Taming the Tangle

Happy Birthday from Darbeads!

Personally I love it when birthdays drag on for a week, which happens naturally when I'm traveling. It was fun to come home to cards and packages waiting for me. And last night Janien and Darby from Darbeads took me out for a birthday drink. Look at this beautiful glass ring holder they gave me (with a personal inscription on the bottom)... totally my colors! A great piece to kick off my Darbeads collection :) 

Ring Holder, ©2011 Darbeads, photo by Kathy Frey shown with a few big fun blossom rings in her collection.

Janien and I have become fast friends. We can talk about art, fitness, and healthy eating and just about any topic under the sun. We try to get together 1 or 2 times a week for a walk, so we are walking and talking... although it all depends on what our busy schedules allow. We are toying with the idea of starting and Artist Group, reminiscient of the Art Girls group I belonged to in Chicago. There are so many artists here, and in general we all work alone in our studios... I personally miss the creative energy, support, criticism, and ideas that can come from meeting with other artists.

The truly funny thing about our friendship is that Janien, Darby and I all lived within 2 blocks of each other in Chicago... which means shopping at the same grocery store, eating at the same favorite Thai restaurant, drinking at the local watering holes, having some friends in common... and we never met until we all moved to Nevada City where we now live about a mile apart. What a small and unusual world!

Online you can find Darbeads on Facebook and Etsy (see the links on their website), and they have a wonderful shop on Spring St. here in Nevada City, California, where walk-in visitors can purchase beads, marbles, ring holders, vases, and original jewelry crafted from their lampworked beads. Their glass studio is in the back room, and there's plenty of room for classes and private lessons, so if you live in the area or are planning a vacation here, it's a great way to have a hands-on artistic experience in an area that is bursting with art and natural inspiration. And you couldn't learn from two more wonderful people who are truly enthusiastic about glass. They are getting close to convincing me to try my hand at it again... my attempts in the mid-90s are what helped to push me towards wire but it's always good to try a new art form.

Building a mailing list

At the Indulge show in Bellevue, Washington, Tia Kramer shared a great tip with me: hold a giveaway to boost your mailing list. She has had great success with it, so I decided (with her consent) to try the same tactic at the Contemporary Crafts Market in San Francisco since my mailing list for that area was a whopping 5 people (luckily all of them came!).

Here is my simple container (soon to be adapted to have a wire flower or other adornment):

I put it in my sales area so it was prominent but didn't block any jewelry display. I hung a pair of earrings on the jar as my giveaway... I decided to pick my newest design because those were the earrings I wanted to have the most conversations about:

Nest Vine Hooks, photo by Larry Sanders, ©2011 Kathy Frey

I haven't notified the lucky winner yet since I'm still in the process of entering all of the names... the most I've ever received from a show. The great thing is that the giveaway wasn't so prominent that just anybody walking around would enter; only people who came into my booth noticed it so by entering their name I know that they are already drawn to my style.

It was also fun for me to have animated discussions with almost every person about the earrings. It allowed me to also let them know the types of options I do for pieces with patinas and pearl colors to make sure the jewelry looks stunning against their hair or skin, and to let them know that I do different lengths in a similar design as well as coordinating necklaces. Often it would get them to try on jewelry, an important step since my work looks better on people than on display.

Most of these people did not purchase on the spot, but their enthusiasm generated a lot of energy in my booth which always attracts more people. And most importantly it gave me something great to talk about that pertains to the way I design for clients, so everyone learned more about me and my work which created strong connections. My followup email to everyone will be a great reminder for them, and hopefully it will lead to more traffic on my website and online stores.

How art can help a community

On Saturday I ventured out to try something new. We all know that sometimes that simple step can be a difficult thing to do. Luckily I did have a friend, ceramic artist and sculptor Yvon Dockter, who I was meeting at a local Empty Bowls event.

What a powerful thing! Have you heard of these nationwide events? Leading up to the event, local artists and volunteers spend their time and creative energy making soup bowls and mugs. All of the bowls are then donated for an event. Tickets are sold for $20, and the people who come get to pick out a bowl and then eat soup (which is also generously donated by restaurants and individuals). A slice of bread was also available, water, coffee and tea, as well as some sweets. In our case here, there were lunch and dinner seating options.

