Wow, haven't written since before the outdoor season! I didn't mean to be gone that long, but life gets busy. It was a crazy summer - Wendy and I have decided that our work is going in different directions, so for the first time in many years I was a solo artist. My family did come and help out when they could - but I spent much of the summer with no backup other than "booth sitters".
From a show perspective this meant that I couldn't walk around and visit (or purchase) during show hours without risking my own sales. To get around that I developed the habit of arriving an hour earlier than necessary on Sundays so I could visit folks. This works to a point, the problem is I'm not the only artist doing that so I just can't find some folks because they are wandering too.
Another change is lunch. In the past I used lunch as a quick break - run to the washroom, get some food, and then back to the booth. Now I can ask a booth sitter to watch my booth but I'm more likely to just hit the washroom and hurry back. I've been more vigilant about bringing snacks and energy bars, and I rarely get lunch. If you visit me at One of a Kind don't be surprised to see a PBJ sandwich hiding in my booth.
The biggest downside to being solo is how much I miss the company - Wendy and I remain great friends, but there is no built in (weekend long) lunch date all summer. We still hang out and she is doing a great business selling her work in different channels.
The other big change that resulted from our shift is that I have dropped the business name "Heartfire Studios". Most of the shows just put an artist name up even if you have a business name so I took the obvious path and have changed all of my social media and business cards to refer just to amyikenn.com or Amy Ikenn Glasswork. Even the name of this blog has changed to drop Heartfire. I also revamped the website - comments are welcome. I will maintain the Heartfire link to my website indefinitely, but if you want to find me on Facebook, Google + or Twitter you should start by looking for "Amy Ikenn Glass". or follow these links:
amyikenn.com
Facebook
Twitter
Google +
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