Buffalo Etsy as teachers!

There's a saying out there that says,"Those that can't do... teach." It's not a statement that really holds up. Teachers are how we learn things, and that's certainly "doing" by any definition. We think that
it's time to amend that statement.

"Sometimes, those than can, ALSO teach."

Buffalo and the surrounding areas are a wonderful creative hub of talent, looking at the Buffalo Etsy Team alone shows an amazing diversity of products and creations in shops showcasing just about everything under the sun.

In addition to making beautiful items for you to purchase, running their shops and often with day jobs and families as well, several of our team members also teach regularly.
We wanted to take the time to tell you about some of these folks today.

Goldhawk Pottery is a shop that I'm sure you're already familiar with for beautiful, well made and purposeful pottery! Did you also know that Sara Goldhawk teaches through the Williamsville Community Education department and has classes on creative entrepreneurship as well as hands on clay classes for kids?  You can learn the ins and outs of both online and craft show selling from the Captain of our Etsy team herself!  Sign up for any of her classes or review her course listings here.
As classes change regularly through community education, if her classes don't populate, select courses, instructor and Goldhawk and you will have a nice selection to choose from.

Sarah Trumpp has a fun shop that I'm sure you've checked out, if you haven't, what are you waiting for? Wonderstrumpet on Etsy has a great selection of really unique and fun items. I never knew I wanted Dazed Dollies until I looked! Sarah also has an amazing array of online video tutorials that include mixed media, canvas and sculpting!

Heidi Zanelli has some beautiful paintings and cards in her shop ZanelliArts. She can also be found teaching at exhibiting at Enjoy the Journey Gallery in West Seneca.

Kelly Barone is a Certified Zentangle Teacher who also holds workshops at Enjoy the Journey gallery as well as many other local venues. If you've heard of Zentangle® and want to know more about this relaxing and meditative art form she has a full calendar of upcoming classes in the Western NY area. You can find some of her black and white work in her shop, Whimsy by Kelly along with custom sneakers and a variety of other things as well.

Zentangle is a meditative art form using repetitive patterns to create art, even by those who thought they couldn't draw. 

Suzanne O'Brien of ZanieCraftsFeltedArt teaches through the Williamsville Community Education department as well when she isn't making purses, pins and other amazing things for her shop. She also displays at Enjoy the Journey gallery and other locations in the area. She is currently offering introductory classes in Wet Felting.  If you have ever wanted to try your hand at felting yourself you can check out her current available classes and learn something fun.
As before if the listings won't populate, you can search for her under instructors!

As a lifelong learner I love to get my hands on new knowledge. I'm sure you do too. If you are looking for something to do on these drab winter days, what's better than digging in, rolling up your sleeves and tackling something new?

If you are a member of the Buffalo Etsy team and teach as well, please let us know! We'd love to share what you are doing as well!

Creative Spaces: Where Buffalo Etsians Make Their Magic

Featuring Suzanne O’Brien from ZanieCrafts

~ by Linda Richards

Suzanne’s craft is felting. She creates her stunning pieces using the wet felt method.

I asked Suzanne how she became involved in this craft and where she first learned the process.

 “I learned about wet felting while we were living in Christchurch, New Zealand for my husband’s job.” 

“While attending a weekly knitting group, several knitters decided that we should form a crafty co-op for a time, to share other creative skills that each possessed.  Learning how to make wool felt via wet felting was one of these lessons. I was so amazed with that lesson that I knew I wanted to continue doing more felting projects."

“Soon after that first lesson, Christchurch began its long period of geological activity, (Christchurch earthquakes, 2010 & 2011.) During this time, I turned to felting as a means of channeling my energies and nervousness into an active occupation of my free time.  Making felt really helped me to cope with being in an earthquake zone, forcing me to relax in between all the thousands upon thousands of aftershocks.” 

“Ever since those early days, I have been experimenting and mastering new wet felting techniques that I read about in books, on blogs, through Facebook, watched on YouTube, etc. I have been felting for four years now, and selling my creations at handmade markets for three of those years.”

