Reality Check?

  The experience of the Redwoods was just what the doctor ordered. I had accomplished a life long goal of visiting those trees. I felt changed.  I rode back north the next morning at a leisurely pace, stopping in Half Moon Bay to visit the Bakery and do some laundry.  While waiting for the wash, I called Public Glass to check in regarding the workshop that was scheduled for that week.  I was informed that there were no students enrolled, and that the class would not be running.  Shit.  This was not entirely unexpected, but a little disconcerting none the less.  The class was a chunk of money that I was depending on to make it to the next leg of the Journey. The show was a success on many levels and while I did sell some work, I was quite short of where I needed to be to continue on.  I will admit there was a bit of panic setting in - I have no back up plan.  There is no credit line.
    I walked around town a bit and checked out some of the shops, while settling into the idea of reexamining what I am doing and how I am doing it.  I noticed a couple of shops, one was purely art glass called Light & Art, the other a combination of imported items, beads, jewelry, incense, crystals, and related new age nick knacks called Tokenz.  I walked in to Light & Art, the owner asked if she could help me, I told her I was a glass artist. "Do you have any work with you?" "Yes, in the truck." "Why don't you go get it?"  I pulled out the big silver suitcase with miscellaneous glass pieces packed in newspaper.  Overall, I think she enjoyed looking at the work, some of which made her laugh (the chain mold tumblers & ornaments).  She picked out a variety of objects, and paid me for them right away!  Wow, okay, great! Lets try the next place.

    This was a different experience altogether. Seems that I only have enough mojo for one successful solicitation per day (usually the first), any others become a learning experience.  This one especially.  I took a couple of the bowls from the show (still wrapped in shoddy newspaper) and let the owner know that I thought she needed to see them.  Her sheilds were up from the beginning, but she was kind to me considering that I walked into her shop trying to sell her on my work!  She let me know about a local glassblower, Douglass Brown, and how to get to his shop.  I thanked her, and went on my way.

    Douglass' shop is housed in a barn on the same property as the La Nebbia Winery.  Here is the link to his website - click!  Pretty cool set up, nice small shop, a couple of little electric furnaces, single glory hole, couple of annealers, just enough room.  Oh, and it is next door to a winery.....I walked in the door and introduced myself.  "Wait, what's your last name?" "Vinson" "Did you just teach a workshop at BAGI, and do the Hot Glass Cold Beer at Public Glass?"  "Uhmm......yes?"  He pulled out a mold, and informed me that he was inspired by my work to make it. Whoa.  Crazy.  We had dinner and chatted a bit, he offered me a place to stay nearby, he happened to have an extra house for a couple of weeks, and he let me crash there.  He invited me back for the weekend to hang out in the shop & work on a couple of molds for him.
    A little cash in pocket and with something to do for a little cash over the weekend, I headed back to San Francisco.  I was still a bit distraught. I was left with most of those little bowls from the show that I now needed to figure out how to sell and from the recent experience in Half Moon Bay, I knew that digging them out of a box of old newspaper was not going to cut it.  The workshop format that I have been marketing has only had a 50% go rate.  I had two more scheduled in the East, with no clear way of how I was actually going to get there, and not knowing whether I would actually have students once I did get there!  Looks like I have to rethink this whole thing!  I thought a book might be helpful, something like Zen and the Art of Marketing Yourself.  Made it to a bookshop on Haight near Ashbury. Asked for said book - apparently it does not exist (not yet anyway) - but I was led to the business section.  Returned to the counter with "Marketing Lessons From the Grateful Dead" - very appropriate I thought!