May + June: resetting and regrouping

Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed that no moonkat musings email went out last month. I debated sending one for quite a while - I started and then scrapped three different drafts - but in the end, I just couldn’t do it.

The past few weeks haven’t been my best. They were filled with markets that, technically and financially, would probably be classified as failures: four markets in a row where sales fell short of what I’d hoped for, to the point that I wasn’t able to recoup some of my vendor fees. In the year and a half since starting moonkat studio, that’s never happened before.

Part of it may simply be the reality of the current economy. People are understandably being more thoughtful about where they spend their money. I never want to feel entitled to a sale. Instead, I try to focus on the things within my control and ask what I can do better.

Some of it was also plain bad luck. Outdoor markets are always a gamble with weather - and this time I struck out multiple times. One event was rained out halfway through. At another, I was assigned an uncovered table in full summer sun, where my jewelry, being all metal, became too hot to touch, let alone try on. And to top it all off, at my last market, I had my first rude, racist visitor, which admittedly left me fairly shaken.

If any one of these things had happened on its own, I don’t think it would have affected me as much. But coming at the end of a string of markets where I barely covered my vendor fees - and in some cases lost money - it left me feeling pretty defeated. A lot of times, I was left questioning what I was even doing there.

I don’t want to lose sight of the good. Each market had its highlights: whether that was a good conversation with someone stopping by my booth, or a bonding moment with another market vendor. Every experience taught me something new. And if there’s one thing about failure, it’s that it has a way of making lessons stick.

I took a few days afterwards to go to ground. I gave myself some time to wallow in my feelings before I started back up doing anything productive. This string of market experiences highlighted something I already knew but hadn’t been able to fully act on: I needed to change how I was spending my time and energy. After a lot of thought, I made the decision to take a break and withdraw from two markets I had already committed to.

This doesn’t mean I’m giving up on markets entirely, but it does mean I’m going to try to be much more intentional about which ones I choose to participate in. I want to focus my energy on opportunities that give me a better chance of both succeeding and feeling good about my work.

With fewer markets on my calendar, I’ve been able to spend more time documenting my process. I still find it a little difficult to film myself, but I’ve discovered that I genuinely enjoy the editing process. It’s funnily similar to the wax carving process - starting with a whole lot of material, and then shaping and cutting into it until slowly something starts to take form.

As someone who consumes a lot of content but is only just learning how to make it, the gap between my current abilities and what I want to make feels pretty insurmountable right now. But it means that every video I’m trying something new, and looking back at each one leaves me with a list of things I’d like to do better next time.

If you’d like to follow along with this digital documenting journey, you can check out my recent videos on Instagram and TikTok.

Now, onto the making.

One other silver lining of spending less time preparing for markets is that I’ve had more time at the bench. I’m happy to report that I’ve designed a few new rings! They’re still works in progress, but I’m hoping to release a new collection of work before I head off on my summer travels in August. I’ll save the details for next month’s newsletter, but for now, I’ll leave you with a few behind-the-scenes photos!

I’ll be taking a short break from both workshops and markets during July. A chance for me to rest, reset, and spend some more time making. Thank you as always for reading! I appreciate you so much for following along. Much love, and I’ll see you next time.

- Katherine ❤️