Lately, I am letting myself reach the conclusion that craft shows are not the right venue for me. On one hand, I have so much fun interacting with potential buyers & with other crafty people, and it's a great place to do that. But is it worth paying fees, lugging my booth around & sitting around for 13 hours only to be let down by poor sales? Followed by a few days for me to cradle & attempt to regenerate my ego? No. As a fine artist, is is simply the wrong venue and it's high time to admit it.There are some fairs with a good balance of fine art and craft, like the Buckman Show & Sell, for example, that I will continue doing. But I have decided that now is the time to get out there and do more shows of my own around town. This is Portland, after all, and a business isn't really a business in this town until there is art on the walls! From coffee shops to hair salons to galleries to you name it, there are literally hundreds of venues to choose from.
So, as a step in preparing to approach more venues, I have spent the past couple of days creating these little miniature portfolios. I chose my 5 strongest paintings & had them printed in 2 x 3 format. Then I made little accordion books and attached one photo to each page. The first page has my name and contact information permanently affixed, and the last page has a little slot for my moo card. Now instead of just handing someone my card and hoping they'll remember to look at my website later, they can see some examples while I'm talking to them.
Do you have a miniature portfolio or brochure for your work? Is there something else extra special that you use to promote yourself? I am interested to hear about it! I am also thinking of offering these little guys as a service to other artists. I love making promotional materials! What do you think?
9 comments:
I think those are fabulous! What a great idea. I love that it gives a taste of your art, not just one piece (like on a postcard). Plus they are cute. :)
this is a FABULOUS idea, lea! wow, i even have several of those accordion books lying around unused... now i know what to do with 'em! you're so awesome :). and yours turned out perfect!
What a creative idea! So perfect and cute. They're small enough that you can easily carry a bunch around with you, and whip one out whenever you need it.
I think they are fab - and they look so professional. Now you just have to sit down and work out which venues you are going to approach. Do you have an idea? A useful design too as you can mix and match with new miniatures as the paintings come into being! Do let us know what happens when you start showing them around - wishing you luck with it!
Thank you everyone! I will definitely let you know how it goes. It is a big deal for me to approach venues, but like I said, there are tons here in Portland! I'm going to start with a couple of places in my neighborhood. Yay!
Wow - these are fabulous! Great idea :) I may have to steal it once I'm ready to show..
These are awesome! Love it!
Sounds like a great idea. Craft shows are okay, if that's what you want to do. But to get into more serious art, one needs to be more discerning about what is presented to the public, and galleries. Although, if the crafty stuff is fun and fulfills an inner need, then do both, but keep them seperate.
'Followed by a few days for me to cradle & attempt to regenerate my ego?'
Uhm I know how that feels. But I think that's a great idea with the portfolio. Of course the word miniature caught my eyes. You can check my blog out I like to sketch and do miniatures if you should just find the links list on the right because I've got ten billion different things going on there :)
http://visionarybutterfly@gmail.com
I think your art is VERY Unique.
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