Friends Don’t Let Friends Take Arts: Still True?
Last Updated October 25th, 2005
Ted Kritsonis

No longer the domain of grandparents, retirees, and bored homemakers, skilled artisans and craftspeople are in hot demand as handcrafted and one-of-a-kind items experience a huge resurgence in popularity.

There is an old joke in colleges and universities: ‘Friends don’t let friends take Arts’, implying that an education in the arts is not a smart career path. These days, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Everything from quilting to needlepoint to metalworking is cool again, attracting a much younger audience of teens and young adults. This resurgence in everything handcrafted is being fuelled in part by the rise of eBay, giving artists an international platform to shop their wares, and retail initiatives such as Ten Thousand Villages and The General Store which sell goods on consignment or at fair trade from domestic and international sources. There are also numerous design and makeover programs that focus on vintage items and refinishing what you already have. This may well be remembered as the Martha Stewart era.

Earning a decent living in the arts and crafts arena has traditionally been a challenge, but for those with creativity, talent, and an entrepreneurial spirit the prospects have never been better. New technologies are opening up new markets and giving unprecedented exposure to what has largely been a local or regional cottage industry.

Erica and Marlene
Erica Gordon, a blacksmith, knows this all too well. After founding Steel Toe Studios, she began to create attractive and practical belt buckles using various metals. These have become so popular that she now sells them at various fairs, retail outlets and through her Web site, www.steeltoestudios.com.

Then there are entrepreneurs like fellow crafter Marlene Wong-Doutaz, who buys old cigar boxes on eBay and fashions them into one-of-kind purses. She can buy the boxes for small amounts and after putting her own artistic touch to them, she can sell them for up to $250.

Trendy, must-have accessories such as Uggs boots, faux-fur lined mitts, vintage-style T-shirts, and the latest extravagance: LED belt buckles that can scroll 256-character messages in 4 versions, were all created by people with a unique idea and a little initiative. Many are environmentally-friendly ideas that reuse or recycle scrapped goods. One small Canadian company has found a niche reclaiming used tire treads and converting them into fashionable sandals, shoes, handbags, and laptop cases.

Sales of unique or handcrafted items are up all around. Arts and crafts retailer Ten Thousand Villages reports that sales are up at all 42 of its locations around the country, grossing revenues of $8.3 million in 2004. They expect to reach $10 million in 2005.

Meanwhile, Lush and The Body Shop, created by artisans who thought they could make a more natural, healthy, and appealing product than what was available on the market, have both been a haven for those that love to create cosmetics. Sales have risen to 4 times what they were in 2000.

Kootenay School of the Arts: Specialize in  Craft
Most artists and crafters like Erica and Marlene will say that they love working with their hands, and that’s no exception at Kootenay School of the Arts  (KSA) where students can learn to earn a living doing just that.

Nestled between beautiful Kootenay Lake and the Selkirk Mountains, KSA offers a 2-year diploma, and a series of courses and workshops for those looking to upgrade and/or enhance their education and skills in 4 craft studios.  Though most students in these courses and workshops are older, the school enthusiastically welcomes younger students that want to pursue a career in the arts or just develop their artistic abilities for personal interest.

Reflecting  KSA’s diverse student body, courses and workshops are highly flexible and many are offered on evenings and weekends, ranging from 4 to 9 weeks.

Learn how to mold clay into beautiful pottery, construct jewelry and work with semi-precious stones, and create classic dollhouses out of wood. This is only scratching the surface of the intensive and fun-filled environment KSA has to offer. Whether you want to just try out a new hobby or hone your skills as a serious artisan or craftsperson, the school prides itself on a strong level of support for every student.

KSA offers a series of continuing education courses in clay, fiber, metal, jewelry and drawing and design.

In particular, the series of Drawing, Design and Painting courses and workshops cover a variety of artistic forms using different tools. For instance, there’s a watercolour component followed by a course on working with inks, as well as sessions on drawing for realism and the basics of colour theory. And in each course, a bulk of the time in every weekly class will be spent on practical work, with an emphasis on individual instruction.

Other modules like Designing Small Environments help students learn the basics of creating vibrant exhibits, retail spaces and displays, while Pure Design is a course that helps students apply form, space and proportion to all work together in artistic compositions. In addition to developing a student’s artistic abilities, KASC is also recognized for putting a focus on the business aspect of a career in the arts.

If you’re a creative person and want to expand on your skills as an artist or craftsperson, KSA is a great fit. Find your niche in the global village. Kootenay School of the Arts’ idyllic campus setting and experienced instructors go a long way in helping you achieve success.

Kootenay School of the Arts is dedicated to graduating students who will be able to make a living through their professions in art, craft and design.

The practical application of creativity, skill, and business prepares our students for the competitive cultural marketplace.

Kootenay School of the Arts
606 Victoria Street
Nelson,  British Columbia  
V1L 4K9
Canada

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