Taming the Tangle

Message for the day: you can't go it alone

Have you ever had one of those days where you get the same message repeated to you in various forms? Well, by the end of yesterday I was saying "Okay! I get it!" and my mind was shutting down from all the information processing... needless to say it was a very good sleep.

It started early in the morning with a call from a friend to go for a walk followed by a birthday breakfast for one of her friends at a local restaurant. We walked and talked and got our day off to a lovely start. We both admired the idea behind the breakfast: her friend simply posted on facebook and made a few calls around to let people know she would be at the restaurant and would love it if anyone who wanted would just show up, wish her a happy birthday, and enjoy breakfast. She knew what she wanted, asked for it, and got it! It was such a wonderful opportunity for an interesting cross section of her friends to meet as well... there was so much wonderful networking and storytelling.

That was when the message started for me... it was there under the surface all along in various conversations, yet when Reinette (a friend of the birthday girl's and our town mayor actually) mentioned the time when she did the Iditarod alone (yes! I can't wait to hear about this story at her performance on Saturday night)... well, she said she was just recently enlightened to the idea that she wasn't alone at all. She couldn't have finished the race without all the help of the villages and villagers along the way who taught her skills and helped her achieve her goal.

This struck a cord with me because that's the way I have felt about my life and especially my business. There are so many people who help me and have helped me along the way in various forms. After breakfast I received an email from a fellow jeweler who is thinking of hiring some helpers. I gave her some pointers from a business perspective, but definitely encouraged her to do it. I'm not always sure why our American culture wants to put so much emphasis on doing things alone or being the best or trying to do it all. I'm a huge fan of teamwork or delegation and being proud of it. That's why my website isn't just about me (I am in the phases of simplifying it for various reasons, but I still acknowledge other people who help me on the In the Studio section of my website.

The rest of my day was filled with business errands and various emails. I was surprisingly exhausted from the early part of the day yet knew I needed to keep my energy up for the evening event at the APPLE Center where See Jane Do was hosting an event. Eleven women stood up for 5 minutes each speaking about the projects they are involved in, mostly based around food, the environment, gardening, and community. It was a powerful night, and each speaker acknowledged that she was merely a leader who brought other people together (actually, most of them didn't even feel like leaders since they were all deeply involved workers in their projects). There were no loners in this group, and each person made an appeal for volunteers and thanked the community for its various forms of support and encouraged everyone to get involved on some level.

Soon after I had to head home just to crash, but first a phone call to a friend who reached out in a time of needing an ear. To wind down I crawled into bed and finished the book "When Everything Changes, Change Everything" which ends of the note of "you can't do it alone," and why do that to yourself. Sometimes to not be alone you have to be the one who reaches out (and don't we all want people to reach out to us and know just when we need to hear something? well, people aren't mind readers, and to get what you want you have to go for what you want). The writer (Neale Donald Walsh) clarifies that solitude and meditation are different from being alone. Often times to be alone is an effort where you are shutting yourself off. When you have gratitude and appreciation and understanding of what your soul needs, you will not be alone.

That's hardly the message of the whole book... it's very interesting if you need more control in your life based around changes that are happening to you (it turns out you are making them happen!) or simply to change your perspective on all the change and turmoil happening in the world. The end kept emphasizing the "not alone" message, though, which was just interesting based on the events of the day.

New Store: The Porch in New Orleans

Yes, I now have jewelry available in the Big Easy... shipping out today actually in time for the holiday season. JoAnn, the store owner, found me in Ann Arbor at the State Street Art Festival. She bought pieces from me for a couple of years, and this year she requested a wholesale catalog. Luckily for me she was both patient and persistent... she caught me in the midst of my big move. I couldn't find the box with my catalogs! The one thing that wasn't marked... so she emailed me and was willing to order from a PDF. It doesn't happen often that customers will doggedly pursue us... as I've mentioned before, I'm working on a leads tracking system to stay on top of new opportunities as well as keep in better touch with current customers. And I've found my catalogs (just last week!) and have a new one in the works for 2010.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Economic recovery?

For the last 2 weeks I received at least 1 wholesale order every day. This week has been a little quieter with 3 retail etsy sales and 1 more wholesale order, but this is the most activity I've seen in a while. I'm hoping that means some economic recovery is in sight. It probably means that many stores looked around and realized things have been selling and all of a sudden they need some new fresh work for the holidays (and for their repeat customers, which is who we are all catering to).

I am thrilled to feel so busy. Nothing like in the past where I had enough work for 4 employees, but the base is building back up. The part that is killing me is that all of these calls have come to me... I know that I should be calling all of my accounts to check up on them... even just to say hi. I'm trying to work this into my schedule but other things keep taking precedent, which is probably a bad priority since my livelihood exists on orders being in the queue.

The daunting part of making calls is the shear number of galleries I need to be in touch with. I need to create a list and maybe tackle just 2 or 3 a day. I have about 60 active galleries, not counting the ones that have fallen by the wayside for various reasons. We all know it's best to break a large project into small bites, but the practice is sometimes hard to get started. The funny thing is that I love talking to my galleries! They know what's going on, and it's fun to build a relationship.

