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Hi folks,  Hi, folks! Welcome to the blog! I about to make happy trails. I'm heading to BOOKEXPO America (BEA) to "be a part of it" in New York! I'll be at the Swoon Booth (PDZ638) at noon on Friday May 30, 2014. Please drop by if you are around! This month I am offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014). Consider following the link and giving it "a like" on Goodreads. 

Whew, I have a ton of stuff to do, hence the blog will be short this week  I don't even have time to read and I love to READ. Anyway, what do I have in my bag tricks that is really useful? 

Here's a thought. I have been going to Trade Shows since I was a child. My mom would take me to nursery trade shows. Nothing to do with kids. These were all about plants. Did you know there is a type of person that loves plants as much as books? I would carry a bag and gather pencils, seed packets,  roundtuits, plastic cups and water sprinkler heads. BEA is like that but instead of plant swag they handout glorious bookish swag-- books, book marks, bags and such. This is all about book love. 

So with no further ado. 

How to have fun at trade show? A top ten list!

 1. Take a lesson from the mighty house cat, stalk the floor but don't engage yet. Just check it all out. 

2.  Remember everyone is there to work, so it's not like high school.

3. Put on your smiley face!

4. Wear comfortable shoes! I cannot stress this enough.   

5. Make new friends. Yes, I'm talking to you, book worm. 

6. Know where the chocolate is. 

7. Literary genius is afoot; remember to breathe. 

8. Drink water. 8 glasses.  Pop, tea, coffee, juice, and drinks with little umbrellas do not count. 

9. Pace yourself. Take breaks. Too much stress can ruin your health, relationships, and mental state. 

10. Enjoy yourself! Did you know fun shuts down left-brain activity and makes your right-brain light up like a roman candle?  

Glad you dropped by! Have a good week. With last in the "Plumb Crazy May" series. Hope you drop by.

 Here is a doodle for you: "Faces"

Here is a quote for your pocket. 

It's kind of fun to do the impossible. Walt Disney

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Packing light
This year I managed to trim my luggage to one gigantic suitcase (my booth), one little rolly-suitcase (my clothes) and one big box (banners). Oh, and a huge backpack (most of my books). Matt and I hop on an Amtrak train from Boston, so I can't bring booth furniture and the like, but luckily Surtex has some services to help you with your booth display (more on that later).

Booth set-up
Pretty easy again this year. Again I went with trusty hanging banners. For me,  they are very much worth the cost in ease of use. They are pretty much headache-free, fairly easy to tote, clean and simple to set up and take down. And they look lovely. (Any 'headache' part comes during the banner design phase. Once that is done and you have approved them, you're good to go barring any 11th hour printing issues!)

Walls
My banner people did make a small error with my banners, but I'm thrilled it only turned out to be a little pre-show annoyance. The eyelet screws that were supposed to be in the top ends of my wooden dowels were not there. Ugh, mini freak out! So we had to decide on a contingency plan. We just very carefully jimmied them up with the hooks and no eyelet screws. We had no idea of whether or not they would stay put. There is much to contend with in the wild atmosphere of the Javitz at Surtex -- booth bumps, air conditioning, lions, tigers and bears— and, oh yeah, this year it rained indoors!— but my walls stayed up and they  looked nice and stayed dry for the entire three days. Boy, was I happy about that! :D

Booth
I did a corner booth this year— not only for the visibility, but also because, when I signed up,  there was a sore lack of options offered up. Despite the cost, I can tell you now that I LOVED having the corner booth. No one misses a booth on the corner. For better or for worse, you know you have that visibility. Now, if that potential client doesn't stop at your booth, that's a whole 'nother bag of m&m's!  But, all told, I would do a corner booth again, absolutely. Hey, I'm really coming out of my shell!

Press Kit
Something I decided to spend NO time on this year pre-show was a Press Kit. Last year, I spent a lot of time and a bit of dough on preparing one I was proud of. I left a bunch up in the Press Room, and honestly I'm not sure that even one was taken. So this year I had a knee-jerk reaction, and I did none. In retrospect, something small would have been just the ticket. This year, there were many more press people who are bloggers, and I suspect many were new to covering the show, and I will just bet that they made a special visit to the Press Room sometime during the show. So, I missed the boat on that this year. Next year, I will have that piece covered.

