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Original Tips and Thoughts on Retail Buy/Sell at Claimed and Advertised Hand-Made Juried Arts & Crafts Shows from 500 Artists and Crafters - Organized by Topic - Condensed to 12 Pages By Louis Marquette - a CraftLister.com Craft Expert about page personal website  based on 27 ratings Viewed 15987 times Printed 5 times
Original Tips and Thoughts on Retail Buy/Sell at Claimed and Advertised Hand-Made Juried Arts & Crafts Shows from 500 Artists and Crafters - Organized by Topic - Condensed to 12 Pages
Contents / Summary:
PROMOTERS SHOULD NOT LIE TO ARTISTS about competition they will face.
CRAFT CUSTOMERS DO NOT WANT RETAIL JUNK Great shows die that way.
RETAIL AT JURRIED SHOWS IS LEADING TO THEIR OWN DEMISE
MANY ARTISTS CAN NOT COMPETE OR SURVIVE WITH RETAIL.
FAKES ARE IMPROVING - Fakes are getting better in appearance.
WHY RETAIL OR BUY/SELL IS BAD
MOST RETAIL & Buy/Sell IS USUALLY BLATENTLY OBVIOUS.
Many PROMOTERS DO NOT ENFORCE their own RULES.
CRAFTSMEN WILL BOYCOTT EVEN 'GOOD' juried shows that allow retail!
TRUSTWORTHY PROMOTERS ARE FOLLOWED LOYALLY.
FRAUD IS A CRIME
SOME IDENTIFICATION IS VERY HARD - JURRORS MUST BE EDUCATED
BOOTHS AND ITEMS MUST BE INSPECTED before, during, or after setup.
QUESTION ARTISANS THAT ARE SUSPECT
BE WARY OF HUGE INVENTORIES, little product variations, and LOW prices.
BE WARY OF INTRICATE, detailed, labor intensive work severely under priced.
Be Wary of 'TOO PERFECT' PRODUCTS with NO VARIATION.
LOOK FOR RETAIL BOXES OR 'MADE IN P.R.C.' or '.. IN CHINA' STICKERS!
INSPECT FOR REMOVED TAGS or STICKERS, etc.
BE WARY OF wide ranges in products types, with little variation in each product type.
MAKE YOUR APPLICATION, JURY, & ACCEPTANCE PROCESS MORE STINGENT IN MULTIPLE WAYS!
Some shows HAVE APPLICANTS APPEAR BEFORE THE JURY IN PERSON with products before you are ever even accepted. SOME ASPECT SHOULD BE DEMONSTRATED or ITEMS IN MULTIPLE UNFINISHED STAGES SHOULD BE BROUGHT.
* HAVE A MEMBER OF THE JURY CALL ALL APPLICANTS.
* Ask for a WRITTEN DESCRIPTION of their item production process.
* If you suspect the validity of a vendor, ASK FOR ADDITIONAL INFO AND PHOTOS, etc.
* GOOGLE EVERY CRAFT APPLICATION'S PRODUCT - A search done using a description of an item will often come up with a site selling that item for a fraction of what the 'crafter' is selling it for.
* Ask for an ARTIST STATEMENT and a REFUND statement.
* The event application needs to specifically Ask for a LIST OF ALL ITEM TYPES THAT WILL BE SOLD. Let vendors know that they will be ejected if they bring items not listed or not handmade. Period.
* Require new applicants to actually SEND IN PIECES OF THEIR WORK IN VERIOUS STAGES. A snapshot does not actually do just any good.
* INCLUDE VERBAGE ON YOUR APPLICATION TO DETER RETAILERS FROM EVEN TRYING TO SNEAK IN THEN – DO WHAT YOU SAY!
* DO NOT ONLY RELY ON LUCK FOR NEW APPLICANTS – ACTIVLY INVITE ARTISTS TO APPLY IN PERSON THAT YOU SEE AND LIMITEDLY APPROVE OF AT OTHER SHOWS -
* PROMOTERS NEED TO TAKE SUSPECT RETAIL AND JURYING SERIOUSLY There needs in-person or on-site jurying. Questions of artist intent and statement, process and inspiration, education and skill need to be asked.
* VISIT THEIR WORKSHOP.
LIMIT BY CATEGORY! Too many in one category is BAD!
TOO MUCH JEWELRY
DO NOT INVITE RETAIL
Require MULTIPLE WORKSHOP PHOTOS of supplies, tools, items being made, etc.
REQUIRE ARTISTS TO DISPLAY A PHOTO ALBUM in their booth of them creating
Require COPIES of RECENT SUPPLY INVOICES.
Fine Frauds
Craftsmen should EDUCATE THE PUBLIC THAT THEIR ITEMS ARE HAND-MADE and WHY A HAND-MADE ... IS BETTER THAN A RETAIL ....., QUALITATIVELY
Artists should HELP PROMOTERS IDENTIFY AND REMOVE RETAIL fraud.
FALSE ACCUSATIONS WILL BE MADE – DO NOT TRUST VENDOR STATEMENTS AS GOSPEL TRUTH – ALWAYS INVESTIGATE FURTHER
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PROMOTERS DO MORE HARM BY LYING TO ARTISTS about the competition they will face at their event:
* 'Retail' is fine at even juried shows, as long as stated. All vendors should know what to expect.
* Jury even the resell stuff and then they won't wind up with total junk.
* Why insist that it will be all handcrafted to begin with? Why not admit that you are going to allow retail, instead of having the handcraft vendors and the customers totally fed up?
* Say: "We are NOT an art show; we are a village street fair and allow retail."
* I've been to shows where they promised I'd be the only soap vendor, only to be put across the hall from someone with retail mass-marketed brand soap.
