Glance Twice

Margaret Glance, owner of Glance Twice jewellery studio/gallery in Apollo Bay, will be one of the fifty exhibitors at the 2012 Festival of Glass.

Margaret was an exhibitor at the inaugural Festival of Glass in 2011 and her success then has led her to return. 'I had a very successful day in terms of sales and afterwards I had lots of follow-up calls and e-mails from people who'd seen me at the Festival' said Margaret.

Margaret's success at the 2011 Festival encouraged her to open her jewellery studio/gallery Glance Twice in Apollo Bay in June 2011. 'I had started fusing and slumping glass to make bowls, platters and vases, then started making glass jewellery for myself and my friends,' said Margaret. 'I had been thinking about opening the business for a while and my success at the Festival of Glass convinced me that I could make a go of it.'

Glance Twice is right on the main street of Apollo Bay above a coffee shop. Visitors can watch Margaret at work and buy her unique, hand-made jewellery as they take in the wonderful ocean views.

Residents and visitors in Apollo Bay can find Glance Twice at Level 1, 57-59 Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay 3233 (E-mail: glancetwice@gmail.com)


Promoting local glass-related businesses
Margaret Glance's success is good news to Festival organisers the Drysdale & Clifton Springs Community Association (DCSCA), because it shows that the Festival can promote local glass-related business and employment. To this end, DCSCA is exploring the idea of holding a meeting soon after the 2012 Festival, to outline various ways in which of local glass artists, craftspeople and businesses could take their present work a step forward. For example, participants with a glass-related hobby could learn how to turn it into a business; participants who are small businesses already could explore different ways to expand; and larger businesses could explore ways to capitalise their resources and experiences through partnerships with other related businesses in the area.

In a related move, DCSCA is asking the City of Greater Geelong to offer small art and craft business on the Bellarine a tailored business support programme including, for example, advice and mentoring, short-term rates relief and assistance to explore new markets. Such a support program could link with the 'Made in Geelong' initiative (which offers small businesses short-term leases on empty shops in central Geelong), enabling small art and craft businesses on the Bellarine - individually or in partnerships - to test their economic viability in a town centre.

Both the post-Festival meeting and the business support program are still discussion points at present, but progress will be reported on this blog.

Building on success!

The 2012 Festival of Glass has attracted well over fifty exhibitors from across the range of glass art, craft and manufacturing, with a month still to go.

The 2012 Festival of Glass happens on Sunday 19 February 2012 between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. at the Bellarine Basketball Stadium, Peninsula Drive, off Anderson's Road, Drysdale (Melway 470 F3). Admission is free. The Festival will feature mosaics, jewellery, glass beads and bead-making, stained glass, sculptures, glazing, slumped glass, ceramics, solar panels, glass etching and sandblasting, leadlighting and displays of historical and collectible glass.

Festival visitors can participate in:
• demonstrations of glass working techniques
• short courses in glass arts and crafts
• a Festival raffle (prizes worth more than $1,500, donated by exhibitors)
• glass-related competitions
• an 'Old Glass Roadshow', where experts assess the value of glass heirlooms.

Certainly bigger - hopefully better
The Festival of Glass is unique in Australia and joins a handful of equivalent events worldwide (e.g. Wanganui, NZ; Houston, USA; Stourbridge, UK). The 2012 Festival builds on the success of last year's inaugural Festival of Glass, which attracted 30 exhibitors and around 6,000 visitors to Drysdale's Potato Shed. That overwhelming response led the Festival committee to move the Festival to a much bigger venure - a good decision, in light of the enormously increased support by exhibitors so far!

The City of Greater Geelong has invested $6,000 in the 2012 Festival of Glass and the Bendigo Bank has invested $2,500. Both organisations supported the inaugural Festival last year.

Visitors to the 2012 Festival of Glass can enjoy a full day out in Drysdale. Be entertained by local musicians as you taste local wines and foods; visit the monthly Drysdale Craft Market, which happens on the same day; and ride the historic Bellarine Peninsula Railway, which runs all day between Drysdale & Queenscliff.

Contact:
Doug Carson: 0418 371 308 E-mail: ccd21@bigpond.net.au

Information:
Web site: www.festivalofglass.net.au

Illustration: Vickey Crowley-Clough

Forty two exhibitors, with three months to go!

With just three months to go before the second Festival of Glass on February 19 2012, forty two exhibitors have booked spaces - well in excess of the 2011 Festival.

If you are one of those exhibitors, we thank you for supporting the 2012 Festival of Glass and we look forward to seeing you in February. If you're not an exhibitor but think that you might like to be, please contact us for more information and an application form (Doug Carson: ccd21@bigpond.net.au).

Timetable: exhibitors' setting-up. Since the number of exhibitors at the 2012 Festival of Glass is so much higher than at the 2011 Festival, we need to avoid congestion as exhibitors arrive to set-up. Congestion is likely to be worst on the morning of Sunday 19 February, because every exhibitor will want their space set-up in time for the official opening and launch at 9:00 a.m. Therefore, we've created a timetable of who we would like to arrive when. (If you're an exhibitor, you should have received a copy of the timetable by now. If you haven't, please contact Doug Carson: ccd21@bigpond.net.au) Some exhibitors said on their application form when they would like to set up, so we have started the timetable with their times and fitted everyone else around them. If the times we have allocated to you are not suitable, please contact Doug Carson.

The 2012 Festival of Glass will open officially at 9.00 a.m. Following the official opening, all exhibitors can walk around and look at the rest of the Festival before the doors open to the public at 10:00 a.m.

