Ushering in a New Year...

Ushering in a new year, even a new decade, can come with challenges. It would seem mine, at least for today, is an internet connection…or rather a lack of one. It has been a long, hard haul getting this issue of the blog to you on the first day of a brand spanking new year. Hard to believe we are starting the second decade of this grand sweep of time. How fast the first decade of the 2000s has swept us along, into the new and unexplored. Here’s hoping for a wonderful new decade to replace the 1st.

As I write this, the first article in the new year, I try to be positive and look at what the year will bring. In doing that I have to take a look behind. In the painting world so much has happened in the last decade. We have lost painting friends we cherish and quite a few of the painting venues and vendors whom we loved. What we need to remember is how they all helped build the painting world we still love.

No one knows what the future brings but if we value and learn from the past, we can guide the future in a positive direction. It would seem that we will have fewer conventions and shows then we have ever had. We need to support those that remain and encourage attendance. If we can’t attend, then be sure to let others know of their existence so perhaps they can go. Another way of support is to utilize those websites run by the designers and vendors in our industry. There are many who can’t attend the conventions to set up but still offer their wares via their websites and social media. This brings me to brick & mortar stores, sadly they too are less and less. The day of the mom & pop style arts & crafts stores are coming to an end. More and more of the smaller, independent run shops are no longer there, sold out to a larger concern, not always for the best. If you have an independent in your area, support them. You get something there that you will not find with the bigger stores and that is customer service that shines. The same holds true with the smaller online sites where the work comes from the heart and a love of painting.

I would ask of you all, to be patient and kind when dealing with smaller sites and stores. Quite often it is a one ‘man’ crew, sometimes two, running the show and doing the work of many.

So, for the new year, here is a hope for a rise in the world of decorative painting. Share what you know, learn what you don’t and encourage what you can!

Happy New Year!