Make it fit

So as I said in my last post, I have spent the last month preparing for a craft fair on the 9th of December.

This was the first craft show that I had done in almost two years … I was feeling a bit out of practice.

During my masters I didn’t get the chance to make very often. I missed it so much! I didn’t appreciate how disoriented I was going to feel. It had been so long that I had forgotten what to do. The masters taught me so much and I am so glad I did it but it made me neglect the craftswomen in me.

So deciding to do this craft fair was a great decision. It got me making and made me realise that this is what I want to do, this is what I love doing.

Now the craft fair wasn’t a huge success in terms of sales (50 year old women who love gardening are not really my niche market) but it was successful in terms of me getting back into the swing of things and bringing out a new ‘commercial’ range.

In the jewellery world you have to work out what where to put your work. There is no point putting your work in a random place and just hoping for the best. You need to find out if it is going to be worthwhile and if your work will fit into that particular gallery/shop/craft fair. Market research is so important and I think I have finally learned that lesson.

For me, the fair was a deadline. Something to work towards, something to push me to get back into the workshop and make. And it did just that.

Where is the worst / best place you have ever showcased your work and why?