selling at craft shows

OK--it was not easy to post the second half of my interview with Clara on different textile sites. Argh!!

I am posting it here for your info.

https://claranartey.com/fine-craft-show-textile-art/

the interlude--day 20

Sometimes one just has to get away if only for a night. Finally my large orders had been shipped. The rains at home seemed endless and cold. For a couple of years I had been wanting to go up to King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont to check it out.

Yes, of course I try to always have a hobby. Maybe that sounds a bit cliched but something where I can be an observer. Quilt making goes right to my essence. It is who I am and what I do. So I want something that is more trivial--well, that is a harsh word--but let's face it, if my bread is a bit flat it doesn't matter. I can always make another loaf in a day or two.

Anyhow I love the mountains of northern Vermont. So similar and yet so different. A perfect little escape. So many different flours. So many possibilities. Then an overnight at the Hotel Coolidge in White River Junction. Again a brief escape. A lovely hotel with just enough history and atmosphere to add to the magic. Did I mention the Turkish restaurant around the corner? Sometimes escape can be so unexpected and simple.

The next morning sunshine and fabric to purchase. Bread to make with my new flour and then quilts. Of course.

I made this quilt--hidden lake-- a few years ago after another little adventure. We were hiking to a lake through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although the trail was not that long, I remember the glimpses of the lake which was our destination as we the woods would clear for just a bit. Then it would vanish again as we continued walking until we finally reached our destination.

hidden lake--quilt--45x45"--Ann Brauer--image by John Polak.

the frame job--day 16

Quilts are art.  At least quilts can be art. By now that is an uncontested statement. Still sometimes a quilt needs to be formally mounted for a specific look or location.

Years ago I would have a framer mount the quilts for me. It did help sales since customers could picture the quilt in a more formal setting but it was also expensive and time consuming. Then the framer I had used moved on to different things.

I read detailed descriptions and tried to do it myself from scratch.  After all, I was smart and should be able to figure this out by myself. But that took a long while to do and was frustrating. I could not recoup the time I had put into the quilts. Not a good business plan.

Finally though, as I have frequently found, if I keep toying with an idea in the back of my mind, I may come across a solution to the question. Doesn't persistence pay off? This time it was my friend Cindy Grisdela who wrote about her method for framing. I might be able to do this. Certainly I had to try. Check out her tutorial on her blog. https://cindygrisdela.com/mounting-art-quilts-on-canvas-tutorial/

It was scary after making the quilt to then cut it apart. Wouldn't the flow of the quilt be different? But this was an experiment. What was the worst that could happen?  I would destroy a lovely quilt in the process. And it was lovely, wasn't it?

prairie memories--wip--quilt--ann brauer 2017

Still I had to know if her ideas would work with my quilts?  I had already invested in the frames and other supplies. So I mumbled a few words of encouragement to myself and cut. Very different isn't it?

prairie memories--wip--quilt--ann brauer 2017

And I proceeded to frame the quilt. What do you think? And now I need to make another and another until it becomes not just Cindy's way of framing but also my way as I tweak the method to make it look great for my quilts. That is what is fun about it, isn't it? There is always something new to explore. Some new path to learn.

prairie memories--12x36"--quilt--ann brauer 2017

What do you think? Do you try something new? How do you make it your own?

you never know what may happen--day 13

Many many years ago--just before I got my studio in Shelburne Falls--a group of some of my favorite artists decided to try a tour of our various studios in the West County area. What fun it was working with all these artists to plan the event and see their studios. What a lot of work it was. We sent out a mailing list, press releases, put up signs. 

At this time I was working in the basement of my DH's house so he even put a door in. I cleaned my space. Made some form of munchie and then I waited. Gradually cars showed up. Not a lot but enough. After all, the studios were scattered over many winding country roads and you had to be dedicated to make it to all the places.

Still I had a few sales and met some great people--both the other artists and the customers. A couple months later I bought my studio in Shelburne Falls and my studio was now open to the public most of the time.

Last year I was working in my studio--not the same studio but that is a story for another day--when a couple walked in. They had actually been to my studio in the country those years ago. Finally they had their house at the end of the world. Their business was established. And now it was time to begin decorating their house with local art. How honored I was that they chose my quilt "rainbows of autumn" to reflect the view from their home.

How much it confirmed my belief that you never know when that next casual conversation may be remembered for years until finally they have the perfect space for your work.

rainbows of autumn--quilt--ann brauer--photo by John Polak

somewhere over the rainbow--day 4

One of the many reasons I had for rebuilding my studio after it floated was that the site along the Deerfield River has the best rainbows in town. Rainbows by their very nature are spectacular, aren't they? And seeing a rainbow with the water and the back drop of the mountain is even more spectacular.

