| Finding Answers to Help Run Your Craft Business |
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
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We welcome letters to the editor for possible publication, as well as responses to letters already published. Address letters to: Letters become the property of The Crafts Report. The editors reserve the right to edit for space and style. |
I'm a new subscriber and this is just a quick note to say thanks for finding me. I am new to the jewelry trade and it's been difficult finding trade magazines.
Luckily, I got on some mailing list and was given an opportunity to discover your publication. Your magazine has been very helpful. It has provided me with much- needed encouragement and dispelled the myth than I was the only artisan who wasn't earning a steady income every month. It also answers questions about running a craft business that I had no other resource for. It's hit or miss buying books! Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the great subject matter!
Cindi Clinton I thought that the May 1998 issue was great. It contained information I could really use about exhibiting at shows and giving different perspectives from different artists.
Also, about standardizing show applications and slides, I think The Crafts Report, or maybe The American Craft Council, should just put together a standard application and slide format, publicize it, and hopefully people and show promoters will start using it. Someone needs to get the ball rolling, and you are the publication to make it happen.
Carol Irving I have been reviewing old articles in The Crafts Report pertaining to the jury process. There is one issue that was not brought up, but definitely needs addressing.
In the last two months, I have carefully selected the juried shows that I felt qualified for and sent in my $15 or $20 fee. When the rejection letters arrived, I read them carefully. To paraphrase the letters: "We regret to tell you that your work is very fine, but we received over 800 entries and due to space restrictions, we could only select 125."
It is an appalling thought, but is it possible that all of these fine institutions are using their juried craft shows to make more than a little money? Six hundred and seventy-five rejects multiplied by the $20 application fee equals a pretty large sum of money. Of course I have to grant that:
Even if there is a modicum of truth to "a" or "b," the number of rejects does not add up. Nowhere did I read in the finely printed prospectus that they were looking for such a small number for their juried show. Considering the costs to artists for good slides, etc., perhaps it would be fairer to ask for a lower fee or no fee at all to enter craft shows.
I have been feeling rather down lately, but in reviewing all the facts, I feel my self-esteem rising, my work worth showing, and it feels very good to vent!
Vicki Kahn
The Bauble Cauldron
Gilroy, California
Standardizing show applications
The Weaver's Web
Escanaba, Michigan
Too many entries, too few spaces
a. Maybe my work isn't so hot, or
b. My slides stink.
Vicki Kahn Studio
Tucson, Arizona