* I once had a promoter call me twice before accepting me to ask if I really made my items. She asked for a letter describing step by step how I made one of my items. At the show a booth across from me had plastic items with 'made in Twain' stickers. I griped to the promoter and was told that this might not be the right show for me! Right… I will never return.
* I had to send photos of my work, so how did they get in? $$$$$$$$!
CRAFT CUSTOMERS DO NOT WANT RETAIL JUNK – Your show will die if you go that route.
* If a show gets a bad reputation, no amount of advertising will get the crowds to continue to come out year after year. Reputation makes or breaks shows, not advertising.
* I used to be a promoter for a Christmas boutique and some of the other promoters in our business wanted to add imported stuff so they could make more money. Eventually we lost all our legitimate crafters and our customers got tired of the same stuff they could buy anywhere.
* This is how shows end up going downhill. What they do not realize is that the show then ends up dying from all the retail and then they lose money anyway.
* Many of the customers recognize this and wonder if they can trust anyone at that show.
* I hear so many times from customers that there is a lack of quality at craft shows recently.
* Multiple customers have passed my booth this year at various shows and commented out loud, even if walking alone, 'Look! MORE jewelry!'. Yeah, they will come back next year. Thanks!
RETAIL AT JURRIED SHOWS IS LEADING TO THE SHOWS OWN DEMISE; not only taking sales away from artists, but causing harm to the shows and industry that true craftsmen RELY on.
* The amount of resale at shows is getting to be a serious problem and it is absolutely ruining shows.
* The last show I visited that had resale was so bad, I left. There was hand-made mixed in but there was so much resale it wasn't worth it to walk the show and look for it.
HOW CAN SHOWS TRYING TO IMPROVE FIND MORE QUALITY APPLICANTS?
* Mention on all signs, in all advertisements, etc. that the show will be improving in quality to all hand-made. Say if it is Under New Management. Rename or move location. Actually IMPROVE!
* Upload pictures of all accepted artists' work to your website or to your EventLister.com listing so applicants can SEE what you are allowing in. Mention on apps that they can look there.
* Seek more thoroughly, don't wait for them to find you! Place ads in all the printed and online event guides. Visit other quality shows and invite those in categories you need if they pass a brief inspection.
* EventLister.com sells mailing labels of either artists, crafters, retailers, and/or food vendors.
* Considered having an 80 quality artist event instead of 100 exhibitors with 20 junk ones?
* To 'Jury' vendors can mean essentially anything. State on your app what YOUR JURY means.
MANY ARTISTS FEEL THEY CAN NOT COMPETE OR SURVIVE WITH MIXING IN RETAIL.
* I have talked with vendors who had retail and they said they wouldn't be able to compete and survive if they only had the stuff they made by hand. Events letting in retail is CAUSING more past authentic crafters to mix-in retail or only sell only retail.
* Crafters see others adding retail to their booths at shows will feel more justified in trying it themselves at those shows.
FAKES ARE IMPROVING - Fakes are getting better in appearance, Frauds are becoming more skilled at pulling ocular wool, and Retail Manufactures further help the perpetration of this fraud by actually sending their customers, your vendors or your competition, tips on getting their items past hand-made-only juries. This sounds like conspiracy to perpetrate a fraud to me, isn't that criminal? Hello, anyone home? Ahh, no, everyone one the payroll is sitting on the side of the road.
* The problem is not in the Jury selection. I KNOW that the people with the retail items just do a good job at faking handmade goods to get into the show.
* What I see in import catalogs, etc. are not factory -made so much, as they really ARE handmade -- but in sweatshops in China or the Third World and the women forced to do these things are being paid a pitiful amount to do it. Therefore, the retailers can undersell us every time.
* When I read "Retail at juried shows is a still growing and already pandemic problem," I'm bothered. Almost every event we sell at is juried, yet we are obviously an import company (the word 'imports' is the second half of our business name). I certainly don't see it as a "pandemic problem" to have buy/sell merchandise at juried shows; in fact, it is our very livelihood. According to your statement, my very business is a "growing and pandemic problem."
WHY RETAIL OR BUY/SELL IS BAD
* Buy/Sell crafts from China are often of lower quality since since produced in bulk for the lowest cost.
* If the beads are not kiln annealed properly, they will break when dropped or even bumped.
* There are also unscrupulous dealers marketing the Chinese fakes. I say unscrupulous because they lie in their marketing practices, and also they copy the designs of self-representing artists and then pass them off as their own.
* I am an artist and I have found some of my watercolor art stolen on Italian charm bracelet links!
* Junk jewelry coming from India and other countries is not fully backed. Pendants are mounted without cushioning and the back is open, not completely silver. You pay for what you get....
MOST RETAIL & Buy/Sell IS USUALLY BLATENTLY OBVIOUS, to those that Care to Look – though usually to only other merchants and customers.
* Learn to recognize the mass-produced stuff, the retail stuff, the (what we artists call) buy-and-sell stuff, and don't let it in. Its really not all that difficult if you want to see it.
* It is my opinion that most do not do this for economic reasons, not an inability to spot the imports. If they don't see it even after told, something is WRONG with them.
* Often, I walk hand-made shows and see more than one vendor with the same item or design. What?
* 4 vendors with identical bags, items from South America (I have been told on complaining that the family makes it and sends it here).
* The thing that bugs me most about retail is seeing the exact same item (Same size, color, trim) in many booths at the same show. An example would be a 'Home Sweet Home' sign on a green board 8' x 12' with red letters with a yellow border around each letter. No way on earth five or six different crafters at the same show are going to make that sign in the exact same way.
Many PROMOTERS DO NOT ENFORCE their own RULES or make good on their promises
* The problem is promoters do not enforce the rules.
