I just did a show where there was an Indian lady potter who had a
neat set up. She brought unfired pottery to the show with her.
During the show she would demonstrate the process of painting the raw
pot then carve a design on the surface. Her husband would handle the
sales.
They had a small potable kiln which they set up in their hotel room
after the show. She would fire a large pot or several smaller ones
while they slept.
The next morning they would have additions to her show display.
The show was in San Diego in Spanish Old Town and held by the Bazaar
Del Mundo people. They lost the lease to the area they had held for
around 20 years. They moved across the street and set up a bunch of
beautiful stores and galleries. Attendance was very slow because the
usual tourists did not know of the new place.
The show invites the artists. The Gallery provides a free hotel room
for four days and two free meal tickets a day. The Gallery handles
all the sales and writes you a check at the end of the show. The
customers buy, the Gallery buys and dealers at the show buy. Its a 6
hour drive from my home. It is a show I can not refuse.
I had a month and a half to build up an inventory. That meant
casting, soldering and finishing my work on my patio on the west
side of my house in 112 to 118 degree temperatures during the day.
Making my jewelry and pottery ended up being hard work and not much
fun. San Diego was a well earned vacation. Even though the flow of
customers was very slow the show still proved to be financially
rewarding.
Lee Epperson, who is taking a long vacation from creating, well at
least until the summer ends.