It's official -- we're closing the doors at Bell'Arte this month and while I'm sad to do so, I'm also somewhat relieved. Having a "retail" outlet is like having a piece of you out there, constantly nagging for you to pay more attention to it while restricting the creative flow (at least for this artist!). I tried it for 3 years and met a lot of fabulous folks; sold a lot of art I wouldn't have sold locally; and made a lot of friends in the art community. Now it's time to pursue some other avenues that I've wanted to do but haven't had the time or the extra income to do. I've got a gallery in Laguna Beach that wants to show some of my work, and before I make the final decision I want to take a trip down there to see if it's truly the right venue for my art. I have the licensing contract with
All My Walls in place and they finally have some of my works featured on their website. I've been in contact with two art consultants about my glass art and paintings, and I also want to start wholesaling my fused glass Christmas ornaments that I've designed and sold for the past 12 years to other retail outlets.
So there is lots to do and truthfully, I have not taken the time to properly follow up on all of these avenues because of my commitments to the studio. The extra $400 a month rent that I was spending will allow me to better position my site on the internet and free up some time that I can now spend in my home studio or take workshops with.
They say when a door closes, another one opens and I'm excited to see what will be behind that new door. Stay tuned -- I have a feeling there's some big news right around the corner!!!
