Exhibiting at Craft Fairs and Trade Shows
8 March 2022
Deadline: March 24, 2022
Join us on Thursday 24th March at 10am for chance to ask seasoned exhibitors about their experiences at some key Craft Fairs and Trade Shows in Ireland and GB.
The session will hear from three makers with experience of homewares and ceramics fairs in Britain as well as the Irish-focused Showcase, which takes place every year in the RDS in Dublin.
Gail Kelly’s linocuts printed on linen are instantly recognisable and are stocked throughout the UK and Ireland; ceramist Rory Shearer has experience of organising fairs in Northern Ireland and is a veteran of ceramics-only fairs in GB: mixed media maker and maker in metal Karen-Daye Hutchinson attended the first post-covid Showcase in the RDS this February and will share her recent perspectives.
We’re so grateful to these three makers for sharing some of their experiences along with top tips and dos and don’ts for makers thinking of applying to trade shows or fairs in the year ahead.
This session aims to provide valuable, honest advice on how to research what shows and fairs are right for you and your work and how to submit your best application . We’ll discuss how to manage your budgets, choosing and pricing your own work, creating an eye-catching display and how you can attract potential customers. Follow-up too is key.
Free to email questions to us for Gail, Rory and Karen ahead of time to info@craftni.org or post them in the Q&A chat during the Zoom session to be covered towards the end.
After the session, a fact sheet for makers detailing available fairs across the UK and Ireland, organised by region, type and specific craft will be provided.
Make sure to register for this session today!
About Gail Kelly:
Gail Kelly is based in County Down, Northern Ireland where she creates hand stitched collages of linocuts and woodcuts printed on Irish linen. Her work is inspired by the countryside where she lives along with landscapes and gardens she has seen on her travels throughout Britain and Ireland. Gail has been a full-time, self-employed printmaker since 1995, but found her roots in craft by learning from her mother as a child. Gail achieved a BA Hons from the Ulster College of Art and Design and a MFA from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Lousiana, USA and has over 27 years of valuable experience to share.
@gailkelly_alganarts
About Rory Shearer:
Rory Shearer has been making pots for 33 years. He graduated in 1976 with a BA Hons Degree in 3D Design (Ceramics) followed by a post-graduate Art Teachers Diploma. His first workshop was established in Newry in 1980 and his current studio is in the Antrim hills between Ballymena and Ballyclare. A Ceramic Specialist Lecturer and HND Fine Art Course Coordinator at Belfast Metropolitan College, Rory’s work is wheel based, broadly functional and he works with stoneware and porcelain firing in a gas kiln to 1280C in a reduction atmosphere.
@roryshearerceramics
About Karen-Daye Hutchinson:
Karen studied Fine Art at both Belfast and Manchester. Specialising in hybrid printmaking, sculpture and metal work; her work reflects an interest in habitat, architecture and literature. Using line and colour as a language to explore the parameters of printmaking, with symbolism as an allegory; deconstructing situations, fairy tales, nursery rhymes or poetry that are part of childhood and adult culture. Karen his been represented in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally to include Cannes, Germany, France, Luxembourg, America, Canada and Japan. She has received many awards and commissions from a variety of institutions and her work is represented in numerous public and private collections.
@karendayehutchinson