* I also believe any vendor once they are set up, if their work in any way does not look 100% handmade should be asked to leave, we have to get rid of the buy/sell vendors.
CRAFTSMEN WILL BOYCOTT EVEN 'GOOD' juried shows that allow retail! These shows will be on a slippery slope to ruin... as it is almost impossible to bring a show back without a new, trusted promoter coming in, taking it over, changing the name and restoring the quality. Most artisans will not do a hand-made show they know to contain retail, so once you allow some in, you will LOOSE MORE ARTISTS, necessitating MORE retail. Ad infinitum. Don't start the cycle!
* I think promoters forget that many GOOD QUALITY artists will NOT BE BACK NEXT YEAR. Therefore, in only a matter of a couple of years they will have a full blown flea market o' fun. Artists and crafters DO have other shows to consider instead, often there are MANY other 'good' shows taking place on a given weekend that were passed up for your oriental express carnival.
* Show organizers need to understand that good, quality hand crafters who actually do their own work will/can/do walk away from shows that allows import and commercially made products in.
* At the time of set-up, I have no qualms about asking for retail to be removed. I leave if they aren't.
* Those of us who truly hand craft our product do not want to be associated these fake juried shows
* I do not like to work hard only to get to a hand-made, juried show to find there is someone there selling similar items to mine that were imported in from another country underselling me.
* Artists are frustrated by shows claiming to be hand-made, but that are not. They will spread the word to others and not return themselves.
* Retail brands are starting to be boycotted by crafters, they will not do the show if one of the brands is.
* I will not knowingly go to those shows anymore.
* I REALLY resent being charged a jury fee only to find two booths away a plastic airplane whirligig guy setting up, ripping tape off boxes he got from the Orient.
* It was our 1st time to to that show and we will not be back
* We do not return to fairs that do not follow the rules they spell out in their contract. If the fair says crafts only and they let people sell resale we do not go back.
* I am a woodworker, I will attend art and craft shows which only have handmade items made AND sold by the person at the booth. If I spot an item at a booth that is not handmade I will not attend the show again AND I will alert other artists to the fact that the promoter or organization allow this type of work in the show. If the person responsible for running the show does not make the person remove the item or remove the offending person from the show, I will make sure I will notify every artist I am able to contact.
* One thing I can guarantee, is I will never apply to a show a second time that knowingly allows retail items despite saying handmade only.
* Shows with junk are removed from my list and I request to be withdrawn from their mailing list.
* What I dislike seeing at a craft fair are people selling home mortgages, real estate agents, chiropractors setting up appointments, insurance agents and obviously non-craft stuff like ..., ... and ....
* With only a few exceptions, I will attend ONLY juried shows and will report anyone who is not compliant. If the vendor is not dealt with, I will not put that show on my "next year" list.
* This blind eye is one of the reasons I'm not returning to two shows I participated in last year
* I do a limited number of shows a year, those that do have quality, hand made products. I have done shows with obvious retail and if the promoter doesn't ask them to leave, I don't do that show again.
CRAFTSMEN WILL SEEK OUT TRUSTWORTHY PROMOTERS AND FOLLOW THEM LOYALLY, doing multiple shows with them, even tolerating the few not so good ones, if still new and being built up, as long as the promoter is reputable and is keeping the retail out, and the number of artists in each craft categories limited.
* I will always do her shows because I make GOOD money at them. She also juries and allows NO manufactured items. She chooses exhibitors carefully and closes categories before there is a plethora.
* In my opinion the reason the buy/sell is perpetuated is that there is a difference in shows that present artists and "fine crafts" from those that present crafters. I am a glass blower and NONE of the shows that I do have buy/sell work in them.
* On the other hand, I am loyal to promoters who are professional and reliable, and always encourage the public to attend these.
* The booth space is expensive, compared to other shows in this area, but it is worth the price.
FRAUD IS A CRIME
* Artists and Crafters need to file class action suits to get their money back from promoters that say one thing then do another. Do this several times and things will tighten up
* I sell native American jewelry. We work with families and trading post in the southwest, then bring the merchandising to new England to sell. If we knowingly sell non-Native as Native it is a federal offense. We let our suppliers know that if they slip any import into our orders that we will report them.
* Louis, it is my understanding that you cannot pull the "Made in . . . ' stickers off retail products. Like mattress tags, only the end consumer can remove a 'Made in ...' sticker.
SOME RETAIL IS VERY HARD TO IDENTIFY - JURORS MUST BE EDUCATED IN HAND-MADE IDENTIFICATION! They must research buy/sell trends via retail sales catalogs, wholesale shows, and Juried and Non-Juried craft shows! Jurors should also be artists themselves from DIFFERENT and diverse categories.
* Promoters should obtain and provide for jurors: wholesale catalogs, trade journals, etc!
* We get the same wholesaler magazines as the vendors so we can recognize a lot of their stuff
* Promoters and Jurors should visit MANY other craft shows, well-juried shows, and wholesale & retail shows, so that they can see the variation of goods available – handmade and not
* The promoter must be vigilant if they want a quality show. select your jurors carefully!
* Jurors cannot evaluate something by only looking. Call All Applicants & ASK QUESTIONS!
* Actual trusted Craftsman for each category should be assigned to the jury.
* We have two jurors who are jewelers. They are very familiar with wholesale and have many catalogs.
* Promoters & Jurors also need to EDUCATE themselves by attending known high quality juried art and craft shows and lower quality craft shows with lots of known retail – Notice what you see at each. Talk with artists about identification techniques for their product type. Ask – 'If someone were to apply to my show with a product like yours, what should I look for to identify if it is hand-made or not.'
* One promoter set standards in various categories...ie 'fluff and hang' versus 'start from scratch' floral arranging. Photos of anonymous work were emailed to a couple of crafters who offered their input, all decisions were left to the show organizer. Following years results were measurably higher!
