Review of the BCTF

Leigh Shepherd Designs

Last month saw the annual British Craft Trade Fair at Harrogate, a three day event attracting more than 500 designers and artists and over 5000 visitors.  This has to be the most exciting event in the designer-maker trade show calendar with buyers from galleries, department stores, gift shops, boutiques and garden centres all looking for the next big thing.

Because of the economic climate and the demise of many handmade outlets in the UK, the past two years have been particularly tough for the creative industry so it was inspiring to see so many buyers at this year’s event and to hear so much excited and positive feedback from the traders there.  Four people who caught our eye were artist Julie Bell of SiaArt, semi-precious jeweller Rachel Lucie, glass artist Genevieve Thompson of Wicked Gen Crafts and contemporary jeweller Leigh Shepherd.

Rachel Lucie Designs

Competition is fierce at the BCTF with traders vying to make their product stand out. Simplicity is the key to success with most traders opting for simple white displays that complement their work and show off their key pieces. Here you can see how Leigh Shepherd used two plain display shelves mounted onto white cabinets to show her vibrant paper and scrabble tile jewellery to its best advantage.  Both Leigh and Rachel Lucie were in the Newcomers Gallery but both designers made their displays look totally professional. I really liked Rachel’s use of enlarged images of her key pieces.

Wicked Gen Crafts

But before you even consider taking a stand at the BCTF you need to be absolutely sure about your product. Because of the cost of exhibiting there it is not the venue for test trading to see if your work is saleable.  You need total confidence in your work and be positive that there is a market for your designs. Genevieve of Wicked Gen Crafts has a large repertoire of glass designs but she was extremely selective in what she brought with her.  Her latest glass hearts have a unique appeal and she chose pieces that both complement and describe her style.  She also chose pieces that she loves to make knowing, that if she landed a large order, she would have to make the same design many times over.  

SiaArt

Over-stocking a display is detrimental to the look of a trade stand. Although buyers may order multiples of one item, showing the same item as a multiple makes that display look more like a shop and not a trade stand. Artist Julie Bell of SiaArt kept her display to a minimum, her work shows her artistic style and stands out brightly against the stark white display stand.  Julie knows that selling her art is about selling a life style and appealing to interior designers.

But, like most shows, the BTCF has its winners and its losers – designers who could not pick up a single enquiry and designers who were overwhelmed with orders. Disciplines such as jewellery and glass are highly competitive and oversubscribed. But the most likely measure of success at the BCTF is a long term one – and that is securing a REPEAT order.

In The Studio (Part 7)

Any space can become studio - all you need is some time, energy and a little imagination. Each month we feature Artist's Studios to inspire and encourage your creativity. If you would like your special space be featured in Artists in Business please contact us using the Kontactr Box at the bottom of the blog.





Collage Artist Emma Strangelord
"For the past few years I’ve been OBSESSED with collage, making use of the hoards of junk I’ve gradually accumulated from childhood to, erm, the twilight of my twenties.
The faded grandeur of a Victorian terrace in a Northern industrial town, is where we set our scene. Thanks to a very accommodating landlord my studio space tends to be all over the house, whenever I’m overcome with inspiration!
The bulk of my supplies and my mini-gallery of completed pieces have taken up residence in the back bedroom, whilst I dream of the days when I have my own place, a real studio, a walk-in wardrobe AND I’ve won the Turner Prize (that will definitely happen).
I’ve recently dared to dabble in painting again (I’ve hardly picked up brushes since I finished my degree in 2003) feeling encouraged when, over the summer, a family friend bought an old piece which I’d hung on my wall for years. My painted images have tended to focus on the same sorts of themes as my collages – juxtaposition of sinister and sweet. A recent visit to the ‘Pop Life’ exhibition at Tate Modern, particularly the Takashi Murakami room, has gotten the creative juices flowing.
I’m also falling back in love with working in sketch books. I filled page after page whilst at art college and I love the personal, private feel of a book format - like a secret diary. And far more organised than scribbling down ideas on scraps of paper. This need for order and control manifests itself in the way I agonise for hours over collaged pieces, ensuring everything is perfectly in place before sticking down. Perhaps it’s a way of maintaining some sort of stability in an often chaotic life!
My friends and family are very much part of my creative endeavours. They are my biggest patrons and collectors. They offer support and encouragement and are always on the lookout for images and objects I could utilise. It seems my biggest fan is Mr. Casper Disaster, one of my two cats a foundling, infatuated with his mummy, and far from camera shy. Often he feels he has better ideas about how a collage should be arranged, or prefers the paint when it’s on the floor and in paw prints. This rarely goes down well..."

