some things looming, a new contemporary and traditional fiber art gallery, 526 Washington Street, Reading, is holding a public grand opening weekend on Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14.

The “all-things-textile” facility contains a gallery, boutique, studio units, community studios, classrooms, networking resources and a library. The co-owners are Rebekah Ritter and her daughter, Melanie Ritter Mitchell, also artistic director.

“This is the realization of a dream for both of us,” said Ritter, “and we are glad to be able to expand the vibrant and growing arts community in Reading and Berks County. Fiber and textile arts are much more in demand and we are dedicated to sharing them at our grand opening and beyond.”

Saturday features an exhibition of  the work of Kathryn Pannepacker, a textile and visual artist and curator; Barbara Schulman, professor and head of the Kutztown University Fiber Arts program; and Melanie Ritter Mitchell, who studied under Schulman and received a BFA with a concentration in fiber arts.

The boutique, a functional gallery, features the work of more than a dozen professional fiber artists and will feature “beautiful one of a kind hand-crafted items,” said Ritter.

Sunday’s Open House from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. repeats Saturday’s activities and features the exhibit opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. for the opening of the first gallery exhibition that runs through April 12, 2010. Sunday’s reception also will have cello music by Jeremy Mitchell and refreshments.

The some things looming grand opening is being held in conjunction with the juried “More Than Fiber: A Creative Approach to Material” exhibition at the nearby GoggleWorks Arts Center, 201 Washington St., Reading, which runs through April 18, 2010.

Visit the website (www.somethingslooming.com), for more details or call 610-373-7337.

I recently shared some craft show etiquette tips on the Pennsylvania Guild’s blog and thought this would be a great one to get additional advice from HiP-sters.  Here are 7 new tips for newcomers and veterans of the craft show world. Be sure to share your tips in the comments.

1. Be you. People are buying you as much as your work.
2. Stay awake and never look preoccupied. No reading. No napping. No txting, tweeting or phone calls. You should always be available when there’s a question.
3. If you are bored and looking for something to do, re-arrange items in your booth. It draws attention to your work.
4. Say thank you when someone compliments your work. Compliments can turn into sales.
5. Always greet people who walk into your booth. A simple ‘hello’ breaks the ice.
6. Small comments can open big discussion. Such as ‘do you know what that’s for?’
7. Always smile. If you’re unhappy, fake it.

So what are your tips?  Share them in the comments below!

February is a great party month. We’re tired of hibernating.  Super bowl. Valentines Day. President’s Day. Hey- whatever occasion works for you. Have a blast!

In my vision of a super relaxed but stylin’ super bowl party- I saw these incredibly handsome Pitchfork Side Chairs by Bradford Woodworking. Can’t you see these by your bar table? Bradford Woodworking has a fabulous new retail site. Shop away- feel good about these beautifully handcrafted pieces you will enjoy forever.

Speaking of feeling good and party decor… have a look at these lovely recycled glass plates by Riverside Design Group. These are part of their initiative called  Plates With Purpose™, a series of custom glass plates designed to raise awareness of the missions of our non-profit partners…. Riverside donates 15% of our Plates With Purpose™ sales to these vital organizations…

Now, to complete your lovely handmade in Pennsylvania par-tee… don’t forget your Pennsylvania made Farmstead and Artisan cheeses paired with a nice selection of Pennyslvania wines.

Kate, along with her husband, bring together farm, food and design at The Steel Fork. They also design and create sculptural metalworks using recycled farm machinery – Gatski Metal. Kate is also the mother of two busy little children.

2010 is not meant for Pennsylvania football.  Not so good.  Since neither is going to be in the Super Bowl, start a new annual tradition.

Take this challenge from Wendy Edsall-Kerwin and make a bowl on Super Bowl Sunday.  She made a bowl last year as a challenge to herself and this is Wendy’s challenge to you…

This year, I challenge you to join me!  You can make your bowl out of metal, wood, plastic, bread, papier-maché, anything that you want.

