Monday, July 18, 2011

Jewelry Displays

Recently I decided it was time for me to try a new approach at displaying my jewelry during art sales. With the Sucka Free Art Sale just around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to give it a try.

I knew that I wanted to make simple frame displays - and although I do like the look of a simple wire backing (such as the photo below as seen on squiddo) I knew that wouldn't work for me because I have tags on everything.



Instead, I experimented with a foam and felt backing, which I think will work rather well. Here is what I did:

First I purchased some simple black frames from Ikea, then headed to JoAnn fabrics and picked up some photo-gray felt and some cheap pieces of foam.



I took the plastic covering out of the frame to measure my piece of foam (remember, I said they were cheap frames - no glass here! haha) I cut the foam with an xacto knife.



Then I used plastic sheet to measure the fabric. I left about an inch extra around all of the sides, then trimmed down 2 of the sides to be more exact, while leaving extra around the top and bottom to wrap around the edges. I did this to be able to glue the fabric to the foam, but I thought it would be too thick to fit back into the frame if I did all 4 sides.



I trimmed the corners at a 45 degree angle to make it easier to glue and fold over the fabric edges.



Once glued (hot glued that is - which dries almost instantly) I stuck the fabric back inside the frame and actually used that plastic sheet to go in behind the fabric to make it more sturdy. And viola! Jewelry displays assembled!



I'm excited to see if these displays will be more effective or not. If not, I can always reuse the frames for something else - as I did save that those plastic sheets.

And there you have it - an easy, cost effective way to make your own jewelry displays.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

SFAS Promo



Check out the Facebook Invite for more information/photos

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Sucka Free, Round 3!



It's that time again! The Sucka Free Art Sale is just around the corner.

When: Saturday, July 30th, 2011. 2pm - 11pm

Where: XYandZ Gallery - 3258 Minnehaha Ave S. Mpls, MN 55406

Featuring the works of local Twin City artists! Items being sold include: Drawings, Paintings, Prints, Jewelry, Comics, Vintage Clothing, Artist Books, Photography, Curiosities and much, much, more! How much more? Well, you’ll just have to stop by to find out!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Selling at A-Z Gallery

Yesterday I started off my morning by waking up very early, loading up the car with all of my jewelry and displays and setting off for Lowertown, St. Paul. I was going to be participating in a small sale with other artists in front of the A-Z Gallery (just one block from the oh-so-fabulous farmers market.)





Well it turns out the other artists decided to flake out, or perhaps were scared away from the ominous looking clouds. If they had checked the weather radar, they would've seen that no rain was going to be falling.. oh well.

The morning was slow, but I guess it's hard to attract customers when you're up off the street all by yourself. But I did make a few sales, so that's good.

Afterward I decided to check out the farmer's market before they closed. I got myself a beautiful bouquet of flowers for only $5. I love farmer's markets!






Last night I was lucky enough to get off of work in time to go to the 'Trust Me' opening at Co Exhibitions, featuring the work of fellow MCAD alumn, Adam R. Garcia.







"TRUST ME! is a collaborative project based on the ideas of relationships, ownership, process and appropriation. Artist and designer Adam R. Garcia asked a number of his creative colleagues to submit a one-color image to be artistically manipulated by Garcia—sight unseen until the opening reception. Due to the disparate imagery, a color scheme and loose theme based on trust and deception ended up forming within the creative process. The final execution is a collection of 12" x 16" prints in three colors, each a "collaboration" between Garcia and the original creator. A didactic piece containing the original art and the final idea will accompany the pieces as an insight into the process." - Co. Exhibition