Traffic..
I think it is very hard for each person to objectively quantify traffic at Surtex. For one thing, certain parts of the show floor on any given day (at any given hour) are busy, maybe even jam-packed with people, while other aisles lay completely silent. So your traffic is different than another persons' traffic... but also traffic from aisle to aisle is different. I do think that, when people come, they try as hard as they can to walk the entire show. So I don't think it is the norm to not hit every aisle at some point. It's just that traffic is like the wind—unpredictable at any given time. It moves around in one area, and is still in another, and that can make it difficult to be mathematical about it. Or it could be that it's just impossible for my brain to think that way. Anyway, it will be interesting to see whatever stats are released on this year's show, when that information is available.

Your Surtex is not your neighbor's Surtex
My neighbors' Surtex was not my Surtex. My Surtex last year was not my Surtex this year. So much depends on your own personal situation... Where are you in your career... your contacts—who you are expecting to visit you an

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I've been mentally preparing for Surtex and doing little things to get ready for months now. But in terms of hard-core prep, I have been in the tornado for about a month. There is still so much left to do, but I am finally feeling like I am in decent shape.

To pull things together the way that I want it has been an interesting exercise. My banners have all been designed, sent, proofed and approved, and are in production now. In some ways, it's a load off. In other ways, I'm flying blind. I've never sent such a 'physically large' or 'important-to-me large' job to print. Plus, I know what they will look like (well, for the most part I do. I certainly hope I do!) But, I am not a technical genius, and there was a fair amount of measuring and numerically-figuring-out involved. So, once they make it up on the walls, I'm sure hoping that they all fit properly and correctly. And, I hope none of the colors decide on a whim to clash at the last minute. All told, It's going to be exciting to see everything come together. I've also designed and placed orders for print and promotional goodies, getting all of my my materials all ready for the show. Most are off and printing now. Aaaahhh. No matter what happens, I'll be smiling, I'll be happy, I'll be grateful, and I'll be ready.

The Press Kit. I actually quite hemmed and hawed on doing this. It was such a huge undertaking to make happen, on top of everything else that needed to be done. It was so BIG... I'd never done one before, and well, it's a little nervewracking to take on this type of project for the first time.. As such, at the last minute, I bailed.. But then, at the 30-seconds-to-go mark, I renegged! I switched gears, I got really inspired, did some research, got even *more* inspired, and then bang, as if possessed by the Easter Bunny banging out all those baskets for the big day, I did it.

I just hate missed opportunities. It is important to be ready for anything. I generally walk around feeling like I am ready for anything which, let's face it, is the gift of delusion (thanks mom!), so in order to keep that going, I at least have to come through and make the physical effort with the Press Kit. So this weekend, I went for it, just Tasmanian Devil'ed it into creation. And I'm so happy I did. I think it is going to come together just great. I look forward to seeing all of the printed pieces once they arrive, and then piecing it all together. Hey, the first time at anything is an expiriment— there is not a hard and fast rule roadmap for a Press Kit. There are guidelines (thank goodness!) but most of the work is creating and putting together the content, and that comes from you and you alone. Therefore some personal excavation, list-making, organizing, time-mapping all come into play in the process. (No wonder people can get overwhelmed at the prospect of making one of these things!) I learned a whole lot more about myself and my business by going through the process. Now I'm so 'in it' that I might have really caught the bug! I also do marketing & advertising illustration and design as it is (and am a total marketing/ad geek at that). Turning the tables on myself, dissecting and pulling apart WellerWishes became much more than just the process of creating a Press Kit. It also served as a great brainstorming process to further distill the philosophy, ideals, target market, current offerings and services and present and future goals of WellerWishes. (Kind of like writing a business plan!) So all in all, though it may have hurt (a little), it was, overall, a HUGE positive. I now look forward to creating my Press Kit version 2.0, because, of course, after barely finishing version 1.0 there are now 101 revisions I want to make. But 2.0 is bound to be a whole lot easier, now that I have the general framework completed. Yee-ha!