Need I say more.

rainbows of summer--96x96 in--copyright Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

pillows pillows pillows

Pillows--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

Think of pillows. Warm. Soft. Inviting. A quick way to redecorate a room. And for me--the maker--they are a fun way to experiment with color and design. After all, it is just a pillow. It doesn't have to always match.

I like having them in the studio--they make the space look more complete. They are one of those smaller items that a customer can choose. And they do sell. Sometimes one at a time. Sometimes a customer wants to redecorate and chooses several.

I don't always notice when my stock gets low. After all, if I don't have them, they won't sell. Earlier this year I noticed that I had very few left. I had shipped a bunch off for an order on Etsy. Another customer realized that they needed a couple for their office decor. Something to comfort the people waiting for their services.

Time to make more. But what would the design be this time? Would each one be unique? Or what about a matched series where they would all coordinate? I love that challenge. Each pillow leads me on to new colors. New discoveries. I could keep looking at what I have and wonder what more I needed. How addictive is that? 

Green first--that was what one customer wanted.

Green pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

Then purple. People who like purple, LIKE PURPLE.

Purple pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

Then there is blue. And blue. Don't you love how different the two blues are?

Blue pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

French blue pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

Rust to coordinate with the other colors.

Rust pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

Brown always looks good against the blue, doesn't it?

Brown pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

And then there is teal--how dreamy is this? Doesn't it go with almost everything?

Teal pillow--16x16 in--Ann Brauer

Oh there are so many more I want to make. I am working on a grey right now. Then I need a gold--that will be hard. Plum is obvious and fun. Then there is red--not too red. The lighter reds will be a challenge, I know but I can't wait. What other colors should I work on? How would you pair them up? What do you think? Do you ever work in series just because?

keeping up

Yes  I know. It has been a while since my last blog post. Now it is not that I haven't tried. I have even written several great posts in that lovely time of 5 am when I am almost awake but not really. Amazing how inspiration can strike then, isn't it?

But in the light of day--do they get written? No.

Now it is not that I am lazy. Puleeaze. But just busy. After all, I have done two great craft shows with one more planned for next month. Yes, that is a lot of work. Not that I am complaining mind you. I do like to meet people. Try to see how others react to my latest quilts. What questions do they have? What are they looking for? How can I help them? Then there are the family issues. And yes, I have been experimenting with a new site on social media. If you want check me out on Houzz. Do check me out if you wish here. http://www.houzz.com/pro/annbrauer/ann-brauer-quilt-studio  But I digress.

Still I am glad to be back working in the studio getting ready for my last show of the spring--CraftBoston Spring April 19-21 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. Definitely a show worth going to if you are in the Boston area. Here is more info: http://www.societyofcrafts.org/cbspring/springinfo.asp And yes, I do need to make more quilts.

I decided to work on another variation of my quilt three as almost a warm-up quilt.  Getting back into the swing of things so to speak. You may remember it. Three separate color ways that could be hung either this way

Or this way.

Which do you prefer?  I loved the optical illusion it created. The edges really are straight but it looks like it curves, doesn't it?  Now I had started the quilt last winter. Made the first section and then it sat there. Too many other things to do. This week though it seemed just the quilt to finish. So I made the teal section and then decided that I should use green and not grey. After all, I did not want to duplicate myself. So I searched all over the studio for the right greens. This quilt is very soft and many green fabrics are either very bright or very yellow and I wanted a moss green. More like this. Hard to find but I did it.

And pinned it up to the quilt. Doesn't look great does it? Have I lost my touch?

But what if? Am I missing the obvious answer? Yes, this small changes does pull it together, doesn't it? Whew. I think this is it. Amazing how a small change makes such a big difference.

As for keeping up, well I know that I can't do everything. I mean not only do I have quilts to make, but I also have e-mails to send to answer questions from customers. Samples of fabric to send. Even a studio to clean for the spring. But I guess that having too much to do is better than a clean house, isn't it? For me, I try to do one thing every morning. Check it off the list. Then work on the next quilt.

How do you prioritize? Any good strategies you have learned?

the poster--thoughts on branding

Now those who know my studio know that I had to put up reflective film on the lovely south facing windows to protect the quilts. Made it much nicer inside but harder for the casual tourists to come and see my quilts.

Life in Shelburne Falls changed and suddenly I was not selling enough to pay rent out of the studio--that is always my goal, you see.  But as the saying goes--I don't get mad, I take action. I want enough people to visit that I make money but let's face it, I don't need everyone to come in.