BOOTHS AND MERCHANDISE MUST BE INSPECTED before, during, or after setup, and AGAIN after the show has started. ( frauds often put out items after setup inspection ends ) Retail MUST be removed from display or the vendor MUST be forced to LEAVE. Call the poe-lease!
* Promoters should require on applications a list of what will be sold along with photos of the items. Upon day of inspection, the promoter uses the photos in hand along with the list of products for inspection and if it wasn't in your pics, it cant be at the show! Force instant removal or eject!
* The application should state that this is a contract and once signed and returned they can be told to leave if it is found that they have be untruthful. This protects the promoters and the true crafters.
* Clarify and State in the contract that vendors sign that 1. "resale items" are NOT acceptable 2. that there will be observers checking ALL booths at the actual show 3. and should they be found to have non-artist made items they WILL be evicted from the show 4. with NO refund of their booth fees 5. and will not be allowed to return in subsequent years to any of the promoters shows.
* "Retail Police" - Assign craftsman / artists or Jury members to (like you said) actually walk around - clipboard in hand with staff event jacket or shirt to survey each booth.
* Make retailers leave. Period. Make them leave the show, and do not allow them to do the show again. Even if they have already set up. Letting them stay just makes it worse the next year.
* You can even inspect AS folks arrive and check in. Inspect a few items before giving them their spot number and welcome packet. In confirmation packs and applications, ask vendors to be prepared to exhibit a few items upon arrival right at the entrance before they can unload or start to setup. Exclude those from the event grounds who have items which are clearly imported junk.
* Insist anyone suspect of having buy/sell products leave immediately. Insist anyone who's product is not as portrayed in their photos or described on their application leave immediately. Cover yourself in your applications and emphatically state this will happen.
* but they also do a walk through BEFORE opening their doors to the public, and they often do force the vendor to remove the item(s), or make them leave entirely.
* I still believe if you throw them out during the show it will make a huge statement.
* If the promoters doesn't want to make a scene, they could just use their list of violators next year.
QUESTION ARTISANS THAT ARE SUSPECT
* Real crafters are passionate people; Buy/Sellers want you to go away when you question.
* We know the history of each lighthouse we represent; the legends, myths, and even ghost stories.
* I'm a wood turner and might be asked: 1. How do you finish your product? 2. How do you get that look or specific effect? 3. How do you prefer to turn your wood? How does a lathe work?
* Ask questions AND for physical or photo proof & verification until you are CONVINCED!
BE WARY OF HUGE INVENTORIES, little product variations, and LOW prices.
* If the vendor has a slew of the same item displayed, it is retail or they have a very large family and no creativity.
* Some vendors seem more production automated than hand made crafts which is what we ask for.
* Personally I tend to look first at booths that just seem to have TOO MUCH PRODUCT.
* Items practically given away are not hand made. Question 40 hand-carved wooden roses for $10!
* Real artists don't display 15 of the same item at one show at one time, not even their best sellers.
* If there are many of the exact same design and color. I can't stand to make the same thing repeatedly.
* When I see trays and trays or boxes and boxes of items brought in by a vendor, I have my doubts that the crafter/vendor actually put together or made the items themselves. Most of the commercially made items have no uniqueness--everything is pretty much the same style.
* Even great sellers, I tend to change the colors, or put in some type of variation...
BE WARY OF UNDERPRICED intricate, detailed, labor intensive WORK.
* If a promoter sees intricate items selling for $10 or $15 you can pretty much bet they are not crafted if the amount of time it takes to make these items far exceeds their price range.
Be Wary of 'TOO PERFECT' PRODUCTS with NO VARIATION. Too consistently painted faces, etc.
* we sell hand-made handbags and have to compete with retail handbags all of the time. One hint to tell the difference is "too perfect" stitching.
* Fake tie dye is too regular, they have several shirts of the same pattern / color & the inside is paler.
* I look for differences between items. With handcrafted items they are usually all slightly different.
* I have been doing glass for over 10 years and there is no way I can get it exact.
* Anything too perfect is usually retail. A handcrafted item should have some "flaw".
* Most painters have a style and you can tell only one person has designed and painted what they are displaying at a show.
* the cost of the bracelet alone would exceed $20. So price is definitely a clue.
LOOK FOR CHINA RETAIL PACKAGING OR 'MADE IN P.R.C.' or 'MADE IN CHINA' STICKERS! - Be Wary of vendors that are unpacking from China boxes and pulling finished items out of sealed plastic bags in form fitted coushining.
* Promoters need to watch for vendors unloading boxes that say "Made in China" on them.
* I have been next to a vendor who flagrantly opened his "made in China" stamped boxes and put the items on his tables. The boxes were then placed behind his booth in plain view.
* If all promoters would take 10 minutes and do a setup/unpacking walk and then a trailer walk most of them would be shocked at how much of the merchandise comes right out of the made in china boxes. QUESTION THEM!
INSPECT FOR REMOVED TAGS or STICKERS, etc.
* Look on the back and bottom of items. Can you physically see or feel where the "Made in China" sticker was removed. There is often an oval or rectangular glue residue! Removal of sticker by anyone other than the buyer is illegal! Call the police if they give ANY gruff about packing it up and LEAVING your HAND-MADE SHOW!
BE WARY OF wide ranges in products types, with little variation in each product type.
* If someone has 2 types of products and each type is of an entirely different but self consistent style, you should investigate them further as they are likely not making one of both product lines.
MAKE YOUR APPLICATION, JURY, & ACCEPTANCE PROCESS MORE STINGENT IN MULTIPLE WAYS!
