It’s Monday afternoon after the West Virginia Quilt Festival
and we've been home about a day. Laundry is done, suitcases unpacked. Still
have to move the booth stuff in, once the road-weariness has had a chance to
abate. (And if my language is a little stuffy or odd, that's a side effect of fatigue.)
Recently, I've been getting emails from Alyson Stanfield of
www.ArtBizCoach.com. In her video series, 6 Tips for Improving Your Art
Business, she speaks about creating ‘ecstatic encounters’ between people and
your art. I've seen two such encounters at shows this year – customers who were
visibly moved by a piece of my fabric. That's really gratifying and
awe-inspiring. And it's the kind of feedback that makes me keep going back to
shows.
That said, all the ego-enhancing experiences I've had at shows
over the years don’t impact the bottom line. But, lest you think I’m planning
on throwing in the towel (which is often how I feel when I get home), I’m
considering how to get more buck for my bang. Another vendor who was at the
show selling hand-dyed fabrics also sold commercial fabric, which accounted for
85% of her sales. And she did four times what I did in sales. What do you think: would adding select bolts of commercial fabric dilute my brand? Or enhance it?
Finally, I was thrilled to see the Dare to Dance Art Quilt
Challenge hanging at the show. Here’s a picture of me with the book and some of
the quilts, including mine, of course!
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