Don't let the weather fool you, summer is on its way, and with it the Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival! It's not too early to start making plans to make this a successful show for yourself. Now is the time to start thinking about the exciting new work you would like to make, any changes you need to make to your booth set-up to make it more enticing and inviting, ordering business and post cards promoting your work, and planning your marketing campaign. And by marketing campaign, I mean sending out your postcards and emails to your customers and fans.
I've been known to send out postcards just a week ahead of time, which is probably not very effective in giving my customers time to clear the date and make a plan to go to the Palo Alto Festival. I've learned that planning is the best way to get myself to do things in a timely way, and yes, I learned that all by myself. Nowadays, I mark the dates on the calendar when the postcards and the email needs to go out. I add to my calendar any other thing that I need to do to prepare for Palo Alto, like repainting my display shelves, making special signage, ordering extra bags and tissue, and making sure my drape and curtains are not covered with spots and stains from whatever last event I dragged them to.
Next to making your best work, a beautiful booth design is probably one of the most effective ways to bring in new customers. A great booth with well-displayed work takes time and effort to create. If you aren't 100% comfortable with the way your booth is functioning, spend some time using your creativity to solve some of the issues, and don't be satisfied with the same old same old. Think about what you like to see in a booth, what draws you in, and apply some of that magic to your own space. The creativity that you apply to your clay or your glass can definitely be utilized in a 10' x 10' space. It's your space, you paid for it... make the most of it!
Whitney
