Makers

Southwestness publisher/editor Samatha Anne Carrillo shares the worldview and inspirations that drive her work: “In the real world, facts exist and science is real. … Since Southwestness is my own site, I have the freedom to report on our corner of the world based on my own perception of the world. There’s no question that this perception is still evolving and thank goodness for that!”

If you are new to craft shows, or even if you have been doing it a while, consider these elements to help improve your displays.

All I wanted to do was make a cigar box-style guitar, and in this town there were no cigar boxes to be found. The next best box to find for free were the torobako, the crates used to ship sanma from northern Japan to southern ports.

It is a both an opportunity and a personal commitment to use my place as an artist to make art that is both visually pleasing while telling important stories about my cultural experience as a Chicana, as an environmental feminist, and as a member of the human race. My existence is my resistance.

Far too often in this country we throw things away that would still be wanted by someone else. Everything from perfectly edible food which places like Whole Foods throw away because the bananas are “a little too yellow” to the unwanted pets that get thrown away by fools who get a dog without wanting the responsibility of its care.

The question you’re wrestling with—whether the purchase of a copyrighted item permits you to use the item as part of another product—has come up several times in court cases.

The general rule is that you can keep and dispose of property once it has been deposited in a trash receptacle from which routine collections are made (and once the person throwing it away has left the area).

Iʼm pretty sure this is the freelancerʼs life. Unless youʼre truly gifted—I mean frighteningly, what-you-touch-turns-to-money gifted—youʼre probably throwing anything at the wall and praying it sticks.

Scope out the fair beforehand to see if your items would fit in there, and to see if the event itself is well attended. And where exactly is it? Is it easily accessible to the public and well marketed? You don’t want to end up sitting in a back parking lot of a strip mall somewhere where you are unseen and no one browses the tents.

Although it’s a long list, it can be just a starting point for you. You can tailor this to whatever you find you need over time or depending on what exactly you are selling, be it clothing, jewelry or art.

Let yourself be weird. In the beginning I would censor my work that I thought other people might not get. They might not appreciate the humor of it or whatever. Now, those are my best-sellers.

Among the many things stolen were my wife’s unique pieces of jewelry. I quickly made her a necklace and earrings based on some ideas I had, which led to compliments and questions about where people could buy some for themselves.

Having located my cruelty-free ostrich feathers, I not only had to, but sincerely wanted to make the fans by hand.

Here is some background on how these intellectual property decisions are made by doll companies.