Certain crafts like felting can require more than one area to complete the project.

Suzanne explains how she manages to do it all within her home.



 “Currently, we live in a small two bedroom house, so my work space is anywhere I can find the space at any given moment.  Where I work greatly depends on what I am making. All the purses that I make are lined with coordinating fabrics, so sewing happens on our kitchen table.  Our basement has a second kitchen, that I call our Krafty Kitchen, because that is where most of my felt-making and lately dying my own wool for felting projects occurs. My husband also makes use of the kitchen when he makes his batches of home brew. I’m quite happy to share that space with him.”

“I do have a little corner set up in our lounge where I keep all finished product for Etsy and craft shows.  My sewing machines (yes, I have two.), fabric, idea/reference books, and all of my stitching supplies are kept there in as organized fashion as possible.”

“I usually have something in my ‘work in progress’ basket that sits on the top of my three drawer crafting cabinet.  All of my wool, silk scarves, and embellishments for felting are kept downstairs in plastic containers when not in use to avoid infestations from flying insects who like to lay their eggs in the fluffy stuff. (I’m trying hard to avoid saying the “m” word.).“

I think most artisans have many ideas of what the perfect workspace would be like. What would your dream studio look like?  

“My dream space would someday consist of an enclosed space or dare I say, a crafting room, where I could store supplies and finished product and not have it imposing on the rest of the house. (My family puts up with it now, because they love me.)  The room would be decorated with fun organizational things and contain lots of inspirational color.  Making felt would probably still be in the basement or somewhere else with long table or counter tops near a kitchen because of the wet and soapy nature of things and needing access to warm water."

This craft is so interesting. I imagine there are all kinds of materials, tools and equipment involved in felting.

“The materials I use to make felt are very simple.  Bubble wrap, natural soap, a water bottle that sprinkles (I use a large garlic powder container from Sam’s Club), a flexible plastic resist for 3D objects, and a felt-able breed of wool roving. There are tools that people use to help speed up the process of felting, like electric sanders, hand held palm washboards, swimming noodles, old pantyhose.  It’s magic, I tell you!”

“Sometimes I add other things onto or into my felting work like: silk fibers, silk threads, Angelina fibers (synthetic glittery strands), glass marbles, rocks, seashells, vintage silk scarves, unique secondhand buttons, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  That’s what makes it so fun and unique!"

Besides your Etsy shop, you also display your work at shows throughout the area. How do you manage to keep your workspace organized?

“ZanieCrafts is still a fairly new business (opened Oct. 2013).  I have only done a handful of markets in the US so far, but I’m starting off on the right foot by keeping all of my packing supplies together in one container for shows.  I have gift boxes already assembled, tissue paper on hand and shopping bags all ready for packaging up purchases.”

“I like to incorporate secondhand and vintage into my creations and I use a lot of repurposed Salvation Army Thrift shop finds for my table display. I package my online orders with my leftover hand dyed sock yarn from my personal knitting stash, and my earring and brooch cards have been printed by a friend on leftover stationery that was purchased for our wedding invitations. I like the idea of reusing and repurposing something for a different use.  It’s creative, unique, and good for the environment!"

Suzanne is such a talented artist. I can’t wait to see what she creates next!



Find Suzanne’s work at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZanieCraftsFeltedArt

https://www.facebook.com/ZanieCrafts

Photos by Suzanne O’Brien

  

Linda Richards Design

 www.LRichardsDesign.Etsy.com

 www.facebook.com/LRichardsDesign

Autumn Leaves & Fall Decor

Autumn Leaves & Fall Decor curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Buffalocentric Gifts from Local Artisans

Buffalove: Buffalocentric Treasures curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Summertime...and the Living is Easy: A Collection from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Summertime & the Livin is Easy curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Hometown Love #4

SNOW and ICE!

"Snowbody" knows snow better than Buffalonians! Do winter in style with these coooooool finds.

