Press Packets, part deux

Here's the second part of the press release info. (I know, you've been waiting with bated breath, right?) My prior post was on how to write a press release; this post will tell you how to put together a press packet :)

Anatomy of a Press Kit

A basic press kit should include the following:

* Your Resume
* Press Release (see my previous blog post on press releases)
* Photocopies of other articles written about you
* Artist's Statement
* Brochures (optional)
* Color and Black & White photographs of your work
* Upcoming appearances list

It should come together in a pocket folder. Do not clip it all together or put it in a regular manila folder! A pocket folder will hold all the information in one neat place and also gives you a cover on which you can be as creative as you want. Make sure you have a label front and center with your business name, real name, telephone numbers, email address, fax number and any other pertinent information you have.

Your resume should be kept to one page if possible, but if more than one page is required, keep the most pertinent information up front including your most recent shows and press.

The Artist's Statement shows your personality in creating your art and will help people understand your process, your inspiration, and serves to educate the public about your work.

Photographs, good photographs, will increase your chances of getting press coverage. You should include both full color and black and white pictures and they should be the very best, crispest photographs that you have. Make sure you caption your photo on the back so in the event that it becomes separated from the rest of your press kit, it can be identified. Include your name, phone number, and short description of the item and use a label for this information. Do not write on, staple, or paper clip photos because this will make them unusable.

So, there you have it. Good luck in putting together your own press packets!

How to write a Press Release

Starting today, I'll be offering some tidbits and info about growing your business. The first topic up is on how to write a good press release. I hope some of you will find it beneficial and will give you the push you need to toot your horns a little! Toot! Toot!


A Press Release should include your company's name, your name as the contact person, address, telephone number, website and email address. It should be typed or printed with a good quality printer and double-spaced.

A press release shouldn't be written like advertising copy as filling it with fluff or unnecessary information will make it difficult to get your real message across.

The headline should get the point of the release across in a direct manner and stand out from the body copy. It must summarize the whole release and be attention-grabbing.

Your lead paragraph should get right to the point and answer the five important questons: Who, What, When, Where and Why in a brief and interesting way.

Editors appreciate getting to the facts asap, so write your press release as clearly and consisely as possible. The rest of your information belongs in the remainder of your press release. So, you're putting your most important info at the top and the rest tapers down. Sometimes only the first paragraph will make it into print, so get your important info in there! If there's not room for the entire piece, it's the bottom that will be cut. When the body of your press release is finished, use ### at the bottom to signify the end of the release.

Resource Suggestions: Create a list of key media contacts in your city or town. Possibilities include your local newspaper (home or lifestyle reporter or arts editor) and business publications (chamber of commerce might have someone who covers local artists and entrepreneurs). Word it to meet their particular needs and give them something interesting that will catch their attention.

SAMPLE GENERIC PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: (insert your own name)
Phone: (insert your phone number)
email: (insert your email)
Fax: (insert your fax)
Address: (insert your address)
(insert your City, State, Zip)

Dee Tilotta offers Fused Glass Cabochons to Jewelry Designers

October 1, 2008, Johnsonville, NY - Dee Tilotta, a local glass artist living and working in Rensselaer County, New York, announces her newest line of fused glass cabochons for jewelry designers to use in their work. A cabochon, or "cab", is a flat-backed piece of glass with no hole or channel that is used in jewelry making.

An Open House will be held at the artist's studio at (insert place) on (insert date) from (insert times) and the public is invited. Ms. Tilotta's work is made by designing, cutting and layering glass and fusing the layers together in kilns at temperatures up to 1500 degrees, sometimes multiple times depending on the look she is trying to achieve. Her work is kiln annealed (slowly cooled) to give the pieces lasting strength and durability and includes cabochons, finished jewelry pieces, and decorative items for the home and garden.

Ms. Tilotta has a strong art background including 18 years of jewelry design and glass fusing. She studied under Linda Banks at the Brookfield Craft Center in CT and also was a professional ceramics teacher for 10 years prior to her glass and jewelry career. You can view her work through her websites at http://willowglass.com/ and http://willowglass.etsy.com/ and can contact her through her email. She exhibits her work at local art shows and is available for trunk shows and also for teaching. She has a line of designs that are available to wholesale accounts.
###

I love Juice

Gotcha, didn't I? You figured I meant Apple, Orange, or Grape, right? Actually I love all of those juices, but I also love Juice Newton.

The other night we got to see Juice at the Schaghticoke Fair here in upstate New York. It's hard to believe that Juice is in her mid-50's now (and so am I!), but she is as beautiful as ever, both in appearance and vocally. We were lucky enough to nab fourth row seats which were about 20 feet from the stage.

Juice sang tunes that everyone is familiar with from about 30 years ago (ahem) such as Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me, The Sweetest Thing, Break it to me Gently as well as newer songs. She was in fine voice and still can hit (and hold!!!) the high notes. I love women who can really belt out a song, and this was no disappointment.

Rock on, Juice.

There's fungus amongus!

Soooooo ~ we've had so much rain this Summer in the Northeast that when I opened my studio door yesterday, this is what greeted me. Giant mushroom and her twins!

