At some point as my husband and I planned our year, we decided it would be a good idea to participate in 10 art fairs in a row, August, Sept and into October.
I’m not sure what we were thinking!
Maybe I thought some little elves would create more of my inventory in the few days between unpacking the car and packing it again to head off to another art fair.
I’m new really working flat out hard to try to keep up.
But, that being said, there is a lot of good that has come from this intensive experience.
We’ve both made an effort to ask advice from other artists we trust on how to show our art to its best advantage.
My sales have been much better this year than last. I attribute that primarily to having started to frame my art quilts. It not only shows off each piece to its best advantage, but lends a more unified look to the booth. Plus I’m making a number of small art quilts: 5 x 7, framed to 7 x 9. They sell well in an art fair setting.
Customers are now clear about how to hang the art quilts. I was always trying to explain about the “hanging sleeve,” the “slat,” etc. and it was going over heads.
My husband, Jay Ressler, is making my frames. They are hand crafted from either re-purposed barn wood or hardwoods, stained and oil rubbed. I then cover a piece of foam core with black linen fabric, and sew the finished quilt to that. Then I complete the frame with a backing and wire. No glass of course!
I’m also beginning to weigh whether I want to continue making my craft items: Friendship Wine Totes and “Hot Spots,” that is, hot pads. Both carry through a constant in my work: using re-purposed fabrics and objects. For now, I plan to keep making them.
Compare the show on the left, this year’s booth shot, with last years’ booth shot of the same event. They are similar, but the framing, on the left, unifies the work.