"Do You Work?"

I cringe when I'm asked that question.

"Yes, I'm an artist." I reply.

Awkward silence.....

"Well what do you do?"  

What follows is usually my elevator pitch--

" I sell my art on a variety of items and surfaces. Mainly at

Art and Craft Fairs and Gift Shops. I also sell on ETSY and 

other on-line venues"

"Oh....I see....that's nice. But do you work?"

I find it impossible to convey the amount of time and effort that goes into our way of making a living to most people who ask. On the surface it appears to be such an easy way to earn a dollar. To us in the craft fair trenches, those of us who get up at 4 am to travel 2-3 hours to set-up our booth and be ready for a 9 am opening, we are the ones who truly know how hard this work is. We try to gently pack all of our handcrafted items at the end of the day, when we are dog tired from standing and selling all day. We say silent prayers that nothing breaks on the trip home. You all know....it's not easy. There is also the shipping and packaging that comes with an on-line sale. Those items don't wrap and pack themselves.

I love it though.

I have met some delightful people on-line, I wish that I could spend some face to face time with them.

I love my fellow vendors. I have learned more from talking to them than I have learned from any book that I purchased.

I love the people that come into my booth even the ones who don't purchase, sometimes I love them more... the ones with the lovely words but who cannot afford to buy.

The little ones who are intrigued by my items and want to touch, but gently tap the top of the head of one of my birds.

I love the excitement of planning and packing and traveling.

I could do without rain though.

And heat.

But worst of all....wind.

Sue DiGilio - DiGilio Designs