A poster or two in the window.  A friend had suggested that. Who cares if that fades? New posters can always be made and give me a fresh look. For publicity I always use a quilt that I still own. Why not try to sell it.  Maybe my quilt--into the mist. Love the quilt--great colors. Uniquely mine. A newer style.

Yes, that could be my "brand" for this summer. Spiff it up. Don't need to show the entire quilt--that is a bit dull. A little identification. Not bad, is it?

Get four printed cheaply. After all, I do want to make a statement. Then cut a hole in the film and hang two facing the sidewalk. Yes, that looks good doesn't it? Sophisticated. Intriguing. A statement. You can see how reflective the film is, can't you?

Inside, two more posters to make the space look cozy. You'll have to come visit to see those. Now to work on the display in the peek hole. Always something isn't it? What do you think? Will it work?

getting back on track--making work that sells

Sometimes I swear I am my own worst enemy. After all, I know which quilts are most likely to sell--either out of my studio or at a craft show. And I will be doing the Paradise City Arts Festival in Marlborough March 16-18. Have you been to that show--such wonderful work. Big enough that you can find plenty of work to get amazed at--and small enough that you can actually see the entire show. You can even get discount tickets on their website--http://www.paradisecityarts.com.

Now I have made my quilt--rolling hills--before. Basically I think of it as a study of different scenes. Not sure if it is the same scene on different days or from different vantage points. Maybe it is even different scenes. In any case, each quilt I make is different just like each scene is different--almost like jazz riffs. After I start, I have to pay careful attention since I am never sure what will happen.

And let's face it--while we artists are not supposed to be working for money--still, to put it bluntly--money buys fabric and time to make more quilts. I mean, how lucky I am that I can actually support myself making quilts.

I hem. I haw. I drink more coffee. I even clean the studio. Then I start--and the quilt takes off. So quickly that I don't even have progress images. Still I love the colors. Wonderful blues. That hint of peach and salmon. I love how the darker colors accentuate the scenes. Cool, isn't it?

Then I realize what else I can do--how I can use this quilt to push my work even further. I have been thinking for some time that I should make my work almost as tableaus. After all, that is how I now do it in the studio. That is one of the good things that happened with the move.  And I think it would be a fun thing to do with my galleries. Help focus my work.  Let me try it.

Yes, this is interesting. Maybe I should even make a couple more pillows--add a bit more of that salmon in a pillow. Maybe a lighter blue. Perhaps a table runner. Hmmm--what do you think? Do you ever find it hard to make the obvious pieces--because they are too obvious? How do you keep your work fresh--how do you keep pushing yourself? Is it OK for an artist to make work that she knows is more likely to sell? What do you think?

take down--load out-- and cream puffs

Take down. Load out. Anxiety rises. Tensions mount as the end approaches. Are there be-backs in the aisles? The instructions have been passed out. Pack first then get a pass to get your car. Discreetly  folding and packing begins.  Clear out the trash. Put on work clothes. What can I put away? Do I really need all these potholders out? When do I get my boxes?  Have you heard the weather forecast?

We all know the horror stories. The show where security locks the hall down for hours. The load out where you have to park two city blocks from your car. The dolly that breaks. The impending blizzard. The one where my van needed a jump start to get out of the parking lot. I left my box of lights on the show floor. One artist kindly packed them in her van, drove them to Ohio then drove them back to Boston where neighbors who were doing the show picked them up and drove them back to me. Aren't crafts people wonderful?

This is not some TV show--the tale of some hit squad. This is the end of the craft show. So different the anxiety from set-up. There it is spread out. Arrive at your set-time. Load in. Park the vehicle and then begin figuring out how to best display your work in the space provided. Then the anxiety is whether the work will sell. What will your neighbors be like? Set up can be spread out over hours--even days. Slowly carefully putting up your display.  Your own little world. How does it look from a distance? A methodical process followed by time hopefully selling your work. Oh that seems like such a long time ago.

Take down is different. Everyone is doing it at the same time. We are all tired. All eager to be home. But first, the work must be protected. The quilts folded, rolled, wrapped. The forecast calls for horizontal rain. Wind. Gusts up to 40 or is it 50. A nor'easter. What fun. Lights removed carefully so they are ready for the next show. Yes, I remember them.  The display taken apart. The sections put in logical, manageable bags, boxes, bundles.  I do have a system. In the words of the U.S. Supreme Court--the time for "all deliberate speed." (Yes, I really am an attorney--inactive status.)

