Know it's not a basket full of eggs but I was out of eggs and my sea shells makes for a prettier picture. :)
All my eggs in one basket . . . continuation ....
In years past I had belonged to a local art club and decided to rejoin this group, it had originally been open to all local artists and crafters, bar none. However times had changed and the president of the club told me that they had passed a new bylaw stating that membership would be denied to anyone whose media represented an over saturated field as they were attempting to curtail "over representation" of any one media . . . namely "Jewelry Makers". Of course this had been voted on unanimously by all the current jewelers in the club.
Perhaps it was all of this constant rejection that put me down in the dumps and I lost interest in just about everything (including blogging). I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything and found myself moping around and feeling sorry for myself.
Finally a friend encouraged me to try the local art center, ArtCenter Manatee. Hope had been renewed and I called to set up an appointed with the curator of the art center's Artisans Market. At the beginning of our meeting, things didn't start off well. First I was told that the art center had accepted beadwork jewelry in the past and it just did not sell. That's when I began to beg. Just give me a chance, my jewelry used to be a hot seller at all of the fairs and exhibitions and had been the top selling item at the last gallery that featured my work. Reluctantly they agreed to give it a shot. I would be on a probationary period and if nothing sold in those first 3 months then I would have to come in and pick up all of my products.
To be continued ......
Been reading the last one and this post eagerly; I am waiting for the next installment of your story!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for visiting. I always enjoy your blog filled with all your lovely photos and your wonderfully written posts.
DeleteBoy I sure hope this has the happy ending of 'my stuff's selling like hotcakes!' :)
ReplyDeleteJoJo, thanks for the smile. :)
DeleteBe sure to tune in to read the conclusion. ;)
"Over saturated"? Don't they realize that one day they may be in that position? Selfish, egotistical and subjective! Anyway, don't let them beat your spirit :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. :) I did fume about it for a while but then got over it. And in the end perhaps things worked out for the best.
DeletePretty shells! I'm sorry to hear you're having such a tough time locally sharing your beautiful jewelry. I haven't had the courage to try yet ...
ReplyDeleteHi Kristin, thanks for visiting. :)
DeleteUnfortunately where I live is a very, very artistic area (we have the Ringling College of Art and one of the largest Art Districts in the USA) so there is a lot of competition in almost every media of arts and crafts. You may be lucky and perhaps in your area there may not be quite the over saturation as there is here. One way to find out is to attend a number or your local arts and crafts shows or fairs and see how many vendors are represented in your specific field.
hehehe... a true Hollywood ending, to be continued!
ReplyDeleteI have been selling jewelry since the 1980's and it has always been up and down. A few things I learned along the way (1) create because you love to create, do something else to make money (2) making money from your creations is always good (3) the market will go up and down. Rinse and repeat. (I think I still have beads from back then, I know I have a few pieces left.)
Great advice KJ.
DeleteI hope it is a happy ending! It's not often a blogger serializes to such an effective degree!!
ReplyDelete