 

"Snow and Ice" is the 4th in the series of "Hometown Love" gift finds in support of Buffalo's talented artisans and pickers. Maybe you'll find a little gifty for yourself in one of these collections :)



View Hometown Love #4 here:
https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTAwNjM2OTF8MjcyMjc1NTIwMQ/hometown-love-4-snow-and-ice?ref=pr_treasury

Hungry for more local finds? Discover more Buffalo Etsy Team shops here:

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=buffaloetsyteam&ref=shop_search


Stay warm!
Carla
https://www.etsy.com/shop/716Buffalos  

Monday Interview with Angela's Illustrations.

this week Angela from Angela's Illustrations joins us to share her work!

What do you create? How long have you been working on your craft/art?

I like to draw and paint. I use cardboard on occasion but in my store I sell original acrylic paintings on canvas and giclee prints of my work. I've been making art for about 9 years now.

How did you come up with your store name?
I named my business "Angela's Illustrations" because I just figured it would be catchy, and it's just easier for me to remember then something more complex haha.

How does Buffalo influence your work?

Buffalo has two popular art museums, the Albright Knox Art Gallery and right across it is the Burchfield-Penny Art Center. So I feel pretty spoiled. I'm very impressed when I see artists make such detailed and realistic works online. But when I first saw Charles Burchfield's abstract water color paintings in person, I felt so much. Both galleries are amazing, full of modern and abstract art locally and internationally. Having them here is an amazing benefit for the community. They are also reminders to me that art is much more than just realism. That makes me feel better because realism (so far) is not one of my strengths.

What inspires you?
I'm inspired by many things like animals, people, art, music, the internet, and other artists. Lately I've been inspired by my dreams. I have plans to recreate the scenes of specific dreams I've had because I found them fascinating, complex, and extremely meaningful.

What is the best thing about having a etsy shop?
I really enjoy having an etsy shop because its another way for me to share my work with other people around the world. Its great having the opportunity to sell my work on a lovely, safe, and helpful site.

How do you promote your work to the world?

I promote my work by showing it at festivals, at art galleries, and by using word of mouth. At art events in Western New York I have a sign saying I own an etsy site and I hand out business cards with a link to my shop. I tell everyone I meet to check out my store online. My friends and family help too by telling their friends.

What is the hardest part about selling online?

I guess something I've noticed about selling work online is that your work isn't seen in person and photos may only give some of my work so much justice.

Where can your work be found locally?

I'm a member of the 464 gallery in Buffalo and show my artwork there often. Besides that I'm always looking into festivals and calls for work around the city of Buffalo so your sure to find me!

Do you have any up and coming art shows/craft shows that you would like us to know about?

I will be showing my work at the Elmwood art festival this summer on August 24th and 25th. I'm very excited about it because it will be my first time there and I've always wanted to be a part of it.

Do you have any advise or suggestions for new sellers to etsy?

Take the best photos you can of your work. If your not able to do it yourself find someone who can help! It makes a difference. Also don't expect sales or things to happen right away. Do your best to share and advertise it.

Do you do this full or part time? If full time how did you get yourself to that status?

Currently I sell and show my work part time.

Have you had any formal training in what you do?

Well, I took a beginners class in painting, drawing, lettering, design, and modeling. That's pretty much it... haha.

Do you teach any classes in what you do?

I don't, but I'm very interested in art therapy and if I did teach a class I would love to help others tap into their imagination and feelings while creating art.

What do you do when your creatively blocked?

When I have a creative block in one medium I tend to jump to another to keep the energy flowing. If I can't paint, I start to sing. If I can't sing, I write, and so on. Sometimes people just need a break too and that's ok.

Where can you be found online?

https://www.facebook.com/AngelaWisniewskiIllustrations

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AngelasIllustrations

http://www.bluecanvas.com/pangie

Around Town: Where we can find some of Buffalo Etsy Team members this July!

