Are you considering joining our group?

Let me to talk you into it!

I started crafting over 30 years ago. We did a lot of craft fairs around Christmas time. My sister made adorable ornaments, her sister-in-law made spectacular dried flower wreaths and for the life of me, I can't really remember what I made! I do remember loving every minute of it - except for the morning of the fair. I would typically stay up most of the night putting on finishing touches and loading the car. I would get barely any sleep and usually settled for a can of Tab for breakfast (some of you know what I'm talking about). I always envisioned standing behind the table of our offerings looking glamourous with hair and makeup in place and focusing entirely on creating a look of competent professionalism and success. In reality it was wet hair, scrambling through my purse for change (this was when people paid by cash or check) and sneaking bites of a McDonald's biscuit between customers.

The funny thing about craft fairs is they can be the marketing equivalent of a frontal labotomy. One day you are on top of the world and sell out on a "hot" item. You spend the next 3 weeks making a million of them and the next fair you sell one - to the vendor next to you so she could get some change. The downward spiral is debilitating. How could I have sucked this bad and not realized it? Oh my gosh, people don't like my work. Well obviously they have no taste . . . or I have no taste. Either way not good. You question everything- your prices, your presentation, your wet hair. It's enough to make you regret giving up your day job or at least your weekends. We were fortunate to have experienced quite a bit of success but never quite enough to "take our show on the road." Life has a way of interfering with the best laid plans and we started to drift away from the craft shows. We explored Etsy, which was great until it grew so large you'd have a better chance of cutting your own hair properly than being found. We tried pretty much everything, focused more on our "real jobs" but never stopped crafting. I think once you get a taste for it, it never really goes away. In my "real job", I've been fortunate to work for and with some of the most creative people around. From exceptional fine artists to the most creative of crafters. When I say great artists, I mean real talent. Like you would eat ramen noodles for a month if you could purchase a piece of their work. Like you would put their work in your will to be sure that it would continue to be appreciated after you die. I mean real talent. So imaging my shock when I saw artists create breathtaking pieces for decades and end up having only a handful of people know about them or have the opportunity to buy their work! It struck me pretty hard when I realized that it really wasn't the level of talent you have as much as it is about how well you market yourself. That's a sobering fact because most creative people tend to get immersed in their work and have a "build it and they will come" marketing plan. Which sounds hopeful, but sadly doesn't work.

Sooo, my point is that we need to be as creative with our marketing as we do with our work. My philosophy is it takes too much time, money and energy to go it alone. We need to combine forces to maximize our efforts, expand our reach and conquer the world! Or at least our corner of it. I speak the truth. Go ahead and try to build a house by yourself. I'm sure you could do a fine job eventually. Just in time to die in it from old age. Joining Artists & Crafters of the Appalachian Highlands means becoming part of a vibrant and supportive community. Connect with fellow artists, share your experiences (both jumping up and down good and curling up in the fetal position bad), and learn from each other. Combine forces, pool resources and become a force to be reckoned with in the arts and crafts community. Check out the benefits of joining on this website. There's a good overview on the home page. Though informative and stimulating, it's a few paragraphs so if you just can't bear to work your way through it, head to the Join ACAH page and get the boiled down version. Either way, I hope that you will join us! We need you as much as you need us and we can't wait to get started!

Talk soon,

Deb