Creme da la Crafts
Artisans
statewide credit ‘KY Crafted:
The Market’ for their financial success
Agency
will mark its
20th anniversary with March 2-3 show
Helen
E. McKinney,
Contributing Writer
(March 2002) - Since the early 1980s, Kentucky artists
and craftspeople have relied on “KY Crafted: The Market” to
help them develop their skills and market their wares throughout the
region and other states.
 |
Each year, the program puts on a large trade show at the
Kentucky Fair and Expo Center, South wing A, in Louisville, where more
than 270 exhibitors meet to display and sell their items to wholesale
and retail buyers nationwide. The public is also invited on the weekend,
which will include live musical performances and many arts and crafts
demonstrations.
This year’s show is scheduled for Feb. 28 to March 3 and will mark
its 20th anniversary. Featured will be an array of contemporary and
traditional crafts, two-dimensional visual art, books, music, food,
children’s craft activities and cultural entertainment.
The Market was first conceived in 1981 by then-Kentucky first Lady Phyllis
George Brown during her husband, Gov. John Y. Brown’s, administration.
The Market is produced by the KY Craft Marketing Program, a state agency
in the Kentucky Arts Council, Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet,
Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The Frankfort-based program’s primary mission is to develop the
state’s craft industry. By supporting Kentucky artisans and craftspeople,
the program strives to create an economically viable environment for
such individuals.
Janet Bailey Burch joined The Market two years ago. Having little prior
marketing knowledge, Burch said The Market “opened the doors for
me.”
Many times when an artist is new to the scene, buyers won’t look
at their work, she said. The seminars and classes The Market offers
provide insight into the wholesale side of the crafting business.
Originally from New Jersey, Burch is “a graphic artist by nature,”
she said.
She crafts what she has termed, ‘Punk Ponies.’ Her equine-themed
art conveys something bright and playful.
Burch has lived for the past 20 years on Drawing Board Farm in Crestwood,
Ky. The farm’s name is derived from the fact that “it’s
the perfect “surface” to create on,” said Burch.
At any given time of day, Burch can glance out of any window in her
home and view horses. “Horses are always an inspiration,”
she said.
From this inspiration Burch creates mirrors, pins, magnets, clocks,
wooden trinket boxes and bridle holders. Her hand-carved ponies are
crafted from birch plywood and covered with a gloss enamel paint finish.
She said she tries to reason what type of colors would appeal to the
person purchasing her artwork. “A bucking horse should be bright,”
she said to stress her point.
Always on the lookout for patterns, Burch said she considers every object
she sees as a potential influence: snakes, flowers, material, quilt
patterns.
She also relies on a lot of ancient art for pattern ideas. She garners
ideas from the way particular cultures decorated their artwork with
their own unique motifs.
Burch said she used to attend craft shows and think to herself, “I
can do this.” She took the plunge and submitted samples of her
work to The Market.
Each artist has to go through a juried process to qualify for inclusion
in the program. Anonymous jurors are selected to decide which artists
and craftspeople will be included in The Market. This process is used
to establish high quality standards. Once accepted, the craftsperson
is free to use the KY Crafted logo and participate in the program’s
marketing and promotional activities.
One such venue that works in conjunction with The Market is the Kentucky
Art and Craft Foundation. Created in 1981, the foundation hosts 12 exhibits
annually at its gallery, located at 609 W. Main St., Louisville. There
are 350 KY Crafted participants on display at the gallery this year,
said Jennifer Wallace, the gallery’s marketing director.
Six exhibits are located in the Mary and Rev. Alfred Shands Gallery
and six in the downstairs gallery, she said. Instituted in 1984, the
galleries represent all media types, from folk art to furniture.
Wallace said the artists and craftspeople who exhibit in the two exhibition
galleries “think it’s a great outlet.” Many participants
do not have the resources to market their art in such a way, she said.
The foundation partners with the KY Craft Marketing program to sponsor
an annual hands-on workshop weekend, said Wallace. Conference topics
in the past have included international marketing, media relations,
preparing for a
radio interview, Internet marketing and luncheon roundtables led by
veteran craftspeople.
“What’s necessary is marketing,” said Robin L. Lyons,
a self-taught silk apparel artist from Bethlehem, Ky. She said The Market
provides the opportunity to learn the techniques involved in marketing
a product.
“Most artists are consumed with what they’re doing,”
she said, rather than concerning themselves with the dynamics of selling
a craft. Lyons said that had it not been for The Market, she would never
have made the connections she
needed to promote her artwork.
Lyons hand paints silk scarves and clothing. She is also an accomplished
oil painter, having graduated from the Louisville School of Art.
She said that as a medium, “Silk is something new to me.”
The process she incorporates to produce her apparel is very simple but
produces a unique, intricately patterned garment.
