New selling regime for 2011

Made a bit of a radical decision for 2011 and pulled most of my work from galleries (still to collect from some in Wirral and 1 in Liverpool). I am going to go online and do some more direct selling eventually. The market seems to have dropped out of galleries and shops....might do exhibition work for galleries but the more "stock" like items will now be direct from me. I was about to ramp up my online Etsy site but there is some controversy on there about a "shop" who is selling inappropriate cards like "Congratulations you have Aids or you've been raped" and although it seems to go against Etsy's policy, they have not pulled the shop. So at the moment, I am waiting until this is resolved. There is also Folksy but seems not to have the same audience as Etsy yet. By not having my work in galleries with the necessary mark-up for them to be able to run, I may be able to charge slightly less for my work - making it slightly more financially viable for me as a business (which as many of you know is not really my reason for creating).

Thank you to all my galleries who have supported me over the years. I hope it has been a good experience for you too...not generated loads of money for any of my galleries but at least I have contributed to making the place look interesting. I enjoyed the exerience this year of making "Encompass" for The Six Rooms Gallery and in 2008, I really enjoyed and felt proud of my piece "On My Way Here ii" made for the Red Dot Exhibition at the CUC, both pieces with more personal reflections that my regular craftwork.

The current climate means luxuries have to be cut from the shopping diet of the average person and my work comes in that category. So rather than fight the inevitable, I am going to concentrate on the online/direct selling, workshops and curating shows. I am involved with an exciting new project for March and May. I will be working with Jim Smith and Daniel Molyneux who are seconded to Wirral Council, we worked together in 2010. This year I will be creating an exhibition from my old kitchen, asking artists from Merseyside to create something from the remains of my old kitchen. I have collected together drawer fronts, door fronts, broken plates, my old patio table (used in another project 2 years ago). After posting my plans on Facebook, I was approached by lots of Wirral and Liverpool artists who want to get involved - painters, mosaic artists, craftspeople. The exhibition will coincide with an environmental conference in the Pacific Road Arts Centre in March and will then have a second outing in Birkenhead Park in May.

I am also involved with "Waste Not Want Not", a fashion show organised by Kath Shaw who is based in the North End of Birkenhead at the St James Centre, there will be short workshops offered (for free) to create fashion items for the fashion show. The community workshops will be based at the St James Centre and at the Green Community Shop and Centre in Oxton.