So, creating the Press Kit and accompanying materials has really put me in a great headspace (albeit an exhausted one). I highly recommend doing it, if you h

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Surtex! That's right!!

Today, it is exactly two months until Surtex 2011, which takes place May 15-17 at the Javits Center in NYC. Believe it or not, for about six weeks after AmericasMart I was quite consumed with correspondence and follow-up from the show ( I am not complaining! :) No complaints here, nope, nope nope.) But now, the whip-lash is setting in— it is a mere eight weeks from my Surtex debut! (Wasn't last week January?)

I'm very, very excited for Surtex, I have to tell you. I have had the goal of exhibiting there for over five years now (I first discovered its very existence in mid-to-late 2005). To be in the position I am in today, about to exhibit at Surtex, *and* already having had my first art licensing trade show exhibition earlier this year, what can I say—it is a great feeling. I'm confident, I am proud of how far I have come, and I'm looking forward to the show BIG time. (Fun fact: Who knew I would enjoy the 'people' part as much as I do? Who knew? I love it!) You never know until you try, and when I decided to show at Atlanta, and finally exhibit, just exhibit, PERIOD, and break my streak of "dreamer-dom" into "doer-dom" when it comes to art licensing trade shows, it was very much like being at the end the diving board of a very large, very deep swimming pool... Now, throw on a blindfold.

It is cool what happens when you step up to your life that way, with conviction, belief and a never say die attitude... You certainly gain a better sense of yourself and what you have the power to accomplish... Doors open. And from a more practical perspective, sometimes you just have to dive in to see how you measure up, period. Also, there is no better litmus test to see where your work best fits in the market, or doesn't,  than to gauge who and what companies are attracted to your work.

We are lucky to live in the age of information and easy communication. Studying web sites is great. Email is great. What would we do without it? But if you want to row in the boat, you have to be in the boat to begin with... and to be in the boat, you simply have to exhibit, or have representation, at an art licensing show.  Hey, it's not easy, and why should it be? It's a business like any business. And nothing really worthwhile is ever easy anyway. You gotta want it pretty bad to commit to starting an art licensing business, especially in this day and age. Hopefully potential future exhibitors will study the markets very well, and come into it with lots of preparation and a fairly defined vision for their brand and their place in the market. This will help their own success and will also help to elevate the industry on the whole.

I am sure I will get more palpable nerves as the time comes closer. I feel much calmer and more stable  about Surtex than I did about Atlanta, even though in terms of exhibitors and visitors, Surtex is so much larger a space for the art licensing exhibitors, though on the whole, Atlanta is behemoth. (It's hard to describe AmericasMart in words.)

The situation in Atlanta was so different— it was my first show, sure, so that adds some stress by default. But it was very unique because of the logistical hurdles we encountered. I had to actually get on a plane and not just a train.. And what with the huge, gigantic  snowstorm, the flight cancellations and t

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I am finally ready for the big show! I am at the airport waiting to get onto the plane to go to Atlanta to exhibit at AmericasMart in the Licensing & Design section! This is a huge milestone for me and it's been a long road to get here, to my first time exhibiting at an art licensing trade show.

I have been studying the field of art licensing since 2006. Well, officially, I mean. Unofficially, I have been a student of it for what seems like forever.

Over the course of my entire childhood, I was always especially delighted by art on products. I remember sheets, kitchen towels & mugs, you name it, I absorbed it all, and very much appreciated and enjoyed it. For the longest time I wondered "how does that happen??" What is the business, how does it work, so many questions.

I guess that is normal for a young artistic girl, but I was also so influenced by character product from such a very young age, and it certainly spun my wheels with more velocity. I was a first generation Hello Kitty fan, residing in Los Angeles for the early part of my childhood where all the trends hit before they hit the Northeast. Hello Kitty mini colored pencils, stationery and all the trimmings were highly coveted by my sisters and I back in those days.

