This was my first visit to Baltimore and my first time exhibiting at the American Craft Council Baltimore show. Every day was filled with interesting conversations, opportunities to reconnect with peers, be inspired by meeting new artists and learning their creative process, and acquiring a TON of great tips and tricks from other makers who have been doing the show for several years.
In order to make things easier on myself, I shipped my booth setup directly to my hotel in advance so I could pick it up when I arrived. It turns out I didn't ship it enough in advance. They were delayed! First reaction, PANIC! 🤯
15 minutes later...
I'm all about finding the lemonade in the lemons and figured out that this delay provided me with the opportunity to spend the morning after my arrival with a friend instead of setting up for the show as I'd planning. Suzanne Schwartz is a talented jeweler who was also exhibiting at the show and she had already completed her set up the day prior. Win win!
We went for a walk along the water, checked out the American Visionary Art Museum, and had a great time catching up over lunch. If you haven't been to the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, I'd highly recommend it! We both found it quite inspirational and their Sideshow Museum Store was a magical cabinet of curiosities! They are known for their unlimited supply of readers (get it? visionary museum?), and after trying on several dozen we both found a couple pair we each liked. I love readers. They are super helpful when I am creating work and also when I am providing feedback on students' own work during my classes. We ran into several other makers from the show who had the same idea of taking a break from show setup.
I debuted my heart charms at the show, which were a big hit! Other best sellers included my kintsugi collection and my black and gold collection.
I'm grateful for all the feedback I received from customers as well as other makers. Thanks for making this show another success!