Markets, books, and working on new art

     Millennials have made "homemade" hot, and the numbers of people, young people, coming out to new craft shows is astonishing. The result is a bit of confusion for the vendors. They not only have to consider the cost of each, but which ones to attend and whether they can produce enough product for the number they attend. 
    A few years ago I took over from Linda Dell to run, with help from others, ART ZOOM in Port Arthur, which is similar to the Craft Revival. It was so much work, despite the success, that I couldn't do it the next year. So I really appreciate the amount of work that the organizers put into getting these shows organized and advertised.  

     Each year there seems to be an additional market and noticeably they can cater to different age categories depending on the venue and products sold. I decided this year to attend the Craftland Market at the Auditorium rather than December Dreams on the CLE grounds. They fell on the same day. It was a good decision. Having attended Dreams for three years I gave up my booth to a new vendor and I hit a new market. 

My little fox painting will
appear at the Bizarre Bazaar

     Attending Vanderwees for Saturday I gave up my scheduled Sunday to another vendor in favour of the Craft Revival held downtown where the fee of thirty dollars allowed me to earn as much as I did earlier at Artisans Northwest at the Valhalla hotel where the table fee is over two hundred dollars. Unless I print another book or two next year I may not attend Artisans next year because It's important to freshen up the products to keep people interested otherwise you're simply saturating the market with the same product and contributing to a possible monotony for the public. I don't want to contribute to making Artisans dull, it really is an excellent show. I also have to consider making my booth more attractive.

    I continue to sell my books at the vendor's booth upstairs at the Country Market Saturday mornings where sales improve in November and December. I may do well in the upcoming Bizarre Bazaar at the Baggage Building this weekend.

     Markets like these might seem like an odd place to sell books, but it works! Many are often surprised and delighted to meet the author and illustrator. I'm surprised more authors don't do it. Notably, Heather Dickson and Donna White attend many with great success. I have been mocked, twice by other authors, for selling my books at such markets, but I snort a laugh as I make more money than most authors, and I find their elitism odd. It's clearly holding them back. And what a strange attitude to think that the general public is somehow beneath you. 

    I'm painting like mad to try to get at least a couple more paintings completed for the X-mas season. I've neglected calling up the schools to do readings and I haven't had time to work on my books. But, I'm having fun.