Wholesale Matters

Rosen Appointed to World Crafts Council

2010-04-17T00:38:28-04:00

Arts advocate and Buyers Market of American Craft founder Wendy Rosen has been selected to serve as a United States representative to the World Crafts Council.

According to Cindy Bowden, president of the World Crafts Council -- North America, Rosen will become one of two national representatives for the United States, and will become a member of the board for the North America region.

Rosen joins the board with a wealth of experience as an advocate for craft artists and their businesses. Her interests include craft economic development, public policy, cultural travel in the United States and protecting the rights of craft artists everywhere.

"Artisans and related small businesses provide a cultural foundation for sustainable economies in communities all over the world, not just in the United States,” Rosen said. “Jobs and communities are endangered when the artists’ designs are stolen, and when predatory manufacturers label sweatshop-made copies as authentic cultural artwork. The goals are to find common practices for labeling and identifying authentic craft products and to stop fraudulent practices.”

Honor Retailers Who Support American Craft

2010-04-01T14:42:55-04:00

The nominations deadline has been extended for the NICHE Top Retailer Awards competition. Use this ballot to tell NICHE magazine about retailers, museum stores, guild shops, nonprofit stores and others who sell your handmade products.

Each year, NICHE honors retailers who support and mentor fine craft artists from the U.S. and Canada. Top Retailers are not always the biggest sellers. They are the retailers known for fair business practices. They treat artists with respect and promote made-in-America and made-in-Canada fine crafts.

For more information and a look at past winners, see www.TopRetailerAwards.com. Vote today. Tell your friends. Honor the galleries who sell your work. The new nominations deadline is April 30, 2010.

Learning Opportunities: Mark Your Calendar

2010-03-30T11:07:42-04:00

The 2010 Summit of Awesome

June 16-18, 2010 McMenamins Kennedy School, Portland, Oregon

Registration is open now for the second Summit of Awesome, a three-day series of workshops plus a craft sale, organized by and for indie artists who are forming and expanding their arts businesses. Organizers say: "Our super awesome speaker line-up and class schedule will be online soon." Seminar topics include preparing your taxes, forming LLC’s, sponsorship for craft fairs and developing successful product lines . . . just to name a few. The first Summit was held last year in Washington, D.C. Now through April 20, a three-day early-bird pass to the summit is $150 (after April 20, the three-day pass will go up to its regular price of $180).

Business Basics for Artists, Sellers and Designers

April 17, 2010 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen

Millersville University, Millersville, Pa.

Blogger and artist Megan Auman, founder of Crafting an MBA, will be the speaker. She recently has produced an e-book: The Crafting an MBA Guide to Wholesale and Trade Shows. Topics will include developing your products and brand, pricing your work, managing your finances, copyright and more. Fee: $40 non-members, $36 guild members.

The Visiting Artist Program

Buyers Market of American Craft

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

Monday, August 23, 2010 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

What do you need to prepare yourself to sell your products wholesale to galleries, museum stores and retail shops? Start with some "insider information." The Visiting Artist Program at the Buyers Market of American Craft wholesale tradeshow takes you behind the scenes. Meet show organizers, veteran makers and exhibitors and veteran retailers. Tour the tradeshow floor. Learn basics about product development, marketing, pricing for wholesale, relationships with galleries, and more. Bring your portfolio and products for critiques. Sponsored by the nonprofit Arts Business Institute. Class schedule, faculty and fees will be announced in late April, when registration opens at www.BuyersMarketofAmericanCraft.com.

42 Percent of Consumer Spending on Gifts in 2009 . . .

2010-03-27T21:45:45-04:00

Dear Grandma and Grandpa, thank you. A study commissioned by Grandparents.com details the spending power of the grandparent economy and predicts continued strength. The average grandparent spent $5000 on games, toys arts and crafts in 2009, it says. Grandparents also took on bigger ticket items, filling the gaps for their budget-pinched adult children so that the grandkids would not go without nice apparel, trips, education and luxuries. Have you marketed successfully to the important grandparent economy? What has worked for you?

What's Your Favorite Made in America Product?

2010-03-16T22:22:30-04:00

Don't miss this opportunity to tell MSNBC about the fine handmade in America art products that you make, sell or exhibit. The question has been posed as part of MSNBC's coverage this week about the confusion of rules and laws governing and defining what is made in America.

You'll find the stories by MSNBC Senior Producer John W. Schoen here, and the comment box asking for your opinion here. Here is a quick excerpt from Schoen's opening article:

"Today, an “American” car sold in Chicago may have rolled off an assembly line in Tennessee with parts made in a dozen different countries. Last year, some 60 percent of the value of goods sold in the U.S. was imported. That's up from 14 percent in 1980 and 8 percent in 1960, based on the government's gross domestic product data. So what does it mean to be Made in America?"

Founding Director of Fuller Craft Museum to Retire

2010-03-15T01:23:52-04:00

Gretchen Keyworth announced the founding of the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass., in 2004. New England news services report that she plans to retire as director and chief curator on March 26. She says she looks forward to returning to the pottery studio and pursuing consulting opportunities. She will remain involved with the museum as director emeritus. Read more here.