Strangelord on Folksy
I’m also showing work in an exhibition at Gallery 12A in Doncaster until 31st January 2010





Kathryn Abrahams - Glass Artist, Lazy Daisy Glass

"I have worked from home for only a couple of years, my previous career had always been in administration. However, like many others, I have always enjoyed crafting - whether it be cardmaking, glass painting or knitting. But found myself taking over the house with all sorts of crafts - it drove my hubby mad!
I first started working with stained glass as a hobby six years ago, but found less and less people were buying it. When I became pregnant I gave up the 'office job' to become a full-time mother. I received my maternity money and decided to invest it in my first kiln. I bought a book, some materials and started experimenting. I soon out grew my hobby room with all my bits and pieces. As soon as I decided fused glass was what I wanted to do I talked to hubby about the old outbuilding and what could be done with it. So hubby went about building me a new studio (it helps have a carpenter/builder in the family - he's done a stupendous job). He's an artist in his own right!
My studio used to be the old school outside toilet block and dates back about 100 years. The project has been ongoing for about 18 months. It's not aesthetically pleasing on the outside, as the inside was more important to finish. Working in the house was also a problem as I had to clear up/take out whenever I wanted to work, but with my own studio space I can go in with a clear head and leave it all behind.
I'm also a full-time mother to a 2.5 year old, so working with glass in the home can be a hazard.
My hubby fitted the space out with open kitchen units and worktops. There is now plenty of storage units and work surface. I have one long worktop purely for cutting and shaping my glass work and on the other side of the studio is my cold working area - which is for drilling, polishing and grinding. I recently bought a pillar drill and have been having great fun drilling holes. However, my new kiln is my pride and joy. It's taken a lot of work to get it, but thoroughly enjoying the endless possibilities.
My studio is at the bottom of our garden and as we live in a rural hamlet, it's very peaceful and surrounded by rolling countryside - a very inspirational place to be and work!

Lazy Daisy Glass

Lazy Daisy Blog

Lazy Daisy Facebook

Our guest interviewee (see previous post) is Patti Ursel of Getglassy. Here is a small selection of Patti's original fused glass creations (she also works as a stained glass artist and lampworker).
" I create using glass as my main medium - stained glass, fused glass and lampwork. I love working with warm glass, with the torch and the kiln melting the glass into beautiful treasures.I am also a graphic artist. I also oil paint and dabble in photography. I have been knitting, crocheting, and sewing since I was very young. There aren't many crafts I haven't tried."




Find Patti's glass here
Getglassy on Etsy
Getglassy on Artfire
Getglassy.com
Getglassy blog

Our first interview for Artists in Business is with web designer and glass artist Patti Ursel from the USA.

My college education was in computer programming but it wasn't until the Internet came to my sleepy little town in Western New York did I find my calling. I returned to college to learn computer art and design, complimenting my programming skills to be able to enter the online world. I ended up teaching classes at the same college - Introduction to the Internet, HTML and gave seminars to local businesses on why and how to get their business online within the first year. I started my own web design company during the summer months that first year in college and by the time I finished I was doing freelance work for an advertising agency.

It wasn't long before I took the job at an advertising agency full time moving up to Senior Interactive Producer and to New York City. I worked in the world of advertising for a good number of years. I helped develop websites, marketing and advertising plans for clients including Estée Lauder, Caché, Playtex Products, TD Waterhouse, US Coast Guard Academy, MasterCard, Phoenix Wealth Management, Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Internal Revenue Service, and many independently owned companies. I have since retired from the agency and now freelance building and maintaining websites

I also like to think of myself as a glass student and artist. When I retired from the agency I dove head first into my crafts. I have always had my hand in some sort of craft from painting to knitting. I happened across a stained glass store one day and as they say the rest is history (and the store owner needed a website too).

I have been fortune to find a group of fellow glass artist in a group called the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE). I built and maintain the website for the group that has a private forum for members only where we share ideas, friendship, and complaints.

My husband, computer junkie, programmer and all around good guy, helped me develop my own e-commerce website to sell my product and have been able to provide cost effective e-commerce websites to other fellow artists.

Being self employed has its benefits and negatives and surprisingly it can be the same thing. Setting your own working hours can be a big benefit but because you can set your own hours everyone else finds ways to pull you away from your schedule. Its so easy to say yes to a coffee or shopping date when you don't have to ask a boss for permission to leave.
Being able to work until 3 am instead of a 9 to 5 seems like a treat until you MUST work until 3 am because you have a deadline.
One of the hardest aspects of working out of your home is the lack of immediate feedback and interaction.
The absolute best aspect of running your own art business is being able to create your art for a living.

The one most important tip I can give is to build a business plan.
What is the ultimate goal selling your work? Do you want to just make enough money to supply your craft or do you need to bring an income into the household. Take the time to research where and how you want to market your product. Should you be online, in galleries, or gift shops? What is your target audience and where do they shop? Do you want to be bigger than just yourself? Do the research to develop a strong business plan, in the long run it will help you have more time to devote to your art and keep you on track to grow your buisness.

Have a strong support system in place. Fellow artists you can turn to for understanding or help with something your learning. Family and friends that will help give you the encouragement to keep at it and help spread the word about what you create.

Hire help. Marketing and distributing can be a full time job in itself, consider hiring someone to do it for you. If you can 't afford a professional art dealers or marketing consultants consider hiring someone to do some of the tedious tasks like mailing and billing to free up your time to do the marketing yourself.

Patti Ursel

Getglassy.com

Getglassy blog

Getglassy on Etsy

Getglassy on Artfire