I was a late-comer to the dinner event, but it was still a pleasure to get to choose a bowl. Here's the cute-y I adopted:

There were several soups to choose from, and I went with split pea since that's not something I make at home very often. Yvon and I sat at a table with several other people and had a nice conversation with the others there. One couple wanted to go back to try more of the soup options, and fortunately another woman spoke up to remind us all that this event is an example of people who are low- or no-income (and may face empty bowls a lot) and the point is for us to have a simple bowl of soup as dinner, like at a soup kitchen. Not a huge portion, not repeated fill-ups... luxuries we can often take for granted.

This annual event here benefits Hospitality House, which relies almost exclusively on donations. The thing that I loved most about this event wasn't just that we each made a $20 donation that goes directly back to our community (and there were almost 500 event attendees! that was powerful in and of itself) but that the community has to pull together to make it successful leading up to the event.

500 is a lot of bowls! Yvon selected this event as the big way she would give back to the community each year, so she makes close to 50 bowls to donate! Additionally she made several special "big bowls" for the silent auction which brought in some wonderful bids.

You can be sure that next year I will contribute some bowls. Pottery is not my "thing" so to speak, but I loved this event so much that it would be great to feel even more involved. The Empty Bowls website has a calendar of events around the country, so look for it in your area. Or better yet, get it started! It could be such a fun workshop to make bowls at a local pottery studio specifically with an upcoming event in mind.

When heading out to a new event, I always try to don some jewelry. I knew this was a deeper, more meaningful event than hoping for some networking (yet I'm always prepared with cards). I kept it simple and just wore these fun earrings:

Triple Stack Cube Earrings, photo by Thea Dickman, ©2011 Kathy Frey

Even though I ended up meeting a lot of new people and having some great conversations, I'm glad the attention was focused on the event and our wonderful community. I kept my cards neatly tucked into my purse for future uses.

Do you need some passion in your life?

You've got to check out Scoutie Girl's blog post about passion, which is going to turn into a larger series. Passion has been coming up a lot for me lately as I've been exploring all kinds of new things, and at the moment I'm not talking about my jewelry.

When I'm home from road travels, 3 days a week I go to a dance fitness class. I've loved it from the beginning, yet 4 months into it I *really* loved it, as in I can't wait for the next one. I let everyone know that I'm not available at those times. The music gets in my bones, and I've made a commitment to dance 100% when I'm there. I act like I'm at an audition at the back of the pack and want to be noticed by the people out front... maybe I'll even get a front row performance placement (this vignette is based on real life, harkening all the way back to high school... which is when I last danced, more than 20 years ago).

Thankfully I'm not going to perform, and I'm happy being at the back of the room with a good sight line to the instructor since I never know exactly what she's going to do... this class is anything but routine. But when something clicked in me and I was passionate about the class, everyone noticed. The teacher talked to me, and every week 1 or 2 other students in the class come up to me to introduce themselves and make a comment on how much fun I'm having. I smile and laugh because we all make mistakes and get turned around during the routines but I decided to not care and to get the most out of this workout. At the end of the class I'm sweaty with my hair astray. I don't wear jewelry to class like the other women there. I dress in clothes that won't distract me. None of this is particularly pretty or sexy, yet everyone thinks it is because they are seeing beyond the surface and feeling the passion inside of me.

Tornado Pearl Ring and Earrings, a limited edition series I developed after starting dance classes, photo by Linda Savitz, © 2011 Kathy Frey

I really feel like passion is contagious to other parts of life as well. It's great to have at least one passion. I'm lucky in that I've always been passionate about food and cooking. Now I have dance (again). Little bits are trickling into my business life. Don't get me wrong, I'm passionate about my business yet I'm re-exploring some areas I used to be passionate about and trying to rekindle those flames... like networking, style and fashion, and organization.

Essentially I feel like I'm coming out of a slump or waking up after a nap (thank goodness not a long deep sleep), yet if you feel like you've lost your mojo you might want to read Nancy LaFever's article in the March 2011 issue of The Crafts Report... another inspiring read from a woman in the know.

Share your passions with me, whether new or rediscovered, or any tips for rekindling a passion! No doubt about it, we all know this relates to relationships of any kind, whether human, work, or hobby.

Setting expectations for a show

There's a part of all of us artists that would love to make $10,000 minimum at every show, yet I've learned over the years that's not always realistic. So then how do you modify expectations and goals to evaluate if a show was "worth it" to participate in?

