Rethinking old opinions
September 11, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Juliet's Journal
I’ve made some serious progress this week, and made even longer lists for the near future. My goal of ten sea-glass jewelry pieces was met and they are sitting in their boxes waiting for my meeting this afternoon. And now I’ve committed to doing my first craft show so that will mean even more that need to be done in the next few months along with getting a credit card processing account and displays etc.
Which brings me to the major rethink I’ve been doing – when I was in college I helped my mother set up at outdoor art festivals and grew to dread it, getting up at 4 a.m. hauling heavy stuff, no good food, uncomfortable weather etc. I’ve resisted doing them myself because of those experiences. Now I’m rethinking that. First, I’ve been reading about others’ experiences and while it’s not a life of roses there are ways to be a lot more comfortable – like getting a hotel room the night before, putting things on wheels and making sure you’re targeting the shows with bigger crowds, even if that means traveling further. So I’m seriously looking at this, both for income and as a way to increase visibility and customer interaction. I think it could actually be fun! I’ll learn a lot by doing some local inside shows this winter and I’m starting the list and looking for equipment now. Part of my dilemma now is whether or when to focus on jewelry or photography. I think I’ll end up switching off…
I’ve also managed to schedule both plumbers to come in and give an estimate -this is my basement project that the city has offered to pay for (how rare is that?) but it means I have to jump through a lot of hoops to make it happen. I’ll be glad when it’s done and I don’t have to keep it on the list. Next is to get the estimates actually in my hands.
My volunteer case wrapped up this week and now I’ll get to pick a new kid or kids to champion next week. I don’t know how much of a difference I’ve made but I know I’ve made some and that always feels good. I’ve even managed some yard work done too, getting the ancient iris bed dug up and separated and re-potting the blueberry bush. Maybe next spring things will come back to life.
In the interests of full disclosure, I might have gotten a bit more done if I hadn’t got caught up in the new online Monopoly game, (www.monopolycitystreets.com) which has had some bugs and server issues but I’ve loved Monopoly with a passion since I was about four - I was always the cowboy because it was the only piece I could pick up with little fingers without moving everyone else on the board!
Next week I’ll have to make some decisions about part-time jobs and what kind of schedule I’m trying to preserve (like weekends for art shows) and get busy with marketing again. I’ve been letting it slide which is never a good thing. Time to write some adds and start posting in forums and other blogs!