Some people think 60 sounds like a lot of galleries (I still agree), but other people think 200-600 is a better number. In talking with a friend a couple of weeks ago, though, he explained how 60 is better than 3. Sometimes we get caught up with trying to find the 1 big client that will keep us afloat, but then we might as well just work for that client. Having a large number of clients reduces reliance on any 1 income source. I'd rather have 10 little orders sitting on my desk like I do now than 1 big one because it shows that the economy is opening up around the country. The orders are small and conservative, but they add up. It also prevents me having to sit and stress and wait for the 1 check to come in; multiple orders improve cash flow. A large number of accounts also means that 1 client doesn't have too much ownership in my company. It's interesting to look at income from clients as percentages of ownership or interest in my business.

Bio revisions

How do you sum up your life and career in a few short words? And better yet, still have some personality come across? I don't have the answers... but when I have time I look to Alyson Stanfield who has some great exercises. Today I did not have time for that when an urgent bio request came in... and when I looked at my stand-by bio it mentioned lots of things from my near past (husband, dogs, Chicago... whoa, sometimes little things like this are a stark reminder of how things have changed). So here's what I jotted down... thoughts? I'll put it through the revision phase for the next time around.

Kathy Frey

When the economy downshifted last year and life threw her some curveballs, Kathy looked around her big city life and realized she would rather be living and working in a more outdoorsy area. In August she moved from Chicago to a small artist community in Northern California, where her home studio is nestled in an adorable garden cottage. In years past Kathy has shown her sculptural wire jewelry at up to 30 art fairs a year, but now her work is carried by more than 60 galleries and museum shops so she is reducing her traveling lifestyle to 10-15 shows a year. This allows more time to teach workshops based around her 2007 book “Elegant Wire Jewelry,” published by Lark Books, and focus on new design directions. And, as her big move dictates, when she’s not in the studio you can find her practicing yoga, rock climbing, hiking, or simply enjoying a glass of wine over a meal cooked with friends.

Should you do that show?

This is a topic I discuss with a lot of other artists, both established and those just getting started. The reality is that it's really hard to know if a show is going to be good for your work unless you try it yourself.

You can try contacting other artists who have done the show in the past. My suggestions for this are to pick someone whose work might have a similar clientele to yours but doesn't feel like a direct sales competitor. When you contact them, introduce yourself, explain why you chose to contact them in particular (comment on their work and show that you are really familiar with who they are). Above all else, offer to share information so that the conversation can be give and take if possible. If you are just starting out it may seem like you don't have much to share, but maybe you can connect them with a fellow artist friend, a photographer, supplier, etc.... you never know.

It is hard to get people to talk money, but that issue is different for everyone. You might have to ask questions like "what price points sell well for you?" "how many sales do you tend to have on a typical show day?" "how many sales did you have at this show?" rather than ask point blank how much money was made. You can also ask about the crowd, did people join the mailing list, does that artist have a similar sales style to you, how busy was their booth, how hard did they have to work for sales, etc.

Some other options are to read reviews of shows. Some of the best sources I've found over the years are (in order of helpful for beginners to more established artists): Sunshine Artist magazine, The Crafts Report magazine, Craft Show News, and the Art Fair Sourcebook. You will only get general information from these, though... remember that some artists sit back and expect sales to come to them, thereby having terrible shows, while other might be able to work a tiny crowd realizing that dedicated collectors come out in the rain and thus have great shows when everyone else is complaining... you won't know these details without talking to fellow artists.

I know there are other sources out there... I've heard reference to the Harris List but don't know anything about it. Does anyone else have sources to share? How do you decide what shows to do?

Tweet, tweet

With my sporadic blogging tendencies, I've started twittering as a supplement. You can find me at: http://www.twitter.com/kathyfrey

For the moment I'm posting little update snippits about the studio, my show travels, work life in general, and inventory updates... who's getting new inventory and when. Follow along, and please don't be afraid to let me know what you would like to know more about! Sometimes I am brimming with so many ideas but lack the discipline to get to any of them so just get quiet for a while until I can focus again. It's a crazy cycle, but thanks for following along!

When one door closes...

...usually another one opens. At least that's the hope I have for my many artist friends who are getting out of the biz due to the economy. We are all working so hard right now, and today was a tough day when one of my galleries handed back all their inventory because it will be closing its doors at the end of the month.

Until then, you can swing by Haus in Chicago's Andersonville and get some truly great deals on beautifully handmade art, store fixtures, and cool design items. This Friday, April 3, join Greg for the final Haus party from 7-10 pm. Throughout the month items will be marked 30-70% off. We are all sad to see such a wonderful store close, but the timing was such that as a lease expired and the economy is shaky... well, decisions had to be made. We are all supporting Greg and looking forward to his next adventure!

