Hi Everybody: We have had a nice few days at home this week, doing some yard work (we’ve planted over 15 trees and shrubs), enjoying the family (our granddaughter turned 6 this week, Joni read her to sleep a little while ago), and we even had a chance to take in a Don Felder/Kansas/Styx concert in Cary, NC (the picture is Don Felder and Tommy Shaw of Styx). Joni will be off to Delaware shortly for the June Woodland Retreat and is really looking forward to seeing Denise and friends who will be there.
While at the Stateline Friends convention about a month ago, Steve Zanger used a phrase along the lines of, “just another day in the life of a basket gypsy”. On the way home, Joni and I were talking about it, and I mentioned that I have often heard people in class say that they go to “convention” once a year. These two moments got me to thinking that, while the basket teachers (i.e. Joni) and theIr assistants (i.e. me) see basket people almost every week, the attendees may only see a basket teacher once or twice a year. So, we thought it might be interesting to share a little behind the scenes info on the life of a Basket Gypsy (and yes, credit for the phrase goes to Steve Zanger, I didn’t make it us, although I wish I had).
Whenever we go to a state basket convention or guild basket event, we see many of the same teachers. For the most part we have become friends, or at least very well acquainted. Joni usually spends the first few hours catching up on the news (these are the times when I am trying to unload and set up the booth or class! Just kidding, while Joni CAN talk a blue-streak, she does way-more than her fair share of setting up!).
Some basket teachers teach at only a few events a year, but many are teaching every couple of weeks, year round. Some teach at many basket conventions/events as well as giving weekly classes in their home studios. Many also manage a website where they promote and sell baskets and other goods that they make.
All of us are different and have different schedules, but there are a lot of similarities as well. For all of them, however, they have turned a hobby that they love into a business. And believe me, a business is quite different from a hobby. The trick it to keep it fun, and we all hope that is what you see from us when we teach.
We at Handmade NC Baskets generally start our year the first week of January. We try to have about two events a month, drawn from state conventions, large guild events, Woodland Retreats in NC and DE, and HNCB nantucket Workshops at our Studio in Summerfield, NC. Joni usually has several invitations a year to teach at local guilds, and we fit in as many of them as possible.
This is where the Basket Gypsies come in. For example, a teacher you see in Virginia might have just driven from Missouri or Michigan or even farther for that event, and it’s likely that they taught at a couple of local events on the way, or will teach at another on the way home from that event. These secondary events can be the reason many of us can afford to travel to a far away convention in the first place. Joni and I have left home to travel to several states spanning from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico on the same trip!
This amount of travel calls for a lot of planning and a lot of time away from home and family…..and the rest of the job still needs to get done. While we are traveling, Joni is usually submitting for classes at next year’s events, talking to students for future events, and designing new baskets. Sometimes, she even gets a little time to weave a basket for herself! When we get home from an event, we start the followup from the last event, try to catch up on orders, get kits ready for the next event, and get anything else done that people are waiting on. When we get to November, it is finally time to dial it back a little and take a deep breath. Joni and I stop all travel from the week before Thanksgiving until after New Years.
I assure you that we are not unique. Most of the other teachers have very similar schedules. One thing that has really helped a lot of us to feel at home on the road is to travel in an RV. Take a look in the parking lot of most conventions and you will see a range of Class A busses, Class C’s, Class B camper vans, van conversions, and a whole range of other RV-type vehicles. For Joni and me, our camper van has made the amount of travel we do very enjoyable and more productive. Take a look at the picture below of Joni in her mobile office! It has also allowed us to have some fun getting to the next event.
I hope it has been interesting to hear about the secret life of a basket teacher. It is one that we all enjoy very much. Retiring from my other job and working with Joni full time was one of the best decisions that I have ever made (well, other than asking her out on that first date). It can get very hectic and we have even had one or two “intense discussions”, but it is a wonderful life and we always look forward to the next event.
That’s all for now……Remember (even though it has rained buckets here all week) It’s a beautiful day….don’t let it slip away.
David
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