Fire Oak Studio

Thoughts from a Meeting with the SBA and New Work

A couple of weeks ago I had a meeting with someone from the local Small Business Administration (SBA). I got a lot out of the meeting and would recommend that any artist who is having trouble with or just needs some advice on the business side of art give it a try. My meeting was specifically about writing a business plan. It is something you have to do if you want to get funding, but my goal is to be able to provide myself with a road map with some clear goals.

I went in concerned that I was crazy to want to dive into a full-fledged craft business in a rocky economy. One of the first things that the counselor told me was that the art and craft market is a little different from other sales markets. In part, this is because people buy the connection with the artist as much as they are buying a unique item. So one suggestion she gave me is to make myself, not just my product, stand out. A bad economy is not necessarily a bad time to start a craft business. Planning and hard work can make it viable.

Another suggestion the counselor gave me was to go over my prices carefully. She said artists and crafters tend to undervalue their time. I am certainly guilty of not tracking my time very well. It can be difficult to do when balancing working at home and caring for an exuberant young child. But I have started recording the time I sit down to work and the time I get up, even if only for a moment. It has been an eye opener.

Finally, the counselor gave me some great general advice on craft fairs. She said that each craft fair is a different market. What sells at one may not sell at another even if they are close geographically. It can take some trial and error to figure out what to bring to each fair. She also suggested bringing a portfolio of my work that includes items that I have sold or that I didn’t include in the fair. With this customers can see the full range of what I can do. If I advertise that I take commissions and do custom work, I may be able to get more sales.

My first craft fair is coming up soon (Applefest in Peru,NY on Sept 17 and 18). I hope that I can use what I have learned and make it a successful and enjoyable experience.

*****

As for new work, I have a lot of it. Here is a sample of some of my most recent.

Om Bowl - CKester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

ThorsHammer_Ckester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

FishSpoon_CKester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

New Work 8-16-2011

Here are some of my latest pieces. They will be posted for sale in my Art Fire store soon. The box is made of pine and is one that I got from a supplier. The pendants are maple from a tree a friend cut down. The experience cutting and sanding them was fun. I am hoping to get some other woods from local sources to turn into pendants.

DiamondKnotBox2_CKester copy — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

WoodPendants_CKester — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

I have also been working on updating my main website. I haven’t used it in quite some time, but it still gets pretty high on Google’s list when you search for me. It just wont do to have an out of date website anymore. I am also scouring the area for small local craft fairs to show my wares. I’ve applied for one in Glens Falls, NY in September. I’ll post more details as I get them.

Cheers

Wood Pendant Preview

A friend cut down a small oak and gave me some of the wood. I am planning to do a whole bunch of pendants and maybe rune stones with the wood. Here’s a preview of the first two –

PendantPreview_CKester — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

I am still deciding how I want to finish them and how I want to handle the cord (bead or no bead). I may be drilling a larger hole so I can hang them differently. I’m looking to sell these around the $7 to $15 range (depending on the design).

A Busy Bee

I have a lot going on right now, not the least of which is getting enough product together for a craft show. So, I apologize for my recent and continued (for a while longer) silence. Here are a few photos of some of my new work –

TendrilSpoon_CKester — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

TurtleShellBowl_CKester — Copyright 2011 Christina Kester

LizardSpoon_CKester — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

OakLeafBowl_CKester_2 — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

Sketch Fest and New Work

Last weekend I participated in Sketch Fest for the first time. Sketch Fest takes place once a month and is, as described on the site, a “24 hour creative jam session with artists across the world, brought to you by Ellen Million Graphics.” The artists pick prompts and do a 1 hour sketch of the subject.

Here are the two sketches I did for it.

Prompt – Prehistoric Cave Art (sold)

Cave Dragon and Unicorn — copyright Christina Kester 2011

Prompt – Pocket Frog (for sale on the Sketch Fest website)

In other news, I have been doing a lot of pyrography this past month. Here is a look at my newest pieces. Most can be found for sale on my Art Fire shop here

BatSpoon2_Ckester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

DiamondKnotBox_Ckester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

KoiWaveSpoon2_Ckester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

OakLeaf SpoonNew2_CKester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

SmokeBowl2_CKester copy — copyright Christina Kester 2011

StringKnotSpoon2_Ckester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

ZebraSpoon2_CKester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

Yay for Studio Space

I’ve moved across the country. It was a stressful, but fun adventure. But because it was such a huge undertaking, my presence on the internet has been scarce. I am finally to the point that I can post more regularly. I have been busy busy busy. I am still trying to find one of my art supplies boxes, but it hasn’t slowed me down too much.

Here’s a peek at what I am working on for pyrography.

WIP 052911 CKester — copyright 2011 Christina Kester

Dog Nouveau Steps

Here is a walk through of my current progress on the pet portrait I am working on.I will be adding more as I continue working.

Edit 4/18/2011 – Here is the final walkthrough.

SoniaWalkthrough_CKester — Copyright Christina Kester 2011

April 11 Update

Here’s my finished tattoo commission –

A character sketch for a really long term project –

Practice sketches from my sketchbook –

Commission Status –

Dog Nouveau – transfering drawing to canvas

Knotwork tattoo – finished

Anniversary Spoons – finished

Eagle Spoon – on hold, spot open

I have one spot open for commissions right now. It has to be something small and simple. I can do a decorated spoon ($15-30) or a 5×7 painting ($45-60). Please let me know if you are interested by sending an email to fireoakstudio@gmail.com

Dog Nouveau and Smoke Bowl

Dog Nouveau

One of my current commissions is a pet portrait of two adorable Boston Terriers. And since my client is open to it, I’m going to share my steps in completing the painting.

Here is the sketch I will be working from

Dog Nouveau wip1 — copyright Christina Kester 2011

From this point, I will be transferring the drawing to the canvas. There are a few things I want to address while doing this, so it wont be exactly like this sketch. For example, I want to make sure I get the dogs’ likenesses down a little better. I also want to make the circle between the dogs a little bigger and add a border of sorts on the top and bottom of the painting.

Smoke Bowl

Here is an in progress shot of my latest bowl.

This is a companion bowl to my Cloud bowl

ClowdBowl_CKester — copyright Christina Kester 2011

Commissions and Other News

I am closed for commissions currently, but I am accepting commissions for late May and June. If you are interested, please send me an email fireoakstudio@gmail.com.

I’m still gathering photos of my older work that I will be selling at discounted prices to help fund my move. I anticipate that they will be up by mid next week. I’m also having a sale at my Art Fire store, so please stop by and take a look.