Spring Members’ Show Application

Why Online?

This year, the Spring Members’ Show is going to look different. Muskoka Arts & Crafts’ first and foremost priority continues to be for the safety and health of our artists, volunteers, customers, service providers, staff and community. In light of the state of the current and ever-changing global pandemic, this year’s Spring Members’ Show is moving online to Muskoka Arts & Crafts’ newly redesigned website that enables customers to view the show and shop online from the comfort of their home.

Dates

The 44th Annual Spring Members’ Show will go live on Saturday, March 27 at 10am and continue for three weeks until Saturday, April 17 at 5pm.

Deadline

The deadline to apply for the Spring Members’ Show is Tuesday, March 2. Late applications will be considered, however, while every effort will be made to post your work prior to the show going live, depending on the work load, this may not be possible but your products will be posted as time permits.

Costs

The cost to participate in the online Spring Members’ Show is $35 plus HST if you apply on or before Tuesday, March 2. For applications received after Tuesday, March 2, the fee is $50 plus HST. For all work sold, a commission of 10% plus a transaction fee of 2.9% will be charged. Payment for work sold will be issued within ten business days of the closing of the show. Please note show fees are non-refundable due to the low show fees which will be applied to the cost of print and social media advertising.

In April of 2020, when the organization had to shift its in-person events online, the commission rate was changed from 20% to 10%. This reduction in commission was our immediate response to express our appreciation, support and acknowledgment of our artists who have worked so hard to provide in person show experiences for our community that must now be adapted to an online experience. Commission fees will be reviewed and adjusted when we are able to return to in-person shows.

Number of Submissions

As with the in-person show, members can submit up to three products. While no variants are possible, two supporting images for each product will be available in order to show the product from different angles or to show details you may wish to highlight to the attention of your customer.

In addition to providing the title, medium, size (width by height by depth) and price for each product, you can also include a carefully crafted written description (maximum 150 words) about the product that informs the customer about its making or its backstory and entices the customer to click his or her mouse and make that special purchase.

While you are encouraged to have your work for sale, only one product that is not for sale can be submitted.

Criteria

The Spring Members’ Show is open to all members in good standing. The reputation of the show has been built on presenting quality and original handmade work. Your application will be accepted based on the following criteria:

• The design of an article must be your original idea or a skillful rendering of a traditional or classic design.
• You must be the designer and maker of the work represented by your application.
• Ready-made components are acceptable only where their importance is subordinate to the skill and design contributed by you, the maker, and where their use is clearly appropriate to the nature and design of the work. Articles made from molds are acceptable only where the mold is the design and product by you or where the mold is subordinate to your creativity.
• When licensed copyright images from a third party are used, a copy of the permission agreement must accompany your application.
• Ceramics from commercial molds, kit work, food or mass-produced articles are ineligible and cannot be displayed or sold in the show. Any articles in any media using a commercial kit or commercially available plans or patterns are disqualified.

Acceptance will also take into consideration the quality of your images. See below for more information.

Images

Images of your work are your most valuable marketing tool. Images should be of professional quality: in focus, evenly lit, have a neutral background or an artistically attractive vignette and no reflections for example. The product should be the only focus of the image (writing, price stickers or business cards should not be shown). Only one product can be shown in each image, unless it is a set, for example a necklace and earrings, a teapot with mugs, etc.

You may have up to three products. For each product, you must submit one main image and you may submit two additional supporting images to show the product from different angles or close-up details.

The file name for each image should conform to the following format: for example, Product 1. The file names for the supporting images would be Product 1a, Product 1b. This format must be followed for the second and third products.

Images must be a minimum of 800 pixels wide or high at 72dpi and saved as a jpg with a maximum size of 5MB.

Shipping, Curbside Pickup, Delivery

When a customer purchases your art, Muskoka Arts & Crafts will contact you to let you know which product he or she has purchased. You will be given their contact information so that you can arrange shipping (at the customer’s expense), a curbside pickup or delivery within Muskoka. For each product, please state whether you provide shipping, curbside pickup or delivery within Muskoka. Please note, that for orders that are shipped, you will collect the costs directly from the customer.

Customer Privacy

By signing your application, you agree to protect the privacy of the customer information given to you in compliance with Canada’s privacy laws and regulations.

Notification of Acceptance

You will be notified, by email, of the status of your application on or before Friday, March 5. Once you are notified of your acceptance, you must pay your show fees within three business days. You can pay online, by telephone or cheque.

Show Promotion

As a participating artist, you are asked to help spread the word about the Spring Members’ Show. While likes and comments as well as posts you write are wonderful, sharing a post is a much more forceful action, pushing the post out to your friends and followers in a manner which says, “You must read this! I totally agree with what this post is saying.” The more you engage on social media about the Spring Members’ Show, the more we can reach out to involve a greater number of friends and followers and the more we can spread the word about the sensational art that you and others are making here in Muskoka. Sharing a post only takes a second and it makes a huge difference. And, in the process, you just might just gain new customers and make some sales.

To Apply

To complete the easy-to-use online application, please scroll down.

The deadline to apply is Tuesday, March 2.

If you have any questions, please contact Muskoka Arts & Crafts.