Yikes! How to Prepare for a Show? Part 1

So I finally bit the bullet and applied for a huge art show this year. I’ve been putting it off for several reasons… 1) I live in Michigan and our economy has been in a recession a lot longer than the rest of the nation; 2) I hate rejection; and 3) I’m not the best at planning ahead (ie: writing papers the night before they were due). But one of the galleries I was in closed, my business credit card keeps growing, and I needed another outlet for my jewelry!!

Sooooo, I applied to the St. James Court Art Show in Louisville, KY on the advice of my buddy Paula. Mind you, it’s been voted the best fine art and design show in the country by Sunshine Artist magazine. Nothing like starting at the top, eh? But it’s a well known show, it’s NOT in Michigan and I had a place to stay on the outside chance I juried in. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

I recently received notice that I made it into the show!! How about that?! Great news… except it’s the week before the West Michigan Bead Expo that I co-organize… YIKES! How am I going to get everything ready? I’m going to have to be more organized than I’ve ever been before.

Here’s the plan… I’m setting up a daily schedule. There’s 12 weeks till the show and I’m going to be gone for 2 of them. I have a rough idea of how many pieces I’ll need for a three day show. (Thanks Paula!) Earrings are usually a big seller so I’m thinking I’ll need about 300 pairs (just to be safe) which means I need to make about 30 sets of earring beads per week, pendants… maybe 10 per week, etc. By breaking everything down and dividing them into goals per week, I’m hoping to stay on top of bead production… Now to figure out how to get all the jewelry made and what my booth is going to look like… I’ll be back soon with more!

Nancy Sells Puffer is a lampwork bead/jewelry artist from Grand Rapids, MI. Check out her very own blog here and visit her website at www.nancysellsglass.com