Promotional rummagings

I've been sorting through a lot of my old files and photos from when I first set up Ruth Gordon Jewellery in May 2004 and it has been a real eye opener! I have found a lot of newspaper clippings, gallery leaflets and promotional cards from my early exhibitions. Back then I kept everything! If something mentioned my name with regards to an exhibition I kept it, scanned it in and made four hard copies of it!

I haven't had a solo show in a few years now so who knows how I will react when it happens again!

The first time I was in a newspaper article I had no idea it was happening until my mum opened the paper that morning and saw my work pictured. It was in the Courier and Advertiser in Autumn 2006 and the article was promoting Braveart, an exhibition I had been chosen to participate in with some of my fellow Scottish Art College graduates.

I haven't been able to attend most of my exhbitions in person as it would be too far to travel but at more local shows I always made sure I was at the opening/preview evening and bought the local papers!

I was very impressed with the amount of coverage I got from the Crawford Arts Centre (Now Fife Contemporary Art and Craft). I was in the visitors guide, had a showcase exhibition, I was featured on leaflets. I even cut out the listing in Artworks! I like I said before I kept everything!

Another Exhibition I received great coverage from was the Spring Exhibition at Panik Gallery in Killearn near Glasgow. The gallery was newly opened and was still getting lots of press due to this so there were several articles in different local papers and magazines about the show I was involved in. The biggest excitement came when I was featured on the front of the invitation/promotional card and when we got to Killearn there was a sandwich board with a huge picture of one of my bangles to direct people to the gallery.

The Press and Post. March 2005

Concept for Living. March 2005

Killearn Courier. March 2005

Uptown. April 2005

Maybe my favourite exhibition for promotional surprises has been 'gifted' at the National Museum of Scotland which I took part in during Christmas 2006 and 2007. Each exhibitor had their own promotional postcards produced by the NMS for visitors to take away but I was also featured on the main promotional leaflet which was great exposure.

It was both inspirational and self indulgent to have a few hours to go through these files and cuttings. I remember in the first few years of business it was the most exciting thing to have press coverage of any amount. No matter how small and seemingly insignificant the press was it made your day and sales were often an afterthought or a bonus! Now I feel like I am getting greedy, I would like both press coverage and sales. After all the two do go hand in hand.

Just after I had written this post I checked my emails and found out that my Silver and Cold Enamel brooch had been featured in a Folksy Newsletter. I literally squealed!

 Folksy Favourites Newsletter

I checked my Google analytics this morning and I had 83 visitors to my Folksy page yesterday after the email was sent. Not a bad result!