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BANNER YEAR FOR BIRTHDAY’S
The year’s pass by quickly and, before you know it, you’ve
created a LEGACY! Congratulations to three very different industry
contributors who have changed the landscape of how we make and
sell craft.
2005 will mark:
10 years of AmericanStyle magazine
20 ye ars of Craft Emergency Relief Fund assistance
30 years of The Crafts Report magazine
Imagine the face of craft without AmericanStyle.
Would we have as much insight into collector’s homes? Would
we see such a clear connection between artists, galleries, and top
collectors? Would communities be looking for artists to come move
in and transform their main streets without the nudge AmericanStyle’s
nationally recognized Top 25 Arts Destination brings each year?
Imagine how much steeper the uphill battle would be for craftspeople
affected by disaster, were the Craft
Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) not able to extend help.
Would artists have recovered so quickly from this summer’s
unseasonably strong summer hurricanes? Would we have seen more great
businesses close their doors due to flooding, tornadoes, or fire?
Would galleries feel the same sense of solidarity they feel when
working together each October for CERF’s Lend
A Hand program?
Imagine the craft business map without The
Crafts Report as a constant compass. Would budding craftspeople
feel quite as connected to beginning business resources? Would artists
raise the bar quite as high as they do now, when reading Bruce
Baker’s recurring columns? Would the groundbreaking CODA
survey have received as much attention had it not been brought
to life in the pages of their magazine?
Consider where your business would be… where our industry would
be… then email each of these organizations with a quick ‘happy
birthday’ note of thanks.
AmericanStyle: Hope Daniels, Editor, hoped@rosengrp.com
CERF: Cornelia Carey, Executive Director, cornelia@craftemergency.org
The Crafts Report: Heather Skelly, Editor, hskelly@craftsreport.com
Are
you celebrating a business birthday this year? Email us at news@rosengrp.com
to share your exciting news!
ARTISTS
IN THE NEWS
-
ACForum member Loretta
Fontaine has a new moniker and a new editorial column. Intrigued?
Read on in the latest issue of The Crafts Report. Look for
her recurring role on the last page, aptly titled, "Loretta’s
Last Line."
- Jae
Barthelemy of Marco Polo Designs, Jennifer
Dawes of Dawes Design, Alix
Bluh of Modern Relics, and Robbin Cook of Maximal Art were all
featured this winter in a Museums & More article about
jewelry sales as a trend for specialty retailers… mention demog
and great reaching out to new audiences.
OPPORTUNITIES
KNOCKING
Interested
in promoting your work outside of the traditional craft fair, festival,
and trade show scene? Consider…
South
Shore Arts Center seeks fine art or craft applications for booth
space in their 50th annual arts festival. Imported goods, flower
arrangements, and unoriginal designs will not be accepted. The festival
draws over 7,000 people to the historic Massachusetts community
in which it is held, Cohasset Common. Paying uncommon attention
to the quality of each application, last year’s festival exhibition
area included only 80 artists and craftspeople. Learn more at www.ssac.org
or call 781.383.2787. Deadline: Feb 11.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Click
here
to view a list of Professional and Student NICHE Awards Finalists.
Learn
more about the NICHE Awards program for professionals or students
by clicking here.
Or, contact us to learn
how to obtain free tickets for the Awards Reception and Ceremony,
to be held Feb 20, starting at 6pm.
WHAT’S
HOT? - 2005
Accessorize
Your Life:
More personalized custom tailored accessories (take ipod, for example).
Portable items means portable carrying cases such as laptop bags
in an
array of designs, from sleek and saavy to fresh and funky.
Home
and Office –The Look:
With techno gagets and accessories accessible and affordable, space
savers to accomodate such luxury goods are in demand. Decreasing
costs for LCD monitors means an increase in shelving and furniture
to display and organize such items. This translates to more men
buying home decor, furnishings, and wall art. Comfortable interiors
with simple, modern decor, opening up space for for accessories
and accents in each room.
Crazy
about Color:
Say good-bye to jewel tones, pastels and yes, my friends, pink for
this year. Saturated colors and metal tones are the talk of the
town. Move on over primary colors, fruit flavors like tangerine
are moving into the neighborhood.
Pamper Me, Please:
The only child. The beloved puppy who is an only child. Moms and
Dads are splurging on their little ones, be they new-born and bald
or new-born and furry.
All
Maxed-Out:
Adding dimension and maximizing live and work space means subtle,
yet effective use of mirrors and their aesthetic frames and display.
Remember: repetition and variation.
Hang
On:
Art you can hang, yes fiber art that is, is the new wall art. Clever
use of fabrics, textiles, curtains, and decorative fiber to adorn
one's home and entice our sense of touch will bring customers out
of the threadwork.
IMPORTANT
REMINDER
If you use FedEx as your shipper, please remember that rates increased
as of Jan 3. A full list of these rates are available at
www.fedex.com. Overall the increase averages +2.7% for all packages.
Please adjust the shipping costs table on your order forms accordingly
before your winter shows!
DESIGN
FOR EMOTIONAL APPEAL
We
know humans like to give. We like to donate to worthy causes, volunteer
where we’re needed, and give advice when it seems welcome.
But what about the way we buy? We also like to feel good when we
buy things.
When designing your newest products, why not consider beginning
with the emotional outcome you hope your buyers to walk away experiencing?
You design forward all the time. Why not try designing backwards
this month and see what new doors it opens up? Here are a few emotional
appeals to begin with:
How can I design a product that will make consumers feel…
…I am allowing them to express their unique personality?
…comfortable or a sense of being pampered?
…like they now own something rare or unique?
…smart or savvy in a particular area?
…more spiritually connected?
…more attractive?
…prestige?
Remember:
In trying this exercise, you are trying to appeal to your end-consumer.
Your end-consumer is the person you sell to at a retail show, the
person your galleries sell to, or the person who ultimately receives
your work as a gift.
LEARN HOW TO WHOLESALE
The Rosen Group’s Office of Public Affairs is once again gearing
up for a busy year, filled with educational events that teach American
and Canadian craftspeople how to wholesale. Interested in being
a future exhibitor at The Buyers Market of American Craft? Not sure
if your line is even right for selling to shops and galleries?
Let a business professional give you direct answers to these questions
and more. Click
here, or contact DebraA@rosengrp.com
to learn more about participating in The Rosen Group’s Visiting
Artist Program. The program gives you tools to determine if wholesaling
is even right for you, all at the
world’s largest wholesale art event—The Buyers Market
of American Craft.
DON'T
MISS A THING!
Do you know a craftsperson who should be receiving Market Insider
each month? Do you know someone who recently changed their email
address and forgot to tell us to forward future newsletters to their
new address? Contact us at news@rosengrp.com
to be added on the Market Insider mailing list.
Market Insider
Archive - MI newsletters from previous months. |