* PROMOTERS NEED TO TAKE SUSPECT RETAIL AND JURYING SERIOUSLY There needs in-person or on-site jurying. Questions of artist intent and statement, process and inspiration, education and skill need to be asked.
* PROMOTERS NEED TO SET STANDARDS THAN JURRORS CAN APPLY THEM These should be in writing and given to jurors. These should consist of a goal statement of the quality of show aimed for, What is definitely acceptable, What is NOT acceptable, etc. Will the event be Hand-Made only or not? Must the artist make it and be present at the show or can hand-made imports be sold? What level of hand making is acceptable – minimal additions of moss and paint to purchased decor items or must all items be made from raw supplies? Many categories will have their own standards.
* Require new applicants to actually SEND IN PIECES OF THEIR WORK IN VERIOUS STAGES. A snapshot does not actually do just any good.
* The event application needs to specifically Ask for a LIST OF ALL ITEM TYPES THAT WILL BE SOLD. They also need to let the vendor know that they will be ejected from the show if they bring items that are not listed or not handmade. Period.
* Ask for a WRITTEN DESCRIPTION of their item production process.
* Ask for an ARTIST STATEMENT and a REFUND statement.
* INCLUDE VERBAGE ON YOUR APPLICATION TO DETER RETAILERS FROM EVEN TRYING TO SNEAK IN - SAY that you would like all seller to look around and report any items to the promoter that might not be hand crafted, and that you will remove folks with only retail, and have folks remove any items from their booth that was not itemized on their application. THEN – DO WHAT YOU SAY!
* HAVE A MEMBER OF THE JURY CALL ALL APPLICANTS. These conversations are recorded so not only do they have a signed form stating your product is custom crafted, they now also have a verbal confirmation.
* If you suspect the validity of a vendor, ASK FOR ADDITIONAL INFO AND PHOTOS, etc.
* GOOGLE EVERY CRAFT APPLICATION'S PRODUCT - A search done using a description of an item will often come up with a site selling that item for a fraction of what the 'crafter'; is selling it for.
* DO NOT ONLY RELY ON LUCK FOR NEW APPLICANTS – ACTIVLY INVITE ARTISTS TO APPLY IN PERSON THAT YOU SEE AND LIMITEDLY APPROVE OF AT OTHER SHOWS - I spend all year visiting almost every craft show in our area that I find out about and "scout" for prospective vendors. Finding quality artists is NOT hard, if you actively try, and have not already created a bad reputation for yourself.
* VISIT NEW APPLICANTS AT OTHER SHOWS to inspect their display setup and wares in person.
* Some shows HAVE APPLICANTS APPEAR BEFORE THE JURY IN PERSON with products before you are ever even accepted. SOME ASPECT SHOULD BE DEMONSTRATED or ITEMS IN MULTIPLE UNFINISHED STAGES SHOULD BE BROUGHT.
* The only thing to make sure that the artist is doing his product by hand is to VISIT THEIR WORKSHOP. Some European promoters do it when they suspect a problem. Of course here in America the distances are far greater and they might have no money to go around.
IDEAS FOR JURY FORM QUESTIONS
Handmade
Is There Evidence of:
variations within brush strokes in lettering doll faces - GOOD
anything looking forged, molded, press cut, machine made – BAD
style consistency across diverse products types – GOOD
Someone with a distinctive dark red w & b flag design on signs, pails, shelves, wreathes, etc. has to at least paint it all themselves
style non-consistency across diverse products types – BAD
Someone with gemstone beaded stretch bracelets but only glass & feather earrings is likely not making at least one themselves
prices undercutting what it should take to make it by hand – BAD
very unusual designs, intricate, & correspondingly expensive - GOOD
Decide what your standards are
Some events do not even allow ceramics (mold made) or any beaded jewelry.
Some allow foreign made sweats and Ts that are embellished, others never.
Definitely Yes & reasons why
Definitely No & why
Definitely Mixed & why
What %? what items all handmade? What items all bought?
Which items are not AS handmade as is claimed? What are they actually doing/adding to finish to each item?
Unsure & why
Is vendor a Match with the show?
quality wise
category wise
price wise
Overall booth display quality
Table cloths, coverings
Top of the line – custom made or designer vs. Plain Generic Cloth, vs. Plastic
Non-Flat Display
Table shelves, racks, display cases
Floor racks, shelves, pegboards
Panel backgrounds, Hanging vs. Non-hanging pictures
Quality of Displays
Glass Cases vs. Cheap Plastic? Old, beaten up? Milk Crates?
Uniqueness of Setup – Does it stand out? As good or bad? 
Overall product quality, uniqueness, & diversity
Product diversity, selection
Diversity within a category (bowls, tea cups, & serving plates) – Good
Diversity of many categories/media (jewelry & pottery & dip) - Bad
Category Uniqueness
Basket weavers are fewer in their count than jewelers, hence more valuable.
If you limit by category already or jury by category, this is not needed.
Uniqueness within Category – Cut porcelain plate jewelry scores above beaded
Product Quality
see handmade questions above!
LIMIT BY CATEGORY! Too many in one category is BAD!
* there were 19 jewelry vendors out of a total of 110 exhibitors; that festival was in its 6th year so the organizers should know better by now.
* Show size up to 50 crafters 1 of each type of vendor if not 2. Show size up to 100 crafters 2 of each if not 3 Show size up to 250 crafters 4 of each type.
TOO MUCH JEWELRY specifically
* Even Juried shows should limit jewelry to 10% or less! Each year promoters allow more and more jewelers into their shows, which has resulted in TOO many comments at EACH show that "this is nothing but a jewelry show" or "more jewelry,I've never seen so much jewelry at this show before". This hurts all the craft vendors (not just Jewelers).
