Christmas sales picking up...

I sold a couple of trinket boxes amongst other small itmes yesterday at the Christmas Event with a twist, held in a local villlage hall.

Organised by my talented friend Nichola from Nichola Foster Designs - whose delicately crafted jewellery can by seen on her facebook page or in her Folksy shop online, there were so many visitors that for the first couple of hours I don't really remember all the faces! I was lucky enough to receive lots of lovely comments as well as making a fair few sales, so all in all a really good day.

I was actually rather sad to see these two trinket boxes go - the weird thing is, they are my most recent ones, so I'd only "lived" with them for a short time before they were sold.

"Twinkle, Twinkle" trinket box.

The lady who bought this made a bee-line for it straight away. I smiled when she picked it up, showed it to her husband and said "Isn't this gorgeous?"  I've not yet heard a man who would honestly reply with a "ooh, yes, dear, that's gorgeous". He did the expected nod and wry grin which, as I'm sure you've all seen before, means "if you like it, buy it, it makes no difference what I think to it".  I just knew she was going to buy it, and I'm so happy that she did, as she obviously liked it so much.

The other trinket box sold yesterday was "Heather". The lady was having trouble deciding between that and "Carousel", which has similar colours - in the end she went for Heather, but she did say she may be back for more!

I now have to make some more trinket boxes for the next fair - and a few more notebooks, too.

Christmas Commission, anyone?

I've just been sorting through my photo files on the PC, in an attempt to unearth some images that I was going to use for another blog post - and I discovered a couple of images that I took of a commission last year for a Christmas present. I'd taken a hurried photograph before it was delivered then completely forgot about it!

However, if you are thinking of buying a unique gift as a stocking filler or as a gift for your child's teacher, perhaps, then I'm sure one of these magnetic notepads for the fridge wouldn't go amiss. This particular one was created on the basis of someone wanting a floral design to give to a friend. I called it "Anniversary Flowers" because it is very similar to my large canvas painting of the same name.  Painted in acrylic with two coats of satin varnish, I only hope the recipient was happy as I never did ask!

I will be selling these and other smaller items at the forthcoming craft fairs I plan to take part in during the run-up to Christmas in the East Yorkshire area. If you would like to see before you buy, please follow me on facebook (Arty Aitch) or check out my website for details of these within the next few weeks.

Craft Fairs - easier than exhibitions?

I am currently planning on taking part in a craft fair nearly every weekend from 5th November to 4th December, apart from one, when I will be at the Hornsea Speech & Drama Festival with all the members of the Junior and Youth section at B.A.D.S.

I have just completed the application form for the 2nd Artlink Contemporary Art & Craft Fayre of this year - the first one was in May, and it set me off thinking about how successful craft fairs are for an artist, compared to art exhibitions. I have taken part in both during my time as a self employed artist, and without exception the craft fairs have been more successful for me. I am not just talking about sales, either - although undoubtedly that is a consideration. It appears to me that the people who attend exhibitions are simply not looking for a piece of art to purchase, or to engage in conversation with me as an artist. However, I have discovered that usually this is not the case with people who attend craft fairs. I have also found craft fairs to be a much more enjoyable event in terms of setting up (easier to set up a table than it is to position a wall of paintings, for example) and attracting people to look at my work. It may be just that it is much easier to look at a host of items on a table, without feeling obliged to buy anything, than it is to stand and look at something fixed to a wall.

Whatever the reason is, I'm glad I've taken part in so many craft fairs in the past year - it's not something I would have thought of doing at first, yet they are so popular too nowadays. At the last Artlink one I took part in, I was in a good position in the corner of the room looking towards the entrance, and I managed to tot up how many people came through the door over the course of the 4 hours (it was on from 12 to 4pm) and recorded them in my little notebook, just out of interest. A few people walked in, took a quick stroll around the room and walked out again without exchanging a word with anyone, but most people did at least talk to one or other of the artisans, which makes it so much nicer for us.

Here are some pics of my table as it was laid out for the Artlink Contemporary Art & Craft Fayre in May this year - I think I'd sold one or two items at this point, so there may be a gap here and there.

In total, there were 126 people through the door, with 36 of them arriving between 12 and 1pm. A further 33 arrived between 1 and 2pm, but the busiest time was between 2 and 3pm, when 48 people came through the doors. Only 9 people showed up during the final hour of 3-4pm.

During those 4 hours, I sold these items:

"Carousel" decorated trinket box - sold to a young girl of about 9 or 10.

"Jonas" painted notebook.

"Optimum" mini canvas with easel.

I also sold a fabric covered address book (you can just about make it out in the 3rd image - at the edge of the table), and a few greetings cards. I had a couple of interesting conversations with people - one of whom was asking if I would be interested in taking a workshop for young people based on the theme of mosaics. I said I'd never done that before but would be willing to give it a go if she gave me some more details - she said my work reminded her of mosaic patterns, and that's what she was after I think. I haven't heard from her since, despite the fact that she took a brochure and one of my business cards, so she probably had more success elsewhere with an artist who had more experience in giving workshops. Thinking about it, that wouldn't be difficult, since my experience is nil!

Even when people don't buy anything from me at craft fairs, I find it easier to chat to potential customers because they like to touch my work and are more likely to ask questions about it then. The time passes so quickly, too, as there is often a steady stream of people coming through.

The next one I will be taking part in is in Bilton and I am currently in the process of planning for that - to be held in the Church Hall on the 5th November and in aid of the Forgetmenot trust. I hope to have all my labels printed out within the next day or so, which will be stuck onto the sides of the paper bags I use for customers to take away their purchases in.

I wonder if any other artists find craft fairs "easier" to take part in than exhibitions?

New range of greetings cards...

Here is a preview of my newly created batch of cards aimed at children aged 1 to 9. I took inspiration from my notebook designs when my sister asked me a while ago if I did birthday cards with numbers on. I've created a few with numbers on them previously, but these take advantage of all the space possible on the front of the card, and I am pleased with the overall design.

They take about 20 minutes to do each one, as I sketch the outline of the number first in pencil, rubbing out any marks that I don't want seen, if possible. You will still see some of the pencil marks in the finished card, but in my view, that adds to the originality and unique aspect of hand-made cards. I then decide which two colours I'm going to use for the outline, as they need to be painted on very precisely in alternating dots of colour. Finally, making sure I don't smudge the outline (as I very nearly have done on occasions) I fill the centre of the number in using 3 or 4 colours - usually the 2 already used in the outline and one more. I love the textural nature of these and I'm sure they will appeal to children because of that, too. I plan on creating lots of these for the next Craft Fair I attend, which will be at the beginning of November. I am also planning on increasing the range to include older ages (but probably by using the card in a landscape position instead) and then possibly names or perhaps titles such as "Mum", "Dad" etc. I have deliberately avoided using a stencil or template to create the numbers, as I rather like the fact that they are not perfect in shape - it adds that bit more character and individuality to each card. These will only be for sale at craft fairs at the moment, but I will quite happily take orders for specific cards by post if you wish!

Alice goes to Essex......

I've recently sold one of my magnetic notepads and it is now winging its way to Essex! The notepad, Alice, will be a surprise for the new owner, I believe - so I will not reveal anything other than to say thanks very much and here's a photo of it before I posted today:

I will be uploading more mini paintings and notebooks over the next few days, but in the meantime don't forget you can always browse my Etsy shop if you fancy buying any of them. Just click on Arty Aitch.