Blog
I am so happy I discovered Slam! Saturday Local Art Market. Yesterday was my third time selling there. It was a beautiful October day and I am sad that it is almost over for this year :( I will be there again this Saturday for Fall for Greenville and the 22nd will be my last show with Slam! for this year. It will start up again June 2012. I plan to participate in most of them next year. Afterward, my sister, Kelley and I headed out to Pumpkintown, S.C. to check out their Pumpkin Festival (possible show for next year).
As a self-taught business woman I am constantly learning new things. This past year I have realized the positive impact of having a strong social media prescence. I have made it a routine to post something on my FB wall everyday and to host frequent giveaways. After hosting several giveaways I decided to try something new and the results were eye opening! Previously, I was doing monthly giveaways by picking out a specific piece of jewelry, posting it on my FB wall and then asking my fans to share it on their wall and then post on my wall that they had shared. This worked fine but recently I discovered that keeping it simple goes a long way! I needed 10 more fans to hit 500 so I simply posted, "10 more fans until a giveaway!" No picture. No complicated rules. But the result was the same if not better! In a matter of a day and a half I gained 20 new fans. So. Moral of the story: Keep it simple!
This year was the second year that I have applied to and been rejected by the Indie Craft Parade. After last year's rejection I decided that I wasn't going to announce that I would be applying again this year-just in case I were to get rejected again. Well, after being rejected this year as well, I was glad I didn't make the announcement! I really was hoping to get accepted and waiting for my "customized" notification email just about killed me. The email read:
Thank you for applying to Indie Craft Parade! We received nearly 350 applications and wish we had room for everyone. Each application was judged anonymously by our panel of jurors. Work was selected based on how well it aligns with the vision of Indie Craft Parade, as well as its originality, quality, uniqueness, and innovation.
The status of your submission is as follows:
TO WEAR
Declined
Your application in this category was not accepted by the jury for the following reason:
We like your concept, but it's not the level of quality we were looking for. Keep refining your craft and try again next year!
Thank you for applying! Please join us at Indie Craft Parade this September to support your fellow artists and the modern craft movement.
Cheers,
Erin & Elizabeth
Indie Craft Parade
I couldn't believe it! Why would they say my work is not the level of quality they are looking for? I could accept that perhaps it is not the style they are looking for or maybe that the section for which I had applied was full, but not that my work wasn't good enough. I wonder how many other talented, skilled, and creative artisan/crafters received this identical disheartening response? This is not supporting the local crafters--this is discouraging perfectly good artists just because their style does not suit the Indie Craft Parade "look". Needless to say, I will not be applying again next year.
I have an awesome design for an owl necklace in the works! Plan to have it made, photographed, and posted to Etsy by Monday! I am really excited how the mock-up has turned out. Needs some fine tuning but I finally have it figured out. It's taken a while to work through! I also have another fun necklace design and two earring designs in the works ~~ also to be posted Monday. Eeeek! Super excited!
Kara