At the beginning of the month I attended my first show of 2017 at the RHS Flower Show in Malvern. 2016 saw me attend a great number of shows over the course of an intense few summer months and, whilst they were worth it financially, it was incredibly draining doing so many so close together and on my own. This year I resolved to do a similar number of shows but space them out a little bit more. Being from Newcastle normally means I'm miles away from all of them so it is nice to have at least a week on familiar turf before hitting the road again.
RHS Malvern was a new one for me and I was unsure of what to expect. RHS Tatton Park last year had been lovely and the beautiful gardens, flowers and sculptures had left me feeling quite green fingered. I decided to therefore use Tatton as a benchmark and try and be open minded. I was aware I hadn't done a show in the Malvern region so if nothing else it would be nice to meet new people and potential customers. In a word the show was fabulous.
As a Geordie I am used to a friendly, community atmosphere and I am aware I am a bit of a chatterbox. The people attending the show were more than happy to oblige my conversational needs and seemed genuinely interested in asking me about my work which, for me is the best bit.
Obviously it would be a lie to say that there needs to be a financial gain at the shows otherwise I wouldn't be a very good businesswomen, but I thoroughly enjoyed meeting people and talking about splats, boxing hares, how my mugs are made and other aspects of my creative process. Lots of paintings have gone to new homes and I am already looking forward to next year and seeing some of the customers and traders I met at the event.
Next up for me is Artfest at Newcastle monument this weekend but my travelling shows will include:
Alnmouth Arts Festival
RHS Tatton Park
Skipton Art in the Pen
Burghley Horse Trials
I hope to see some of you at these shows and if you can't come and say hello as always I have everything on my website.
Best wishes, Jina
