in the beginning, part two...now what?

After the paperwork was completed, then I had to actually have things to sell and places to sell them. What do I sell? I like making things by hand. People like greeting cards. I like the cute greeting cards I see with glitter on them. I make things out of boxes. I take pictures. I have a little interest in bookmaking.

So....I threw everything I wanted to do together and came up with a big mess. I had zero focus and just wanted to make anything and everything I could that I thought was cute and that could maybe sell. I did a lot of things that were ridiculously time consuming that I completely undercut myself on when I came up with prices. All in all, I spent a lot of time manufacturing which is fun for maybe the first 10. Then you want to scream something to the effect of "if I ever see another one of these things.....(insert various expletives here)".

Don't get me wrong, I still get compliments to this day on all those handcrafted things I made. It was an incredible experience and I've always loved making things by hand, I still do. I just have a way of making little things into huge projects and you can't ask $300 for a little hanging plaque. You just can't.

So I had a product. I had SEVERAL products. I needed a place to sell them. Because it was April by the time I got started and finished all the paperwork, most art fair deadlines were past. I applied to 2, both of which my mom had done for several years and had a fair amount of success at. I got into both, and then I promptly freaked out.

I needed a display. I needed more stuff. How much stuff? I have no frame of reference. What if my booth looks empty? What if it looks too full? How do I want it to look? What am I going to use for displays? One of the shows is outside, one is inside. I have to be flexible. I have to take a nap.

And it flowed from there. Well, except the flowing was more like a jagged line of rocks and glass, but I'd like to paint a prettier picture. In the art fair process, you have to start off making a lot of mistakes, forgetting a lot of stuff, screwing up, being too hot, too cold and too tired. I'm in my 6th year and I still panic before a show, but it's getting to be teeny panic, and that's mostly because I'm a bit of procrastinator when it comes to preparing. I'm getting better, but I don't think it's something that you can entirely make go away. It's like butterflies before going on stage. I'd like to believe even the most veteran actors still get a little nervous.

Next time.....how did I get started doing collages?