Friday, June 20, 2008

I just realized I never posted the outcome of the Pottery Party at my house.

Above all, everyone, both artists and attendees had fun. The setup wasn't as grueling as an outdoors craft show. All we needed to set up were a few extra tables and some tablecloths. There were five of us displaying and each artist got their own table. There was an additional table available for seconds. No fees were charged (except for purchases made using a credit card), so each artist earned 100% of their sales prices.

Food was great: I made bagna cauda (look it up, it's delicious) served with fresh veggies and bread. Other potluck foods included artichoke dip, a bean/corn/salsa dip, peanut butter patties, cream cheese with candied jalapenos, and lots of wine, beer, iced tea, and coffee. HINT: If you plan to do this, the coffee and the tea seemed to be "must haves".

Overall, we did quite well. Everyone sold at least two items, with some people selling up to 5 pieces in the 11-4 time period.

Happily, it was successful enough that one of the artists is having a Pottery Party at her house in August. Seems like this might become a regular event.

And me? I sold 3 items outright and picked up two commissions. Not a bad day, considering it also brought some people I haven't seen in quite a while, including a good friend from Houston.

The only big question is how to expand attendance by prospective buyers. I didn't invite my neighbors. In retrospect, perhaps I should have. If we continue to have these events on a regular basis, I'm sure we'll figure it out.