DO NOT INVITE RETAIL
* One retailer was handed an application for a juried show by it's promoter while at another, so she felt it OK to apply even though she was retail – as the promoter must obviously be OK with that fact.
Require MULTIPLE WORKSHOP PHOTOS of supplies, tools, items being made in Multiple Steps, and the artist and workshop itself.
* Ask for photos of: artist's booth display, setup table shots, product close-ups, work room, work area(s) at different times, artist working multiple pieces, machinery, tools, raw supplies storage, picture ID to compare on show day,
* REQUIRE a photo album at each booth of the crafter at work in their workshop.
* I think one way that vendors that create their own product... Me included ...should fight back by displaying pictures of work in process...pictures of their studio... pictures of them working. Put a sign in your booth ...........ALL ITEMS HAND CRAFTED BY ME.
* REQUIRE PHOTOS of EVERYTHING to be sold. Return photos at booth inspection.
* I know of one juried event that asks for electronic pictures that they put on their website where the craft fair is advertised. She said it seemed to help promote the fair because people can see the quality.
* Requires 20+ SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT photos of WIP MINIMUM. Require Photos of different pieces ALONG WITH WRITTEN DESCRIPTIONS of creation from start to finish and each photo's current stage.
* Some of my best shows that are holding true to "arts & crafts" are requiring a photo not only of you set up but also some of you making your craft.
* Most workshops/studios are a "mess"...or at least an "organized mess". No matter how much I try to keep it neat & tidy, it never stays that way for long. I have over 300 bottles of paint, some in racks , some on work tables, and some I am really not sure of where they are. >sigh< Other supplies; numerous paint brushes, solvents, surfaces waiting to be painted or in the process, paper towels, stains & stain clothes, price tags, jute twine, raffia, sea sponges, and tons of other "stuff" are here & there. If my studio jury photos didn't include these things in the background, I would be suspicious! I can't imagine that there are very many "fakers" who would go to the trouble to purchase all the necessaries that go into a working studio just to pass a jury. So promoters beware: IF THE STUDIO PIC'S ONLY SHOW FINISHED PRODUCT WITHOUT ALL THE OTHER "STUFF" IN THE BACKGROUND....DON'T ACCEPT THEM!!!!!
* One of the most common tricks used to stage fake 'I make it myself' photos is the capturing on film of the dismantling ( aka – destruction ) of one of their items. There will be signs of the item being more damaged in less assembled states! If a basket is unwoven, you should see marks on the material as it is unwoven showing where it was winding in and out, squeezing intertween the verticals, the manhandled wicker will look curly, should have depressions, has finished edges, etc. If you have ever seen someone make a basket, the new material is PERFECTLY straight and long like reeds, lots of them at odd angles until they are all finally woven together. Likewise, jewelry taken apart will show more tool markings on the piece in the less assembled state, and almost none in the finished state.
artist's booth display, a table shot or two, as well as product close-ups* It must be known that there are many vendors that will send a juried event entirely false & fake workshop photos that are either well staged, of another vendor, or authentic to some degree, yet not of their main product, etc. Typically then, their items brought to sell will not resemble the ones their application represented. Some of these – go so far as to try to sell merchandise that is not even close in category to that described. A claimed potter with pictures of someone at a wheel may arrive with only beaded jewelry and 2 Mexican vases, if that. This IS happening these days to more and more promoters and this is why day-of inspection is crucial. You must forcibly remove any vendor that tries to pull this on you! Stick to your contract and your rules which they agreed to. Call the police if they refuse to leave. All your vendors will take note of how you handle the situation.
* I'm sick to death of going thou the hassle of pictures/websites/etc to make sure my promoters know my items are ORIGINAL and HAND MADE by me , only to get to the show and be set up in the middle of people with 'bead work' made by Cambodian slave labor, chip and dip crocks (who makes them, really?) or doormats printed with college logos?
* For those of us who lived further afield we were allowed to jury in with pictures but we had to present the real stuff to the jurying committee BEFORE we were allowed to set up.
* One show I participate in requires that you send them pictures of manufacturing. They are obviously serious about hand-made items but also have a quality show each year.
* ALL shows should require pictures of the work in progress. Maybe also a recommendation from a known artist or group?
ALL WORK should be inspected as the artists sign in or are setting up and compared to their photos.
* Another vendor could prove that it was buy sell because she had the catalog that it came from. So if any of the vendors go to market and get the catalogs it would help the handmade artist to keep copies of where the buy sell can be bought so you can show the promoters.
* They follow the rules they establish. Juried process is intense and they require photos of every product you include in your booth, other items will be removed or you will have to leave the show.
* make sure the application is clear that ONLY JURIED items will be accepted and require a photo with applications. (I know many promoters already do this.) What may also help at the actual event is to have a check-in/screener at registration who verifies that all items to be displayed are juried.
Promoters would be wise to suggest or even REQUIRE ARTISTS TO DISPLAY A PHOTO ALBUM in their booth of them manufacturing their work. Whoever has ears ought to listen.
* It also is a good marketing tool, almost a demonstration of my work.
* Album and photos sent in with application should be then used DAY OF during walk around inspections.
Require COPIES of RECENT SUPPLY INVOICES.
* Some promoters ask for material invoices and/or a list of suppliers that the artist deals with.
* Some shows ask for receipts for rough rock, silver etc. How much silver jewelry can you make if you don't buy the silver sheet??
* About a year ago, shows started requesting recent and multiple receipts/invoices of the components I purchase to make my jewelry. At first I thought this was a huge hassle but did it anyway. Because of this, I have noticed an increase in the quality of the products at these shows.
* Buy/sell from China are not able to produce receipts much less be able to explain the manufacture.
* I like the idea of requesting receipts for materials used in the crafts. I'm not suggesting that artists should disclose secret ingredients, simply provide proof that we are actually using raw supplies.
