BOMH Goes to Kentucky Crafted Market

Eight juried members of BOMH will travel to Lexington, Kentucky for the 2013 Kentucky Crafted Market. Through a strong relationship forged with the Kentucky Arts Council years ago, BOMH is one of only a few guilds to receive a special invitation to showcase fine art and craft at this Kentucky-only event. Former BOMH Executive Director “Mike” Ochonicky coordinates the arrangements for BOMH, keeping BOMH well connected with the Kentucky Arts Council. Other state organizations that have been invited in the past include Ohio (Ohio Designers Guild), West Virginia (Tamarac), Tennessee (TACA), North Carolina (Highlands Art Guild), North Dakota (TRACE)—the invited guilds vary each year.

Kentucky requires that only juried artists may participate (this includes juried studio members). All of the Kentucky artists present are Kentucky Crafted juried members themselves. Kentucky musicians, food producers, and writers will also be present.

For the BOMH artists, flexibility in booth design is most important: the space Kentucky provides is subdivided equally to include as many Missouri artists as possible. Each artist has just 7 ½ feet in width for display area, not the standard 10×10 area as at most shows. We display together in the space as a guild, encouraging customers to visit each Missouri artist in the section. A good sense of humor and the willingness to work in quite close quarters are necessary.  Expenses for booth fees, electricity and carpet rental are divided among the participating BOMH artists, so MAA/BOMH incurs no expense as an organization. Kentucky runs a tight ship (as evidenced by their 9-page Exhibitor Manual) but the show is beautiful. Competitive awards are given to Kentucky artists, so artists strive to put their best foot forward, both in work and in booth design.

Participating BOMH artists this year are: Kathryn Leventhal-Arnold, Stacy Benish/Janet Weilbrunner, Nancy Clark, Dodie Eisenhaur, Kay Foley, Theresa Gallup, Pat and Tom Hooper, and “Mike” Ochonicky.

The Market will run March 1-3, with setup on February 28 at the Lexington Convention Center. March 1 will be open to wholesale buyers only. Each artist must have a wholesale line of work and take orders for work to be made and shipped later during the year. March 2-3 are open to the public.

BOMH never knows from year to year if Kentucky will extend an invitation and, if they do, we never know how much space we will be provided, as the Kentucky Arts Council is dependent upon its state funding and approval. A sign-up sheet for those BOMH juried members interested in the Market will be at the ArtSmart Conference. When Kentucky sends the invitation (usually in late October), returning artists are contacted, given first opportunity to return, with new artists filling the remaining spots. Payment of fees is due at that time. If a returning artist has participated three years in a row, we ask that person to drop to the bottom of the wait list (unless the spaces cannot be filled with other artists). A wait list with artists (in the order they respond) is kept and (as this year) if a BOMH artist is unable to participate, artists on the wait list are then contacted to fill late vacancies. As noted, BOMH never knows how much space Kentucky may allot, so the number of artists who can be accommodated varies.

If you are interested in the Kentucky Crafted Market (if we are invited!) for 2014, please look for the sign up sheet at the ArtSmart Conference and watch for the email Call-for-Artists notice  (usually in late October).