Summer is in the air here in Buffalo, New York and with the change in the season we also start up the summer show festivals. Each month I will be posting a list of Buffalo Summer Festivals that you can find Buffalo Etsy team members at!
For the month of July:
 
BUFFALO SATURDAY ARTISAN MARKET
July 6th and 20th
Quoted Mosaic Collage
Goldhawk pottery etc.
AniaJane (20th only)
CDesignIllustration (6th only)
Lily Pickford (6th only)

West Hazeltine Street Sale, Kenmore, NY
July 6th


Silent Mylo Studio

Cain Park Arts Festival

July 12th, 13th, and 14th
Silent Mylo Studio

 Della's Consign Home Decor & Gifts
July 19th
Street Thread 
 
Larkin Square Classic Car Show
July 20th 
Street Thread 

 Run for Rover
July 21st
Street thread
Ithaca Artists Market
July 26th
Silent Mylo Studio

Ryu-Con  
July 26th and 27th
Jar of Dreams

 WNYBAC Bookfest
 July 27th
Lily Pickford 

Kenmore Farmers Market
July 27th
Street thread

Glen Park Arts Festival
July 27th and 28th
Silent Mylo Studio

Syracuse Arts and Crafts show
July 26th, 27th, and 28th
Mealy Monster Land

 

Following YOUR Path...Sarah Trumpp 6/6/13

Summer is getting closer and it seems we are

all busier than ever. Families, craft shows,

jobs, book clubs, Etsy teams and treasuries;

not to mention, gardens, golf, graduation parties

and of course making the things we all make!

With that as a back drop, Sarah Trumpp of

WonderStrumpet was still kind enough to give us 

a quick update on how she is doing.

Feel free to wish her luck as she heads into the nerve-wracking craft show season.

Have you participated in any shows

since the May update? What shows do you have coming up? I don't think I have had any shows since the last time we talked. I have Lockport coming up at the end of June, Corn Hill in July, and Elmwood in August.

Since you started working full-time, can you share 1 hurdle that you have encountered that you never saw coming?  My biggest hurdle has been ME, which has been a little annoying. I'm following a dream and should probably not be getting in my own way. Irritating.

Compared to your initial fear or anxiety, has there been something that turned out to be much easier or smoother than you had expected?  I can't think of anything. How doom-gloom Eeyore of me!

How about the reverse of that - something you thought would be easy that turned out to be a headache? Show applications - so much paperwork!!! There was a lot of stuff that I didn't even think about, like business license (luckily I already had it) and tax IDs and whatnot, so I'm glad that's all out of the way.

Free format time - share whatever you feel like sharing  These past few months sales-wise have been pretty slim to none, so I'm a little nervous about all of that. I haven't updated my shop in way too long, though, since I've been hoarding stuff for shows, but I'm going to change that this upcoming week, so hopefully I'll start selling again. Right now I have all of my chips on summer show season, so I'm hoping things go well. Nervous!

Al Pilato
harvestwoods
picture-frame-it-yourself.com

Art Shows 101: Sales Tax and Credit Card Processing

                                                               Volume 3: Sales Tax and Credit Cards

So you’ve chosen your shows, submitted your images, gotten your acceptances and you’re completely ready to go -- right? 

Ha ha! This is when the real panic can set in. That summer show that seemed to be eons away when you applied in January is inching closer day by day. While I can’t give you any advice on what to make, how much to stock up, or what your perfect price point may be, I can point you in the right direction on some very basic necessities.

Sales Tax

As New York State Etsy sellers we are required to remit sales tax to New York State for all taxable in-state sales - so it’s likely you already have your Certificate of Authority a.k.a. Sales Tax ID number. If you don’t, here are a couple of links to get your started:

Online Permit Assistance and Licensing:

http://www.nys-permits.org/

New York State Department of Taxation (main website):

http://www.tax.ny.gov/

Be sure to display your Certificate of Authority at the shows you participate in. State Tax Examiners often visit large, outdoor shows to make sure that exhibitors are in compliance.

And while this goes without saying, I'm going to say it anyway. New York State Sales Tax permits are valid in New York State only! If you are traveling to a show in another state be sure to contact the tax department of that state and obtain the proper permits.

