Making Connections

When looking back at a show to evaluate its success, it's important to look at connections in addition to sales numbers.  Shows are the time when you are really putting yourself out there, and you need to be open to all different opportunities. It was the summer of 2005 when a representative of Lark  Books saw me and my work at the State Street Art Fair in Ann Arbor, and that discussion lead to my book, Elegant Wire Jewelry, which was published last year.

Beyond my own book, being in touch with Lark prompted me to ask about another author and jeweler, Joanna Gollberg, who looked a lot like someone I went to high school with in Asheville, North Carolina. It was her! When I traveled to Asheville for my book's photoshoot, we only spent a few minutes catching up on high school, agreeing we'd rather focus on where we are at now and relish in knowing another jeweler buddy. Joanna has a great website filled with stories of her travels, and I finally got to see a full display of her work in person when our paths crossed at the Buyer's Market show in Philadelphia. We had a couple of minutes to re-connect and admire each other's work and give pep talks where needed.

This year in Philly I had the opportunity to meet many other jewelers, which is a comforting way to start building a network at a show with hundreds of artists. After hours we would meet up at the Loew's Hotel for happy hour, and, if we had the energy after that, smaller groups would break off and head to dinner. For our last night there, my roommate Olive (center) and I joined up with a group and walked over to El Vez restaurant. This was my favorite meal of the whole trip... I went decadent and ordered the braised short ribs with horseradish sauce. yum! No wonder I put on a few pounds this trip despite all my best efforts to workout every morning.

El Vez happens to have an old-fashioned photo booth... there were 9 of us at dinner, and we managed to get 8 of us into the booth at one point. I'll spare you those blurry cheek and forehead shots, but wanted to share these fun shots. Dawn Benedetto (on left) and I had a trunk show together a few years ago at Virtu in Chicago. Her Poppi rings are addictive, and she has a new direction to her work that is just as fun! Her giggle is infectious. She is fun to hang out with, and I have a lot of business acumen to learn from her... she has a helpful website and lots of great show and business experience in the jewelry field.

You can see I got roped into the photo booth unexpectedly where I then took out Olive trying to find the camera... we finally got our act together in the last shot.

I will weave stories of other connections throughout my posts, both of jewelers, artists, and galleries.