Art Spark Designer of the Week

Our very own Izzy!!!! Congrats!!!  Please tune in on 9/20 to read about why this piece has sentiment to her. All I know about it right now, is that she always seems to come up with something better then the last. I love the organic feel of this piece, and the patina~ oh my! Great work, I can't wait to read about it!

Not many people have entered this month, and I am wondering if maybe Sentiment is too personal for some? Perhaps no one wants to share that much detail???? If this is you, PLEASE don't shy away. You don't have to go into deep detail, like Shannon or myself. If you are shy, just say, "this is for my mom because these things have meaning to us:" Or, "I found this shell on vacation with a very special someone".........you don't have to enter a log into your diary.....OK? I promise! But we'd love to see what you make, and know its special to you in some way. Because honestly, its what makes us tick as artists...our feelings, we are driven and inspired by them.

OK.

Onto other things.............I had a very nice show this weekend, (good weather, good sales, fun people)one that I was sooo stressed out about. And ya know what? The minute I was there and set up, I relaxed. I love doing shows. They are a TON of work, and in all honesty, I am sure that if you figure your time, you don't make squat- so you have to love them. But I do love them, and here is why......

The Staci Louise's Top 10 Things I Love About Shows

1. I get out of my house

2. I get feedback- from real people- who really touch my jewelry ~ I get to see what they like, hear what they would like to see different about things, ei: longer earring, more adjustable necklaces, ect...

3. I get to hang out with other artists- I make sooo many friends. I absolutely love talking my art, their art, the struggles of making a career out of art, and sharing tips of the trade. love love love that part. Artists make great friends.

4. I make some money (hopefully) doing what I love

5. TRADING (with other artists) ~ the barter system is alive and well, and I take full advantage (AND make more friends)

6. Hearing that my jewelry rocks. I need to hear that. I am hard on myself. Its just nice to hear!

7. Seeing something I created make someone VERY happy. It makes me smile from ear to ear when someone is just ecstatic with their purchase, after all, I WANT them to be. I want them to love it.

8. talking to people about what I do~ I meet so many fun people when I begin to explain about how I make the beads, or where the sea glass is found...not only do they learn something, but I usually end up learning about their great aunt, or the history of something, people love to talk, and I love to talk with them!

9. Getting to set up my booth~ my temporary shop for the day~ and designing it the way I like it

10. The last thing I love about shows is when I am all done, at home, having a glass of wine in my jammies.........which is what I am about to do now as I schedule this post!!!!



This was a good show- so you get the top 10 things I love about shows........given it had gone another way, I am sure I could do a top 10 things I don't love about shows! LOL! But thats another post for another day.



I will be doing a series of posts on selling your work at shows- how to get started, and lots of handy tips from set ups to taking credit cards, just stuff that I have learned from years of doing shows. Hopefully it can remove some of the guess work of starting out, and you can learn from some of my mistakes!