For me, doing my first retail show in February last weekend was a good reality check. There are many reasons I've never done retail shows in February: it's a big month for wholesale shows; I'm not willing to make the long haul to Florida to test a new market; it's not long after Christmas and it's before taxes... many people are shopped out; Valentine's Day purchases seem to occur at stores (at the last second) more than at shows... oh, yeah, and I'm usually still recovering from the holiday rush and trying to design new work.

Before deciding to participate in Indulge in Bellevue, I asked myself what would my goals be? My list looked something like this:

-sell enough jewelry to cover my expenses and time
-pick up 1 new wholesale account
-get new ideas for displays, always with my eye towards the idea of flying to shows someday
-learn at least 1 new sales tactic
-get my jewelry in front of a West Coast audience
-network with fellow artists for business ideas and creative energy

Then I reviewed my list and asked myself if it was realistic and if I thought I could accomplish all of those things in 1 weekend, in February, during the Superbowl. I felt my goals were realistic enough, and happily, I was right! I'm all about the metaphor of "planting seeds," which is why sales on the spot aren't always as crucial... if I got my information into the hands of the right type of people who like my work, then sales can happen down the road. Often I don't always know the full impact of a show for 6-12 months.

I highly suggest looking at shows with an open mind... what more can you get out of them other than money? Yes, we all need money to survive, yet if you are running a business with the long term in mind, then you know that sometimes you have to invest in different undertakings.

Riverstone Bangles, photo by Larry Sanders, © 2011 Kathy Frey

The nice surprise at Indulge was that my Riverstone Bangles were the big winner... people wanted to buy significant pieces rather than little earrings and gift items.

Indulge award winner #2: Sarah Fox

There were 2 award winners at Indulge, the art jewelry show last weekend at the Bellevue Arts Museum. I've already featured wire and paper jewelry artist Tia Kramer, and today I'm spotlighting Sarah Fox, the metalshmithing and felt jeweler extraordinaire.

Sarah Fox in her booth at Indulge, photo by Kathy Frey, © 2011 Sarah Fox

Sarah's jewelry is artful and playful all at once... like the woman herself as you can see! We didn't have a lot of time to discuss her work in detail, yet I have loved it ever since I saw it at SOFA Chicago when my work was also shown there in 2009. That was where I fell in love with her rings, bracelets, and oh-so-wonderful necklaces. Here are some quick snapshots from her display at Indulge:

all photos by Kathy Frey, © 2011 Sarah Fox

The judge who presented the awards mentioned that he has had a passion for work that takes simple material and uses it in a precious way. The Indulge show was filled with fabulous jewelry that used humble paper or other recycled materials.... all of the work was stunning, yet Sarah's has been elevated to truly wearable art.

Her display, much like Tia's display, is mounted like a gallery where the jewelry takes center stage and is hung like art. The Indulge show is a perfect setting for this, where the audience knew they were looking at wearable art. Personally I've toyed with these type of display ideas over the years, yet I'm always concerned that viewers will want to observe rather than look at, try on, and interact with the art... after all, the human form is essential to our creations as jewelry designers. If I'd had time, I would've engaged Sarah and Tia in a discussion about this.... how they interact with customers and get them involved in their booths.

Technicalities of selling aside, I love both displays! And both designers much deserve their awards. They are both outgoing, engaging women who are excited about their work and energetic in their booths, which makes all the difference in the world. They are presenting their work in ways that it gets the attention it deserves and have designed booths that work with their personalities since they both enjoy interacting face-to-face with customers (rather than standing behind tables or cases), and their work is out in the open to encourage touching so people can feel the softness and wearability of the creations.

In my booth I combined both of these ideas by hanging large images (of the pieces being worn so people can see how it comes alive and that it's a wearable art form) while displaying the pieces on pedestals so I can walk around and talk to people, describing pieces and encouraging them to try on the jewelry (I always have a mounted mirror for this purpose).

Jewelry and display by Kathy Frey, © 2011 Kathy Frey

Indulge award winner #1: Tia Kramer

I am at home catching up from all that happened at Indulge, the awesome art jewelry show at the Bellevue Arts Museum last weekend. There were 2 award winners at the show, and I'm going to feature both of them on my blog.

The first one is Tia Kramer, a fellow wire jewelry artist. We met a couple of years ago through a trunk show at the Art Institute of Chicago Modern Wing, where we each show our jewelry collections. I've loved her work since the first time I saw it -- she artfully combines wire structures with handmade paper, which allows her pieces to be sculptural, contemporary, and colorful all at once.