* I use spices, paper for labels, bags, etc. If you aren't making your product, you will not have receipts.
* Suppliers names can be blanked out as well as the prices if the crafter so chooses
Fine Frauds
* Charge an extremely high admission fee to the crafters via 2 checks. The show fee to is deposited and the 'fine' check to be returned to them that day at inspection.
* Often, where retail is accepted along with crafts, we are charged more money than crafters
Craftsmen should EDUCATE THE PUBLIC THAT THEIR ITEMS ARE HAND-MADE and WHY A HAND-MADE ... IS BETTER THAN A MASS-PRODUCED ....., QUALITATIVELY
* Educate your customers as to the difference! SELL the quality of your product, make them see that your product is worth the price!
* Your booth should have a sign stating that all items are handmade by you!
* Your booth should have a photo album of your workshop and pieces in progress.
* Have photos comparing your manufacturing methods to other retail items you photograph being taken apart.
* I constantly let people know. My first line is "Its handmade by me, not from china"
* I make it a point to tell my customers that my product is proudly made by me in Illinois in the US! Ive had many people thank me for telling them - it helps strike up a conversation, and a sale.
* Make the juried vendors work at their booth. Recently I did a craft show and the lady next to me had miniatures (flowers, cakes, animals). I thought for sure that she was importing them. I started talking to her during a lull in the show and low and behold, she was making these beautiful creations from clay. She was indeed an artist and I felt guilty for thinking that she was buying them.
* Always offer to custom make, paint, etc. an object
ACTIONS ARTISTS AND CRAFTERS SHOULD TAKE BEFORE APPLYING:
* BEFORE you apply, call up the promoter. Don't email, don't snail mail – CALL! Ask if they stand by their word on hand-made only, what their opinion of handmade is, how they jury, if they have had complaints at shows from crafters, if they remove retail or not and if they have...
* Once you are considering applying to a new show, ask a dozen trusted crafter friends what they though of the show – quality-wise and customer-wise. Just wait to apply after the weekend's show(s) where you go around and question folks about it. Question only quality artists and you may even learn of other great quality shows!
Artists and crafters should HELP PROMOTERS IDENTIFY AND REMOVE RETAIL fraud. Even if not asked! - Promoters should ask for reports of who or what should be looked at more closely under suspicion of it being non-hand-made; but if a promoter doesn't – offer advice anyway, this is your livelihood and you are not 'complaining' by bringing such info to a promoters attention.
* A way to catch those selling retail products is to ask vendors to jury each other. Hand out a questionnaire to each vendor, to be returned before the show starts.
* Have a competent vendor in each category discreetly peruse each booth to spot buy/sell.
* All vendors need to do their part. Show organizers need to be alerted when buy/sell is seen.
* When I saw them at a juried show I promptly found the promoter. They weren't invited back. * * Often the only way to have known that some things were not authentically made is by having seen in in catalogs. Therefore, it is important that the artists take on some responsibility and bring forward any questions they may have regarding authenticity.
* I've been fighting imports for years. What I find helpful is to bring the wholesale import catalogs to shows and then show the catalog to the promoter, then the "crafter" is caught red handed.
* I am a one person show and don't have time to walk around at shows. However , I have a dozen or so friends that are more than happy to walk the show. They make notes and then find the event organizer and complain about the retail crap at an arts & crafts show.
* I have talked with promoters - many tell me they didn't know they were letting in "China junk".
* Promoters need to encourage vendor policing of each other and have a policy that they actually enforce that allows for vendors to say "so and so" is selling retail items and verify it with more than one vendor then kick that person out of the show
* I don\'t think people want to "police" other dealers because they may be good friends with a lot of them & they don't want to be the *dirty rat bastard* that outed someone.
* Organizers must think that disrupting the show and leaving an empty spot is not the way to go...they don't understand that by allowing the vendor to stay, they are a) taking money away from the real hand crafters, b) acknowledging that they are helpless to prevent fakes c) damaging the reputation of the show to both crafters and the buying public.
* When I brought this up, her response was, "Well, I figured if others were selling non-crafted items, I could too!" How does that solve any problem?
* They say they don't want to make a scene by making the retailers leave. They just say they won't allow then back. That response does no good at all because the damage is already being done.
* Have a box where we check in to drop off a note on who we think are retailers.
* The problem is that many promoters are too "chicken" to tell people obviously selling retail to leave.
* It really gets down to whether a Promoter/Jury is serious enough about eradicating Retail items from their Shows and if we, as Crafters/Artists, are committed enough to protecting our hand made Industry.
FALSE ACCUSATIONS AND CLAIMS WILL BE MADE – DO NOT TRUST VENDOR STATEMENTS AS GOSPEL TRUTH – USE THEM AS AN ALERT ONLY THAT YOU NEED TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER
* We make beaded gemstone jewelry and do 100% of the beading as a husband wife team. We have photos of inventory supplies and us in action, receipts as recent as yesterday, and can demonstrate on site (but will not if not required as we prefer to help customers and SELL at shows) Yet, multiple times we have been rejected from shows we've done for years – promoters usually just say that 'another jeweler told us you don't make your stuff'. They have all refused to hear a defense, but instead rely wholeheartedly on the false slander. They have washed their hands of us – thereby taking bread out of ours, and probably giving it to an actual retailer....
* Accusers should be asked WHAT items are not hand-made, weather they think or KNOW, and HOW they know. They should be able to tell you what about the item makes it questionable, then YOU should apply that standard after running it past other artists in that category. Ideally, if someone has a booth filled with retail, there would be lists worth of identification methods that they should be able to give you – a 'I just know they didn't make it all' should NOT suffice!
