It's all over....

The Giveaway competition for The Handmade Marketplace has now closed and the winner is 
Helen White from Helenka White Design.  Many thanks to everyone who took part. 
However, if you still have a top tip for artists starting in business please visit our Facebook Page and post it there for all to read. 
If you wish to receive newsletters from Artists in Business please sign up for our free newsletter HERE. 


We will be running another fun giveaway competition soon. 

Felt at Central Hall - Clare Ashton

Clare Ashton - Artist's Statement


"I came to feltmaking without planning, but once I had discovered it I have grasped, grappled, embraced and wooed this creative process to discover all its possibilities and all I can create and express through it.
"There is a wonder in the process of making felt as loose fibres fuse and knit themselves together under my hands, becoming a fabric of as many varied shapes and textures as I can imagine. In the past I have build up my images during the half-felt stages, but recently I have begun printing onto the felt and then felting it further before adding more print and repeating.  This process is enabling me to add depth and atmosphere to the artworks as the wool pulls the image into it.  By printing again on top I’m building up a field of focus with the foreground sharp and the background becoming less and less focused.  Only felt swallows and absorbs the print in this way, making each piece unique.
I use British sheep wool in my felt.  This way I can know the story of the wool, where it comes from, the landscape the sheep walked in, the weather it endured.  I also know it did not have to pollute the skys or oceans to reach me". 

"Knowing the source of my materials leads my thinking onto the subject of the images I am then imposing onto it.  To me it calls out to be the plants and animals, landscapes and structures which share the countryside the sheep inhabit.
When all these elements come together my work has integrity.  It has been true to my creativity, my environment, my inspiration, my soul and my creator".  

Clare's printed felt work will be at Central Hall, Alice Street, Keighley until Friday 6th April 2012.

British Craft Trade Fair

The biggest event in the handmade designer-maker’s Spring calendar has to be the British Craft Trade Fair.

Leigh Shepherd Designs

When:  Sunday 3^rd, Monday  4^th and Tuesday  5^th April 2011 Sunday 10am to 6pm, Monday and Tuesday 10am to 5pm

Where:  Hall 1, The Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 8PW

What is it? The BTCF is a trade fair and a brilliant opportunity for designer-makers to showcase their new designs and meet  potential buyers from galleries and  boutiques, jewellery shops and garden centres.  Every designer is British and there is a happy mix of newcomers and returning exhibitors for those important buyers to select from. 

Why should you go? If you are an emerging designer then attending the BTCF will help you to decide whether your product is ready for the retail market. You will be able to see how others display their work and enjoy the buzz of a trade fair. You will also get a good understanding of how a trade fair works before you commit yourself to next year’s event.

What you shouldn’t do. The designers cannot sell their work direct to the public at the BTCF so please don’t ask them.  The designers are a friendly bunch and are generally happy to give you advice about showing your work but please don’t take up their time if there are buyers present.  Oh, and don’t  help yourself to their precious marketing leaflets and brochures, these are for potential buyers.

Although the public cannot buy directly from the designer at the BTCF it is a wonderful chance for British designers to make those all-important contacts with galleries and shops, sell their work by consignment and pick up repeat orders.  It’s also a fabulous way for buyers to find out what the latest trends in handmade are and a way to keep their customers buying British.

http://www.bctf.co.uk/news.php

Wicked Gen Crafts

Craft Fairs and Arts Markets

One of the most satisfying ways to sell your art is direct to the public and the most popular way is through craft fairs and art markets. Craft fair organiser Deborah de Brunner shares some details of her life as a promoter of artists and artisans in Yorkshire, UK.

"What is better than making something you dreamt up and someone wants to buy it? Or you see someone in the street carrying your handbag, the one made with your own fair hands? I have only been doing it a year and hope that that thrill won’t go away. But of course if you make things you need somewhere to sell them so you can start all over again.

"I enthusiastically turned up at my first craft fair, spent ages arranging and pricing and finally looked around to see mass-produced goods and some handmade things but handmade in the Philippines! I was so disappointed and that led to a discussion with a friend, which led to us setting up our craft fair business “made-it”.

"Our philosophy is to run “real” craft fairs strictly with only handmade goods which are sold by the maker. We also aim to look after our stallholders by offering friendly, efficient service with some level of exclusivity (who wants to turn up and find 5 similar stalls?). The quality of goods on sale and a good mix of stalls are important to us. We also make coffees, carry bags and do whatever we can to make it an enjoyable day. We even put ourselves on to the streets with a sign to drum up trade and put up with the same jokes and occasional rude comments from passers by. How devoted to our stallholders are we?!

