Hi Marianne,
I’m assuming you’re referring to last week’s ACC/SF show (we had a
mini Orchid Brunch on Sunday, and one active Orchidian–Joan Dulla–
was in the show). If so, I think your questions are very apropos. I
actually have a lot to say about this show, but I don’t know if I
have the ability to be very coherent right now.
In case you haven’t been to the show, it is housed in two separate
buildings, now used to segregate the “non-wearables” people from the
glitz and energy of the “art to wear” part of the show (I think
this segregation #%&s and should be canned). A handful of
"wearable" artists are stuck in the back of the huge building with
the non- wearables, usually because they were wait-listed. Also, I
suspect that not enough non-wearable people are willing to waste
their time on the show anymore–most of my potter friends in the
Bay Area have stopped applying–so it’s the only way to fill up the
space. (I am even more confirmed in this suspicion by the
slowly-increasing amount of kitchy work being juried into this part
of the show.)
The people in the non-wearables building mostly hate those two
miserable wholesale days. The retail days are bad enough for them;
on the wholesale days, as one potter said, you can look down those
huge aisles and not see a single buyer for hours. I think the ACE
should can the wholesale days altogether.
Of the jewelers I asked about how wholesale was for them, the only
one who did really well was Joan, and this was her first time at the
show, so she was a novelty (of course, her work is gorgeous and
inventive, but so was the work of people who said they did poorly).
And Joan will be working her fingers to the bone filling those
orders, since the work she does can’t be done by “helpers.” People
like Tom Mann–who, last time I heard, had 15 people working in his
atelier–can handle a rush of wholesale orders in a way that someone
like Joan can’t. I have no idea what the other non-atelier, non-
production jewelers do–I’m not even sure there were any present.
Biba Schutz said she couldn’t possibly do shows if she didn’t have
help in her studio. Deb Karash may work on her own, but her “one of
a kind” pieces are in series, have low price points, and could in
no way be as labor intensive as yours. And my guess is that some
people may focus on one-offs but also have small production lines
to satisfy the wholesale buyers–what is in their booths may be a
mix.
So… the fact that ACE is moving in the opposite direction of what
most of the artists I talked to think would make sense is, to me, a
sign that they are slipping badly (it wouldn’t be the first time–
remember the move to Springfield?). It also sends a signal that they
are not responsive to the needs of their artists. How anyone gets
them to change their position is beyond me. Maybe there are people
on Orchid who are involved with ACE, or have the ability to become
involved. I’m afraid ACC/SF is likely to become a "gift show,“
featuring wearables made in ateliers and increasingly tacky home
decor. And the retail customer will indeed be faced with a giant
"shop.”
Lisa Orlando
Aphrodite’s Ornaments