I have been given a mentor – and from what I have seen on DEBBIE BRYAN‘S website I don’t think it could have been a more perfect match.
Here is the wishlist I provided her with (and she wasn’t scared off!):
1. Venues for selling and showing my work – gallery / museum / retail / shows….where does it belong? Advice about this would be great.
2. Exploring other options that will support making & selling my work, e.g. running workshops, commissions…an unbiased view from the outside on what other things I could do.
3. Placing a value on your work – struggle with this one. I know the course will provide a costing session, but I need to ‘get real’ – I find asking to be paid for what I love to do difficult! Help to get a ‘business head’.
4. Balancing the designing-making process with the running of a business – managing time.
5. A bit of opinion on whether my goals are realistic – a viewpoint from experience.
6. Networking – I’m not very good at this! Ways, where, how…are there key associations / groups to be a member of?
7. Display of 3D textile products – touchy-feely vs don’t touch! Ways to balance this.
8. Managing suppliers – are there any dos and don’ts of sourcing supplies?
It is all to do with the business and presentation side of things rather than the creation/inspiration/skills side.
Excited to see what come of this!
Filed under: research, session | Tags: catalogue, funding, library, motivation, research, trend
The session today at Britannia Mill was great – getting back into research within a well-stocked library. I miss the feel of the paper when looking stuff up on the internet.
Some useful things came out of it: potentially some funding (if I get it right) through SPEED.
The use of the online catalogues for research is fantastic – I hope to use this for market research and to demonstrate a trend for the type of thing I am designing and making.
It’s also good just to get out and into that kind of environment – the sense that everyone around you is learning can be a real motivator.
Filed under: organisation, supplies | Tags: colour, designing, samples, yarn
My yarn samples arrived in the post – at last! They are perfect and work so well with the colour ideas I have from my beach outing.
Must get designing so I can place an order before the end of November.
Filed under: inspiration, research | Tags: beach, designing, ideas, inspiration, photographs, sea
I took the opportunity to get some new visual inspiration whilst visiting family this weekend. I miss being far from the sea in Derby so working with beach inspired ideas will keep my interest and prompt investigation into new textures, colours and forms. I took 70 photographs of the rocks, pools, shells and seaweed – with every frame I had thoughts and images of how I could work these into another creature, a mitten or tea-cosy. My brain is so full and I can’t wait to start designing!
Filed under: research | Tags: , business plan, competition, creatures, design, feature, websites
As a result of work on my business plan assignment thoughts have turned to what is already out there and why would anyone want what I make.
Firstly I found this lady: DEBI VAN ZYL – and I sort of wish I hadn’t as she is working along very similar lines to what I am envisaging. Interesting to note that she has sold out of all her creatures online. I am going for a similar handmade look but with a more commecial feel in relation to the additional features, such as the eyes. I love the proportions of body to legs in these!
SOFTIES CENTRAL – this place is great, I am going to get my creatures featured on here as I think they’d fit in really well. Brilliant to see what else is out there and get links to individuals websites.
Who doesn’t know about DONNA WILSON and her whacky creatures. I have to bear in mind she is well established and has been doing this for years but her pricing is useful and the online interview invaluable. It feels as though I read her article and then decided to follow suit… it’s frustrating when you find you’re not entirely unique!
Filed under: research | Tags: craft, East Midlands, Lustre, market, research
Through a bit of online research I realise a few of the key shows, such as Origin, have been and gone – but thankfully I have one right on the East Midlands doorstep in the form of LUSTRE - Contemporary Craft Maker’s Market on Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 November. I’ll see if anyone else in the group fancies a day out.
Filed under: session | Tags: aims, business plan, design, make, money, objectives, planning, practice, presentation, profile
Professional Practice, Planning & Presentation – this is the section that makes me panic inside. I don’t know what happened at the session today. Last week I had my goals up on the screen, felt clear and relatively confident about what I wanted. Today my mind went to mush with the enormity of the task before me – The Business Plan. Thankfully we are putting it together in chunks, part of which is to be handed in as our first assignment later in November.
Here’s the main rub: My Aims.
We indentified three main aims of why we want to go down the art-as-career route. To raise our profile, to make money and for self fulfillment (the love of creating work). So far, I have been designing and making for the love of creating. Sure recognition (without serious self promotion) has been nice, as has been the times when I get paid for something I make – but it really has been for the joy of learning new skills, experimenting with different materials and giving to other people.
I now have to find a way of telling my brain that this is not enough – unless I REALLY want to stay in the admin 9-5 job for the rest of my days (No.)
So the priorities (my new mantra) will go like this: I am going to raise my profile to sell my work and make money, I get an added benefit in that I love what I do
How lucky am I?!
But….the sneaky pre-Connect part of my brain says “But what if the money and the raising of your profile makes the designing and making a chore, no longer pleasureable…?” Well, I won’t know until I try and there are so many different ways of going about this that I can always change my plan.
Actions for the week – Research shows & exhibitions to attend :: Write artist’s statement :: Look further into what my options are for my objectives
Filed under: organisation | Tags: admin, deadlines, diary, planning, spreadsheet
I have created a super-duper calendar / planner / diary to help me make sense of the time I have, how much time I spend working towards the course and for managing deadlines.
It is 2 worksheets within a spreadsheet with linked cells for ease of cross reference (putting the admin experience to good use!), it seems to work well enough. Just got to remember to update it with all I do. I wonder if i can link it online somehow… will have to investigate.
Filed under: emotion, knitting, presentation | Tags: change, emotion, emotional memory, emotions, grandmother, meditation, memory, questions, stress, thoughts
Something I have realised this evening that the theme of emotion, emotional memory has more facets for me than I presented this week. Knitting is so tightly linked to my emotions in many ways:
I was taught to knit by one grandmother (I remember this clearly) and I knit with the tools of the other. I can’t help but think of them both each time I make something.
I have and do knit to through times of stress, through change, to mull over difficult questions, to slow the pace of my thoughts, a form of meditation.
I embue the things I make with an emotion of their own. I make items that hold emotional memories for me and for the people I make them for.
Through knitting I have discovered more about myself.
I knit a test piece using the cheap yarn from the market tonight. It is measured and specs recorded. I’ll throw it in a hot wash followed by the tumble dryer. From my experience this has rarely worked very well, hand felting (’til my knuckles are raw) has always proved more successful – shame it takes so long and is so tough!
