Art is indeed not the bread but the wine of life--Jean Paul Richter

I had the honor this past weekend to exhibit in an art show at the Sinai Temple in Springfield that included some outstanding fine artists. Having a line of steampunk jewelry I was particularly intrigued by Geoffrey Houghton's "Steamfolk" watercolor illustrations. Marcia Reed who teaches at Williston Northampton School set up a beautiful display of her very colorful paintings. I particularly liked the Tuscan scenes she painted while teaching workshops in Italy. Nice. Leon Comstock and I shared a pegboard wall. And both days I had a very nice view of Frederick LeBlanc's photographs of boats and water scenes.

I was told that in the past this festival was strictly fine art. This year other artisans were invited to participate and the Men of Sinai were fortunate to have Peg Gerard and her polymer clay jewelry. She's been featured in books and magazines and creates incredible patterns with clay. Lori Mader, whom I saw at Mattoon Street, was there with her stoneware. And Jan Charbonneau, a member of the Berkshire Made group, showed off her purses made of recycled men's ties.

On the second day I learned that fellow South Deerfield residents, Jane Trigere and Tony Faith also had booths set up. And, of course, there were the representatives of the Artisans of Western Mass., Katie Richardson, Nicole Werth, Aviva Sieber, Adele Tanner and me--Jansjems.

If you want to see uncommon artistry, click on any of the above live links.

Our Weekend in Old Deerfield

We spent the weekend at the Old Deerfield Fall Craft Show. The weather was perfect (no wind) and sunshine. Our booth was near the food tent and music so we got people coming and going for food. And it was so nice to see some friends from the library (Eva & Janice), some neighbors, and Jeanie who I have known for over 30 years and haven't seen in ages. We got caught up a little in between customers.

Traffic was great on Saturday. Some of the guys who park cars at Yankee Candle and Channing Bete were at my house for a party on Sunday night (more on that in another post) and informed me that one of the lots was full and they had to close it. Sunday traffic was lighter with fewer buyers.
The atmosphere was very fall-like with lots of Halloween decorations. And the ubiquitous scare crow statuary was a nice touch.


Having Bethany work the shows with me allows me to walk around, shop, and talk to other vendors. I love to get opinions from different crafters on how well they like the show. Generally, this year sales were down. Though "Guy Gifts" who sold fire starters probably cleaned up. Some vendors felt it was just an off year, others feel the market is saturated with their type of work. A few said they won't apply next year as it's too expensive and they're not making enough.

So listen up Old Deerfield! My feeling is that this show is overpriced. Too many vendors who travel long distances are unable to cover their costs. The summer show was a clear indication that vendors are staying away and so are customers. Old Deerfield could lower their prices for next year and do away with the admission charge. The lower fee might encourage more vendors/new vendors and bring in more traffic. While eliminating the entrance fee might bring in more browsers, I've seen lots of people purchase impulsively if you can just get them into your booth.

Or maybe they just need to go back to fewer shows. Four shows a year may be diluting the market.

Steampunk Teapots

As the journey continues I find myself halfway through another year of craft shows--7 down and 6 or 7 to go. Thus far it's been a great year with most of the shows considered successful. But the jewelry made of recycled materials is still outselling traditional jewelry. So I find myself once again creating inventory for 2 big shows coming up this month.

My hubby & I spent a day with my cousin Ellie & her family recently. We haven't seen each other in awhile so it was nice to get caught up. She showed me some work they had recently done on their house and we had hamburgers on the grill for dinner.

Ellie has a collection of teapots. They're beautiful and they're everywhere. So once I got home and sat down to make new jewelry pieces, I kept thinking about teapots. As a result we have steampunk teapots for our next show. I think they'll be a big hit!

My favorite (and I don't usually go for the large, industrial styles) is this one--





And I really don't make many bracelets. Charm bracelets seem to work best when you're working with recycled hardware. But I tried something different this week. Let me know what you think.

Popular Tintype Jewelry

Because of the popularity of our "Adopt an Ancestor" bracelets my older daughter is creating earrings as well. Several people at the last show asked for them. Tintype photographs are rare and hard to find. Our special source at the Garage Flea Market in NYC had some when we were there in April. But prices are climbing and each year they get more expensive.

But the pictures of these unsmiling people are priceless. And the stories you can create about them are endless.