It's All in the Wrist

2010-03-12T01:41:10-05:00

You noticed it, too? At the Academy Awards, the celebs were baring their necks and shoulders but most of the great jewelry was on ears and the arms. The cuff is the thing. In lieu of a cuff, consider the stacked or layered look. If you're a retailer, it's a great fashion suggestion that helps sell multiples...If you're an art jeweler, think about the affordability factor: The pieces of a mix-and-match grouping can be collected by a younger consumer who isn't ready for a traditional or formal set that her grandmother might have called an "ensemble" or a "suite." In her Jewelry Business Guru blog, Cindy Edelstein offers the best roundup and commentary on "what they wore," so visit her to check out stars who influence fashion purchases ... and their red carpet gems.

Tips for Wholesaling Success, From Our Friends at Etsy

2010-02-24T22:25:24-05:00

Here's a great big shout-out for Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl blog and Megan Auman, creator of a new blog about business thinking for designers and makers, Crafting an MBA.

Together, they visited the Buyers Market of American Craft this month.

Their helpful tips for wholesaling success appear in The Storque, Etsy's Handmade Blog.

Thanks, Etsy, Tara and Megan!

Enjoy their report here.

Top 10 Fairs and Festivals for 2010

2010-02-24T22:00:20-05:00

BALTIMORE (February 24, 2010) – For enthusiasts of contemporary and traditional handcraft, Kentucky beckons: Readers of AmericanStyle magazine have ranked Kentucky Crafted: The Market as the best arts festival in the nation, in an announcement released just days before the show’s scheduled opening in Louisville.

Two additional arts events in Kentucky placed in the 2010 Top 10 list based on results of the magazine’s sixth annual Fairs & Festivals readers’ poll: St. James Court Art Show, also in Louisville, Ky., earned second place. Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College, in Midway, Ky., earned fifth place.

The first-place winner, Kentucky Crafted: The Market, will showcase more than 200 local and regional artisans March 6-7, 2010, at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Featuring both contemporary and traditional handcraft, the show is produced by the Kentucky Arts Council, and is considered an engine of the creative economy in the state. Since 1981, the show has been promoting and developing the arts as a business. Trade days are scheduled March 4-5, allowing galleries and retailers from luxury gift shops to select works to stock their shelves.

Here is the complete winners list:

AMERICANSTYLE 2010 TOP 10 FAIRS & FESTIVALS

Kentucky Crafted: The Market, Louisville, Ky.
St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, Ky.
Paradise City Arts Festival, Northampton, Mass.
Scottsdale Arts Festival, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College, Midway, Ky.
Kentuck Festival of the Arts, Northport, Ala.
Bayou City Art Festival, Houston, Texas
The American Craft Council Show in Baltimore, Baltimore, Md.
League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair, Newbury, N.H.
Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, Iowa

SOURCE: AmericanStyle magazine readers’ poll, spring 2010 issue.

Read more here in the AmericanStyle 2010 Essential Guide to Fairs & Festivals.

What's Happening in Vegas? NICHE: The Show

2010-02-22T11:37:05-05:00

The Buyers Market of American Craft will present NICHE: The Show June 6-8, 2010, at the Bally’s Event Center and Grand Ballroom during Jewelry Week.

We’re excited to be taking artists to the epicenter of jewelry shows. We anticipate that thousands of jewelry retailers from across the globe will congregate in Las Vegas.

JCK, Couture and many satellite shows scheduled all at the same time. There will be a critical mass of jewelry buyers, including many from out West who don't normally attend the Buyers Market. As you know, ACRE will also overlap with NICHE: The Show, attracting craft buyers along with the jewelry buyers.

While we expect to see many friends among the buyers, we are certain that we’ll also be selling artisan jewelry and accessories to a new audience that typically sees mass-produced work.

They will be delighted by studio handmade, Made-in-America and Made-in-Canada luxury products. Think of this as the “not-your-same-old-solitaire show,” where buyers will discover innovation and high quality, plus heirloom value and handmade appeal, in a competitive price range.

Every jewelry store has customers who lead the fashion pack instead of being followers. They don't want what every other woman is wearing. They are trendmakers and individualists who are very attracted to fresh and new looks that they can afford to buy for themselves, and they are impressed by handmade luxury. That's just one major market where we can be a resource.

This will be a small show for us. A very high percentage of the 300 participating artists at NICHE: The Show will be jewelry makers, but we also want to present studio artists who make products for weddings; high-end fashion accessories; tabletop display items that the stores themselves can use as decor; fashion accessories; jewelry and treasure boxes; and other decorative glass, ceramic and wood objects.

Apply today to exhibit at NICHE: The Show.

If you are a jewelry artist, contact Rebecca Mercado, 800-432-7238, ext. 202.

If you are a glass or ceramic artist, contact Allison Muschel, 800-432-7238, ext. 203.

If you are a wood, metal, mixed media or other artist, contact Laura Bamburak, 800-432-7238, ext. 227.

Show director: Christine Kloostra, 800-432-7238, ext. 216.

Cuffs displayed in this article:

Top: Steven McGovney

Middle: K. Mita Designs

Bottom: Aura Dror