"If I had to give advice to exhibitors I would say to really consider the presentation of their goods, use different heights, lighting, a good background cloth and make their prices obvious. People wander by and need something attractive to make them stop. Notice where people tend to look first and put your strongest product there or even a product that makes people smile and can lead to conversation. I would also exhibit at the same venue a few times to build up relationships with regular customers and to get a feel for what sells best there. The strongest advice though is to “sell” your things…our stallholders who put in the most usually gain the most. It can make you feel a bit self-conscious at first but you’ll soon enjoy it. Smile, chat and be enthusiastic about your craft.

"At the moment we are doing fairs in Harrogate and Wetherby but hope to spread our wings further a field soon. You can find out more about us or contact us at Made-it".

Promotional Zines

Zines are a great way to promote yourself and your art and are fun to create too. There are two types of zine - the hand made collage zine and the on-line zine, designed to a template. Here Leanne of See the Woods describes how she designed the first Folksy promotional zine - Go Handmade.



"My decision to create and publish GO Handmade magazine to help spread the word of Folksy and the amazing crafters, designers and artists who sell there was one of pure impulse, much like a lot of my decisions to be honest.
Well it turns out there’s quite a lot of work involved in putting together an ezine, more than I originally anticipated but I still enjoyed every minute of it and each new challenge it brought. Surprisingly enough, finding good content for the magazine was the easy part. Then came the design and layout, what appeals to one person may leave another completely cold and a lot of different aspects had to be taken into consideration. I have a legal background so of course that aspect of putting together a magazine was always at the forefront of my mind during the whole process, ensuring that none of the content had already been produced elsewhere and above all else making sure that the content contained in the magazine was protected. With the images of designer’s creations effectively being published somewhere other than Folksy it was important to ensure that readers of the magazine understood that the images and content remained the property of the designers and could not be reproduced without their consent.
It was a lot to take on board but at the end of the day I think we managed to create a unique, interesting, article based publication which everyone seems to enjoy reading.The feedback from the magazine has been fantastic and with well over 5000 readers to date, I’m thoroughly looking forward to the next issue in August.We’ll have more makes, articles, recipes and crafts for readers to enjoy in the upcoming issues and don’t for keep to keep an eye out for the Christmas issue which will be something a bit special."
See The Woods

Individual Fashion Retail

This week we have an article from Louise who owns a bricks and mortar shop, Blue Ginger. she talks about hand made clothing and we will be exploring trends in the arts business in a further article.
"I have always been interested in art and design but was never sure which path to take. After finishing my A levelsand a foundation in art and design, I chose a Craft course at Cumbria Institute of the Arts. The course covered a wide range of crafts such as embroidery, print, ceramics and weave. Due to the fact I was still a little clueless as to what I wanted to do in life this degree was brilliant as I was given the opportunity to try so many different areas before finally choosing my final subject, Ceramics!!
I left Cumbria in 2004 and fell in to various jobs nothing to do with art and decided to do a bit of travelling. I stayed with parents in Singapore for 4 months trying to work out what career path I should take, Whilst doing this I did a teaching course on precious metal clay, very interesting and I hope to use it in the future.
On arriving back in the UK decided I wanted to give it a go at setting up my own business making my own jewellery and ceramics. I contacted Airedale Business Enterprise in West Yorkshire, UK, for help who suggested The Prince’s Trust. Airedale Business Enterprise helped me with my business plan and I had interview with Princes Trust panel to put forward my ideas. They gave me a loan to set up a workshop, but only for the jewellery. I thought this was brilliant and got to work straight away making jewellery and selling at craft fairs and jewellery parties
I decided to set up the shop Blue Ginger as it has always been a dream. I thought it would be ideal to have a workshop and place to sell in one. As before I went to Airedale Business Enterprise for help, I can strongly recommend local business agencies, all help and advice is free and as I have continued in business they are still helping.
After a year in the planning I opened Blue Ginger in July 2008. I source jewellery and clothing from the Far East, and also handmade work from the U.K with my own handmade jewellery, clothing and accessories, there is a good mix for all ages and tastes.
I really love working for myself as I spend lots of time making always having a project on the go, this is a real benefit because the shop can be lonely sometimes working on my own you can go hours without having any interaction with any one, however because I have an area in the shop where I can work on my jewellery and clothing I become engrossed in the work and hardly notice. The only other downside of having the shop would just be the stress of not knowing what is round the corner, because there is always a risk with business and you have to always be thinking of new ideas to get people in the shop and also keep them interested.
The one piece of advice for someone who is thinking of going in to business is to just go for it, if you have the passion and skills there is no harm in giving it a try. Yes, it is hard work but if you do make it the rewards will be so worthwhile.
For the future I hope to continue with the shop and try to make it a success, I am also setting up jewellery classes from the shop and hopefully precious metal clay courses. I would also like to go back to university to do a fashion degree, I love making clothes at the shop and would like to learn more about the construction of clothing."
Louise Fyffe.
Blue Ginger
Royal Arcade Low Street Keighley
West Yorkshire
UK

