War Eagle Fair 2014

I survived my first year selling at War Eagle Fair!  Part I

And I had a great time! I am exhausted! And I plan to do it again next year. Glutton for punishment, yes, I guess I am!  It was a lot of work getting ready for this show.  Most of the vendors have done this show for many years and they prepare all year for this show.  I started preparing in June! Yes, I already had some of my little houses made, but I knew that I needed much more inventory. So I created as much as I physically could. I do have to have some sleep.  So now that it is over, I have to plan for next year's show.

But I will do some things differently.  Since it was my first time, ever, to even go to War Eagle, I really didn't know what to expect.  I knew that the show had good crowd attendance.  But I had no idea what kinds of things sell to this type of crowd, at this type of show. I learned a lot.

What I learned:

1.  War Eagle has a dedicated crowd of customers. They return every year. They come to buy. I was pleased that so many of them decided to buy some of my creations, even though I was the newbie!

2.  A four day show requires A LOT of product to sell. If you don't have much to sell, you will not have much to offer the customers.

3.  Have a variety of items with a variety of price points for everyone.  From $4.00 magnets to $150 paintings...or higher! You never know what someone is looking for! Many of the attendees are shopping for Christmas gifts or decorations.

4.  Talk to other vendors and ask lots of questions! Many are very helpful and willing to offer tips and advice!  It is great to make new friends with similar interests too.

5.  Price to sell, but do not undersell. I would not feel good about my work if I marked it so low that I didn't make money! The reason for doing a show like this, is to make money.  Why would I work my tail off all year and not make money?  Another good reason for #3.  Have something to sell that can be priced low and make some money. $10 - $50 is a good price range for many people. Have a lot of stock in that range.

6. Have a booth that draws the customer in. Next week I will blog about my booth and how we set up.
Update: Part 2 More About My Booth Display

War Eagle Mill is a beautiful place. I took many pictures of the scenery around the mill. I plan to go back soon for fall foliage photos. The leaves are looking very pretty this week. Shown in the photos is the War Eagle Mill and the one lane bridge over the river, the week of the Fair.  Isn't it beautiful?

Beth♥

Planning for a busy Summer

Since moving to Northwest Arkansas in March, we have been looking for some Art Festivals/Shows, that are close by, to participate in. Last week I found out that I was accepted into an Arkansas Art Festival called The War Eagle Fair Art Festival for October. I've heard good things about this show, so I am hoping that my artwork will sell well at this type of show.
So...
STEP #1...Get busy and create A LOT of artwork to sell!  Yes, October seems like a long time away from June, but I know that October will be here fast! And the show will be a 4 day long show, so I MUST create enough product to have plenty to sell during that 4 days. So after a little bit of excitement from being accepted into this big show, panic started to take over a little. I know that I have to start now, creating lots of new little goodies. It takes time to create my little clay pieces, so obviously, I have to start making them now. I'm also going to create some whimsical and colorful paintings. (I want to make sure I have plenty of choices for my customers.) I also plan to apply to another local art show, or two, that will be in November or December, so that means even more product to create. But that is what I love to do, so I look forward to the challenge and having fun with it.

Last week was filled with playing with the clay, sketching ideas for paintings, shopping for paints and other additions to my booth.  So, it was a busy week, as will every week from now until October. Here is a sampling of what I've been working on in the studio. I'll be posting updates here as I go. I hope you will check back in with me and leave a comment every now and then. I love to hear from other artists and friends who read this.  If you have had a booth at War Eagle Fair before, I would love to hear from you about your experiences.

Beth♥

Thinking about Christmas? in July?

Usually I don't even think about Christmas until December. No, I'm not decorating for Christmas, but I am

working on Christmas orders (custom gifts) and items to sell at an art festival that are Christmas theme.  I have even purchased a couple of Christmas gifts...which is a first for me.  The last few years, I was really stressed out over Christmas shopping, or rather the lack of Christmas shopping.  But because the Fall/Christmas season is so busy (hopefully it will be again this year), I don't have much time to shop...and I do NOT like to shop!  Probably because it is hard for me to decide what to buy for other people.  But they (the marketing experts) say that many people start looking and shopping for Christmas in September! Who knew? I guess I've been missing out all these years.  It does make sense though. So this summer I will be working hard getting ready for Christmas.  My little clay houses and things can't be created at the last minute, so I have to start now to build up my inventory, along with working on other orders.

I'm also going to Norcross, Georgia in October!  I'm excited about that!  I've only been to a few Art Festivals, and I am still learning, but Norcross Art Fest is a very well organized and attended art festival. Hopefully, for me,  this one will be even better this year! I hope to be more prepared for this one.  ( See my  booth story here)  My Hubby, my assistant, and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about art festivals. We learned it is a lot of work and exhausting, but fun...if the weather cooperates! (We almost blew away at the John's Creek Festival when a hurricane Sandy was passing by on the coast!)  I've learned a lot about what sells and what does not, and how to display my items. I've also been getting a lot of cool ideas for improvements on my display. I'll be posting some pictures of my booth later, when it gets closer to Art Fest time.  .

