Getting Noticed....From Art Shows To The Fashion Community.

Getting noticed.... It's a really good feeling to know that people are starting to notice my work outside of an art show or they enjoy reading my blog.

It started at an artshow "Art Fest" in Port Orange, Fl in 2008. I had finally choked up the "COURAGE" to enter a juried art show. It's the morning of the show & I'm basically clueless on what to expect not to mention I'm by myself w/no help. No problem...I've got this: Tent up, tables up, table covers on, driftwood & rocks which I use to display my jewelry on is out. It's now time to set up everything & make sure that the way I display my jewelry is eye catching to all who walk by. Not always an easy task, especially if you anything like me. A perfectionist in my own way.

The other artists who I was lucky enough to have as neighbors guided me in the know how & know who of a juried art show. I was feeling really good & confident that my first juried show would be a good one. Funny how that good feeling can change really fast.

I was almost finished setting everything up when I was approached by another artist, a man, who made the most uncalled for comment that made me actually want to cry, pack up & go home. He leaned into me & said, "wow, I guess your the artist with the least amount of things to show today, why did you bother"? Unlike him, I responded with tact. I informed him that I found out less than one week before the show that I was excepted since I was a late entry & I wasn't local. Four days prior to the artshow I packed up my 4 door Jeep Wrangler & left New York to attend my first juried show. I designed day & night in my hotel room. I had about 40 pieces to show but compared to other artists it was nothing.

Those really great artist neighbors of mine, reassured me & told me to pay no mind. I did just that & again... how fast feelings & the day can change. To my surprise & my neighbors surprise I was a very busy booth all day. I ended up designing on site & took several custom orders. The judges.. well one of the judges had a lot of great things to say about me & my work. That's a huge confidence builder within itself. The biggest confidence builder came from another jewelry artisan. She loved my work and asked me if I had a site on Etsy & said if I didn't I needed one because it was a way to get noticed.

Again... the time came to choke up some "CONFIDENCE" and put myself out there....Etsy, Artfire, Blogspot & Twitter. Yes, Twitter. I actually get e-mails often from someone who writes me saying they're following me because they find my work & blogs interesting. Social Networking these days is a must & it works. I've only been serious with all my online sites for a few months &  blogging less than that.

I open up my e-mail yesterday morning (Jan. 9, 2011)  to find an e-mail from someone who likes my blog. At first I'm not quite sure why someone is e-mailing me about my blog...I didn't know people contacted you for that reason. DUH..... SOCIAL NETWORKING. I'm learning all this solo with no imput from anyone so I learn as I go.
   
           The e-mail: From Heidi C. @ Lookville.com. She states she visited my blog & she was super impressed by its design & content. Heidi tells me that Lookville.com was started not long ago. It's a place for people to have discussions, share tips, and ask questions about fashion. Heidi informs me that it's been going great so far & she would love to have me on it. I was given a link to check it out.

As of this morning I posted on Lookville.com. Lookville.com is out of San Franciso, CA.

Thank-You Heidi C. @ Lookville.com for taking the time to read my blog & find it interesting enough to contact me. Lookville.com is linked on my site, I hope we both generate traffic for eachother. Keep in contact :-)

http://www.lookville.com/