The Craft Factor - SCC Adopts Sale Standards

TCF Vol 3 No 2, May 1978 and TCF Vol 3 No 3, August 1978

This week we take a look back at the birth of the Saskatchewan Craft Council jury standards. The standards and criteria where introduced primarily as a way to ensure the quality and originality of work offered for sale at all SCC organized craft sales. That remains the case today: Juried status (aka Marketing status) with the SCC is for the purpose of selling work at SCC sales, namely: WaterFront, Saskatchewan Handcraft Festival and WinterGreen.

Excerpt from "SCC Adopts Sale Standards"
Vol 3 No 2, May 1978

Accepting Credit Cards at Craft Markets

Submitted by: Amanda Bosiak, Member Services

Do you accept credit cards at craft markets?

If not, I strongly recommend that you reconsider. The many benefits to you and most importantly, for your customer, far outweigh the few negatives. Those negatives are: 1) credit card fees 2) initial investment in hardware to accept payments.

So let’s put credit card fees in perspective. Say you have a $500 item for sale and you have a very interested buyer. This person doesn’t have $500 cash on them, they don’t carry cheques, but are willing to pay by credit which you don’t accept. You take their contact info and discuss getting in touch after the market. They thank you and move on ... and when you call them a week later they say, “Thanks for getting in touch with me but I found something else at the market and that person took credit. Sorry, I spent my money with them.”

If you accepted credit, you would have lost around 3% of the sale in credit card fees. But you don’t accept credit, so you lost the whole sale.

The other problem can be investment in hardware. The big news: unless you also want to accept debit cards, you don’t need to buy/lease a card machine from companies such as Moneris. However, if you already own a smart phone your start up cost is a whopping $0 as most credit card payment apps will provide you with the app and card reader for FREE.

If you don’t own a smart phone, it is worth looking into. You can phone, text, check email and do other business related tasks on a smart phone or tablet while you are on the road or at markets.

Worried about adding another thing to your already busy schedule? Never be afraid to learn something new every day. It will take much less time than you think.

The Jury's Out Panel Discussion

Submitted by: Amanda Bosiak, Member Services

Last night, four former Dimensions Jurors gathered at Affinity Gallery to discuss the merits of jurying, critique sessions and subjectivity.

L-R: Former Dimensions jurors, Megan Broner, Michael Hosaluk, Anita Rocamora, Don Kondra
SCC Exhibitions Coordinators, Leslie Potter, Stephanie Canning

The panel consisted of:

Megan Broner, jeweller - Dimensions juror in 2000 with Susan Warner Keene, a paper/textile artist from Toronto
Michael Hosaluk, wood worker - Dimensions juror in 1994 with Lou Lynn, a glass artist from Winlaw, BC and this year with Susan Rankin, a glass artist formerly from Saskatchewan now based in Apsley, ON
Anita Rocamora, clay artist and sculptor - Dimension juror in 2006 on her own
Don Kondra, wood artist - Dimensions juror in 2002 with John Chalke, clay artist and instructor from Calgary

Each member of the panel was very candid about and shared their experiences acting as Dimensions jurors.

The Craft Factor: Vol 1 Issue 1 - Founding Members

Published the fall of 1974, The Craft Factor was a newsletter simply titled, "The Saskatchewan Craft Council Is" and contained reports from the founding conference, a craft quiz, a list of craft outlets and supplies as well as a recipe section.

Most noteably, the inaugural issue of what would become a defining publication for the SCC contained the list of the first paid members of the SCC!

For the complete article ...

THE JURY’S OUT Curatorial Statement

Submitted by: Stephanie Canning & Leslie Potter

SCC Exhibitions & Education Coordinators

This year we are celebrating the 30^th Anniversary of Dimensions.  To promote this milestone we are presenting, for the first time, an exhibition of works submitted for Dimensions jurying, entitled The Jury’s Out.

Dimensions is selected by curators and craftspeople with jurying experience, who are masters in their own discipline, and who are also well versed in various mediums.  The Saskatchewan Craft Council (SCC) selects one juror from the province and one juror from outside the province and charges the jury to select 35 of the best pieces submitted.  The result has always been a spectacular exhibition representing Fine Craft from Saskatchewan.

