I recently heard this on NPR ... credit card companies have determined that people who buy premium wild bird seed are the least likely to default on their debts. (On the other end of the scale, people who buy chrome car accessories are the most likely to default on their debts.) I betcha if handmade pottery was sold with trackable barcodes, credit analysts would see that it is very similar to premium wild bird seed. It's something you buy without obligation. It's humble not flashy, though less expensive choices exist. The value comes from daily small pleasures, not from showing off to your neighbors. People like this are probably not living on the edge financially, and more likely to be weathering this recession safely. Which might explain why I just had my record best show ever at Artscape Baltimore this past weekend.
It also helped that the weather was premium too, not the usual mid-atlantic July haze, but sunny and cool and clear. I also had some very entertaining street theatre performances right next to my booth, which made for a big and happy crowd nearby. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed myself, my pots were a big hit, I saw a lot of friends, I was entertained, I got a tan, all without sweating myself into a puddle.
There was one bad thing ... about $150 worth of things were stolen from my booth. My next door neighbor had some artwork and his iPod stolen. Probably by people who buy chrome car accessories. But this is the first theft I've experienced at Artscape, so I don't hold it against the event, but rather the recession.
Here's a photo of me in my nearly empty booth, towards the end of the show (photo taken by Quianna Douglas, one of my pottery students).
