Nebraska GROW Artists Sell Acres of Creations at ACRE
HOLBROOK, NEB. (June 13, 2008) - When most people hear the word acre, they think of a measurement of land.
For eight innovative Nebraska artists, ACRE (American Craft Retailers Expo) has an entirely different meaning. To them, it represents an exciting and unique opportunity to reach many different markets outside the state. These GROW Nebraska art members showcased samples of their work for an audience of national wholesale buyers in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 26-28, generating a lot of interest in and orders for their creations from the buyers.
"This particular show was for handmade artists only, so there were really great exhibitors," said Alison Osborne of Ali-O’s Jewelry, who spearheaded the venture.
It also marked the second year that GROW Nebraska artists attended ACRE. In 2007, the Nebraska artists became known as NEWbraska because some wholesale buyers were very surprised and impressed by the artistic creations from the state known better for its farming than its art. "We had more recognition this year from being there last year,"Osborne said.
Benefits were numerous for the GROW Nebraska artists. They learned how a wholesale show works from booth design and product mix to line sheets and order forms. Since GROW Nebraska is a non-profit organization, the group received a booth rate. If this cooperation hadn’t happened, each artist would have had to pay more than $3,000 in booth fees instead of the $380 it cost them to be part of GROW Nebraska’s booth. GROW also paid $1,000 to ship the booth.
All GROW art members are required to attend the ACRE show, said Osborne, which made their booth even more marketable and interesting as far as the variety and type of products displayed. It so happens that each member specializes in a different medium, including jewelry, gifts, sculpture, and copper and brass fountains. Some artists carried samples in their suitcases while others shipped their larger pieces in advance of the show.
To be considered as a GROW Nebraska artist, pieces must be made individually without molds and cannot be mass produced. All artists and their work can be found at www.grownebraska.org. or www.grownebraskaart.org.
