When asked about the arts, what comes to mind?
Do you think of dance, music, or paintings?
Or rather Studio 2880, the PGSO, or Theatre NorthWest?
Perhaps you see the arts as unimportant, frivolous, or extra?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the arts as a group of activities done by people with skill and imagination.
Skill and imagination.
I believe these two qualities of art are fundamental for a small business.
As Christmas approaches, we explore Studio Fair and our local craft fairs, such as those held at St. Mary’s, Duchess Park, and Kelly Road.
In greater numbers than ever this year, we choose to shop local, walking through the displays and exhibits showcasing handcrafted mugs, bowls, and plates in either kilned pottery or carved wood.
We are dazzled by artisan jewelry and seasonal decorations.
Strolling past knitted scarves and sweaters, one can’t help but reach out and touch them.
It's an amazing showcase of skill and imagination.
We all have a hobby that piques our interest and consumes our free time.
The lady who enjoys knitting.
A teenager exploring candle making.
That couple who spends their free time throwing pottery.
The single parent baking cakes and cupcakes and then decorating them with dioramas or characters.
A retiree who enjoys shaping wood on a lathe.
For a small group, however, it becomes something more.
Perhaps it’s the encouragement from a spouse or friend that others would appreciate their work.
For some it is the simple need to find a way to help pay for groceries or purchase a few extra Christmas gifts.
It is in that moment: a rare entrepreneurial spirit is born.
It’s not an easy process.
There are calculations to be made.
Itemizing the costs of materials and supplies, determining how much time goes into each item, and quantifying the value of your time.
Trying to figure out how to accept Visa and debit payments while finding where to purchase shopping bags from.
Then, taking that final step and committing to a space at the next event where your hobby will finally be for sale.
The nervousness as the doors open and people begin to stroll by.
So many people but will they stop?
Will they buy my work?
Can I make enough to pay for the space I have rented?
Then, after the doors close, looking at all the money from your sales and thinking, “Wow, I’m rich!”
Then the math.
Deducting the rental of the space for the weekend, debit and credit card fees, and the cost of supplies.
Then there is the time it took to make everything, and then selling it, not to mention the hours setting up and taking down their display.
Once it’s all factored in, often they have made less than minimum wage.
Yet, a smile starts to emerge.
Their hobby has just turned into a side hustle; and their thoughts dance at the possibilities of where it will lead.
The arts.
Skill and imagination.
Every time I walk through Studio Fair or a school craft fair, I am inspired and grateful that our city has a rich source of those rare individuals - entrepreneurs.
I wish them all the very best.
It’s an exciting path to travel.
Cameron Stolz is a Prince George writer.