Her work has more than blossomed in the last year -- it has exploded! Here is how her booth looked at Indulge:

Tia Kramer's 5x10 booth, photo by Kathy Frey, © 2011 Tia Kramer

This display is like a gallery. Tia used to be an installation designer, so she brought those skills to her vision, which she could easily make a reality since this show is a home-town show for her (i.e., she could rent a Uhaul rather than trying to design around the size constraints of a car).

Tia also pushed herself to create work that would even surpirse herself. This is a glimpse of one of the large pieces she mounted on the wall:

Palpitation Series, photo by Kathy Frey, © 2011 Tia Kramer

The large necklace in the center is more than just a necklace... Tia created a series of pieces that interconnect and can be a necklace, bracelet, and brooch or one grand statement neckpiece. What a stunning designer she is! And all of her pieces can be custom designed in a specific color palette.

Tia and I met for dinner one night to catch up and exchange business ideas and encouragement. She gave me insight into how she reinvented herself, something I'm so interested in. I have piles of breakout sketches... but how to make a push to create a large collection of new work that really makes an impact? I don't want to sound ungrateful in the least for being busy with orders and reorders of my existing designs, yet there is a part of me that wants to push and blossom even more. To feel that excitement within myself and to see it in the faces of friends and clients who have followed me for years is just the motivation I need!

Tia set aside more than a month to really push herself to create new work. Interestingly enough, her studio is not her favorite place for this. Her studio mindset is too based around business pressures... orders to fill, paperwork to be done, production to complete. So to open up her mind to new ideas, she started creating at home and during traveling roadtrips (this is when a driver really comes in handy!). She simply removed herself from her work environment to a place where she felt creative and uninhibited.

During the weeks she set aside, new work was the priority. She couldn't waiver from this, so this meant she needed the full support from her partner Tim as well as the understanding from friends and family. It's kind of like an extended vacation where you might be out of touch for weeks at a time. Now that's a girl who knows how to set boundaries! And all of those people came to the show to see the fruits of her labor... from afar it looked like a wonderful support network.

Part of Tia's motivation was knowing there were awards at the show. She didn't know she would win, but she pushed herself to put her best work forward. I'm so glad it paid off for her! She had sales during the show as well, although we all know that sometimes artistic drive and vision trump even the idea of sales. Showcasing her newest work was the creative drive behind her display... she let the work tell her what it needed to get the attention it deserved.

I was so inspired... I hope you are, too. The only time I did something like this was for a fashion show in Chicago where I was the sole accessory designer... it was a great break-out moment for me, and eventually most of the pieces found homes. More importantly, though, it helped me to create pieces so that people could see my artistic creativity and passion, which compelled them to purchase a piece that worked with their own style yet reminded them of something outrageous that they saw in the show.

Wire Boa, photo by Thea Volk, © 2011 Kathy Frey

Tia and I discussed many other topics, which I will cover in coming posts. Be sure to visit her website... Tia has one of the best "origination stories" ever.

Peace of mind: a computer backup system

For years I've been thinking about backing up my computer regularly. A few years ago I even bought a program to help me do this, and then, there it sat, in its box. I still have it. How silly! Luckily this isn't one of those sad stories where I wished I'd done it once I'd lost everything... phew! But my mind was getting tired of thinking about it all the time. I was spurred into action last month when my laptop started to run out of space... I couldn't even load images from a new photo shoot. So, from word of mouth from other artists, I ventured into an Apple store to see what was new. Time Capsule is a great product I'd heard about, but it was going to require a system update which I just wasn't mentally prepared to deal with (I have all my program boxes, somewhere... in storage... I think....). Luckily there are lots of other backup drives on the market. How could I resist this cute little number from LaCie... in *orange* no less?

It's a full terabyte... I can't even wrap my mind around that! And it's tiny and durable, which means I could move a bunch of files onto it that I don't need to regularly access on my computer yet it can still travel safely with me on road trips. It also came equipped with a simple backup program that I programmed to run once a week.

My next step may be to research web backup, which this little number also comes with information on. That will be for true security... just in case everything explodes or gets stolen. For now I'm reasonably content knowing that if I drop my laptop or spill a cup of tea across it that all is not lost.