Hey ~ better rain than the coming icy stuff! Enjoy the rest of August.

Fresh from the Garden

Yum. Fresh picked snap peas from our garden. A quick rinse under the garden hose and the overflowing basket was minus more than a few before we went into the house! The ones that made it inside were quick blanched and then frozen for future use.

What's growing in your garden this summer? Ours has snap peas, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, 3 varieties of lettuce and garlic.

The birds also have their own snacks from our giant sunflowers! I love early summer mornings when the bunnies and deer are all over the front lawn grazing. Yes, another day to be grateful for simple pleasures.

Gift after the Rains

We've had so much rain here in the Northeast the last few weeks. With the humidity comes the daily thunderstorms in the afternoons! As long as I'm snug and cozy inside, I love the rain (although if it's a light rain, I do love the feeling of it on my face).

One day I happened to look out the window while firing my kilns and was treated to this beautiful rainbow.

Simple pleasures are the best.

New Work - Grooved Fused Glass Cabochons

New from Willowglass' studio this week are a new line of fused glass cabochons with grooves. Dee has grooved a channel all the way around these cabs which are perfect for wireworkers and jewelry designers to use in their work. Fun times in the studio!

So excited!!!!

Today on the radio show I listen to in the morning (Magic 100.9 in NY's Capital Region), I won a pair of tickets to next week's Gordon Lightfoot concert at Proctors Theatre. It was a "name that tune" question and the song was Lightfoot's "Rainy Day People". I've been a huge fan of Gordon's since the early '70's and his huge hit "Sundown" was actually the only song that my son Chris (who's now 34) would fall asleep too. Odd lullaby, but it worked for him!

Lightfoot's melodic, soulful voice is unmistakable. A modern day troubadour, he has touched the lives of millions of people with his thoughtful, evocative portraits of Canadian life and landscape. He's a musician steeped in the folk tradition, his catalogue of songs, including such classics as Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Sundown and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald have earned him a place in the pantheon of Canadian icons.

I'm so excited!!!

Pantone Challenge for Glass Artists

The Etsy Glass Artists recently had a Creative Challenge to create a piece using the Pantone color forecast for Spring. The Pantone 2008 Spring color palette includes Golden Olive, Spring Crocus, Rococco Red, Pink Mist, Croissant, Freesia, Cantaloupe, Daiquiri Green, Snorkel Blue and Silver Grey. http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2007/Pantone-Fashion-Color-Report-Spring-2008.html

Here are some fused glass cabochons using Pantone's palette of Snorkel Blue and Silver Grey, a pair of earrings using Pink Mist and a pendant using with Cantaloupe and Croissant as part of the color mix. I used Bullseye glass to create these glass piece and am happy with the results which are very close to Pantone's!

All available from Willowglass in my Etsy shop!

Still lots of white stuff in the Northeast

There's still quite a bit of snow here in the Northeast, so I thought I'd use it to my advantage and see if I could get some good pictures with it as a backdrop.

The weather is supposed to be warming up a lot today, so I'll have to snap quickly! Luckily these can be taken right outside my studio door, so I'm not tramping a lot of wet snow and mud through the house (nah, I'm not a huge fan of washing floors!)

Sunrise over the Vermont mountains

January 4, 2008. View from my front door facing the mountains of Vermont. Sometimes there's no words to fully describe a moment, so I'll just let you enjoy it with me.

What's on in the Studio today?

Today's pick is Michael McDonald's Ultimate Collection. Who can keep still while listening to Yah Mo B There or Takin' It To The Streets?

This morning while I was driving there was some outstanding music on. I love women who can really belt out a song, and Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud" and Cass Elliott's "Dream a Little Dream" were on the radio on my way home. Beautiful songs. Beautiful women.

Welcome to the Northeast

Fun times this morning up here in North Country. The actual temperature is minus 6 degrees with a windchill of minus 20. Can you say BRRRRR?

The first picture is part of our side lawn. Lawn? Who am I kidding? The second picture is the steps coming up to our front door so I guess no one will be coming in that way any time soon. The third pic is part of our front lawn. Oh where, oh where, have my little dogs gone, oh where, oh where, can they be?

This is actually such a beautiful part of New York for most of the year when I really love it. The winters are hard, though, on both the humans and old furry ones in our house. Some years ago I had some nerve damage to my right hand due to some dog bites (never ever ever ever EVER try to mediate a dog fight), so my fingers are always like popsicles (orange,pineapple,orange,cherry,orange please) in the cold weather.

I had to drive my son to work this morning (he has some developmental disabilities so doesn't drive ....... yet) and at 6:30 a.m. the ice crystals sparkled like diamonds across the driveway. It was still dark out but I attempted to take a picture. My camera's button froze so I couldn't click it - smart camera! Those ice crystals were really incredibly beautiful though. We were plowed out (AGAIN) last evening, so the trek down our long driveway wasn't too bad. Like I said before, fun times!

There's something to be said about forced hibernation. I have 3 kilns on right now with new glass goodies for my Etsy shop. All's well in Willowglass world!

How is it in your part of the world this morning?