Credit Card Processing

As Etsy sellers, we have the convenience of PayPal or Direct Check out at our finger tips. But what about face to face sales? Should you accept credit cards? Here are a few things to consider:

• the price range of your products may determine whether or not you should accept credit cards. If your average sale is under $20 you may find that many of your customers are more than happy to cash -- so why bother paying extra fees if you don’t have to? If your average sale is above $20, or $50, or $100, accepting credit cards may increase your overall sales.

• If you have a smart phone or an iPad or Android tablet with mobile service AND a checking account, there is no good reason for you to not accept credit cards. Square, a credit card processing company, offers free processing equipment and fair rates for mobile credit card processing. Here’s a link to their site:

https://squareup.com/

While some people question the security offered by Square and dislike the fact that ALL of their customer service is handled via email, I personally have not heard of one actual complaint about their service. And as for the question of security, Starbucks has signed with Square and even sells their card readers in their stores. If Square is secure enough for Starbucks it’s probably secure enough for show vendors.

Here are a couple of links for further reading: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/starbucks-square-mobile-payment_n_2101791.html

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/starbucks-square-mobile-credit-card-reader/

• if you’d prefer, PayPal, ProPay, Intuit, and many other companies offer mobile credit card processing services too

• if you have a PayPal or ProPay account, or a different merchant account,  you can manually process a credit card sale after a show. Be sure to collect all the information needed from your customer along with a contact phone number. 

• if you are dead-set against accepting credit cards, don’t want the extra hassle, or are just selling at a couple of small shows this season, fear not! Most buyers still bring cash to shows, and their check books as well. If you loose sales by not accepting credit credit cards your can always get yourself set up for your next show.

Here's wishing some warmer Spring like temperatures before we dive into the summer show season!

Until next time -- keep creating!

Alison

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio

ART SHOWS 101: Survival Tips for Show Artists and Crafters

                                                                      Volume 2: TARGET MARKETS

Investopedia explains 'Target Market'

Not all products and services are meant for all types of consumers. 

       Read more at http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/target-market.asp

And from Entrepreneur:

Your target customers are those who are most likely to buy from you. Resist the temptation to be too general in the hopes of getting a larger slice of the market. That's like firing 10 bullets in random directions instead of aiming just one dead center of the mark--expensive and dangerous.

     Read more here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/target-market

To an artist or craft person, the above excerpts may seem a bit clinical. We put so much of ourselves into our work that the thought of labeling it as a “product” can be offensive. But guess what!  If we’re listing on Etsy we are, indeed, offering a “product” for sale.

Understanding that our products appeal to a certain type of buyer, and seeking out shows and venues which will connect us with those buyers, can save us a lot of grief! Unfortunately, that’s often easier said than done; but simply understanding that art and craft shows are not exempt from the laws of marketing can help point us in the right direction. It can also soften the blow when we take a wrong turn. 

One of the true dangers of ignoring target marketing is tangled up with what I like to call the “R” word: REJECTION. It takes a lot of guts to apply to a shows and set up a table or booth at a festival. Often times, if we are not accepted into a show, or if we participate in a show that we do poorly at, while our neighbors make sale after sale, we view it as a personal failure. “I wasn’t accepted into that show because .... or ...I didn’t sell anything because...... my work isn’t good enough....” Quite often that’s not the case. It’s more likely that our product just didn’t match up with the interests of the buyers who attended the show.

Take some time to think about who your target audience is. Who’s bought from you in the past? What types of shows have worked for you and which ones have not. If you are brand new to selling you can ask yourself: Who am I making this for? 

Here are a few tips that go hand in hand with pitching to your target market:

• Set out a Mailing List form or journal at shows. The people who sign up are truly interested in your work and you’ll be able to contact them directly about upcoming shows.

• Keep your display consistent . If you are a glass artist who also makes candles and cards you may want to choose one area to focus on per show. Displaying very diverse products side by side dilutes your display’s overall appearance and may make it harder for your intended audience to find you.

• Don’t be too hard on yourself for choosing a show that’s a bad fit. We all do it. Just chalk it up to experience and move on.

Until next time -- keep creating!

