On Tuesday 30th November we attended the seminar for creatives on How to Present and Sell your Work at Craft Fairs at the LCB Depot aimed at emerging and mid-career designer makers and stallholders for the upcoming Makers Mart on 8th December.
The event was a partnership between Creative Leicestershire, Design Factory and LCB Depot and we were very fortunate to have two excellent speakers, Clare Gage and Phiona Richards come and give us their tips and advice on the key ingredients needed for a successful craft fair including producing a memorable stand and how to get the best out of social networks.
Clare Gage designs and creates her distinctive textile inspired ceramics from her studio in Derbyshire. The inspiration for the Clare's range comes from her life-long love of textiles. She is passionate about products being functional as well as stylish and likes to celebrate the British tradition of afternoon tea http://claregage.com/
Top points from Clare:
1) Be product focussed, allow people to engage with your work and be interactive with your work
2) Make it memorable - have a brand identitiy, think about the 'wow' factor so you make the most of your hard work
3) Read the documents they send on what you can and can't do
Phiona Richards creates interactive book sculptures using traditional needlework techniques. From a ‘make do and mend’ mentality, she is drawn to books near the end of their existence and transforms them into pleasing tactile structures. Although her book sculptures appear to be fragile and delicate, they are quite robust and interaction becomes a therapeutic experience on many sensory levels. http://rarenotions.co.uk/Top points from Phiona:
1)Get your pricing right
2) Use your promotional material & think about packaging
3) Think about all your marketing - mailing list , newsletters and offers , sharing your news via social networks
4) Think about last minute planning - toolkit so you can ....
5) Relax and enjoy the day
On Tuesday 6 November we attended the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Fair in the Hugh Aston Building organised by De Montfort University's Campus Enterprise Opportunities (CEO) team in the Student Gateway . We found we had a steady stream of students and recent graduates enquiring about Creative Leicesterhsire and met some interesting organisations supporting graduates and students in business such as Enternships.com, the DMU Enterprise Society, Princes Trust, Seed Creativity and Smith Partnership. Good Luck to Tom Wingfield who has just launched his intriguing new publishing company Tangible Publications http://tangiblepublications.co.uk/
On Friday 9th November guests were invited to the launch and dedication of Stand Easy - a memorial to honour Leicestershire's Armed Forces. The tribute is a striking bronze sculpture depicting four young recruits of all three services taking part in a military drill with a central plaque inscribed with the words 'They Stand Among Us' and was created by Glasgow based sculptor Kenny Hunter. Kenny worked with a group of cadets from Welbeck Defence Sixth Form college to develop the casts which were used to model the bronze figures and bereaved families worked with Kenny to develop the inscription. The implied absence of a fifth figure conveys a sense of loss yet also symbolises camaraderie, unity and personal identity. The service was a moving tribute and we were very proud have been there to support the event and the creative team who worked on it.
Coming soon ... Making a Living Hinckley, the Artists in Learning Networking event and Culture Club!
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