Raffles Admission to the 2012 Festival of Glass will be free, allowing more people to attend and increasing exposure for your business. Free admission was an attraction at the 2011 Festival, but it means that we need to make some money to continue hosting and growing the Festival. Therefore, we are inviting each exhibitor at the 2012 Festival to sell a couple of books of raffle tickets between now and 19 February. (If you're an exhibitor, you should have received these by now. If you haven't, please contact Doug Carson: ccd21@bigpond.net.au)

Competitions The 2012 Festival of Glass will feature several competitions (for details, see the Festival of Glass website: www.festivalofglass.net.au). If you have entered one of these competitions, or if you are considering it, please ensure that your paperwork is completed and in place, so that judging can begin on time.

More information We will post updated information as it happens on this blog; see also the Festival of Glass website: www.festivalofglass.net.au

Festival of Glass an attractive investment

The Bendigo Bank has shown its confidence in the 2012 Festival of Glass by investing $2,500 in sponsorship. The money will help to pay for the costs of the Festival's infrastructure, marketing and promotion.

The Bendigo Bank’s sponsorship of the 2012 Festival builds on its support and encouragement for the inaugural Festival of Glass in 2011 and shows potential sponsors that this innovative event is gaining a positive reputation from which they can benefit.

The Bank's support follows an announcement by City of Greater Geelong Mayor Cr. John Mitchell that the City will invest $6,000 in the 2012 Festival of Glass, which he described as 'an innovative festival (that) is already stirring considerable interest among glassmakers and fans around Australia.'

'Ticks of approval' from these two major local funders reaffirm the vision behind the Festival and give a tremendous boost to the artists, craftspeople and business participating in it. They also show potential sponsors that the Festival of Glass has a growing positive reputation from which they can benefit.

Exhibitors investing Exhibitors at the 2012 Festival of Glass are also investing in its success. More than forty exhibitors - many of them local - have booked spaces already, three months before the Festival; and eighteen of them have donated items worth a total of $1,520 to the 2012 Festival of Glass raffle.

Doug Carson, Chairperson of the Festival Committee said, 'The Festival Committee has been (almost!) overwhelmed by the response and we really appreciate it. The number and value of items donated is a strong vote of confidence by local glass artists and craftspeople in the Festival’s potential to promote their work. It’s also clear evidence that the Festival has the potential to become a major showcase of local glass art, craft and industry, driven by the active support of local glass workers. The more that the Festival generates broad and active support such as this, the more viable it becomes. So a big "Thank you" to those exhibitors who have donated items.'
(Illustration: VA Glass)

FoG on the road!

The Festival of Glass has been on the road as part of the nation-wide 'RUOK?' day.

The occasion was the 'YouthFest' day held on 15 September at Bellarine Secondary College in Drysdale. The Festival of Glass was invited to attend because one the aims of the day was to introduce young people to some of the community events and organisations in their area. Members of the Festival Committee spent the first hour erecting a small market tent! After that, however, they spent several hours talking to young people about ... well ... glass!

People were fascinated by demonstrations of mosaic-making and bead-weaving and some local teachers said that they would promote the competition for schools that is an innovation of the 2012 Festival of Glass.

Festival Committee members on the road.
L to R: Betty O'Driscoll, Patrick Hughes, Doug Carson (standing) and Glenda MacNaughton.

36 sites ... and growing

Four months ahead of the 2012 Festival of Glass, exhibitors have already booked 36 sites and applications continue to arrive.

The sites booked so far reflect the multi-faceted world of glass. They include mosaics, jewellery, glass beads and bead-making, stained glass, sculptures, glazing, slumped glass platters, ceramics, leadlighting, glass etching and sandblasting. At the inaugural Festival of Glass in February 2011, 29 exhibitors attracted more than 6,000 visitors. The 2012 Festival looks likely to be even bigger, taking another small step towards the Festival Committee's vision of the Festival of Glass becoming Australia's primary showcase for glass-related art, craft and industry.

The Festival's move from Drysdale's Potato Shed to the nearby - much bigger - Bellarine Basketball Stadium is certainly looking justified in terms of the number of exhibitors. The next step, of course, is to attract the crowds and the Festival marketing plan is about to start, funded partly by the $6,000 investment by the City of Greater Geelong. (See 'Festival experts give tick of approval' on this blog. 29 September 2011) Over the next few months, mention of the 2012 Festival of Glass should start to appear in a variety of local and regional print and electronic media.

Festival experts give tick of approval

The City of Greater Geelong has shown its confidence in the 2012 Festival of Glass by investing $6,000 in it. The money will help to pay for the costs of the Festival's infrastructure, marketing and promotion.

The $6,000 is the result of an independent assessment of the 2012 Festival of Glass by the council's local experts in festival organisation. Their support reaffirms the vision behind the Festival and gives a tremendous boost to the artists, craftspeople and business who have expressed their confidence in the Festival already by agreeing to participate in it.

This 'tick of approval' by experts in festival organisation shows current and potential exhibitors that the 2012 Festival of Glass will be run in a professional manner by a Committee in whom they can have confidence. The 'tick of approval' also shows potential sponsors that this innovative event is already gaining a positive reputation from which they can benefit. The Festival Committee is seeking funds from other sources and the Festival's Business Plan aims to make the event self-supporting in five years.

The council invested a similar amount in the inaugural 2011 Festival of Glass and the Festival Committee is grateful for the continuing support and encouragement of officers in the council's Arts and Culture Department and of local councillors Rod Macdonald and John Doull.