Alison

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio

Upcoming Deadlines for Local Shows:

• Allentown West, June 8th and 9th, 2013 DEADLINE: April 6th, 2013    
  
  

  • http://www.allentown.org/Events/Event-2013-06-08-101/AllenWest2013ArtistApplicationpdf.pdf

• Glen Park Art Festival, July 28th and 29th, 2013 DEADLINE: July 15th, 2013 Apply Earlier!!

                            http://village.williamsville.ny.us/Glen%20Park%20Art%20Festival%202012%20Application.pdf

Treasury Love, Part II

If you build it, they will come.
NOT QUITE. THIS IS ETSY, NOT FIELD OF DREAMS :)
 
Honestly, there are better ways to increase your shop's views than building treasuries. Just look at other shops: look at their massive number of sales, and then see how many treasuries they are creating, and how often. In many cases, they haven't created a single treasury!

Now look at these mind-boggling stats from Etsy's February 2013 "Weather Report:"
• 1.49 BILLION page views  • 1,988,713 new items listed  • 1,025,124 new members

Those staggering numbers, while down from January's numbers, mean two things to me:
#1. There's a lot of competition out there. #2. It's easy to get overlooked

Don't be discouraged. Go ahead and create a treasury, because YOU need views. Yes, building a treasury is not a purely altruistic effort. I check my shop stats, and views quintuple when I post a new treasury.

A GREATER NUMBER OF TREASURY VIEWS = GREATER POTENTIAL SALES for YOU
You can't list a new item and expect a chunk of those 1.49 billion page views to be YOUR shop page, right? Well, the same goes for treasuries. Ya gotta PROMOTE.

PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!
Once you've published your treasury to "everyone," get to promoting. Take a gander at this recent screengrab and those 4-digit views (I added the green circles):

Promoting, step-by-step:

1. "Favorite" each of the 16 items you've treasured. This step is often overlooked. If I favorite one of your items, for example, that means your item will potentially be seen by my 700-and-some followers. If your list of followers is wimpy, I would gently suggest that you get to working on that.

2. Publish your treasury on Facebook, Pinterest, your website, your blog, Tweet it, etc. Use social media to your advantage!

3. Notify each of the 16 shop owners that they've been treasured. Another step that's often overlooked. The copy and paste function makes this process more efficient. Compose a message to send to each of the 16 shop owners, click the item you've treasured, and contact the owner. Write something like: "You've been treasured! (copy and paste the URL of the treasury page here). No need to reply to this message, but favoriting the treasury and leaving a comment are appreciated. This treasury has also been promoted on (copy and paste the URL to your Facebook shop page and anywhere else you've promoted the treasury). Sign off with a friendly "Thank You" or whatever you deem friendly. NOTE: Your featured shop owners don't always respond. DO NOT SEND THEM A REMINDER CONVO. Yes, I am shouting. Spamming via convos is a major no-no on Etsy.

3. Promote the treasury on Etsy. My best guess is that the curators in the above screengrab are very busy promoting their treasuries on Etsy.

You belong to teams. Those teams have dedicated threads for treasuries, but follow their rules. Some require favoriting and commenting on x-number of treasuries above you. This means anyone posting treasury links after yours will be doing the same for you! Some team captains threaten a wrist slap if you don't follow their game rules.

4. Repeat Step 3. The web is a 24-hour operation and there are people browsing Etsy who live in other time zones. Re-post your treasury link at other times of the day, but again, follow the treasury rules posted: you might be required to wait until 10 others have posted before you can re-post.

Speaking of promoting in team threads, there are Etsy teams focused primarily on treasuries! Search teams, and join Avid Treasurers, Click and Comment, or any others that strike your fancy.

New-ish! An easier way to curate treasuries!
When you click on an item that you want to add to a treasury, there's now an "Add to treasury" option right above the social media icons on the right. This means you don't have to manually copy and paste the URL of each item into those 16 boxes. There's also Schmetsy, but I haven't taken it for a test drive yet.

