Art show table covers and fabric walls

My fireproof fabrics for my jewelry booth at ACRE Las Vegas arrived this week.  I'm still happy with my color choices.

This will be the table cover.  It can fit a six foot long table, but can adjust to a 4 foot table as well.  It was slightly less pink than I was expecting, but still a good fit.  I think it's going to go great with the green floor.







 

The ivory panel walls are nice too.  I ordered them with clips and a velcro strip at the top the panels.  That way, I can put clips (which also have a velcro side on them) over a bar and velcro the panels to it.






Down to the wire!!  I'll be traveling to Las Vegas two weeks from today!!

Setting up an art show booth

I spent this past Friday afternoon getting ready to sell jewelry at the Gainesville Downtown Festival and Art show. I thought it would be fun to share with blog readers just how an art show booth comes to fruition.

This is the stack of my tent pieces and display boxes.  The tent poles are on the shelf on the top part of the picture.  The wooden boxes in the bottom  part of the picture will serve as display pieces. 

This is our '98 Ford Explorer loaded down with the art show tent and associated materials.  The front passenger seat is also full.  There is only room for the driver (barely).

This is my booth space.  When you set up at an art show, all you get is a space.  The show management doesn't provide you with anything to show your work.  (and yes, it was dark when we got started).

This is the top part of the tent.  In the next step, a canopy was placed over the top and hooked to the frame.

The top has been lifted with polls and hubby is busy putting up the sides of the tent.

The sides are up and the brown boxes have been set up.  We're now in the process of setting up the glass boxes on top of the wooden cases.

This is what the finished booth looks like.  Notice there are also red drapes on the front and a banner hanging from the back.  The jewelry is also in the cases.









It takes about 2 hours to set up the entire booth, with the jewelry, and about an hour and a half to break everything down.

Getting jewelry ready to sell at art shows

Part of getting ready for an art show is more than just showing up. It actually requires the same planning as opening up a retail shop, except that this one is only open for 48 hours. When an artist applies for an art show and gets accepted, all he/she gets is an empty space.  No tent, no tables, no outside help from the show staff. 

Here's a little bit about what I have to do to get my jewelry ready to sell at an art show:

The week or so before I have the art show, I concentrate on the business side of things.  I might work on new jewelry, but I don't do so with the intention of needing to have it ready for the show that week.  It's much less stressful that way.

I make sure I have plenty of cards and cello bags to package jewelry in.  I also have gift boxes available for an small additional charge.










For this show, I decided to prepackage the majority of my sale jewelry.  It's such a mixture of pieces, it just doesn't display well.  It looks better packaged and placed in a basket.









All the sale jewelry is in the basket.  (There's also something about digging through and looking for a bargain.  Does that go back to the sandbox days?)  I also take the time to go through all the jewelry I'm selling and make sure it is polished and tarnish free.









I always have an assortment of chains and cords for necklaces available.  People have their preference for styles and length of chains, so I try to be prepared with a variety.  I also find that as I'm getting these items organized, it gives me the opportunity to reorganize and get rid of items I no longer need or are outdated.








I also have my preprinted materials ready to go.  This includes any signage, business cards, bags, and artist information cards.









With the next post, I hope to show you a little about how I manage to shove so much stuff into a vehicle for a weekend show!

10 reasons to visit the Downtown Art Festival in Gainesville, Florida

I was interviewed by a University of Florida journalism student a couple of days ago about the upcoming Downtown Festival and Art Show, November 6 and 7.  She asked me, as an artist, why did I like doing the show.  I gave her my answers, but that got me thinking.  Why would the public want to come visit the show?  Here's my 10 answers why people should visit the Downtown Festival and Art Show.

1. Get a jump on your holiday shopping! 
2. You won't find a bigger selection of handmade arts and crafts anywhere around Gainesville
3. The jazz festival!  The festival includes local jazz musicians who wow the crowd with their skills.
4. There is plenty of room to walk and enjoy the art.  (I've done some shows on side streets where people had to elbow their way through the crowd.)
5. Get a chance to mingle with some artists.  Where else do you get the opportunity to ask questions of so many artists in so many different types of media?
6. It's free to enter!  It's an art museum for the weekend.
7. Experience a culinary trip of sorts.  Whether you're looking for a lighter fare, or the typical fried and crispy treats, they're there!
8. The weather is (almost always) perfect.
9. Enjoy a dinner downtown at one of the many great restaurants in the area after the show closes at 5 PM.
10. Support your local economy!  Approximately 30 percent of the artists are from Alachua County and another 30 percent are from Florida.  Help your own community.

For anyone interested in seeing me and my resin jewelry for the weekend, I'm at booth 80 (across from Emiliano's).  The show runs 10 AM to 5 PM both days of the festival.

P.S.  If you want an email reminder about the show, join my email list.

Questions to ask at an art show

As I'm busy preparing for the fall art shows, I am also keeping in mind what customers have wanted in the past or could potentially have a need for.  There's more to selling jewelry than just selling the jewelry!  One thing I try hard to do is to answer questions from art enthusiasts and take the opportunity to educate them about my artisan jewelry.  It actually got me thinking about questions I WISH people would ask.  I certainly don't want to overload people with information about my resin jewelry if they don't want to hear it, but I do love to talk about what I do.  I brainstormed a few questions that I believe someone could ask any artist at an art show or gallery opening and hopefully get some thoughtful responses.

• What inspires you?
• What is your technique?
• How is your art different from other artists?
• How did you get started?
• Can you take me step by step through a piece?
• Why do you do your art?
• Why do you do this particular kind of art (or use this particular technique)?
• Can you describe your creative process?

Along the line of what to ask, I would like to share with art enthusiasts one question not to ask:  "Did you make this?"  I realize that may seem like a perfectly innocent question on a shopper's part, but it's one that artists are asked MULTIPLE times during an art show or opening. Artists tend to take that question as "Of course! As opposed to my little gnomes or slave labor?" A better question would be, "Are you the artist?" if you are unsure if the person you are talking to actually created the art.  (Just a suggestion to get the conversation off to a good start.)

There are certainly others that I get asked that I'm happy to answer as well.  What other questions would you like to add to this list?

Thornebrook Art Festival wrap up

I had a great time at the Thornebrook Art Festival in Gainesville this past weekend. I got a chance to catch up with customers and friends and enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people. I shared a preview of my new work with resin and recycled glass, (which was given away in a drawing --- watch for the next blog post to see the winner) and had some of my remaining sterling silver and 14k gold work on sale. For those of you who expressed sadness that I wouldn't be making the semi-precious stone jewelry again, don't despair! You never know when it might show up again. :)

I've included a few pictures from the Thornebrook Art Festival show.


In the meantime, I am working on my new line of resin jewelry in the studio. I will be posting pictures on this blog. I welcome comments and encourage everyone to ask questions. I am happy to share my processes. I am also redesigning the KMS Designs website to correspond with the new jewelry line. I hope everyone finds it a bit more user friendly.

The new resin and acrylic jewelry will be shown for the first time at the Downtown Festival and Art Show, downtown Gainesville, November 14 and 15, 2009. If you would like a reminder of the event, please register for my mailing list (link found at the right side of this page).