THIS WEEKS LINKS
From The Wall Stree Journal, Consumer Spending Keeps Rising
From Retail Contrarian, Make the most of your buying trips
From AmEx Open Forum,
3 Things to Consider Before Launching a Groupon Campaign
Top 5 Facebook Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make
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 Have you signed up as a participant for American Craft Week yet? This year signing up has been made easier on the website. Go ahead and do it now on the American Craft Week website. As a CRAFT member, your participation fee is FREE. Under Payment Method, just select "I'm a CRAFT member (fee waived)".
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Artist Spotlight
Artists, would you like to have your work/studio spotlighted in It's Friday? Email rani@randomactsart.com with up to two paragraphs about you, your studio & your artwork. Please include links to your website or Wholesalecrafts page and up to two pictures to be included. You can send the pictures as attachments or just send links to the pictures on your website.
Artist will be spotlighted on a first come, first serve basis.
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From The Rosen Group
The Smithsonian Institution spends an estimated $44 million per year on merchandise for the gift shops at its 19 museums. As you may know, the institution has recently come under fire by Congress for selling gift items that are made in China. In response, the Smithsonian has agreed to not only increase its inventory of American-made products at its stores, but also to open a gift shop featuring exclusively products made in the U.S.
The "Price of Freedom" store will be stocked with exclusively American-made products by July at the National Museum of American History. The Smithsonian has an immediate need for products for the store's inventory.
Buyers from the Smithsonian will meet in April with Wendy Rosen and representatives from the Buyers Market of American Craft to review potential items for the new store. The buyers will also be attending the summer Buyers Market of American Craft to source inventory for additional stores.
Wendy Rosen will also be meeting with congressional staffers involved in the push for American-made products in our nation's museums and national parks, showing them products appropriate for those stores.
We want to share your products with the Smithsonian and Congressional representatives.
For the Price of Freedom Store, the Smithsonian is specifically seeking items retailing for under $50 that can be made exclusively for them, on themes associated with the exhibitions it accompanies. For details on the store, please visit www.americanmadealliance.org.
Artists may also submit possible products tailored to one or more of the other Smithsonian properties, including:
National Air & Space Museum
Museum of Natural History
Hirshhorn Museum
Freer Gallery
Sackler Gallery
National Museum of African Art
National Museum of the American Indian
National Zoo
National Postal Museum
Renwick Gallery
Portrait Gallery & American Art Museum
National Museum of African-American History & Culture
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Artists can send up to two reasonably-sized items for us to bring to a meeting. Artists may also send up to three pages of additional images of appropriate work.
We are only accepting products from artists exhibiting in the summer Buyers Market.
All items must be received at The Rosen Group, 3000 Chestnut Ave, Ste 300, Baltimore, MD 21211 no later than April 10 at 5 p.m.
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Artist Member Spotlight
One-of- a-Karen
Consignment Opportunity from Karen Hohler
After retiring in 2009 and with time to follow my passion for paper and making handmade books, I took a class in paper folding. I came home from those two weeks and kept folding. I discovered the parasol form and thought what a lovely bead it would make. Then I thought about something my grandmother had taught me as a child. She was born in 1885 and rolled paper beads were very popular in the Victorian era. So I made some rolled beads (actually hundreds), then sorted through a box with broken and unwanted jewelry, beads picked up at flea markets. Laying out designs and stringing them for 6 Christmas presents somehow turned into 2 dozen necklaces before I stopped!
Each piece is a one of a kind, has its own name and comes with a story booklet. No necklace design is repeated. Each one takes 3 to 4 hours of work to create. The paper is dipped in 3 layers of acrylic for durability.
In selling the necklaces and earrings I have found that they sell to the potential wearer, not as gifts, and to someone who doesn't follow the crowd. I am looking for a few stores who would like to show One-of-a-Karen. Production is limited and consignment available to members of CRAFT only.
Take a look at the web site www.one-of-a-karen.com. If you are interested, jot down the names of the pieces you like and email me at kshohler@gmail.com. Prices are retail plus. The site is intended for wholesale only so your retail price would be 10-20% less than those listed. Your store will be listed in the Where to Buy section.
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