I want you to have plenty of time to come up with an idea.  The bowl can be started before the 7th, but it should be finished (if possible) on the actual Sunday.  There’s plenty of time before kick-off to work on your bowl, so don’t worry about missing the game.  You might even be able to use your bowl for chips or dip if you plan right!

There is a Super Bowl Challenge 2010 Flickr group set-up where we can display our finished products and I’ll showcase some of them right here on my blog.  There is also a Super Bowl Challenge Facebook event page and, if you have your own blog, show us the progress of your bowl and we can link to each other.  And make sure to tell your friends, too.  The more the merrier!

So put on your thinking caps, start designing, and set aside February 7th, 2010 to make your own Super Bowl.

Remember: after you make your bowl, take a picture and upload it to the Super Bowl Challenge 2010 Flickr group.  I’ll share the work later on so everyone can see the great creations.

The bowls shown are:

1. Bud Hohlfeld (Doylestown)
2. Wendy Edsall-Kerwin (Elizabethtown)
3. Umelecky (Punxsutawney)

It’s time again to share what you’re doing this weekend.  I really enjoyed reading everyone’s weekend plans, it gave me some ideas for future weekend plans.

Last weekend’s plan was to go to the Farm Show, which we did.  Needless to say it was memorable but not in the good way.  We had to stand in the cold with my one year old waiting on a shuttle to get us from the remote lot.  He screamed the entire (what felt to be an hour) 10 minute ride.  We essentially walked the length of the complex and back to the car.  Not a good time.

Use the comments section below to share your plans, shows or thoughts for this weekend.  What’s your favorite places to go over the weekend?  Or what’s coming up next week that you need to prepare for?

For those interested, HiP is again accepting monthly sponsor advertising.

This post is exclusively for you to share what you’ll be doing this weekend around the commonwealth.  Whether you’re planning time in the studio, a craft show stop or long weekend out of town.  Share with us.  And share your work on HiP’s group pool on Flickr.

I, for one, am heading to the Farm Show in Harrisburg.  I hope to walk my one-year-old around to see the sheep, alpacas and rabbits (here’s the for kids page).  Then I’ll make a necessary stop over at the food court for milkshakes.  And then maybe those fresh cut fries.

What else is there to do in Harrisburg while I’m there?

Use the comments section below to share your plans, shows or thoughts.

This weekend (Sunday, specifically!) you can catch me at the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Fine Craft Fair in Blue Bell. Click on the image above for more information, directions, and a list of craftspeople who will be showing. This is a juried exhibition – meaning all the crafters there pass a rigorous peer selection process. You’re guaranteed to be wowed!

In other news, the Guild is hiring! They’re looking for a Program Coordinator to help with events like this one and manage public relations & communications.

Got plans for Labor Day weekend? Check out *Crafts N’at* – a brand-new, fabulous crafts market organized by the Pittsburgh Craft Collective hosted by The Union Project.

With over 50 vendors and a wide range of activities for young & old alike, it’s sure to be a great time!

Most people will walk by the standard 10’ x 10’ booth at a craft or art show in less than 5 seconds. Even with your unique designs and outstanding craftsmanship, you need to put some time and effort into designing your booth to make the instant impression you want. How can you make your booth inviting, memorable, and stand out so your potential clients slow down, take notice, and engage with your work? Here are 6 general ideas to consider in booth design:

• Grab their attention…Place an especially eye-catching display or piece towards the front of the booth. If you are selling small items, use large pictures of your work to magnify the view. You can get large color copies of images made at a copy center rather inexpensively and these can be framed or mounted on foam board to display on empty walls.


we placed this unique cabinet at the front of our booth at a recent show and it was a great conversation starter

• Guide their eyes…Tier the levels of your booth to draw the eye inward. Place taller displays towards the back and shorter displays in the front to lead the eye into your booth. Angle items to direct attention to a focal point…an eye-catching display or your sign.
• Invite them in… Can people easily walk into and around your booth without feeling trapped? We have learned that having something in the center of your booth greatly affects people’s perception of openness. Fewer people will enter a booth if there is something in the middle even if there is plenty of room for them to get around it. Our neighbor at a recent show discovered that her pushed out L-shaped layout was keeping people from seeing half of the work she was exhibiting. The next day she arranged every thing straight across the front and found that more people approached her booth and she started selling pieces from the side that had previously been ignored.





