☆¸.✿¸.•°*”˜`*•.✿★.♥. ★✿.•*´¯`*•..¸★¯`•.¸☆
Today is 11.11.11, an auspicious day for intent. So, on this day, the first of the Craftswomen event, I cast my intent for abundance and prosperity, good fortune & success. This is my desire on this day.
☆¸.✿¸.•°*”˜`*•.✿★.♥. ★✿.•*´¯`*•..¸★¯`•.¸☆
Enormous venue!This is how I went into last weekend; floating on a strange combination of anticipation, hope, and exhilaration, and expecting success with no reservation. I was so thrilled to be an emerging artist. Twenty of us were picked from over 600 applications, and it was incredibly validating.
Still, I don’t know quite where to begin this article. I feel like I’ve climbed a mountain to get to this point.
My family and I spent much of the summer attending festivals and fairs with my art, learning a lot but experiencing modest or nonexistent sales, and watching foot traffic dwindle from barely there to a trickle. The overwhelming consensus in our house is that most of the time people don’t bother or can’t attend certain events, and when they do, they hold on to their money like it’s the end of the world. I’ve written about it many times.
I was certain this event would be different.
The Celebration of Craftswomen is a highly publicized San Francisco craft fair to benefit the Women’s Building. Typically, it’s held over two weekends around the Thanksgiving holiday, making its proximity to Christmas perfect for holiday shopping. It’s the biggest craft fair exclusively for women in America, and artisans come from all around the country to sell their work. Vendor booths cost between $600 and $950, higher than most fairs in the area, which is a reflection of its past success, and most vendors incur expenses around hotels, transportation and food, as well. Shoppers pay $10 just to get in the door. This year an unforeseen and uncontrollable issue with the venue forced the event to a date much earlier in November, and squeezed it into a three day weekend including last Friday, which was Veteran’s day.
Our combined booth looks great!As an emerging artist, I was to share booth space with another woman. This made me nervous because I prefer to keep it in the immediate family. However my partner Cat and I hit it off right away. She takes pictures around the world, and then flirts with the polarity between monochrome and color through photo manipulation.
Friday saw very little foot traffic and modest sales. Minutes felt like hours. Clothing and jewelry sold more than anything. Gift items like my art and Cat's prints were stagnant. I went home feeling defeated, confused and upset, but putting a lot of energy into keeping my chin up. I felt grateful the experience wasn’t directly tied into my confidence because I know people like my work. There was a lot of interest for both Cat and I. But, for example, one new artist made beautiful stained glass boxes that weren’t selling, and, upon visiting her booth, it was obvious how devastated she was.
Saturday was a bit better, but nowhere near as expected. Vendors all around us grumbled their discontent. Sunday was quiet despite an unexpected group of shoppers from the nearby Farmer’s Market. The upside, however, is that everyone seemed to find their sense of humor and real conversation began. My art and Cat’s prints drew interested shoppers into our booth, and I enjoyed a number of fascinating conversations around spirituality, creativity, and life in general. I wandered about, my mind blown by all the wonderful work, and I met so many incredibly talented artisans. I’ve listed my favorites below. In my wanderings, I heard tale of a time when, 15 years ago or so, a vendor would attend this event and take thousands of dollars home. People lined up a block long outside to get in. It all seemed to end in 2008 when the housing market crashed.
In the end and several days later after I put it into perspective, I felt richer in character and experience, but unfortunately not anywhere else. I left with a renewed understanding of how much my art is appreciated by the general public. I also left with an understanding of how the economy is re-shaping the experience of American artists. But more than anything, I came to the realization that despite the fervency of the occupy protests, the only way the American public, aka the 99 percent, will make a difference, is by putting its money, what little it has, where its mouth is. After all, McDonald’s changed its Happy Meal recently, right? They didn’t do it to be nice. They did it because sales went low. It’s what the consumer demanded with its dollar.
I’m no economist, but I believe this is the key. The Celebration of Craftswomen is a spectacular women-only event that should have been a smashing success. I believe if can be again, but only if each of us breaks the cycle of paralyzing economic fear to make impactful consumer decisions.
Here is a list of my favorite artists from the show:
Gata Lata
This is my booth partner's website. We traded prints, and this is the one I got, my favorite!

Norikat
One of the girls from the Crucible!
Emmeline Craig
Judy Bingman Photography
The Two Dog Studio
Donna Perry Dolls
Julia Lucey
The Spotted Pony Photography
Cathy McClelland
Cathy's work was primary acrylic on waterboard and focused on animal totems. This one in particular (all rights to the artist, of course) just took my breath away. It's called "Sun Bear".

Theresa Honeywell
Simply Sine Paper Artist
You'll have to see this artists's work to understand she cuts every single piece by hand!
Misti Lehman Stained Glass Artist
LeatherArt by Dawn Mountain
This piece is one of my favorites! Dolly's bust priced at $750 and made entirely of leather! I don't think it'll appear under the Christmas tree this year! All rights reserved by the artist, of course.
☆¸.✿¸.•°*”˜`*•.✿★.♥. ★✿.•*´¯`*•..¸★¯`•.¸☆