By the time we moved to Boston when I was 9, Hello Kitty and crew followed shortly thereafter when a Sanrio kiosk showed up in the local mall. I was overjoyed and spent many an hour in there picking out fruit-scented mini pens and all of the other fun Hello Kitty stuff. I guess when it comes to these types of products, I just never let go of them. They are simply too tied to my early childhood and the good feelings and happiness they brought me during that time. These silly tchotchkes and the idea of the fun characters and artwork that breathe life into these products are now really a part of my fabric of who I am.

When I was in high school, though the Sanrio kiosk shop was gone by then, another store had picked up the slack. It was called "BeDazzled" and it sold "upbeat cards and gifts" - basically a lot of Recycled Paper Greetings, Archie McPhee & Accoutrements-type product, tiny toys like rubber finger puppets and joke eyeballs and the like, Peacock Papers products (remember them?) and more. I got a job there and worked there for a couple of years. I had the opportunity to observe all of this fresh new product coming in and throughout it all, I gained even more curiosity about it and the industry. It was eye opening and I just loved all of the product, it broufht me so much joy to work there and be surrounded by such sillyness and eye candy. At the time, i would dream of doing art for these products. But how to get there?? That was a very, very big question for me that would not be answered until years later.

There is much, much more to my story, but I will save it for another day. The important thing is that everything has led me here to this place, on my way to exhibit at AmericasMart Licensing & Design section. It sounds trite to say it's a "dream come true" because life is really one big journey with a series of these amazing moments and experiences (if you're lucky). Not to mention that nothing comes easy. Everything worth accomplishing in life takes a LOT of WORK! Make no mistake about it! A lot of hard-nosed work. Dont be fooled by any of the frilly, fluffy, dreamy stuff. That's all good and inspiring, definitely. And imagination and creating art definitely is fluffy and dreamy, and that is the magic of it and that creative inspiration and our ability to act on it and create something tangible from it as artists is integral, and it is a precious thing. But look: This is nose to the grindstone, take no prisoners, committing everything to your success, sacrifice-laden work. But the truth is, if it wasn't, it really wouldn't be even half as gratifying. And, I know that for all the work that I have put into even just making it THIS far, the REAL work is ahead of me!!
Well guess what -- I have been preparing for it

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Well, I made it! I am here at Quilt Market. It's been a day of fun and surprises, let me tell you. Seems like there's one around every corner (and I hope they keep on coming!)

The line to check-in was extremely long, but I was fortunate because I met a really nice person in line, and we ended up having a great conversation! This took the sting out of waiting in line, as well as being a great way to make a new connection! So, next time you are stuck in a long line at a trade show, who knows, you may just hit it off with your neighbor! :)

During the day, I stopped for a water break at a mini-cafe outside the exhibition hall, and who was in front of me but none other than Yvonne Porcella. I did not know her name before today, but I certainly won't forget it now! She is the artist behind the 2010 Quilt Market logo as well as a veteran designer in the industry! We has a very brief but fun and spirited exchange. I am embarrassed I did not get the name of her friend...So, friend, if you are reading this, *please* say hello and introduce yourself! :)

I won't be going into any great details on the day right now- it is late, I have an early start, and I am writing this on my phone- but I *did* want to give my "pro- trade show" Tip Of The Day: Nothing, but NOTHING, gives you a better perspective on a fabric co.'s overall aesthetic, as well as the style of art they are interested in - than checking out their trade show booth designs!! See what collections they are promoting from their lines, and look at all of the details in how they dress up. It gives a ton of info in a way you very often won't even be able to discern from looking at their web site. You can sometimes tell in basically seconds whether your work may fit with the manufacturer. Of course, it is not always that easy, but sometimes, it is. I realize this tip may sound like a no-brainer, and it kind of is-- but believe me sometimes it helps to see the obvious in writing. Especially when you land at a trade show and maybe your ankles start sinking in all the overwhelm of it all. Just a friendly reminder to reiterate an important fact that will help you to keep your focus on the prize and not get distracted by all the shiny toys! :)

Just for fun... A couple snaps from the day:



Thats Lauren Hunt of Aunt Juneand me! She's so cute and funny!



Here is my friend Ellen Crimi-Trent's Beetle Boy fabric in a beautiful quilt at Clothworks! (as well as a Clothworks rep who is a very good sport, eh?)

