Hi All! I am Kimberly Ray of KimCreations - www.kimcreations.com
I make both pottery and jewelry and have been selling at shows for almost a year. So far, I am pleased with the results. I hope to tweak the shows I choose to do based on the experience I have gained over the last year and feedback I am able to gather from other artists. I am definitely having fun trying to make a living doing something i really enjoy and working for myself.
Replies
Welcome to AFI Kimberly!
Hello Kimberly. We are glad that you have joined us here. How many years have you been selling your work?
I can see that you will be very busy in the next few weeks. Let us know how things go for you. Good luck.
Hi! Thank you. I started selling my work last November, so I have just about completed my first year of selling. I have learned a lot of valuable things in the past year and had some wonderful experiences.
Working for yourself is the best! But believing in yourself and your ability to make your life happen is really important. We're pleased to have you here and look forward to your participation.
What's your next show?
My next show is at Holy Hill Art Farm Oct 20/21
Then I have November totally booked up with holiday fairs: Nathan Hale Nov 3, Peppermint Fair Nov 4, Christmas in the Country Nov 10, Wonderfest, Nov 11, Shop 'til you drop Nov 14, Colors of Christmas Nov 17, Jungle Bell Craft Fair Nov 18, Crafts in the Woods Nov 24, and finally Mistletoe Market Dec 1/2
Whew!
I'd love to know more about Holy Hill. Sounds like you're going to be busy. Since you are creating in two media, which are you taking to the shows listed above?
Hope on December 5 your checkbook will be bulging.
Holy Hill was a very nice show. If you google Holy Hill Art Farm you'll find their information for it. The setting is very nice, although they have it on a weekend that the weather can be very questionable. This year it was really cold on Sat and sunny and more pleasant on Sunday. Thank goodness it wasn't raining. I was pleased with my sales, however I heard grumbles that this year was not near what some vendors had experienced in past years. I think that may be the general trend though lately.
Thank you for your good wishes. Yes, I'll be quite busy I am sure. I take both mediums to most shows I do. There have been a couple shows so far that were filled up on jewelry, but allowed me to bring my pottery only. I have created a nice booth display that I feel blends the two media nicely. Also much of my jewelry uses ceramic components, so that helps to create a transition from one to the other. I also feel that I am better able to capture an audience because I have both media. It's really interesting when I realize afterwards that a certain show was significantly heavy on the jewelry sales, and hardly any pottery, or vice versa.
An interesting side note related to your question is that Nathan Hale Craft Fair was very concerned about how much of my product was jewelry vs pottery, they called me to discuss it so they could determine where they would place me so as not to upset any of their regular jewelers. In the end though, they had a jeweler cancel so called me to move me to their location and specifically told me that it no longer mattered how much jewelry I brought.
Precisely, Kimberly. Many shows have it in their rules that if you are bringing any jewelry (say you've juried in wood and have a spinner with wood earrings) you have to apply separately in the jewelry category. It really isn't fair to the other jewelers for other people to be showing jewelry in their booths and it keeps the show from diluting that category.
I totally understand the general desire to not overly dilute any category. I also understand being fair to other jewelers. However, I really wish that everyone would start recognizing subcategories within jewelry. There are so many different styles and mediums that I think there would be plenty of room for all of us. Yes, i make some standard beaded and wired jewelry, but I also make a lot of real unique ceramic pieces that don't step on anyone else's toes. A friend of mine makes vintage brass jewelry that is very unique, and usually quite different from other types of jewelry vendors product. Wood earrings and other things like leather jewelry and even rubber jewelry are all a very unique niche and I don't believe their presence would infringe upon any of the jewelers who make and sell the more standard stuff.
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