Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Blue Bayer and I live and work here in my little studio/gallery on 2nd Street in Alphabet City/Lower East Side in NYC. I am open by appointment starting October 15th. Email Bluebayer@gmail.com. I moved here to NYC from Tennessee five years ago and I truly love NY. I have a little piece of land and a studio retreat in Tennessee that I go off to a few times a year to recharge and visit with the great community of artists there. That is also where I find lots of nature bits to build into the jewelry, with the help of the Faeries of course.
I have been part of the Renaissance Festival artisan movement for almost twenty years and I have seasonal shops at The New York Renaissance Festival in Tuxedo, The Texas Renaissance Festival near Houston, and The Florida Renaissance Festival in Deerfield Beach, Florida. If you like handmade things check these festivals out and support those good people.
My partner Megan and I are expecting a little one to bless us in mid March. It's done wonders for my focus as you might imagine.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I am avid cyclist and love long distance treks. Collecting weird somewhat dark antique objects is a passion and I dream of trading in oddities here at the shop as well as selling my own work. I can't resist a flea market and have to be pulled away from dumpsters. I like open water swimming in the ocean. I have found the East Yoga Studio on 13th and Ave B. I have gone deer hunting each season for 30 years and never shot one. I just like the ritual. I really love selling my work on the streets of New York. It's great.
What first made you want to become an artist?
There was this little ceramics studio in my neighborhood. I must have expressed an interest and my mom talked the lady into having me come in for classes. It was a little odd because I was like 8 years old and I was in this class with all these housewives. I really took to it and mom still has little pieces I made her with inscriptions like, "I love you even though you don't golf right...." Mom also took on being the Cub Scout den mother and had these amazingly dangerous scout craft meetings involving blowtorches, knives, and styrofoam board. Dad was into oil painting. On a recent visit to the condo in Florida he proudly showed his illegally constructed painting studio on the back porch. It was pvc pipe and clear plastic. Go Dad!
I have just always made things. On a trip to Brazil I discovered two-part epoxy clays and began making pipes out of sea shells which I sold for years on Key West at the nightly Sunset Celebration. I followed the Grateful Dead for those years as well eventually settling in Tennessee. I lived in a little purple school bus I had converted into a studio/camper and sold my work on Renaissance festival circuit.
I have been living well from my craft for 20 years now. I have a garden out back. I am excited to get up in the morning.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
Imagine a pack rat magpie with a jeweler's torch. It's all in the story. I am drawn to strange people who deal in strange things. Finding the components for a piece and the story behind them is what makes something alive to me. I also like to work with other craftsmen who have a particular skill they have developed. Keith K for example does the wildlife carvings you see on my site. We have known each other a long time. He has deep artistic talent to draw from. Working together we can create pieces that have never been done. My work is the result of my interplay with other people and the adventures therein. Keith is showing me some welding moves so watch out. I cast and finish all the pieces here in NYC using local small-scale businesses as sources. I really do run my empire from a bicycle.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My grandfather made wooden tools and such. I have simple hinge topped box he made for drill bits.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books: Anything by John Burdett. The Wraeththu Chronicles by Storm Constantine. I'm currently reading Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City.
Music: Street Hero, Van Morrison, Gogol Bordello, The Grateful Dead, Peaches, Santogold.
Websites: I'm on Facebook, I buy on Ebay but think it stinks for selling, I watch Trueblood online, Thrillist.
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
You have heard this one already. Put more resources into your photographs than you think you can afford. It works. Hire leonardoherrera@msn.com to shoot your stuff and or build you a website.
Post your shop to your facebook page. Get cards made and give them out to anyone who expresses an interest in your work. Have a website for people to land on with information about you and a link to your etsy spot. Get out and sell in the real world. You will make more follow up sales on Etsy from clients who you have met in real time. Use paypal shipping tools to print out shipping labels. It saves time. Post items daily for exposure. Communicate with your customers and keep them informed about when they will get their order. Use their names in the convos.
Etsy has been really good for my business. Just keep at it. My really talented friends who have not made Etsy work for them posted three items and gave up. I started with five and kept adding. Tend it daily like a garden she will grow for you.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I read the featured seller section. I buy pieces from other artists that I am in treasuries with. I like the gossip and the info on the forums. I buy showcase spots when I can get one. I wish someone would come up with a way to affordably track international packages.
How do you promote your work?
I give out cards all the time. It links to my website which I think is necessary for credibility. I also sell my work on the street in NYC. It's risky and you can get arrested. Still I have made some of my best contacts and have been featured in more blogs from being out in the world than hiding in my comfy shop. I also just love street selling.
In ten years I'd like to be...
I'd like to be teaching my child a craft or maybe learning a new move from my kid. I'd also like to have a studio on a beach. |