• strong>Keep things within reach… Display cases can give the impression that your work is high-value and definitely serve a purpose, but they also inhibit people from interacting with your work. Mary Kay Donnelly, a successful jeweler from the Pocono area, uses display cases, but usually has up to 4 people working in her booth to assist customers.
• Create a mood…Use color to evoke the emotion that people will associate with your work. Our booth is orange which might seem to be a little out there, but it serves several purposes. It gets attention and is memorable. It also highlights the colors in our naturally finished wood furniture and jewelry boxes. In terms of emotion, it elicits a balanced state, and that is exactly the mood we want people to connect with our work.
• Make your mark…Keep fonts and colors consistent on all literature, signage, and photos used in your booth. Extend this to your website and other marketing materials to establish your unique memorable brand.

If you market through shows, craft fairs, or markets how do you make your booth appealing, inviting, and memorable?

Elizabeth Sterling and her husband John market their one-of a kind furniture and jewelry boxes at shows in the Northeast and Midwest, through their web site, and their etsy shop, so wabi sabi. Elizabeth shares her life and love of all things handmade, homemade, and homegrown in her blog so wabi sabi.

by Elizabeth Sterling

There is nothing better than presenting your craft at a show and receiving accolades for your creativity and craftsmanship…and nothing worse than sitting all day in the hot sun or pouring rain watching the crowd pass your booth right by. The way to make the first scenario your reality is to know your demographic and find & do the shows that they will attend.

Depending on your product, your demographic may take some time to figure out but even if you are just starting out you should give this some thought. Who would likely buy your work? This might feel a little bit like stereotyping, but what are their ages, gender? Where do they live? How much money do they make a year?

Once you have a good idea what your demographic is either by experience or by doing some thinking or research, you need to find the shows that you might expect this demographic to attend. This will take some research and thought on your part. Research shows to find out the average artist income, the number of people that attend the show, and the focus of the show.

photo by I Made It! Market Pittsburgh (Guerrero Ceramics)

Additionally find out how many years the show has been in existence and the artists that have done the show in the past. Consider contacting some of the show’s past exhibitors via email to get their impression of the show and thoughts on whether your work is a good match for the demographic that usually attends the show. Most artists I know are generous with their advice in these regards.

Also, consider the focus of the shows you are consideringconsider the focus of the shows you are considering. Is music the main attraction to attendees? If so, your beautiful pottery may not be flying out your booth, but if handmade guitars are your craft this might be the perfect show for you. Is food the focus? The Christkindl Market in Mifflinburg, PA draws a significant crowd for an outdoor show in December, but most of the people come to the market to eat, drink, and enjoy the festive atmosphere. They are not there to buy expensive artwork.

photo by Alex McCarty (Stephanie Corfee @ Crafty by Nature)

Don’t get lured in by an organizer’s hype or their flattery. Just because a show’s website has a picture of a street with a crowd of people doesn’t mean this is a picture of the show you will be doing. It always pays to do your research. Besides talking directly to other artists about a show, another really great resource is the Art Fair Sourcebook which reviews 800 art and craft shows across the country every year. It costs money, but in the long run when you consider the time and expense of doing a show it may be worth it to have this resource at your fingertips.

The time you take to consider your demographic and research the shows you do is time well spent. Matching your show schedule to your demographic’s will make your shows the positive experience they should be and give you perfect opportunities to meet the people who love your work and want to buy it!

Elizabeth Sterling and her husband John market their one-of a kind furniture and jewelry boxes at shows in the Northeast and Midwest, through their web site, and their etsy shop, so wabi sabi. Elizabeth shares her life and love of all things handmade, homemade, and homegrown in her blog so wabi sabi.

Elizabeth will be bringing you this series on marketing your craft business through shows, fairs, and markets for the next 3 Fridays!