Craft vs Vendor Shows

Craft fairs are more for meeting your customer.   To see what their likes are.   It is an eye opening experience in direct retail.    Your work can be varied and art focused.   Always have smaller items on hand that will sell to pay for your fees and expenses.   You’ll be fortunate to sell an item at a higher price.   With more experience the booth display will be better setup and organized.   Needing to meet the customers and encourage traffic into your booth.  If you really want to pull in traffic to your booth, put up a wall not facing the outside traffic flow with an outside sign that says “ADULTS ONLY”.

Vendor shows are my preference. Do you want to do production level work? Are you setup to do production? It is possible to get contracts for hundreds of pieces at a time. The audience is business oriented and more inclined to order production level quantities. The artwork must be more mature and production oriented at vendor fairs. Opportunities to work with business, hotel, coffee shop and restaurant chains are out there. Bring smaller work for examples, lots of flyers that are post card sizes. The objective is to meet people and develop relationships. Be on top of your social media and working email campaign. Don’t expect to get the fees covered.

Secret to success 

Productivity / Time = Success.   Expectations need to be set accordingly.  Is this a hobby or business.  To be a financial success there are a lot of personal disciplines:  Organization, Early to bed – Early to rise,  Early bird gets the worm, Live generously, Help others be a success.  

Read the biography of Auguste Rodin.   Recognize the struggle with the perceptions of the world.   Identify your pride.   Get out of your own way.  This will be a grind.  Be productive.

Your destiny is to know God and make him known.

LeRoy Grubbs

Yes… I’m more than happy for you to use my photos and you’re also welcome to quote me!
Thanks… Keith 

Thank you Keith!   I’ll have the stamp completed and in the mail for you next week.
May I use your pictures online of the mugs?
🙂
LeRoy

Thanks Leroy… It looks great… go ahead and proceed with the stamp. Right now do you know how long it might take for me to receive the stamp? The reason I’m asking is because I’ve got an order for this logo on mugs and they want them by mid May. 
I want to let you know how pleased I am with your brass stamps. From the other stamps I have ordered from you in the past I have made hundreds of logo mugs with them with no problems. I had one plastic logo stamp made from the company 4clay and I have found that the clay sticks to it much more often than it does to the brass stamps! I’m sold on brass! I attached some pics of some of the mugs I’ve made using your stamps. Thanks Again… Keith

Thank you Lindsey for the note.   I truly appreciate your kind words and sharing the image of your pottery.   Beautiful Work!
🙂
LeRoy

Lindsey: Hi!
I wanted to reach out and let you know that I absolutely love my stamp. It looks as if I’ve signed my pieces but it is much more crisp and clean than and actual signature each time. Just wanted to tell you that I love it so much. Your work is appreciated!

Lindsey A.

Hi LeRoy, here are the photos of the mugs I made with the stamp you created. The client loved them. Thanks so much!!
Juliette

These mug design and stamp application is awesome!  Are you sharing this online?   May I?

🙂

LeRoy

Of course! Feel free to share whatever you like. You can tag the pictures with my Instagram @juliettedavin
I will make the order for the new stamp right away. Thanks again!

Juliette Davin 

Here’s a quick fun video of pulling some handles and decorating mugs with a large stamp. A little of life stories as a bonus.

I’m a hobby potter, that first touched a wheel in the late 70’s during college.

Until recently access to a wheel has been the issue. After getting reintroduced around 6 years ago at Fountain Square Clay Center, downtown Indianapolis, I purchased an Amaco Kick wheel. Around 3 years ago, I moved up to an Amaco Treadle Wheel.  After Covid cancelled a class at John Campbell’s Folk Art School, I just purchased a Brent Model C last week with the refund.

The Indianapolis Art Center has a Wood Kiln, that has opened another door.  I’m starting a soda fire class in January.

I’m having fun, and with my wife having six brothers and sisters, I have plenty of nieces and nephews to take my practice pieces.

Working through community kilns, having your clay stamps helps spotting my pieces on the bisques and finished shelves.

Thanks again, I’m going to be doing more Raku, that’s the reason for “Not Food Safe”

Reggie 

Thanks LeRoy  Here is the latest, and maybe my favorite. 

Amy

I just wanted to reach out and tell you how pleased I am with your work. Thank you again for these rad stamps! I couldn’t be happier.

Char-Struck!