Rest, Relaxation and Strategic Planning #1

I am hanging out in French Lick Indiana this week, communing with nature.  We had a timeshare week expiring, and my husband didn't want to use any vacation.  So he said, why don't you just go down to French Lick?  Some of you may know, I am a tax CPA.  I recently saw my doctor, and he made a comment, something to the effect of, "wow, you really let yourself go during tax season!"  It's true.  So I thought, why not spend a week just relaxing and trying to get back in touch with my creative mojo.  I also need to do some serious strategic planning for my handmade jewelry business.

So here is my creative home base for the week:

 

Friday night, when I arrived, a couple of ladies arrived next door and were having a little trouble getting their friends to hear them knocking on the door.  They all came from the Chicago area, and invited me over for drinks.  (Shout out to Betty, Linda, Marlene and the three Karens!)

I was starting to wonder if I would get anything done this week,  I didn't bring any jewelry to work on, because this week is about planning.  Some of the questions I have to answer are:

• Who is my target market for which type of jewelry?
• Which venue is appropriate for which type of jewelry?
• Who buys jewelry on which venue?  (Etsy, Artfire, Storenvy, Aftcra, etc.)
• How do I get in touch with my target market?
• What display to use in my art show booth in addition to the display cases?
• What possible themes could I use for next years jury photos?

Yesterday was day one, and I have made some progress.  (Also this morning I came up with a great idea for a video!)  After doing a little research online, I have learned this:

• People of ALL ages shop online
• Younger people spend more money online than older people
• Men spend more online than women
• Women tend to buy expensive jewelry as a gift, but not so much for themselves.

I will try to post updates of my progress using the painfully slow internet here.  But now it's time for my brain to change gears, so I will leave you with a video.  Not so much the video, but the audio is of all the birds singing outside my balcony even though I am right in town.  You may have noticed my ipod speaker in the picture above.  I turned it off just to enjoy all the racket the birds were making.  I hope you enjoy it too.

Donating Your Art

For my fellow artisans, this article has been the subject of much discussion in one of my Facebook groupls lately.  Many of you may have been asked at one time or another to donate a piece of art to a charity auction.  In the past, I would have donated to worthy causes, being happy to help out.  Thinking that it might be a marketing tool; that it might get me some exposure with a new pool of potential customers.

After reading this article, I have changed my opinion.  I think the author makes a valid point about why an artist should never donate their work for a charity auction.  My studio has implemented a new policy.  I will be happy to donate a percentage of the proceeeds of my work to charity, but I will not put my work in an auction.

Here's the article.  Tell me what you think:

The Career Benefits of Boycotting Charity Art Auctions

What do you think?  Have you, or would you donate your artwork to auctions?