Craft Shows can be tough....I started doing them in 2002. My first show was Crafts at the Castle, which this show is replacing. On the very first day of our very first show Evangelina and I were wrapping pots and passing them off to customers as you would pass a hot dog down the row of seats at a baseball game.
This show...not so much. It was frustrating because this show was the first time I was showing my new work. For me it was the culmination of 7 months of work switching from soda/salt/wood to reduction firing.
New work...new booth...new expectations....uh oh.
I know that I can't take it personally when things don't go as planned. Thank you to all who did show up and have added some of my new work to your collections. I'm grateful and I hope you enjoy your new pieces. Even though this show didn't pan out as planned I have some positive things to bring back with me. The feedback I got on my new work was tremendous...especially from fellow artists and long time customers.
Now...obviously I would have been ecstatic to sell all of the work that I brought with me...and that was my plan. But, that is well beyond my control. We are beginning an interesting time for our country with an economy that has over-leveraged and over-consumed. I have joked with my customers over the years that I lucked into pottery by taking a class one summer at Skidmore. I always said that because of that one class I actually graduated college with a skill. No matter how disappointing a single show is, it pales in comparison to the fact that I have created something. My pots are here...they exist...they are real.
So...enough dwelling on a disappointing show. I had an entire weekend to do that. Tomorrow it begins again. I'll start small....probably by unloading the van. Perhaps that will lead to cleaning the studio and with that clean space I'll be able to figure out where this last round of pots will lead me to next.
Oh...and while I was gone, did anyone happen to clean my bisque kiln full of blown up pots? See...I have things to do.
And to put it all in perspective...when I got home I went upstairs to see my kids who I haven't seen since sending them off to school on Wednesday. I still had my name tag hanging around my neck which led to Alejandra asking me..."Wow...did you win a medal?"
I said yes and I gave her my medal.
I just went up to turn out her lights...this is how I found her. I think she has created a pre-school for her dolls.
4 comments:
I am so sorry you had such a bad time, but I am really glad you got such good feedback on the work. It really does look great. you should get a medal.
oh, and that is pretty much the most adorable photo I have ever seen.
You should contact some interior designers. I used to do showrooms for the furniture market and bought pieces with the same feeling as yours all the time for accessories. I think your work is very designer friendly. I have a photo of my daughter very much like the one you posted. How can anyone have a bad day with a precious child to make you smile! She looks adorable.
It's not your work man! Keep doing what you do.
We did Craft Boston back in the early Spring too. While billed as a BIG show it really had a pretty small attendance. What it ended up being was a HIGH end show. So if your work was $500 and up, it was a good show. For functional potters, it wasnt even a bad show. It was abysmal.
Good luck with your next show.
Let's see more images of your new work!
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