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?
