We made some jewelry. Rings and hair pins. Sweet and cute, right? We made the components, fired them, glazed them, fired them again and attached them to the findings.
Easy. Thought we'd sell them all.
Instead, I pulled them off the table the second day of the show. (I did have a couple of sweet people that specifically asked for them when they were gone.)
Why?
I felt compromised and cheapened. I had made them for a quick buck. Don't get me wrong, I like them. I'm wearing a hairpin right now. But the intention behind them was to make money. And maybe that is just not an appropriate starting point for me.
I also felt like it distracted from my other work. A typical passerby to my booth would look at the hanging baskets and berry bowls, admire the cake stands and then spot the shiny jewelry. Pick up a couple of pieces, put it back down and walk away. Was that why I was having a bad show? I don't know. I do know that I had a better show after I pulled the pieces out of my booth.
This was a frustrating show. And maybe it is too easy to blame the jewelry. The show was jam-packed with jewelry (around 1/3 of the vendors.) Some of it was well-made and beautiful. Some of it- not so much.
Perhaps, it was a poor decision on my part to participate in the show. Normally, it is a good show for me. But this year felt differently. Cheaper. Boring. Stagnant. And I don't think I was doing my work any favors by being there.
I have never come away from a show feeling that way before. And maybe that is a sign of growth. Recognizing where my work belongs and where it doesn't.
Mostly, I learned that we weren't on Easy Rd. And, really, have no clue where it is. And now I'm not so sure we should try to find it.