Ok.. Time for bed.. Goodnight!

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So I spent most of my first day, Friday, in Building 2, prospecting. I also happened into an unplanned meeting with a manufacturer. I was sure glad a friend had lent me his iPad for this trip. Before the trip, I had reserved an iPad from the Apple store, but it had not arrived in time. I was not looking forward to the prospect of lugging around a huge spiral binder all the time (you never know when you might need it, planned meetings or not!) and the iPad seemed a to be sensible and attractive solution. My friend lent me the iPad the day before, so did not really have much time to get fully accustomed to the device before using it for meetings. Of course I had a couple of hiccups navigating through my portfolio, but even though I hadn't yet found my "legs" with it, I found it to be a really a nice way to show work, and everyone I met with the entire trip was forgiving of any learning curves I had with the device, and seemed to enjoy viewing work on the iPad. :)




On Friday night, I met up with a great group of art licensors - and one art licensing lawyer - at a hotel bar. My friend Carol Eldridge is the only one I knew in person, and it was she who had invited me to come. I was very glad she did and I was so glad I made it. It was without a doubt one of the very top highlights of my trip. It was so much fun to meet the group, and I had quite a few really good conversations in the time frame of 1.5 hours. I am really glad I went! I met some great gals!!


The second day was spent checking out the temporary showrooms in Building 3, a large atrium, rotunda-styled building. The floors of this building were circularly shaped around a large "hole" where you could look down to the ground floor, or up to the glass, sky-light ceiling. And with so many floors, it was overwhelming. I was only able to cover a few of the floors because I had a couple of meetings in an adjacent building, and also had a flight late that afternoon. I just didn't have the time.

One of the first things I did do on Saturday was a walk-through of the "Cash & Carry" area, which is on the first floor of Building 3. "Cash & Carry" was an alien term to me until Friday night when Tammy Browning-Smith (the lawyer of Friday night's group)

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My first day (Friday) was all about getting the lay of the land. A trusted advisor suggested that AtlantasMart's building #2 might be the building of most interest to me. Good advice, and that is where I concentrated most of my energy. After spending most of the day in that building and needing the entire day to get through it, I surmised that a good rule of thumb is to budget one full day per building. It's a good general average to follow.


The three AtlantasMart buildings are connected by these tube-like, glassed-in bridges. Did you ever have a pet hamster? These connecting bridges reminded me of habitrail tubes my old pet hamster used to run around in. Building 2, where I spent my first day at the show, houses many permanent showrooms of giftware and paper manufacturers. Elevators were the main mode of transportation from floor to floor. Those elevators sure fill up fast, so I learned that it pays to be quick on your feet! Sardine-packed elevators notwithstanding, the mood was positive and people would kindly make as much room as possible to accommodate as many people as would safely fit in the elevator. On some floors, there were escalators too, which certainly helped.


Within Building 2, I spent the most time on the permanent showroom floors. I checked out what the manufacturers were 'investing' in for the upcoming seasons in terms of art and product, and I noted which companies I thought my work would be a good fit for. Being faced with so many manufacturers and products at a trade show such as this can be tricky. It is much easier to lose sight of your main focus when you are in the midst of sensory overload. For a show such as this, when you are prospecting new companies you'd like to work with, it's important to constantly 'check yourself' to make sure you stay on track and you are making note of the manufacturers that your work might really, TRULY be a good match with. You DON'T want to end up with a gigantic list of companies where your work might "sort of, kind of..." fit, or where your work would fit only with a GREAT DEAL of (likely somewhat painful) massaging.


You also do not want to put yourself in a position of not feeling 100% about anything and everything you create and present to a potential client. You HAVE to have a lot of confidence in what you are pitching and in whatever potential partnership you are proposing. It just doesn't make any sense to waste your precious energy on a big bunch of "...hmmm well MAYBE..." companies. Besides, if you aren't all in 100%, how will anything you propose be 100%?


