It's funny how trying to build your business takes so much time away from doing the actual crafting! Besides being the only therapeutic part of the process, it also takes the least amount of time. When I'm not trying to meet a deadline, I still love to sit at my craft table and get lost in my work.
The after-holiday slow down brought a much needed break from what was a furious holiday rush. For the most part, I've been able to step away from my table and really plan out my next moves. Because this past holiday season wore me down, I needed the longer break and chose to not do my usual spring craft shows. With a slow economy, it just didn't make sense to do the shows this year, when in past years, my success at these shows were marginal...at best.
The first move was to concentrate on building up my sea glass supplies and talking with some of the bigger sea glass collectors around the world. I've picked up several great tidbits of info from these long-time collectors and found that many of them also make sea glass jewelry (and their collections and creations are incredible) Along the way, I receive an application to be a vendor at the North American Sea Glass Association's 2009 Festival. Just to be considered is quite an honor, but I don't believe it is something that I'm ready for (unless I share table space with another vendor...or two) My sea glass collection is not nearly as vast as many others and the sea glass I find on the New Jersey beaches is often not jewelry quality.
I've made several purchases and a trade or two with/from some well known collectors. My hubby and I currently have sea glass covering our dining room table. We are going through the pieces to eliminate shards that are not prime pieces, planning out what I feel the better pieces can be used for, making a large pile for future bracelets (which means hubby gets to fire up his drill and flirt with electrocution ...lol) and trying to figure out which pieces I'm going to keep for myself : )
The reason I'm starting my summer plans in early March rather than mid-April stems from a long meeting I had yesterday with a facility where I'll be renting space for my sea glass jewelry. The opportunity to sell on one of the major NJ beaches is something I've been contemplating all winter long and the selling opp that presented itself this past week far exceeds what I had hoped for. When all the small details are hammered out, I'll announce more...but I'm very excited because this feels like a great opportunity, though it may prohibit me from looking for a 2nd location.
This selling opp also comes with a possible summer craft show that has huge potential! Along with the another possible beach/resort show in July and a pending application for an early June show, my limited summer schedule could be filled already. It appears that my summer could be very busy!
Now back to the table to play with my sea glass and then off to my crafting table...I have some work to do : )
...til next time...
R
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