As my neighbor Laura Baring-Gould--oh I do love her work--said, "You can plan and think ahead but then something will come up and this is where you have to use your knowledge and skill to deal with it. Roll with the punches."

There is scant parking. One elevator. The rain has started. But the staff is pleasant--gives you cream puffs--literally and figuratively. Sometimes it is the little things that matter. This can get done. Just keep moving.

And this I believe is the lesson of take down. A lesson for life. Recently I did a series of
blog post exchanges with Lisa Call on getting things done. Do you make lists or have a schedule?  What is your process? But sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. Move with all deliberate speed and hope for the cream puffs.  At least that's my theory. Whether it is family coming for the holidays, the cord on the snow blower that snaps as my DH tries to test it or just finding time to create art. There is a way to get things done. Deal with it. One step at a time. And hope for the cream puffs.

And you how do you deal with this harried time of the holidays? The challenges of the season and getting work done in the studio. And the cream puffs?

thoughts on potholders--why not?

Yes, I confess I make potholders. Have for a number of years. Except for the one year when I got all sorts of fancy fellowships and grants. Quite frankly I couldn't sell a thing that year. Everyone would walk by my booth and not even look at my work--how disheartening.

So after thinking about it and realizing that there was nothing in my booth that I could afford, I brought back the potholder. And my sales rose immediately. At the first show, I sold a large wall hanging to a woman who had come into my booth to "look at the potholders." Her friend bought a smaller piece as well. Besides which it kept me in my booth talking with customers. I don't do well not selling.

At one point I used to make a lot of potholders--in my hay day I could sell a couple hundred at a craft show. Now this was back in the good old days. It was also when potholders were a significant portion of my income. One of the factors to figure in when calculating the price of an item is turnover rate. If you sell out of potholders several times a year you are making more money than if you have an item for the same price that you sell only once a year since you can re-invest from the potholders to make more money. Think about it.

Now you must realize that I do take great pride in my potholders. After all if you are going to be associated with an item, you want it to be well made. Of course there are many different theories as to what makes a good potholder--I want it to be a usable size with enough cotton batting to actually work and I want them to have a fun element. Both for me to make--I get to use all those wonderful prints that wouldn't work in my quilts--and fun for the customer to choose. I need to have enough selection to make shopping fun. I also want to respect all the people who look at my work knowing full well that many cannot afford most of what I make. That's just me.

Yes, I do get weary of making them sometimes. I only sell them to a few very select galleries anymore.  But they are great for those days when I just don't feel inspired. I rarely feel like I don't know what I am going to make next because I can always pull out a set of potholders and start sewing. Soon I am working with fabric and plotting something new. Then there is the problem of pricing--after all, how much are you willing to pay for a potholder? Seriously. I recently had a customer who had purchased from me in 1996 want to replace her potholders. (See --they do last.) Anyhow, she wondered why I would not sell them to her for the same price as I did in 1996. Seriously.

That being said, I looked at my stash recently while getting ready for the Long's Park Craft Show. I need a few more colors and styles. I had been thinking of using up the last of the dog bone fabric--great colors and a great gift for dog owners. I always follow certain rules I have established--I want them to always work together. First I play with the fabric to get the colors right--I want the center to be lighter than the other rows. Think of them as a take-off of Josef Albers with a yellow center. This dog bone fabric has certain challenges since it has a dark background with lots of lighter designs.

Then I cut and sew and have to choose a fabric for the back. I want the fabric to feel like it is the back for the potholder. That one is too light.

The brown is too dark and the wrong color.

The brick red is actually interesting. OK. A bit of a stripe that actually echoes a stripe in the fabric. I even take time choosing the color of the loop.

Now I need to make something for cat lovers. Meanwhile I am thinking of a new smaller item that I can add to my collection. What about you? Do you have smaller items? Do you think its OK to make potholders?

how to "succeed" in small business (while really trying)

OK--it finally rained--a wonderful soaking rain--just what my garden needed. And now the sun is making a brief and welcome appearance before more rain this week-end. I must find time to move some iris into a new bed.

But first I wanted to share with you this blog post by Jeanne Yocum. She has started a series of posts on tips from other small businesses. I was honored that my Quilt Studio in Shelburne Falls was the first chosen. I hope you'll read it and let me know what you think. Indeed she is going to be doing a whole series--I have a feeling she will have some more great ideas in future works. Don't we need all the help we can get in today's economy?

http://www.yourghostwriter.com/blog/2010/06/10/small-business-qa-1-ann-brauer-quilter-extraordinaire/

And now--a quilt named october sun before I head outside. See I told you this post would be short and to the point.