Jeff Lawrence on mon 11 may 98
The perspicacious Wendy Rosen asserts:
>The real problem is that retail fairs are full of artists that know very
>little about mark-up, cost of sale and how much it costs to make
>something... others exhibit as a hobby not as a profession... they sure
>don't help us build a community of people who can really make a living at
>art.
>
I must disagree.
This is not a problem! This is the phenomenon of fellow humans using their
minds, aesthetic sense and opposable thumbs to make things. Craft as a way
of life is a throwback -- the use of hand-made items is a luxury not everyone
can afford and which often has a cost in other pleasures foregone for those
who pay the price.
The world we live in -- longer healthier lives, greater awareness of the
world we live in, even virtual communities like Clayart -- constitutes the
greater good that we as a society get for embracing technology, which can't
help pushing craftspeople to the periphery. Technology improves the human lot,
and marginalization of inefficient production methods is, in the large scheme
of things, a small price to pay.
I say let everyone in the world try their hands at pottery! And try selling
their pots at crafts fairs, too. Maybe the world will overflow with potters.
More likely, more people will appreciate the soul that inheres in hand-made
objects and good potters will flourish! Better realization of human potential
for all parties concerned.
And, let's hope, fewer lines about the same thing at Walgreens for four bucks!
Jeff Lawrence
jml@sundagger.com
Sun Dagger Design
Rt 3 Box 220
Espanola, NM 87532
ph 505-753-5913
Ibz27 on tue 12 may 98
When someone asks for a discount, I usually offer to pay the sales tax for
them if they are paying with a check or cash. That usually gets me out of
saying "NO" and they still feel like they are getting some kind of a deal.
But I think one of the great things about this business is being able to do
whatever you wish. Sometimes I'll give a discount just because they are
good people and it is a pleasure to have my work in their homes. Or sometimes
just because they might not have enough $$$ and I can tell they really really
really want one of my pots( you must be very careful with that one). Truth
is if the discount "feels good" give it...
Wendy Rosen on tue 12 may 98
Jeff,
Great come back! I keep hoping that all these fortysomethings in pottery
classes will in effect become potters OR EVEN BETTER... our next generation
of collectors... when they find out how hard it really is!
Wendy
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>The perspicacious Wendy Rosen asserts:
>
>>The real problem is that retail fairs are full of artists that know very
>>little about mark-up, cost of sale and how much it costs to make
>>something... others exhibit as a hobby not as a profession... they sure
>>don't help us build a community of people who can really make a living at
>>art.
>>
>I must disagree.
>
>This is not a problem! This is the phenomenon of fellow humans using their
>minds, aesthetic sense and opposable thumbs to make things. Craft as a way
>of life is a throwback -- the use of hand-made items is a luxury not everyone
>can afford and which often has a cost in other pleasures foregone for those
>who pay the price.
>
>The world we live in -- longer healthier lives, greater awareness of the
>world we live in, even virtual communities like Clayart -- constitutes the
>greater good that we as a society get for embracing technology, which can't
>help pushing craftspeople to the periphery. Technology improves the human lot,
>and marginalization of inefficient production methods is, in the large scheme
>of things, a small price to pay.
>
>I say let everyone in the world try their hands at pottery! And try selling
>their pots at crafts fairs, too. Maybe the world will overflow with potters.
>More likely, more people will appreciate the soul that inheres in hand-made
>objects and good potters will flourish! Better realization of human potential
>for all parties concerned.
>
>And, let's hope, fewer lines about the same thing at Walgreens for four bucks!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Jeff Lawrence
>jml@sundagger.com
>Sun Dagger Design
>Rt 3 Box 220
>Espanola, NM 87532
>ph 505-753-5913
*******************************************
Wendy Rosen
The Rosen Group
Niche & AmericanStyle Magazines
http://americanstyle.com
The Buyers Markets of American Craft
http://www.rosengrp.com
The Business of Craft
http://www.americancraft.com
3000 Chestnut Ave #304 Baltimore, MD 21211
Voice: 410/889-3093 Fax: 410/243-7089
*******************************************
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