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[Joella]

Hello everyone! I was so excited to stumble across this site today. There are so many interesting subjects for discussion. I would love to introduce myself. I am an artist and one of the founders of the Dryden Regional Arts Council. I've had wonderful clients through the years around this region. I have recently started selling my own unique handmade jewelry. I've been told that I should try and sell myself over the web but do not have a web page as of yet. Can anyone give me any suggestions as to how I would go about this.

[Jenny]

Hi Joella -- good to meet you. I have recently built my own website using Yahoo Sitebuilder. I was very very scared and nervous -- of what completely stumps me. I just dove in and figured it out one page at a time. Of things I didn't know or couldn't figure out, I asked people -- whether at Yahoo or this board or my child, who would much prefer to poke himself in the eye with a stick rather than help me understand anything technological. I think what I needed was someone to hold my hand.

I will say this -- sales have not been explosive. I think there are quite a few websites up and running now... but it's a really good marketing tool -- just not the be-all. I'm kind of shy about talking with shop keepers aboutr my product, so having a website gives mne a boost of confidence. Also, as I am talking with shop keepers who might be interested in my products, I can refer them to the website which shows not only the full range of my product line, it also reveals my most comfortable personality.

Do you have photos of your work and can you tell us about this "gild" you are involved in. There is a weaver's gild, a quilter's gild and a stained glass gild here that I am familiar with -- but as usual I don't fit into thse parameters.

Glad to meet you.

[Serendipity]

Wow...what a topic...how do I start or get a webpage to sell my art on the web...

I personally use Dreamweaver which is a rather advanced site building software ( I perhaps only really know how to use 5% of the software though)

I would like to suggest something that might be a simpler way to get your feet wet though.

There are a number of sites that are available to crafters and artists to display and sell there work.

The best are:

http://www.etsy.com
http://www.blujay.com
http://www.ecrater.com

The step by step instructions are included at each site... The only real thing you need to do is get the best quality photos of you item that you can. A digital camera is best... scanning is OK but it doesn't capture item detail very well.

Take a look around the sites you might get some ideas.

PS ... Elizabeth just found an interesting forum... what you need to do before opening an etsy shop... this will have tips that are applicable for any of the sites listed above.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=75279.0

(elizabeth hangs out at Craftser.org while I hang out here :))

Good Luck

Hugh

[Joella]

Thank you so much for the great pointers. My daughter and I got on the computer last night and started to build me a web page. I'll let you all know when it's ready. JO

[Joella]

Hi Joella -- good to meet you. I have recently built my own website using Yahoo Sitebuilder. I was very very scared and nervous -- of what completely stumps me. I just dove in and figured it out one page at a time. Of things I didn't know or couldn't figure out, I asked people -- whether at Yahoo or this board or my child, who would much prefer to poke himself in the eye with a stick rather than help me understand anything technological. I think what I needed was someone to hold my hand.

I will say this -- sales have not been explosive. I think there are quite a few websites up and running now... but it's a really good marketing tool -- just not the be-all. I'm kind of shy about talking with shop keepers aboutr my product, so having a website gives mne a boost of confidence. Also, as I am talking with shop keepers who might be interested in my products, I can refer them to the website which shows not only the full range of my product line, it also reveals my most comfortable personality.

Do you have photos of your work and can you tell us about this "gild" you are involved in. There is a weaver's gild, a quilter's gild and a stained glass gild here that I am familiar with -- but as usual I don't fit into thse parameters.

Glad to meet you.
I've always loved to express myself through my art. Being an artist in Dryden Ontario Canada has been an interesting journey. You have to get a feel for the area in order to understand where I'm coming from.

It's taken years to educate our small city about the arts. We are just now finding people are beginning to tire of the generic walmart prints and only now are beginning to appreciate the quality of work our local artists have to offer.

DRAC consists of all types of artists who work in all different types of mediums. We welcome all expressions of art so our group is very well rounded. As well, we offer various workshops to those who feel they may want to try something new.

Our exhibits are very interesting due to the variety of art. When coming to an exhibit people will find not only paintings and sketches but will be pleasantly surprised to find artists participating in poetry readings, skits, and musicals. Each show is a magical time and I know for myself the creative enerygy is infectious.

I hope I've given you a better idea of what our group is about.

[Jenny]

Joella -- your group sounds wonderful!!!! I think I want one of those here. NOW.

And you give me one more reason in my arsenal for not shopping at WalMart -- I thought they were just out to ruin this nation economically -- now I learn they are out to ruin our entire continent culturally!!! Yikes. This is bad news -- very bad news...

I may need to start an art council right here all by myself.

Food for thought, thank you, mighty tasty. :D

Jenny

[Jilliebean]

Joella,

I'm from the Windsor area so I can picture the challenges you face in Dryden. Windsor's arts community has really begun to develop but the small towns in the rest of the county struggle. Do you have "Art in the Park" or a similar festival? They've flourished in this area. In addition to Art in the Park, we also have Art By The River and Art in the Woods. It's just an opportunity for local artists to sell their wares and get exposure.