August 2024 Newsletter | Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen

President’s Message:

With the Kutztown Folk Festival being all packed up and away for another year, I am back in the shop working on my craft. Can’t believe it is August already but the hot and humid temperatures confirm…..it is August in Pennsylvania.

Our Board of Directors’s meeting had a long meeting and we updated all the job descriptions. That was an evening’s work in itself and then we had our regular board meeting. Amy Langman, who recently was appointed as temporary assistant program chair person for the remainder of this year before assuming the program chair in 2025, is asking if anyone would be interested in helping find some new and exciting programs for our meetings. Please feel free to respond to this request. Looking ahead, there will be more requests for some new Board members. We rely on our members to use their talents and abilities to carry on into the future. The more people on board, the better. This is where amazing ideas come from. Working together.

And having fun together as a Guild. That will be happening on Tuesday, August 6, at 6:00 PM at Sly Fox. This has become our regular social event in August; a fun night with our Guild friends.

A couple reminders-Lots of people are signing up for our Holiday Fine Art and Craft Festival on November 2 and November 3. Did you send in your application? You will be glad you did and we will also!!!!

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” Henry Ford

Your President,
Barry L. Bennecoff

PS. Did you renew your membership?

Programs:

Our August meeting (8/6/2024) will be at the Sly Fox in Wyomissing. We will be meeting at 6:00PM out on the deck, weather permitting. Your Guild will be getting pizza appetizers so all you need to do is order a meal and you beverage of choice. Check out their menu on line and also for directions if you need them. There is plenty of parking in back and a ramp for those who don’t want to do steps. Bring along your summertime stories!

(Editor’s note: if you got white space above, It should have been photos of Sly Fox. Looks good on MailChimp but did not show up on my test run.)

Program Chair:
Matt Vardjan

Shows:

Ninety days until our Holiday show is upon us. At this point 45 craftsmen have joined the show, I hope you are one of them, and if not it’s time to send in your application.

A few thoughts for this months note. The first is, make sure you are marking your work so folks can identify who is the maker. Sometimes you can’t sign your work but you could at least mark your packaging and while you are selling, collect the E-mails from your customers. Sharing your shows via e-Mail list is the most positive way to get buyers in to our show to buy.

We spend $20 per each person through the door. Our research shows that the least costly way to get people in the door is if they are invited by you, the craftsmen. If each craftsmen had just five new invited buyers come to our show that would be 350 more folks to see and buy your goods.

A final thought, If you are sending out postcards please stamp them with your name or logo .

Thanks,

Fall Show Application

Show Chair,
Steve Hunter

BCTV:

Beginning in August “Your Berks Craftsmen” will air/stream EVERY WEEK on the same day and time, Wednesday, at 7:00 PM. “Your Berks Craftsmen” will air on Comcast Reading Channel 15, Comcast-Southern Berks Channel 965, Service Electric Channel 19 and stream online 24-7 at www.bctv.org. BCTV streaming is also available on Roku, and on BCTV’s YouTube Channel. You can also go to our website @ rbcrafts.org and watch episodes there.

On Wednesday, August 28, you will see Sally Shanahan, juried member of Reading-Berks Guild, introduce me to the world of theorem and folk art painting. Have your paints and brushes ready! I can’t wait!
Host of “Your Berks Craftsman”,
Kay L. Bennecoff

Social Media:

We need your help promoting our Holiday show on social media! Please share details about the event on your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Your support will help us reach a wider audience and make our show a success!
Facebook holiday show event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1482524359334751/.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readingberksguild/.

Artisan Spotlight
If you are a juried member of the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen, we would like to promote you on our Facebook page with an Artisan Spotlight. The Artisan Spotlight is a post all about you, and can include links to your website or other sites, like Facebook, Etsy, or Instagram. You will also be able to share it on your page. It’s easy, just request a questionnaire or an interview via the following link, and we’ll reach out to you. spotlight@rbcrafts.org

WE NEED YOUR IMAGES – yes, please send them to images@rbcrafts.org.

Thank you for your support!
Social Media Chair:

Lisa Short

Standards:

Next Jury session is Tuesday, September 3rd. Room is open at 5:30 PM. Details of the Jury Process can be found on our website. Please send me your Jury Application before September 3. Standards,

Louise Mehaffey

Membership:

The State Guild website currently shows that there are 154 Reading-Berks Members for our chapter.

Of our members, very few are taking advantage of posting a picture of their work up on the member-directory web site. Some have short phrases about their work, but there is an advantage to having graphics of your work on a web location. It helps people see your excellent work and draws more customers to you.

You see advertisements out there to host web sites and create web pages for your work but on this page, you have a free location to read about and show your work. You can take advantage of this opportunity by using the following steps:

Log into the PACrafts.org website using your ID and password here: https://pacrafts.org/member-login/
Click on the cog wheel under the picture on the right and choose Edit Profile on the drop down box. (The default Crafts-Fair.jpg photo is 1024 x 406 so that is the size of a photo that you will want to replace)
Click on the words “Change your Cover Photo” that shows up in the middle of the picture. Or click on the Keystone round picture to change your Profile picture. (The default size of the profile keystone picture is 512 x 512)
Once you are done, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Update Profile” button.
After you are done, be sure to logout of your account.

There is also a detailed user manual on the web page located here: https://pacrafts.org/members/important-documents/website-user-guide/ and page 4 talks about updating your profile.

Membership Chair,
Gary Rosborough

From the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen:

We invite you to participate and join in our 80^th anniversary celebration. We are hosting an open house- October 4^th-6^th culminating with a fund-raising auction ending on Sunday, October 6^th. The open house is in conjunction with the Lancaster City Artwalk weekend which attracts more visitors to the store.
We are asking for your help. Please consider supporting the event by giving and gathering donated items for the auction.
Here are some suggestions:

· Handmade items

· Artwork

· Sports tickets

· Conducting a group Workshop

· Catered meal

· Chapter “Basket” of items as a chapter challenge.

· Gift cards

Any items that may peak a bidder’s desire to “want that item”

All donated items must be delivered to the Guild office no later than August 31st along with the attached donated item description form. The auction will begin September 17^th and will close at 5 PM on October 6th.
If you have any questions or to obtain a donation form, contact Bob Antonishak at raa108@yahoo.com.

Thank you in advance for helping make our 80^th Anniversary a success. Mark your calendars to attend the October weekend open house and join in the auction bidding. The open house is a public event. We are planning workshops, demonstrations, Guild memorabilia displays, artists, and refreshments.

Thank You,
The 80th Anniversary Committee

Events:

General Meetings: (1st Tuesday of Month)

August 6: Meeting is being held at Sly Fox (see Programs above)
September 3: Goggle Works, see board for room number

Shows:

Holiday Show: November 2nd and 3rd

Newsletter:

Changing your e-mail address, please make sure that I get the new address, Send it to info@rbcrafts.org and have the subject line NEW E-mail address!

Would like to put something in the Newsletter? Contact me at info@rbcrafts.org
Newsletter Editor,
Sandra Jones

Our mailing address is:

Reading Berks Guild of Craftsmen

P. O. Box 85

Mohnton, PA 19540

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