| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| greyghost |
Posted - Nov 07 2005 : 08:00:51 AM
Hey Girls -
My husband and I are about to make a financial leap - into nothingness!
Well, I'm a graphic artist (self employed) and I make enough to pay the bills but NO EXTRAS. Not even for, say one night out a month at a cheap restaurant!
DH is a specail ed teacher, has been for 7 years now, and he is burned out. So he will be quitting, we're not sure what it is he will do just yet, probably remodeling houses and selling them - but that still demands money up front and more income for a mortgage on that place.
Anyway, here are things I make:
I bead bottles, the old Victorian way. Not loosely, like you see on wine bottles sometimes, these are closely beaded, usually using small seed beads. I like the little old medicine bottles from antique shops. They can hold a single rose or two, and I'm not ruining history any.
I also make cards - I stitch designs on them, or make a scrapbook kind of design on them. I usually leave the inside blank.
I could also bead the stems of wine glasses - if I use plastic thread they are washable (not dishwasher safe, but washable).
Sometimes I play around with decoupage too - on tabletops and old picture frams.
There are lots of art shows around here - do you think I should try to create an inventory and see how they do? I want to see what else I can do rather than just get a job - jobs are hard to come by in this little town anyway.
Worth pursuing? |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| greyghost |
Posted - Nov 11 2005 : 05:18:20 AM
WoW JP - thanks for all the ideas & encouragement!
I have a little beaded purse that used to belong to my mother. I love it - so very good ideas! I shall have to try those :)
Lynn |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Nov 09 2005 : 04:45:58 AM
Lynn - Living in the south and knowing lots of local artists and craftspeople, I think you could make a go of it, but it does take awhile to get a clientele - in other words, people that come to shows looking for you and your stuff. One nice thing about the south is that there are lots of shows, and weather permits a longer selling season. Many shows are now inside, too, and have become annual for a long time. Here in Tallahassee, we have the Festival of Lights in December, Springtime Tallahassee in April, Market Days in November (three days of over 200 artists selling at our local fairgrounds); we have The Sugarplum Fair, and I know south Georgia has Mule Days and Thomasville, GA has Victorian Christmas and the list goes on and on.
I would try beaded purses. They are popular now, and you could also do checkbook covers, wallets, glass cases, and belts. Beaded napkin rings are nice, too, and useable without a need to wash them. Try some beaded sandals or mocs. Throw in some little vintage linens that you can find cheap at garage sales, and perhaps an old basket or two. I think you could make an attractive set-up.
Good luck, and get your hubby to build you something neat - it could become a couple thing!
Oh, and I love the beaded bottle idea, too! They would catch the light and look pretty, and I bet they would sell. You could attach a little card to them with a poem, or a recipe or a tea bag....
"Sell cleverness and buy wonder" |
| KJD |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 7:36:51 PM
YES!! I thought that sounded pretty cheap, especially for Sundance - I've seen skirts for that much! Robert Redford...aaaahhhhh. |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 6:35:12 PM
Hey KJD, Have you checked out the Sundance '68 Red Ford F250 pickup for sale? $12,500 dollarios. I'd buy it if Redford came with the package! In my Dreams HA!
If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come. |
| KJD |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 6:26:50 PM
I would really love to spend in the Sundance catalog! Been looking long enough!! |
| greyghost |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 05:19:57 AM
I don't think I could ever bead placemats - that would take FOREVER! I've seen the ones at PotteryBarn. I could easily make placemants and run a rim of beads to match the napkin rings along the edge, or along an inside seam.
I know someone who has beaded chair seats. The whole thing. That's just a LOT of work - but she charges $500 per chair... so then it's worth it.
Oh and - "she spends, I look" isn't that true of many of us? I went shopping with a friend a few months ago, a friend without a JOB, and she spent $700 on clothes! I spent $100 and felt bad, but I had gotten them all at a deep discount and walked away with nearly as much as she had. |
| KJD |
Posted - Nov 07 2005 : 1:55:04 PM
My sister just bought beaded placemats at Pottery Barn Saturday when I was with her. (She spends; I look)...I'm gathering materials as ideas for cards are cluttering my head right now, too. Will probably just use them myself, but it's always a dream to make money with our creations. Mostly, I'm a cook, so my challenge is to make money that way, without dragging the health department into my life. Still thinking about that one. |
| greyghost |
Posted - Nov 07 2005 : 11:13:57 AM
Jan, there is actually an art gallery inside an antique shop here in town, and Ella has already told me she would let my stuff in.
For me I'd want something USEFUL, not just decorative. Or something that can be given as a gift. So I'd think little bottles or wineglasses would be both. The cards - especially if there are seasonal ones like christmas cards, or just nice little greeting type cards, I would think would do well to, because they would be special, not something you could find in a store.
I've attended several art shows. Gourds do not sell. Nobody knows what to do with them, unless they are cut into birdhouses (these are not). Bead jewelry does depending upon the style, pottery does very well, baskets tend to sit, photos sell (but I'm not a great photographer). Soaps sell, knitted scarves and shawls sell.
I've never bought much at an art show simply because I either want something neat but unusual to give as a gift, or something different but useful. Pottery is useful. So much of what i see at art shows is just... "stuff." It's neat, it's different, but I wouldn't want it in my house and can't see it in anyone else's that I know.
Anyway - I figure creating some stock isn't going to cost much. I have a source for tons of old bottles cheap, and the little ones don't take tons of time. Cards don't cost much either, I have lots of scrap material and threads and yarns. So even if it doesn't work at the art show this Spring, I have Christmas of '06 pretty well figured out.
Mostly, I just want to know if any of you would be interested in something like this if you saw it in an art show? I tend to make these things then give them away as gifts. I've also made a set of beaded napkin rings - I just beaded around the bottom of an empty roll of TP and it makes the right size. |
| owwlady |
Posted - Nov 07 2005 : 10:50:16 AM
Do you have any galleries around where you live? You might take some of your beaded bottles to them and see what kind of feedback you get. Or maybe some gift shops would like to carry some of your things. That may be a way to start selling without having a large inventory right from the start. |
| prairiemaid |
Posted - Nov 07 2005 : 08:55:14 AM
Check out the craft and art shows to see what people are making and what's selling. Talk to vendors that have something similar. Do some research before you start. You don't want to jump blindly in.
Call me old fashioned. |
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