Since I am currently working on items for my Etsy shop and for the Art Fest, I asked some of my Facebook friends, "what type of functional items (out of clay) would you buy at an art festival?"   (If you have any suggestions or ideas that would complement my little clay houses and clay tiles, I am open to suggestions! ) Most of the suggestions I got were for more bowls and cups.


I've added some photos of the bowl that I made a few weeks ago along with the cup that I made to match.  I guess you might say it is my prototype for a new functional design that I will be making more of and with more color variations. The cup has a tree design on one side with branches that hold the little birds on the other side.
I also included a photo of the inside of the cup because I added a little leaf design on the inside bottom of the cup. I had to use a flash on the camera to get it to show up and it looks like there is liquid in the bottom, but there is not.  Anyway, I liked the effect that it gives.  I enjoyed creating the bowl and cup, but they took some time to decorate. Hopefully the next ones will go more quickly...or I will be spending all my time on glazing cups and bowls!

But if I'm quiet this summer, you know where I am!




Beth  ♥

Oh! It's August?

Hello August! I can't believe it's already August...although it has felt like August since June...or maybe even May.  It's been hot and dry here, like most other areas of the country.  But other than the heat, it doesn't seem like August, because I'm NOT getting ready to start back to school!!!! I have to remind myself all of the time that I will have time to create this fall!  Fall is usually my busiest and most stressful time of the year.  This year I should be able to enjoy it because of my retirement!  I especially look forward to enjoying the weather when it finally begins to cool off.  I'm going to make a list of fall favorites that I can especially enjoy this year and share as it gets closer to Fall.
The projects that I'm working on now are private commissions that are almost done!  For now, that's all I can share.  I hope to be able to share the details about a month from now.  I did spend a couple of days working on some clay houses last week. They are in the kiln today and I will be glazing some of them this weekend so I can list them in my Etsy shop.  I will be working on those and some whimsical paintings to get ready for the holidays and the John's Creek Art Festival that I will be participating in, October 26 & 27th!  It is a new festival this year and it should be fun! Till next time...

Have a great weekend! 

Beth  ♥

Reunions and Summer Breaks...

...are some of the greatest things! Summer break started for me 2 weeks ago and I've been to 2 reunions. One was just a weekend of close friends from high school and good times...the other was an actual high school reunion for 5 years of classes from 1975-79! Yes, it was 1978 when I graduated high school. Gee things have changed so much since then, but the high school reunion brings back memories like it was just a few years ago! 
So now that I'm back from traveling, I have to get down to business.  I will be traveling back to Georgia in the fall to participate in the Norcross Art Fest in October! I'm pretty excited about it. We had so much fun going to Dunwoody last spring, that we decided it would be worth the trip to go back for the Norcross Art Fest. It is such a nice area. 

One More Month...

...until time to go to my first Art Festival as an artist! May 8th & 9th, we will be in Dunwoody, Georgia for my first Art Festival, and also the first Art Festival for the town of Dunwoody.  This festival is organized by the same group who organizes a similar Art Festival that is held in Norcross, Georgia in the fall.  Check out the website to see the list of artists who will be at the Festival!  So it is definitely crunch time for me to finish creating the clay houses that I will be taking to sell at the Art Festival.  I hope to do well at this festival. If it is successful, I may continue to participate in this and other festivals in the future.  I believe this is one of those opportunities that found me for a reason.  In preparation for retirement from teaching in the near future, I am definitely looking for more opportunities to make a living with my art. So look for future blogs about my experiences in preparing for and going to Dunwoody!

Another opportunity that I have come across recently is the Art Cooperative in Searcy, Second Saturday Studio.  I recently posted about the Studio that opened up a couple of weeks ago.  Two Arkansas artists, Kelly VanHook and Micah Holden, who live in central Arkansas, have organized this space to give Arkansas artists a place to show and sell their art.  As artists, it is difficult to find places that are available for artists.  So I was very excited to hear about this space.  Normally they are open only once a month, but they are going to be open this Saturday, because of a local festival at the college in town. But the big Grand Opening event will be next weekend, April 10th, from 9 am to 5 pm.   I will be attending this event and look forward to meeting all of the artists that display at the Studio.  If you are in central Arkansas this Saturday, April 3rd, or next Saturday, April 10th, come by the Studio to check out the super Arkansas artwork! They are even starting a gift registry!

Wish me luck in these events, so that I will be able to move toward my goal to become a full time artist by next year!

Good luck in your artistic endeavors! I hope you will stick around to hear more about mine.
~Beth