To Guild or Not to Guild

The second reason for heading over to the Carolina Craftsmen Guild show today was also to talk with the artists (always on the last day for those who want to follow my lead) to get a better understanding of how they felt about the weekend's show; one of many determining factors to join the guild.

It seemed that many were disappointed and all were desperate to find out why. Some thought it was because the show was situated in the middle of the flea ground (good point) and surrounded by hobbiests who produce much crap (another good point). It could also be a culmination of slow economy and those who feel they can buy similiar stuff at Target and be just as happy -minus any interesting story they might like to share. Who doesn't like to tell a good story?

Perhaps what I'm reading about micro-boutiques taking over this land is the mark of a new trend. Jeanne had sent me an article a month ago about the Alaskans renovating a train car with art and driving from one small town to the next for exposure and sales. What if a consortium of boutiques approached AmTrak with a similar partnership? Think of the unique business plan to help Indie Designers and a failing business like Amtrak to foster more jobs? Perhaps designers accompany the train from station to station or hire folks to man and cashier their rented space as their full-time jobs?

I know that folks walking past department store doors during their lunches and heading to micro-boutiques give the indie designers an opportunity to share their vision and keep the large dept stores continously striving to keep a unique position.

For now, I'm still waffling at joining a Guild or two, but will continue to support those indie designers and artisans as much as I can afford.