The goal is to come away with a bright, sharp list of potential partner companies that you feel confident about working something up for, that you feel confident contacting because you really believe your work fits there. Places that you think you could bring something new and fresh to the table while 1) staying true to your own brand aethetic; 2) bringing something to the table that will click as something that they NEED to either fill out their offerings or is otherwise on target and desirable; and 3) keeping in check all of the above, staying within their comfort level of their brand. All of these things at one-- quite the balancing act, eh?You have to get know your work well from a product standpoint and be able to really be objective about it in terms of it selling at retail. Hey, I've got a long way to go in this regard myself, but I'm now at a point where I feel comfortable with these concepts and I am able to enjiy the very creative work of imagining and designing my work in other forms.


Besides all of that - look, studying markets and being ruthlessly focused is a great learning exercise in investigating YOUR CORE identity as an art licensor and artist-- AND in following your true gut instincts. This can be a hard habit to get into, especially if you are used to second-guessing yourself, which a lot of people are (I have done my share!). But stop yourself from doing this --DON'T sell yourself short. Instead,

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For the first time, I'm visiting Atlanta at the end of this week. I will be attending the Atlanta Gift Show. The purpose for my going is to discover companies who manufacture products that my art might be a fit for. I'm looking forward to it. It will be a busy couple of days full of sensory overload but me and my notebook are getting prepared for it.

With art licensing, It's been an interesting year thus far. I've been working really hard, but you would really never know it because I don't post any of the artwork on the internet and I don't post much to my blog about things (though I do tweet). It's a funny business in that way -- everything is sort of "off the grid" until it's a Done Deal and then it's WAHOO time to throw the confetti and uncork the champagne! I'm looking forward to these moments for myself, but for now I will continue to plug away, (on the web inconspicuously), and chart my path.

I  will share my observations on Atlanta here, when I get back. So please stay tuned.

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I just completed adding up all of my receipts AND income from the year 2007. Whew!! Glad that's finally over.

I tell you, tax time gives me the heebie-jeebies. I can't help feeling that looming sense of dread when the time rolls around that I have to dig through every infinitesimal shred in my records and look at it under a microscope. I had a pretty easy time counting tonight on the calculator, which is a blessing. (My fingers were up for the challenge, I guess.) It wasn't one of those experiences where you add up 25 numbers, dare yourself not to make any numerical notations as a fail-safe, then dramatically forget which number you were on, and have to re-add the entire column all over again, from the beginning!! Ooh, nightnmare. No sirree, not tonight!! It went smoothly! YESSSSSSSSSSSS..........I can breathe now.

A few years ago (when I started freelancing for real) I decided that I was going to do everything RIGHT where taxes/accountability was concerned, no matter how initially painful it would be. And yes, it would be painful... I was never trained on financial responsibility and accountability when I was a youngster, and, to top it off, I was never a great math student in school... So, as you can imagine, the entire process has been a lot of work and very challenging at times, and a lot of holding my feet to the fire. But today I can hold my head high and say that I am SO proud of myself! I've come such a long way. It is not ever really completely painless, but I CAN say that "doing things right" gives me a amazing feeling of peace, relief, positivity and true confidence that I can't put a price on.

There is things one can do to make tax time less painful. Keeping a separate credit card and bank account help keep things organized in a tangible sense, as well as just mentally. Knowing that things are separated in this way can relieve daily stress and anxiety. Many freelancers who are in that 'limbo' area between working their day-to-day full-time job and freelancing the rest of the time may surmise that these additional steps are just added work and unnecessary. But to the contrary, I personally feel that it's incredibly important in many ways. It not only helps with just general organization of your business finances, it also trains you to have good financial practices, which will only help you in ALL aspects of your finances. It's also an unspoken promise to yourself that your goal is to TRULY THRIVE as a professional artist, and that your business is NOT an afterthought.... And all of those things are VERY, VERY important!! :)

My first step was making an appointment with an accountant. He gave me a crash course in small business tax 101 and he tailored it to my own business and needs. Taking this step is worth the expense. You gotta learn this stuff somewhere, and it might as well be from a professional in the field!! (If you're worried about the cost, don't. You and your business are WORTH it. You can expense it. Case closed.) The sense of empowerment you receive when you are learning the right way to do things is really beneficial in so many ways. The positive enforcement has ripple effects throughout other areas of your life!!! :)

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