Happy treasuring... see you next week!  - Carla
http://www.etsy.com/shop/716Buffalos

ART SHOWS 101: Survival Tips for Show Artists and Crafters

                               ART SHOWS 101: Survival Tips for Show Artists and Crafters

                                                                        Volume 1: DO YOUR RESEARCH!

So you’ve decided to sell your work at art and craft festivals? Good for you! Making that decision is step one of a long, sometimes crazy, journey :-)

But where do you start? 

This is the first of many posts aimed at offering a bit of insight into shows and festivals; it's NOT meant to be an all inclusive HOW TO guide. There are as many show experiences, opinions, and suggestions out there as there are exhibitors. I encourage experienced show artists to share their knowledge and experiences by commenting and adding on to this and future posts.

Okay -- here are some of the basics:

Getting Your Feet Wet: Shows come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re just starting out you may want to visit a show or two before committing to exhibit. Fees for shows range from $5 to $10 for some local markets, to hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of dollars. Your set up can be as simple as laying down a table cloth and your product on a table that is provided for you -- to setting up a fully stocked street corner boutique! I suggest starting out small before investing large sums of money on a canopy, display walls, shelves, and expensive lighting systems. 

Juried vs. Non- juried Shows: Many people are surprised to find out that show vendors compete for a limited number of spaces at shows. Whether you are applying to a Juried or a Non-Juried show, be sure to read all of the rules and regulations put forth in the application. In most cases you will have to apply under a particular category (ex. painting, ceramics, glass....) and show/sell ONLY that type of work.

A Juried show requires prospective exhibitors to submit images of their work along with a non-refundable application fee. You may be asked to mail in actual photographs or photos burned to a CD; or you may be able to apply online.  More and more shows are switching to online, digital applications that allow you to upload your images directly to their websites.

In contrast, Non-juried shows do not ask for samples or images of your work. Simply filling out an application and sending in your exhibitor's fee will hold your space if you apply by the deadline, or until the show is full.

DEADLINES!!!!! Setting up a show is a LOT of work! Application Deadlines are often several months before an event takes place. Don't get discouraged if you find out you've missed the deadline for a show! Mark it on your calendar for next year and go find a show that's still accepting applications!

Beware of New and “Add-on” shows: Truth be told, there are probably too many shows and festivals out there. While I wouldn’t outright discourage anyone from applying to a “first-year” show, keep in mind that a new show will have to build an audience and attendance may be low. 

I WILL suggest that you think long and hard before jumping into an “Add-On” show. You won’t find the words “Add-On” in any show description or application. It’s my term for shows that are added onto existing events. For example, a show in conjunction with a concert, parade, football game, runners marathon, etc. While these events may have attendance in the tens of thousands, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have tens of thousands of customers. In my experience, most people go to an event with a certain mindset. When they go to a concert or a sporting event,  their minds and wallets are usually set on the main event, not on buying your art or craft work, regardless of how fabulous it is :-)  I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule.  If you've had a good experience selling at this type of event please share!

Finding shows: Help! Please!!  If you know of a show, are promoting a show, or have a good source for reliable show information, PLEASE let us know!!

Here’s a list of a few places you can look for show listings:

• Artists Friends and Buffalo Etsy Team members 
• ArtVoice, Buffalo’s free, weekly newspaper dedicated to the arts

• Zapplication: https://www.zapplication.org/ An online source for shows from cost to coast (These are big, expensive shows!)
• Sunshine Artist: http://www.sunshineartist.com/, another online show guide,  (Again, big, expensive shows!)
• Your local Chamber of Commerce

• Exhibitors at Shows, show "neighbors" can be a great source of reliable information

Upcoming Deadlines for Local Shows:

• Buffalo Saturday Artisans Market at the Central Wharf. DEADLINE: April 5th, 2013

http://www.buffalosaturdayartmarket.com/

• The Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts DEADLINE: April 1st, 2013

http://eafa.techriver.net/

• The Lewiston Art Festival DEADLINE: May 10th, 2013

http://www.artcouncil.org/events/artfestival.php

Until next time -- keep creating!

Alison

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio

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