New inventory abounds

The last 2 weeks have been filled with trips to the post office and UPS as orders from my wholesale shows find their way to their new homes. It's always fun for me to imagine my jewelry in all these different locales. Some, like museum shops, I've become used to the idea that my work sells and displays well in those environs. Others I'm going to have to try to venture to visit them  on my travels to truly grasp the personality of the place. I love seeing galleries in person. Here's a little rundown of some recent activity:

Mowen Solinsky Gallery, Nevada City, California
Last month I traveled to this wonderful, outdoorsy artist enclave nestled in the Northern California mountains. While there I took new inventory to the gallery and experienced it first hand... and was lucky enough that there was even an opening during my visit! So I had the opportunity to meet other artists and people from the community as well as got to know everyone who works in the gallery and talk about my work more with them. This type of personal connection always helps to boost sales as well... consumers don't just want a piece of jewelry, they want a part of the artist and that storied life as well. This connection has to come through the gallery representatives since I'm not there most of the time.

I felt fairly familiar with Mowen Solinsky since they represent me at SOFA Chicago; I was familiar with many of the artists from that show. But the gallery is huge with much more variety. It was fun walking through and recognizing many artists' work I know (including Greg & Heather who make raku vessels in my old Cornelia studio building), discovering new work that I fell in love with, and just feeling like I could spend hours taking it all in and still not feeling like I'd seen everything. The gallery is doing a beautiful job of bridging the gap between fine art and craft. These are all things that I had to pick up on in person... now that I have more a sense of the vibe of the gallery and the community, I might be able to make better suggestions for jewelry that works in that environment/story and appeals to a certain type of clientelle.

Caldwell's, Seattle, WA
Ben, Anita and I met at the New York International Gift Fair. They have just recently received my inventory. I was spreading the word to a Seattle friend and did some poking around online... check out these links:

http://www.nuovo.com/caldwells/

http://www.10best.com/Seattle,WA/Shopping/Specialty_Shops/26282/Caldwell|s_Seattle_WA/

 I am so curious to see my work in this environment. My work definitely looks like it has tribal influences, but I've never seen it in an environment that plays to this angle. I haven't seen the store myself yet, but I'm hoping to pop in for a visit next month (on April 9 I'll be having a trunk show at Mary Lou Zeek gallery in Salem, Oregon so am planning to tour around that whole region for a week).

Fallingwater Museum Shop, Mill Run, PA
How have I never been here? I have even dreamed about this place... the website is as beautiful as the building looks. A collection of my nests and more nature-inspired pieces are now in the gift shop, which I imagine is probably slightly different from a lot of high-design museum gift shops. I'll have to plan my travels to pass through here... maybe this summer.

Gardiner Museum Shop, Toronto, Canada

The Gardiner just received a fresh bit of inventory for spring... which is great since they just were voted one of the top 5 galleries in Toronto!

Relish, Bloomington, IN
This looks like the type of store where I could spend all my money... it's a little more "lifestyle" than any one type of store. I haven't been there in person, but it's not too far... I'll have to try to visit on one of my trips East. My jewelry just arrived so should be out on display!

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There are even more to mention, but that seems like a screenful for now! Let me know if you stumble across my work here or in any other stores... or if you think a store is perfect for my work. Thanks for your support.

How to find yourself

Oh, doesn't that title sound deep? When I have the real answer, I'll be sure to share it... but for now I'm just talking about signing up for Google alerts so you know when you are being talked about in cyberspace. You can sign up for any topics or keywords as well. In my case I receive alerts about "Kathy Frey," "wire jewelry," "Chicago jewelry," and "Elegant Wire Jewelry" to keep tabs on what's being said. Most times I don't find a whole lot, but today I had two pleasant surprises:

Cindy Edelstein, the jewelry business guru, featured a picture of my display from the New York International Gift Fair on her blog. She and I spent some time talking at the show, which reminds me that I need to email a picture of my new hoop earring designs her way!

There's also a great interview with Ursula Norris on Style Blue Print... it turns out she's inspired by my work! What fun to learn! I can't wait to see more of her creations... her found object pieces pictured in the blog are really wonderful.

To give credit where credit is due, I first learned about Google alerts from Alyson Stanfield, the art biz coach, and have since read more about them from Cindy Edelstein as well.

Back in the office again

My last job was at OWP/P, a large architecture firm in Chicago. I was part of the marketing team there & loved it, but they all supported me as I made the entrepreneurial transition to full-time jewelry designer... and here's proof! Today I am back in one of the conference rooms with a selection of jewelry in time for Valentine's Day. It'll be our little secret that more women come to buy pieces for themselves.

Architects and engineers love my work because it's so structural, and the designers love that I'm easy to work with for creating "modified standard" designs rather than full-blown custom, which can be pricey.

What's an example of "modified standard"? I've done everything from making wireball earrings a particular size, adapting sculptural earrings so they swing from hooks or clips, trading out pearl colors, adding adjustable lengths of chain, etc. So don't be afraid to ask... I want my jewelry out there being worn, enjoyed, and loved! -- Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®