Interview with Kerri of FOXY Fusions, Glass Jewelry Artist

Today we are pleased to introduce Kerri Lawnsby of FOXY Fusions, an incredible glass jewelry artist.  We instantly became fans of Kerri's beautiful work and you will too with just one look.  She is inspiring and talented and we hope you enjoy her interview with us today.

Meylah: Tell us a little about yourself & your passion for fused glass.
Kerri: Many people ask "What is life without music?" I have always wondered, "What would life be without color?" I love color most of all. My love for color is what made me seek painting as an undergraduate at Smith College in Northampton, MA. I painted and was a pastel artist for over 13 years. When I moved to Austin, Texas five years ago, I decided I wanted to try something new. I was immediately drawn to glass because of its capacity for intense color. You can find any color you ever dreamed of in glass. And what I love about fused glass is that you can combine all kinds of glass together to make striking designs by harmonizing or contrasting color.

Meylah: How did you get started making fused glass jewelry?
Kerri: I have always admired glass art from afar, and my family frequently bought me glass jewelry for presents. When I moved to Austin, it turned out that there was this huge community of "glass heads" who did lampworking and fused glass. I took a class in fused glass because it seemed to suit my sensibilities: I like to plan my artwork and control its outcome, and I'm a bit impatient. Naturally, my first inclination was to try expressing myself through glass by making my own fused glass jewelry. After I had about a truckload of fused glass jewelry, my husband encouraged me to do something with it...knowing how impulsive and compulsive I am, I think he predicted the glass jewelry would take over! So I started FOXY Fusions and began selling my fused glass jewelry at craft shows in Austin. I've extended my line to include personal accessories like belt buckles and card cases as well.

Meylah: What advice would you give to someone wanting to learn the art of fused glass?
Kerri: Find a local glass crafts center and take a class. Hands-on learning is the only way to start off with fused glass. There are many safety issues when working with fused glass that you need to be taught, and learning even the basics--like cutting glass--really requires hands-on instruction. Plus you'll need access to a kiln and grinder and other glass tools that can be expensive to acquire. Once you have the basic skills, you can easily experiment on your own. The possibilities are endless!

Meylah: How long have you been selling your work?  Are the majority of your sales from online or offline sales?
Kerri: I started selling FOXY Fusions in 2006 at small craft shows in the Austin area, and gradually started branching out to other cities and states over the years. This year I'll be traveling to art/craft shows in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, Las Vegas, and potentially Oklahoma. Most of my shows are in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. I try to stay within a days drive of home because I have two sons (7 and 10) and I want to be close in case of emergency.

The majority of my sales come from craft shows. People like to meet the artist, talk with you, feel your passion, discover your "cult of personality". The artist makes the sale. Sales is a relationship. People want to feel special, and what makes them feel special is the story they can tell about meeting the artist who made their jewelry. Creating something that makes another person feel special is what it is all about. My website serves well to attract future craft show sales, and sales to people who have already met me at a show.

Meylah: In addition to your website, you use Facebook and Twitter as avenues to share your work with the public.  How has social media impacted your business?
Kerri: I use my FOXY Fusions Facebook fan page to keep in contact with the people who love my fused glass designs, and to expose more people to my designs. I advertise on Facebook to attract people to become fans. Once they are fans, I try to use my blog posts and regular Facebook posts to communicate my "cult of personality", share new designs, and involve people in the creative process. I'll ask for feedback on new designs, share successes, and offer promotions via Facebook. Twitter is automated so that every Facebook post shows up on Twitter. This way, I service two different ways people like to receive information at once. I love social media because I can see the people who like my product.

When I do Google Adwords, I don't ever see the actual people who clicked my ad to go to my website. But with Facebook, when people become fans of FOXY Fusions, I see exactly who they are, and I can establish an ongoing dialog with them via my fan page posts that involves them in FOXY Fusions. Facebook allows me to establish a lengthy relationship with my fans, and gives me opportunities to "touch" them with messages. Remember: sales is a relationship. On average, it takes people 27 messages from your business before they buy....and that's if they're *really* interested (from Guerrilla Marketing Online).  I have been doing the fan page since August, and now have over 1000 fans.

Meylah: You mentioned that you participate in many art and craft shows…how do you manage your inventory between your online store and offline events?
Kerri: Managing inventory between my Etsy shop and my craft shows is an issue. People that shop on Etsy expect to be purchasing *exactly* the item they see in the picture. This is a challenge for me because I don't just set aside inventory because it's on Etsy; I bring everything to my craft shows because you never know what will sell, and I'm all about making the sale. On my website I make it clear that the customer is purchasing a design, for example, FOXY Circle #1. If the item does not look very similar to the photograph on my website, I email the customer pictures of available inventory for them to make a choice. Generally, this works for me and customers are happy with the product they receive.  Etsy sales have not been great for me and I'm convinced it's this issue of that buyer wanting *exactly* the piece they see online. One thing I'm doing is switching my dichroic glass to standard colors so that the variability between different pieces in the same design is diminished. But with handcrafted fused glass, every single piece is unique...there's no way of getting around that. So I don't know that I'll ever be able to make the Etsy person truly happy.

Meylah: What do you do when you’re not making fused glass jewelry?
Kerri: The old adage that every artist has a day job is really true for most of us, and it's true for me. I've been a technical and marketing consultant for high tech for about 20 years. Being a consultant offers me a great deal of flexibility to make my own schedule that allows time to create fused glass and sell it on the weekends. Having this extra source of income allows me to take a lot of chances with my fused glass business because my family is not dependent upon its income. When I do well we all smile, and when there is a slow economy we just wait it out and keep on truckin'. I take a long view with my fused glass; it is my retirement career. I'm slowly building it over the next 10-15 years until it gains enough steam that it can support the lifestyle to which I'm accustomed.

Meylah:  Thank you Kerri for such fantastic information and insight into your work!  We truly enjoyed our interview with you and wish you all the best...your work is absolutely beautiful!