The best part is that I actually do sleep just a little better! Not bad for under $200! Do you have any tips for what you do for peace of mind?

Why blog?

Today's Blog Triage class assignment was a 2-parter... the first part "who are you writing for?" you can read here. The second part is to explain why I blog. Much like Alyson Stanfield said in the kickoff to the class, I started blogging because I felt like I should. Cynthia Morris said she blogs because she likes to write, which is also true for me.

Writing is one of those funny things that I enjoy so much in all of its forms... journaling, writing letters, writing books and articles... even email, facebook, and twitter... I just enjoy words a lot. Yet every time I sit down to write, I remember my first writing teacher at Smith College (Pat Scarda for any Smithies out there) who thought I was just a terrible writer, and I was! The class was Reading and Writing Short Stories. My story was always the "worst story for this assignment" example, and I'm not exaggerating. The other aspect of the class was that we had to keep a journal. We could write about anything in the journal and be as personal as we wanted since she would be the only person who read them. After reading my journal several times, Pat pulled me aside (again... I swear I had to meet with her at least once a week) and told me she realized that I'm not a terrible writer afterall. We were spending so much time and working so hard together to force my writing style into something it's not... a short story fiction writer. I'm much better writing conversationally from real life, or tackling articles or essays. Not that I gave up on her class or writing in general... I worked and pushed and learned. And, yes, all of this runs through my head in 1-2 seconds everytime I sit down to write.

Pat taught me to continue to sit down and write. To push myself and learn; learn from the failures and the successes... but above all, continue to make writing a habit. Much the way reading is a habit I developed early in life and truly cherish; writing has become a low simmering soup that sits on the stove as I periodically taste and enjoy as the flavors meld and deepen over time.

Blogging is a way for me to continue this exercise. I haven't made it a full-on habit yet, but hopefully that will change with this class. The writing process is something I do for myself, yet the end written post is for you. This isn't a private journal that I cringe at the thought of anyone reading... rather I love knowing when someone reads my blog and a particular post speaks to them. Blogging is another way for me to network, outside of the sales space of my booth at shows. I like connecting with fellow artists and customers equally... there are always so many interesting connections to uncover.

From blogging I do hope to learn to share more, especially in the photography arena. Words I'm comfortable with... taking photos? just not me... hopefully that will change. My plan is to push myself to beef up my visuals, which will actually add to the variety of blog posts. I want to create some regular blog features like a style guide of mixing and matching clothes with my jewelry and other accessories, which will be fun for me and hopefully for you, too. I'd also like to share my art collection as a way of featuring other artists and discussing life on the road and creating a more artful living space... crucial for artists and non-artists alike.

Those are some of my goals and what I love about blogging and hope to get out of this class. Let me know if there's anything else you would like to see in the mix!

Take a class for a fresh start!

With the desire to build a more vibrant blog, I signed up for the 4-week Blog Triage class with Cynthia Morris and Alyson Stanfield. I've decided to give myself a little wiggle room by doing the self starter class; I'll miss out on the class feedback and consulting (so hopefully you will share some comments along the way!) but I wanted to take a little pressure off myself since I'm shocked that I decided to commit (or re-commit) to another new thing. Today's assignment is to describe the people I want to visit and read my blog.

This is a bit challenging because I know who some of you are. There are fellow artists as well as designer and writer friends from my previous graphic design career. At least a couple of my stores and galleries follow along here so they can get to know me more and pass that connection along to their customers. The hard part is that I have so many potential readers... fellow artists, collectors, stores and galleries that carry my work, people who are reading my book and fellow jewelers looking for tips, students who want to pursue a jewelry career, as well as customers from art fairs. This isn't even mentioning friends and family (or spammers). Who is my ideal audience, though? That's tricky because I hate excluding anyone, yet in my heart of hearts I would like to write to people who have a piece of my jewelry (or a collection) and are looking for a connection to me. They (you!) want to understand a full-time artist's life and live vicariously through it. Posts for this person will appeal to other readers who can pick and choose to read posts by subject matter.

Does this sound like you? Am I missing anyone? Am I targeting the right mark? What I crave most is to get more comments and feedback on my blog so I know I'm striking a chord. Many people do email me directly rather than post a comment, which does achieve the same effect of us having a dialog yet it misses out on potential networking. So don't be shy... let me know what you think! And thanks for following along as my blog goes through a makeover during the next month.