Honestly regretting being sick all last week, which made me very very behind in everything. It’s hard to work when you’re nauseous every time you stand up. Anyway, at least I’m over it, and can move on. I will endeavour to work up the video as a last post before I leave.

Over the past year and a half, since trying to do puppetry professionally, I’ve gotten an average of two or three emails about commissions per fortnight. Half of those I turn down because of the distance of the person to me, or because I don’t have the skills (or interest) to do what they need. Of the other half, I sincerely do my best to follow up, provide quotes, etc. Of all of them, I’ve had only one true commission (the classes with Reach Out).

I have ten times more luck with normal puppet sales. Despite my recent hackings, and despite a sometimes all-over-the-place approach to both marketing and products, I’ve developed a growing business. It’s taken me about two weeks to start selling again after replacing my shopping cart system (I just sold my first batch of stuff on Etsy, and have sold two patterns on Lulu), and I’ve been getting pretty decent sales (perhaps three sales on average per month over the past year) considering my distinct lack of advertising outside of this site and the fact that I have just started out in the biz. 

The discrepancy between the commisions that fall through (including my first ever commission, which failed miserably) and the potential for products on sale is so obvious to me that it’s making me wonder: should I just be turning down commission work? It seems very backward, I mean who turns down the opportunity to earn more money right?

But the thing is, in chasing up commissions; spending time and energy researching materials and making quotes; doing sketches and designs; replying to emails and making phone calls… I’m actually losing money by responding in the first place. If I just have a ‘no commission’ policy, then I can focus my energy in areas, I know are working - namely, extending my product range. Maybe if I had a better income to rely on, or maybe if my product range was bigger, I could consider taking on commissions. But at this stage, is it worth it to chase commissions that ultimately fall through anyway? Or would I miss out on opportunities? 

This current commission that I’m worried about would be huge for me. It’s with a big enough company and will be public enough for me to potentially gain a whole new market audience; but that’s only if it actually happens. If it falls through, as I’m guessing it probably will - I really haven’t heard from them in several months - then it’s wasted money on materials that I’ve already had to hunt for (another conversation for another time), wasted energy trying to find rare items for the puppet, and wasted everything on just getting the person to respond to my queries. 

Should I just say no from now on? It’s a tough call… but I think maybe it is the right one for now. 

I won’t be able to see it till end of July of course - she comes back when I’m in the US - but it’s very exciting. I’m tempted to be jealous that she actually went and saw the Whatnot workshop, but then I remember I’ve got a whole week of puppetry goodness waiting for me after the weekend. 

Speaking of which, I spent yesterday making up a mermaid shadow puppet, which will be on display at the National Puppetry Festival’s exhibition. I’m taking all my shadow puppets (being flat and light, they make great travel puppets), but the bigger news is that I’m also donating a strawberry fish shadow puppet to the festival’s raffle. So if you’re there, do bid! The puppet will come with two rods, all nicely put together by yours truly. 

I probably won’t be doing much blogging/tutorials… I’m so behind on everything, I’m underestimating how long it’s taking me to do things, like clean the house. 

What does this mean for my followers? Well, whilst I will have internet access and my computer with me at all times during my two week trip, I have a pretty busy schedule. Add to this the fact that I’m not 100% sure my phone will work overseas, and that means I probably won’t be doing much Twittering. If it turns out my phone does work, I’ll be keeping my Tweets to a minimum mainly for cost-savings (also, I’ll be able to send Twitters, but not receive, making Twitter conversations via phone pointless). 

Don’t despair though: I will be liveblogging the whole thing every day. If you’re new, this means getting workshop notes, show reviews and other fun stuff to read (and pics to look at). My site is set up to ping Twitter and update my followers of every new blog post too, so you won’t miss out. If you’d prefer to be notified via RSS, use this link to subscribe (you’ll only get subscriptions for the liveblog, not the rest of my site). The link to the actual diary page is www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/npfdiary.php.

I will be attempting to catch up on Twitter reading at the end of each day - but you’ll forgive me if I miss a reply or two between my workshops, shows, sightseeing and other activities (like sleeping ). … Anyway, the point is, if I go quiet all of the sudden or don’t reply to something you Tweet, you’ll know why.

Of course, for me, the main thing about this competition is two-fold: publicity, and sales. I really need some sales. I’ve been wanting to do a competition for a while too, so it seems timely to do it now. This way, I can have the comp - and the sales of patterns - happen whilst I’m away, and fingers crossed, rebuild some of the damage done from May’s fiasco with the site. As soon as I announced the competition I got a sale, so here’s hoping things continue in that direction.

So do pass on the message: you or friends have the opportunity to both support me, and to have some fun building a new puppet and get prizes (if you win!) for doing same. Plus, the competition requires you to perform with your puppet, making it even more fun for all!

If you don’t know, UNIMA Int, the Union Internationale de la Marionette, is the umbrella organisation for puppeteers around the world. It is, in fact, the longest running theatrical organisation in the world too. In 1929 people from seven different European countries got together and set it up, and has continued to support puppetry through its activities, funding and information services. Branches have arisen in war-torn countries, and the HQ of UNIMA is now in Charleville-Mézières in France (it began in Prague). 

As someone who knows that puppetry isn’t just a hobby craft (to use an analogy, comic books of the literature world struggle to be taken seriously too), I know UNIMA is an important part of the industry. Without it, there would be very little cross-culture performances, a distinct lack of forums and round-tables where we can talk about issues affecting us, or simply find out what’s on in our area.

If you’re interested in joining UNIMA in your country, visit the main UNIMA Int site and look for your branch. Membership usually means access to a lot of scholarship opportunities, news and updates, and other good stuff. 

And happy birthday to UNIMA!

Jiri Zmitko, the head puppet maker for Spare Parts, will be running the nine week course. Participants will learn about design, carving and manipulation of the marionettes. Beginners are welcome, along with professionals. 

If you’re in the area, and not sure whether it’s worth the cost, then I present you with some of Zmitko’s work which was on display during the UNIMA 2008 festival. (Click on image for larger view; you can find more pics of his work in my Flickr set, just search for Jiri Zmitko)

Workshops run from 3 September to 29 October 2009, 6pm-9pm at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Entry costs $450, which includes weekly refreshments, hire of chisels and all materials.  Contact Spare Parts at their site linked above, or call 9335 5044.