Jurying is about the process of ‘seeing’, and jurors have this expertise because they have honed and exercised this ability.  But what really happens within the jurying process?  What sorts of discussions take place?  How are the final decisions made?

While this exhibition is in the gallery we have set up events to discuss how jurors make decisions.  Hopefully this will enable SCC members, the arts and craft community and the public to better understand this delicate process.

The Jury’s Out at Affinity Gallery (813 Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon)

Gallery hours:  Mon – Sat 10am-5pm (extended hours Thurs nights until 8pm)

May 03 to June 16, 2013

Panel & Discussion: Wednesday, May 08, from 7:00 - 9:00pm
Round Table Discussion: Sunday, May 26, from 2:00 - 4:00pm
Closing Reception: Sunday, June 16, from 3:00 - 5:00pm

For Interactive 360 Panoramic View visit http://360.io/YSmz2W and http://360.io/WAMArC

Choose Your Own Dimensions

Submitted by: Amanda Bosiak, SCC Member Services

My favorite part of Dimensions is seeing all the entries laid out before the jurying begins. It is amazing, beautiful and entirely overwhelming. As you may know, the jurors carried the responsibility of choosing only 35 works out of all those submitted. This year there were exactly 202 pieces entered for the jurors’ consideration. I kept this in mind as I did my first loop around the room and found myself feeling rather sorry for them. Not just because there were so many entries – mostly because so many of the entries were so incredibly exquisite. How, I thought, would they manage to whittle their selection down to only 35?

Dimensions Jurors Michael Hosaluk and Susan Rankin at the Public Critique in April

We know that they did, and Dimensions 2013 will open at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saturday, May 4th and exhibit until August 25^th, before the show begins touring across Saskatchewan and Canada.

Talking Craft Official Launch

Submitted by: Amanda Bosiak, Member Services

In a typical work day at the Saskatchewan Craft Council, I talk to half a dozen SCC members on the phone and correspond via email with a dozen more ... and that’s on a slow day. As the Member Services coordinator, without even leaving my desk I tend to feel pretty connected to the membership and to what is happening, not just with our members, but with craft in Saskatchewan.

Realistically however, I know I only hear a fraction of what is going on in the wider Saskatchewan craft community. Because the Saskatchewan craft community is HUGE.

Google Map representation of SCC Membership distribution in Saskatchewan and the Prairies

The SCC boasts a membership of over 400, well over half of which are Professional Craftpersons (they actively make a living from the production and sale/commission/exhibition of craft). Among those 400+ members, are craftspeople in various stages of their career, from emerging artists to those very near retirement, as well as skilled part-time craft artists, craft guilds and patrons. The SCC was built by members, and is close to celebrating 40 years because over 400 members are working toward, supporting, and celebrating Excellence in Craft in Saskatchewan. That is pretty amazing.

Yet nearly every day, I hear about someone in Saskatchewan making craft that is not a member. I hear about them through social media, attending craft shows and word of mouth. I can’t possibly put a number on how many people in this province outside of the SCC membership are craft artists, but in my wildest dreams* it’s a mighty big number.

So what does all this have to do with this blog, Talking Craft? It all comes down to communication, and the fact that no matter how good you are at something, there is always room for improvement. Communication works best when there are several tools for it to work both ways. The SCC staff, our board of directors, our members – we all do our best to be a part of the Saskatchewan craft community, and to be people the craft community can come to with questions, concerns, suggestions and more. So in the interest of doing our best to be connected to and representative of craft in Saskatchewan, we bring you Talking Craft.

We want this blog to belong to you – SCC members, and everyone in Saskatchewan involved in craft. Through Talking Craft, we will give you an inside view of goings on at the SCC, and we hope to provide you with useful and relevant information about this wonderful thing we all do; craft. More importantly, we want to hear what you think. We welcome your comments, but we also encourage you to contribute in the form or articles, reviews and letters.

 Let’s get talking!

*World domination through craft!