* I design, cut and paint personalized .... all made from wood....Two times I was turned down because they thought it was resell so I sent them items in different stages of completion. I was then accepted!
* While quality is important, it's equally important not to create witch-hunts...especially if you are not sure. We need to do this in a respectful manner and remember that people's livelihoods are at stake
* I know I make everything, since I am making it all, yet this year I have been juried out of some shows we have done for several years and when I check to see who got in I can plainly see that even the buy & sell got by the jury committee.
*I also have been accused of buying imports by other crafters just because of the volume of doll clothes I carry. When this happens I gladly let the promoter inspect my outfits for labels.
Misc Comments:
* AND SOME OF THE CRAFT SHOWS I ATTEND THE HOMEMADE ITEMS ARE JUNK!
* Some comments from promoters are "If I don't have buy/sell I don't have a show.'
* Some shows I do will allow 10% of your items to be wholesale.
* Every crafter I know mixes some retail in with their hand crafted pieces anymore.
* We asked the promoter of a local municipal event to stop referring to us on her mike as 'vendors'.
* So please consider tempering the advocation that all buy/sell at juried shows must be stopped. This creates disharmony at events where art and buy/sell is allowed. The detail here is that "juried events" can jury in whatever they like, including buy/sell merchandise.
* If China wood is cheaper and similar to the quality of your woodwork, it behooves you to develop some new techniques! Develop new techniques that are envied by others.
* Request a short video or DVD as an alternative to slides or anything else in the Jury process. Even Cells take short videos that can be put onto a disc. The video could show the artist doing their work, their components or materials, the finished items and their workshop and it can all be viewed in a minute or two, the same time it takes to scrutinize 5 slides.
Craft Category Specific Tips:
One last warning – being hand-made does not mean the item is not made in China. Many craft retail items from ARE MADE BY HAND, BUT IN CHINA, IN FACTORIES, IN MASS QUANTITY. Verifying items as hand-made is one thing, but verifying if the oil paintings they have stacked on their tables and have even signed are made by them or not is entirely another. Yes, even authentic oil paintings can be bought wholesale unsigned from China – by the truckload preferably even!
STAINED GLASS – Look closely at the way the piece has been foiled. A true crafter will have the foil around their glass match at the joint. We use very sharp blades to ensure that this happens. This makes for an even overlap and a sturdier piece. It is hard to machine make stained glass items, but these would look too polished, too even, no flaws at all! Some people use plastic instead of glass and the lead/copper lines make unbelievable curves that are not possible if glass is being used. Flaws are impossible on hand made stained glass.
PHOTOGRAPHY - The photo vendor should have the same photo in a variety of sizes and forms - cards, matted prints, matted and framed, etc. Be diligent in looking at quality of the photograph. Mass produced photos have a look to them that you will not see in original art-photography. Ask vendors for website addresses, log on and validate the application after viewing their website. With photographs - if there is a obvious sameness to how was they are matted or framed - look on the front for a signature - and on back to see if there is a label attached identifying the vendor as the photographer.
FUSED / BLOWN GLASS – Jewelry or other - I sign and date the back of all my pieces.
POTTERY - I sign and date the bottom.
HATS - The easiest way to tell if someone's reselling hats is the quantity they have and that they're all pretty much the same size with many of exactly the same style, color and form. Factory hats are also much stiffer than handmade.
PAINTINGS - If you brush your finger across the painting, you should be able to feel the brush strokes , not completely smooth.
TYE-DYE - I can tell fake tie-dye because it is too regular, several shirts of the same pattern and if you look on the inside of the shirt, it's paler than the outside.
RINGS – JEWELRY - the silver rings you see so much of. Ask the vendor if they do it with wax relief and what their process is like, how long it takes to make one, etc. You can tell by their answer if they do not have a clue.
DICHROIC GLASS - There is a product out there called Faux Dichro. The stuff is "fused" in a conventional oven and of course no real glass would melt at conventional oven temperatures. Dichroic glass is fused in a kiln at 1480 degrees and the whole fusing process takes about 11 hours. The faux product does not have the color brilliance, depth or shine that true dichroic glass has, and of course it is a lot cheaper to make. People are passing this stuff off as real dichroic and it is pretty easy to see the difference especially in the sunlight.
SEWN ITEMS - Ask to see an unfinished item and turn the item inside out. It is easy to see if a button is sewn on by hand or machine. Tags are often cut off but the remnants are viseable, stitching may be damaged even if none of the tag remains.
SHAWLS - I wouldn't sell a handwoven hand spun alpaca shawl for less than $125.00....
KNITTING / WEAVING - Simple weaving looks the same whether done by hand or by machine; but there are a number of hand-manipulated weave structures that can't be done by an automatic loom, they can be done by hand, even by cheap labor. Knitting is the same way. My thought is, if the woven or knitted shawl, blanket, stole, etc. of "hand spun" (may or may not be) natural fiber yarn is extraordinarily cheap, the odds are the seller didn't make it herself. If the seller can't explain what dyes she / he used, or what weaving pattern that is, might be another indication.
POWDER-COATED METAL - Powder-coated metal is not handcrafted 90% of the time. The facilities for powder coating metal are generally not available to the average artist/crafter.
Soldered non-precious metal is usually not handcrafted unless it's a work of stained glass or wrought iron outdoor art.
They might have only some imported items, low-cost items that have a different "look".
MISC - wooden roses, the chenille puppets, mahogany wood airplanes/cars, recycled plastic woven baskets, of course jewelery that's not hand strung/wrapped (the magnetic stuff is rampant right now), powder coated spinners for the yard, a lot of the wrought iron work, south american imports and the CD's of 'native' music, Russian imports (nesting dolls/eggs), croaking frogs, wooden flutes
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