The Market’s workshops have recently been incorporated, said Beau
Haddock, director of media communications and marketing. A singer-songwriter
from Lexington, Ky., he recently took over the marketing position.
“It’s like small business training,” he said. There are
many different skills craftspeople need to learn because, “there
is as much work in marketing, as in the actual making of a craft.”
Carol Burba, who owns the food production company Sweet Dillies, said
that The Market “helped with exposure.” In her fifth year
with The Market, Burba said her product is “the pickle taste with
a difference.”
Relying on an old family recipe, Burba created a product that is now
displayed in every state park and many local businesses.
Exhibitors like Burba are eligible for inclusion in a new project, Kentucky
Collection. Haddock said a certain number of exhibitors are hand-chosen
to participate in what he labels, “a self-contained showcase”
of products.
Retail buyers can pick and choose from these selected crafts to design
their own Kentucky corner for their business, said Haddock.
The Market is the premier outlet for preserving the state’s craft
traditions. The possibilities are endless for individuals or groups
wanting to become craft professionals.
the fact that “it’s the perfect “surface” to create
on,” said Burch.
At any given time of day, Burch can glance out of any window in her
home and view horses. “Horses are always an inspiration.”
From this inspiration Burch creates mirrors, pins, magnets, clocks,
wooden trinket boxes and bridle holders. Her hand-carved ponies are
crafted from birch plywood and covered with a gloss enamel paint finish.
She said she tries to reason what type of colors would appeal to the
person purchasing her artwork. “A bucking horse should be bright,”
she said to stress her point.
Always on the lookout for patterns, Burch said she considers every object
she sees as a potential influence: snakes, flowers, material, quilt
patterns.
She also relies on a lot of ancient art for pattern ideas. She garners
ideas from the way particular cultures decorated their artwork with
their own unique motifs.
Burch said she used to attend craft shows and think to herself, “I
can do this.” She took the plunge and submitted samples of her
work to The Market.
Artists must be juried
Each artist has to go through a juried process to qualify for inclusion
in the program. Anonymous jurors are selected to decide which artists
and craftspeople will be included in The Market. This process is used
to establish high quality standards. Once accepted, the craftsperson
is free to use the KY Crafted logo and participate in the program’s
marketing and promotional activities.
One such venue that works in conjunction with The Market is the Kentucky
Art and Craft Foundation. Created in 1981, the foundation hosts 12 exhibits
annually at its gallery, located at 609 W. Main St., Louisville. There
are 350 KY Crafted participants on display at the gallery this year,
said Jennifer Wallace, the gallery’s marketing director.
Six exhibits are located in the Mary and Rev. Alfred Shands Gallery
and six in the downstairs gallery, she said. Instituted in 1984, the
galleries represent all media types, from folk art to furniture.
Wallace said the artists and craftspeople who exhibit in the two exhibition
galleries “think it’s a great outlet.” Many participants
do not have the resources to market their art in such a way, she said.
The foundation partners with the KY Craft Marketing program to sponsor
an annual hands-on workshop weekend, said Wallace. Conference topics
in the past have included international marketing, media relations,
preparing for a radio interview, Internet marketing and luncheon roundtables
led by veteran craftspeople.
Marketing is the key
“What’s necessary is marketing,” said Robin L. Lyons,
a self-taught silk apparel artist from Bethlehem, Ky. She said The Market
provides the opportunity to learn the techniques involved in marketing
a product.
“Most artists are consumed with what they’re doing,”
she said, rather than concerning themselves with the dynamics of selling
a craft. Lyons said that had it not been for The Market, she would never
have made the connections she needed to promote her artwork.
Lyons hand paints silk scarves and clothing. She is also an accomplished
oil painter, having graduated from the Louisville School of Art.
She said that as a medium, “Silk is something new to me.”
The process she incorporates to produce her apparel is very simple but
produces a unique, intricately patterned garment.
The Market’s workshops have recently been incorporated, said Beau
Haddock, director of media communications and marketing. A singer-songwriter
from Lexington, Ky., he recently took over the marketing position.
“It’s like small business training,” he said. There are
many different skills craftspeople need to learn because, “there
is as much work in marketing, as in the actual making of a craft.”
From foods to crafts
Carol Burba, who owns the food production company Sweet Dillies, said
that The Market “helped with exposure.” In her fifth year
with The Market, Burba said her product is “the pickle taste with
a difference.”
Relying on an old family recipe, Burba created a product that is now
displayed in every state park and many local businesses.
Exhibitors like Burba are eligible for inclusion in a new project, Kentucky
Collection. Haddock said a certain number of exhibitors are hand-chosen
to participate in what he labels, “a self-contained showcase”
of products.
Retail buyers can pick and choose from these selected crafts to design
their own Kentucky corner for their business, said Haddock.
The Market is the premier outlet for preserving the state’s craft
traditions. The possibilities are endless for individuals or groups
wanting to become craft professionals.