Our previous guest post was by Jackie from Forever Foxed. Jackie sells cards and buttons on a terrier theme. Here is what she says:

"Here at Forever Foxed HQ we work around the clock creating a range of greetings cards featuring our favourite beardy dogs; Wire Fox Terriers, Airedales and Irish Terriers. We produce unique, quirky and fun designs either handmade or printed, all on high quality paper. You don’t have to be a dog lover to love our cards but it probably helps!

Forever Foxed Blog

Forever Foxed Folksy

Forever Foxed Etsy

Forever Foxed Fox Terrier Rescue

If you buy one of our Dog on Wheels photo cards you can sleep soundly knowing that a percentage of the profits is donated to Fox Terrier rescue organisations both in the UK and the US. Why not take a look?

Jackie from Forever Foxed has been kind enough to write a short piece about her inspiration behind her product and her preferred printing type.

My journey into crafts has taken a long and winding road. I have a love of bright colours and simple shapes, therefore it seemed a natural progression to combine my love of terriers and my obsession with design.
My first greeting cards were made with felt and harked back to my childhood memories of playing with fuzzy felt and also that familiar childhood toy, a dog on wheels. I soon decided to expand into different mediums and from here I discovered the joys of printing. The inspiration for my designs is my Wire Fox Terrier, Jackson. In 2007 he became very ill and so I found I spent more time at home caring for him. Making cards helped as a creative release and also to generate some cash for his humongous vet bills! Since Jackson is a rescue dog, it seemed fitting to also try and raise funds for various Fox Terrier rescue organisations here in the UK and the USA. With this in mind, I introduced a range of charity photo cards in 2008 based on my growing collection of dog on wheels toys.
I have always been fascinated by the printmaking process and last year I was fortunate enough to pick up a gocco here in the UK. These Japanese printers were originally designed in the 1970s and were hugely popular. Each image is imprinted onto special screens using flash bulbs, similar to those used in old cameras. The screens are then inked and used to produce cards or prints. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of these machines have stopped production and so eventually supplies of screens and bulbs will dry up. I have already begun looking for a new method of printmaking and, at the end of last year, I bought a small letterpress printer from eBay. With this I can use type or blocks to create images which are "pressed" into paper, leaving a lovely crisp impression. True letterpress is a dying art and highly skilled. I have been fortunate enough to have lessons from a very kind expert who has been showing me the ropes. I hope to finish my new range of letterpress stationery over the summer. I still enjoy using conventional printing methods (much quicker!) but there is something much more satisfying (and tactile) in relief printing.
I have had my own website for a while now, but I also sell on both Etsy and Folksy. Sales have been slow on Folksy but I am happy to be selling in UK£ as it is much more convenient. I hope that by continued marketing and just plugging away that it will pay off. Marketing has become almost a full time job as I have accounts on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and I also have 3 blogs! I 'm planning to expand into other areas apart from stationery and badges and hope that in 5 years time I have a range of products, featuring many more terrier breeds.
In the meantime, I shall continue my journey into printmaking, and hope that each new design continues to meet with Jackson's approval.

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

Artists in Business mean Business!

Why would artists need to know about business? Surely our role is to create beautiful or challenging objects and not "dirty" ourselves with marketing, selling and promotion. Well, unless you are successful enough to have an agent and accountant or you are happy enough to live in a garrett creating art for YOU then artists need to know about the business of art.
Artists in Business is aimed at all self employed artists and artisans whether you are a WAHM, social network seller, sell via a website, own a B & M shop, just completed your art education, returning to the arts after a break or have been selling your work for a lifetime.