[Ansteorra] fwd: [MR] Artists: a Chance to Merchant at Pennsic

[Stefan li Rous]

I am forwarding this from the Atlantia list because I think it is an  
excellent opportunity for someone who might wish to test their toes in  
the water of SCA merchanting. I don't think I've met Henry Best in  
person, but I've seen his postings on the SCA lists for many years.

Stefan
===========
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:22:14 -0400
From: "Henry Best" <henry at askdoctorbest.com>
To: <atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org>
Subject: [MR] Artists: a Chance to Merchant at Pennsic

If you are an SCA artist and would like a painless and supportive way  
to try
merchanting your art at Pennsic this summer, read on!

Greetings, O SCAdian, however this message reaches you, from Dr Henry  
Best.
If you regularly attend Pennsic, you might know of me from my daily  
advice
column in the Pennsic Independent, "Ask Doctor Best".

The past three Pennsics, I've told fortunes in the back of Sunbaked  
Studios,
Mistress Nonna's Pottery Studio. It's been a great partnership, but  
Nonna is
retiring from active merchanting, and I am stepping up as the new  
manager of
the booth, now renamed to Starlit Studios.

We will be offering some exciting products: consulting divinations  
using a
wide range of period oracular techniques, from astrology to cards, from
palms to i Ching, we will be using any period system we can find and
document which doesn't involve disemboweling animals or nice people.  We
will be performing magic shows in the street and generally having, and
sharing, a jolly time.

Now, this project is, at its heart, more a large scale Arts and Sciences
experiment than a money making venture. Our customers are a critical  
part of
our research into these arts and their nominal payments are part of the
experiment.  And what I'm discovering, as I step up to run the booth, is
that, what with booth registration, liability insurance, tent rental,  
etc,
merchanting at Pennsic is hideously expensive, far beyond anything I can
reasonably expect to make back telling fortunes. In short, if I don't  
change
my business model, I will go broke in one year and be forced to shut  
my arts
project down.

And so, to keep my project alive, I am offering retail space in my  
booth, on
a year to year basis.  My vision is that, as I run a personal consulting
service in back, my front waiting room will be filled with incredible  
art
created by our fellow SCAdians, and the art will be for sale. If you  
are an
SCA artisan, and you've ever considered merchanting at Pennsic, for a  
market
of some 12,000 people, I am offering an open door to you, bypassing the
massive cash and administrative investment (and time spent on a near
infinite waiting list) that it would normally take for you to attempt  
this.

I will share the actual financial numbers with serious querents, but  
here I
will say that I hope to host six to eight artists, granting each one  
space
for a 5 foot display table at a prime booth along Battle Road, next  
door to
the food court.

These artists can participate under one of two plans:

1)      You pay a flat fee for your space, to help cover the booth's
expenses. You help your fellow merchants man the booth, serving as sales
clerk for everyone's art and as receptionist for the consulting  
business.
With 6-8 artists, you'll probably only need to man the booth for two  
days
out of the war.

2)      You pay a flat fee for your space, as above, but you don't  
help man
the booth. In that case, you also contribute a percent of your  
revenue. This
money goes into a kitty, and is split among those who DO man the booth  
on
your behalf.

So there it is. For the right artists, this is a golden opportunity.  
Because
we are sharing costs, this is an extremely painless way to put your  
art up
for sale at the largest market in the SCA.

Please pass this message along however you wish, and especially  
forward it
to those who make exquisite art, and really deserve a wider audience.   
And
thank you for reading.

Dr Henry Best
Henry at AskDoctorBest.com

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****