Living and Loving Local

Every time I think I’ve completely saturated the local area with my pillows, quilts and other textile art products, something comes along to prove me wrong. The lesson in this realization? Local customers and clients are the most important. They need to be encouraged and maintained.

Local exposure, whether through nearby arts and crafts fairs, hometown exhibits or repeat-customer neighbors and friends, leads to greater exposure. I live in a resort town, which means every one of my pillows sitting on a local couch or hanging on a local wall, is seen by visitors from other areas. One sale leads to several more around the country. My products being sold in local outlets are seen by hundreds of people from elsewhere in the state, country and world.

Hometown customers also become partners – they take pride and ownership in a locally made product and their suggestions can lead to new or better work. The Tabernash Tavern, a popular restaurant in the Winter Park Resort area, placed a large order for fabric gift bags using their logos. I had pitched the bags as perfect wrappings for a bottle of wine or pound of their specialty blend coffee. The photo above shows how well they work with wine.

But the Tavern’s chef was the one who pointed out that they also perfectly hold jars of his homemade jams and relishes, and beautifully wrap one of his fresh-baked baguettes, all of which are sold at the restaurant’s front desk. Guess who’s now marketing bread bags? My booth at an upcoming Business-to-Business Expo will have new signs, new brochures and new exhibits showing multiple uses for what had started out as being simple wine gift bags.

That expo is an example of local business or chamber of commerce events that can benefit artists and crafters. I’ll be offering custom gift bags for businesses to use as client, customer or employee gifts this coming holiday season. And I’ll be encouraging realtors and builders to consider my vintage postcard pillows as closing gifts for property-buyers. Each pillow is made with vintage postcards depicting iconic images of the local area and its history – perfect for a new home.

Local library branches aren’t just a source for reading material or movies. Does yours host events or exhibits? Mine does and I’ll have a month-long show of locally themed pillows and quilts in November. There will be a reception, drawings for giveaways and the opportunity to purchase display items with a portion of the proceeds going to the library itself.

A library exhibit brings products to a whole new audience of moms with kids, teens, and adults who may not frequent arts and crafts shows. It also makes the art, and the artist, part of the community so that the next time someone needs a gift, they’ll remember the exhibit and place an order.