“Big City” (6 stitched deconstructed dye drawings stretched and mounted around 20″x20″ canvas panels) ©2014 Ayn Hanna
T-3 weeks ’till showtime – Booth #719 at ACC Baltimore!
The booth is fully consuming the living room, the sewing machines are whirring along, more boxes keep arriving daily with stuff we’re going to need to make this booth a rockin’ bad ass display, everything that’s being shipped to Baltimore has to be finished, packed up, and shipped out by early next week (at last count we’re at 23 large boxes….7 of which are the booth along) the banners are being printed, the new logo-d hang tags will arrive tomorrow and my stomach is doing the loop-de-lou on a daily basis now.
Excited yes, for the show experience and overwhelmed with all the preparation and planning at the same time. I know it’s going to all work out and be fine. And I keep moving through my list of “to-do”s day-by-day, crossing things off as “done” one after the other. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…..it helps to sing to myself sometimes.
The Wonderful World of Wholesale
Besides making the ART to show at the show, I’ve been drinking from the fire hose of Wholesale Show Prep 101. This will be my first foray into selling whole sale (I’ll be offering my pillows, scarves, and stretched dye drawings to the wholesale buyers), so I’ve been doing web research to find and build a list of fine craft shops that I think might be a good fit for my work.
I also hired some design professionals to create really nice postcards of my work (and some banners for my booth), and my wonderful partner designed the awesome sticker above which we have stuck to my postcards and sent out as some initial “pre-show” marketing to my newly created list of potential fine craft shops and galleries.
During my web research, I found several shops that I felt such synergy with the owners’ philosophies and curated work they carry that I couldn’t help but think if we lived in the same town we’d be fast friends. These are the people I sent my postcards to.
And one of the things I’m most excited about and looking forward to is hopefully meeting some of these store owners at the show! How great will that be to see them in person after finding them on the web and get a chance to talk with them.
As I continue finishing new work and knocking things off the prep list, envisioning how great the booth is going to look and getting to meet all these new people in the art world is what fuels my energy and excitement for the show.
More photos, show prep insights, and a new eco-dye workshop announcement coming soon!
wow! Having observed you rather closely over the years, I so appreciate your determination and exquisite approach to life-your art is always a joy to watch in its’ developing stages. Behold, many masterpieces stem from your love of life. And, this Baltimore show approaching may be one of your most dedicated projects yet! Sending you and Barb all the powerful energy of the universe as you make this journey! My heart is jumping with all the possibilities you both explore and execute!! Love, mom
Thanks for all your unwavering support and sweet insight! XXOO
i can scarce imagine how crunched for time you are right now. am hoping your may workshop in ft. collins falls when i’m in denver for my son’s wedding cause i’d love to partake. (the mother of the bride lives in ft. collins and she’s been wanting me to visit her, so this could be a two-birds deal.) have a fun and profitable time in baltimore, and tell lisa call i said “put that fitbit on, missy.”
on the may workshop topic…announcement coming soon as i get the particulars in place for the sign-up on my online store, will be may 17-18, would be wonderful if that coincides with your trip here! will definitely have a great time in baltimore, really looking forward to visiting the american visionary museum first thing when i arrive and will pass along your message to lisa too 🙂