Creative Resources

The Society of Gilders is a non-profit educational organization devoted to the art and craft of gilding. Our mission is to preserve traditional gilding skills and techniques, and to promote the highest standards in the practice of gilding.
The Society offers:

• A unique resource for technical help with gilding issues for gilders, restorers, conservators and all those interested in the gilding arts.
• An opportunity to network with other gilders and clients through SOG events and the website.
• Classes and workshops where you may learn more about the art of gilding and enhance your gilding skills.
• Community gilding projects which provide opportunities for you to use your gilding skills.

Membership is open to any interested individual, institution or corporation.

Marketing Pointers

Think outside your box. Who is connected to your current clients or the clients of your clients? What would be an unusual place to look for new work?

Start making a list of everyone one and every company that you can link to yourself and your business. It's like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon but for you. Then, see what you can do to get those people interested in what you do.

Trade Show Successs

Whether or not to even exhibit at a trade show is another question but once you are there you need to make sure you get the most bang for your buck. Trade shows are overwhelming places and even if someone is really excited about you, their brain may have been overloaded by the time they get home.

Giving out cards or one sheets or postcards is great but you have to do more. What you ask.

Get their contact information.

A simple guest book with a place to put their name and e-mail address is all you need. Then you can e-mail everyone a few days after the show to remind them why they were excited in the first place. This also allows you to track the success of the show by seeing how many of the contacts turn unto sales.

Remember, trade shows may not always pay in the short run so you need to measure how much they make you in the long run and one way to do that is to get potential client information and then follow up.

Stuff You Should Read

This is actually more than just something you should read, it is something you should act upon.

Orphan Works Bill

This is making a lot of artists nervous and I believe for good reason. Below is a link to send a letter to the House and Senate. I am not going to get into a full debate here, there are plenty on the Internet right now. Let's just say that this has not been fully thought out and it is a lot harder to take something like this back than to take the time to write good and use able law.

Send in your opposition.

Creative Resources

ArtDaily.Org
Dubs itself the First Art Newspaper on the Net. Includes: Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, Photographers, Special Reports, Art Fairs and More.

Disconnecting the Internet Might Make You More Productive

Thanks to PimpYourWork.com for this. It is right on the money. You may not need to disconnect from your computer but even something as simple as setting your e-mail to check for mail every several hours instead of several minutes can make a huge difference.
I’ve mentioned in some previous posts that I live in a Third World country. This means that my area’s phone/internet cables can be stolen at night (presumably to be sold at junk shops) and I’ll be left disconnected from work.

Well, this happened last week.

Surprisingly, my productivity actually doubled. I was producing twice my regular output for the previous weeks of April. Is it possible that severing your connection to the net can make you more productive or is this some kind of fluke? I think it’s possible to be more productive without easy net access, and here’s why:

Your net time becomes precious. To compensate your lack of a connection at home, you probably resort to net cafes, free wi-fi areas, and the like. You can’t exactly sit in these places forever. Ergo, you only do the essential when you’re online. Goodbye to random surfing.

Less distractions. Additionally, when you’re working on your computer, you have less distractions because you’re not connected to the net. No random surfing, Twittering, checking your Facebook messages, or reading RSS feeds. When you’re working with the computer, you’re working with the computer.

Creative Resources

Since its establishment in 1983, the American Art Pottery Association has continued to bring people together to share their knowledge and interest in art pottery. Operating as a not for profit 501(c)6 business league, the AAPA and its membership enjoys various activities each year such as: annual convention; annual show, sale, and auction of Art Pottery; annual student scholarship award; and the bi-monthly publication of the Journal of American Art Pottery Association (JAAPA).