The Irvington Artist Market (IAM) was not all that we had hoped it would be. We did not make the sales we had hoped for due to low attendance of the event. We're chalking this one up to limited advertising by the event organizer (it was their first time out), cloudy weather in Portland and the long-established
Bite of Oregon event happening downtown on the same weekend.
We have learned that shows and markets are a live-and-learn kind of experience and each time we attend we learn what works...and what doesn't work. We were pleasantly surprised by the variety of the other artists and crafters who participated at the market and impressed with the quality of their work. I am including a list of the names and contact info for those vendors we connected with at the end of this post in case you're in the mood for eye-candy and maybe some handmade shopping!
Our booth did look fabulous thanks to a few yards of Ikea's Lena fabric I had stashed away months ago for another project. Our photo album idea worked out nicely and caught the interest of a shopper who asked for our business card. Judy has plans to open a small gift shop in the uber-hip Mississippi Avenue district here in Portland this fall. She loved our photos of local city dwellers and architecture and is interested in opening a wholesale account to sell postcards of our work which gave us a silver lining for a cloudy day.
B.Hive Designs - handmade clothing for baby, kids, men, women...in shops and on Etsy.
Stubborn - modern jewelry handmade with stainless steel, aluminum, silver and opaque resins.
Molly Muriel - homemade natural soaps and vegan soy candles in found glass.
tiny forge design - handmade silver jewelry (also on Etsy!).
The photos included in the latter part of this post were used by permission and are the property of the individuals that create these fine art and craft items.
5 comments:
Sorry to hear that the market wasn't what you'd hoped for. Your stall/booth certainly looks great! And all those cool connections made with others must have been fun! There sure appears to be a lot of talent in Portland :)
Yes, craft shows are unpredictable things... I am doing one for the second year on the weekend of Sept.5. I will blog about it after. Last year was moderate sales and lots of 'critical acclaim'. It's always got some merit as you say, silver lining!
so nice of you to put up all our products! and there's always a silver lining. you have just made mine. cheers.
Your booth looks so inviting! I'm doing my first art fair this fall and selling small prints of my photography, too.
harriet: Portland is a petrie dish of art and craft, lol! Thanks for stopping by and for your compliments. :)
greaves: For me the merit is mostly in connecting with others. I'm rather a homebody so it's good for me to push out of my box and be more social. Good luck at your show!
octavine: You are welcome! Love your illustrations and paintings and am very glad to include you on the blog. Happy selling!
rachel: Thanks--the lamp helped it look more cozy. Everyone likes our mats on the photos (if you need a source just send me an email me--link on top right corner of blog). Have fun at your show in the fall!
~tina
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