of work is eclectic spanning the elegant to the whimsical. We offer a wide variety of jewelry from classic, steampunk, filigree, nature-based, bohemian, repurposed, vintage and so on.
I look forward to getting to know all of you!
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Now I would like to see this work! It sounds intriguing and full of history and experience.
Don't only think of Amdur. Have you looked at the EM Events shows? Smaller shows, nice neighborhoods, which work. Also, don't miss our other side callsforartists.com where you'll find a good cross section of Chicago area shows. Chicago, a great place full of great neighborhoods all with their own ambiance and art fair.
Welcome. Glad to have you here, Janice.
Happy to have you abaord, Janice. If you get yourself into the Florida shows, we'll probably see you at one or more. We live at Wyoming, but we mostly do shows at Florida. We seldom go south of Orlando or Tampa and only travel there in the spring (tour coming up in three weeks!) and fall. We stay home in summer and winter. It's been a while since we've done anything at Chicago and we've never done an outdoor art fair there. I think we were there in 2001 or thereabouts for the World Science Fiction Convention held in that downtown area Hyatt Regency. And we also came there for World Horror Convention a year or two later, but that was out nearer O'Hare. Since we've sworn off summer shows, we'll probably not ever see you at an Amdur venue or any of the other biggies.
So I'm looking foward to seeing your posts in the forums. Check us out on the web at merglennstudios dot com. And if you have a website, let us know and I'll check it out as well. WOOHOO!