SETTING UP AN OPEN STUDIO EVENT

   

If, like me, you have decided that craft markets are not for you, there is always the option of joining an OPEN STUDIO organisation (I am part of Harrow Open Studios this year) or organising one of your own, inviting friends, neighbours, family, and anyone else you can attract!

It is no easy task;  it will involve finding a suitable space...I am lucky enough to have a large kitchen/diner which opens out onto my garden, for a variety of tables, on my patio I was able to erect a borrowed EZup for rain protection over another table, and I have my studio right by the house where I put out a few more pieces and work in progress.   In case of severe wind and rain, I purchased a "fitted" tablecloth from Amazon, so no corners to blow around, and I have placed "outdoor" items on the table which are safe from the elements.

I could have relied upon the Harrow Open Studio organisation to provide me with visitors, but I have found that despite all their hard work on the publicity side of things, numbers are not great, so I also do my own publicity ...I put posters around the area, in carparks and on trees where I know dog walkers abound;  I print flyers and distribute them widely.  I use social media...local area groups, and I placed an advertisement for my Open Studio in a local magazine, having written an article for them too, so I actually had a whole page. 

I will provide cold drinks, and nibbles, to encourage people to stay and wander;  I am doing dances to the rain gods in the hope they will keep the rainclouds away for a week. 

It has been hard work, preparing the setup which involves a certain amount of shifting of furniture;   creating price labels and sheets of information for visitors to read, and laying out all my pieces.  My back has complained mightily ... my back and I do not have a good relationship, I am firmly convinced I have someone else's back instead of the one I was supposed to have.  It could, of course, be something to do with my age, she said, slightly bitterly......

Anyway, here are a few pics of my 2019 Open Studios.  Previous Open Studios have been successful, lots of visitors and sales  (sometimes too many all at once; make sure you have a payment and packing set up well organised or a plan to pack and deliver later).

Hubby's pond outside the studio...can you spot the duck?