On Jun 16, 2005, at 8:09, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I am assuming that since Lenka has sent out these reasons to all the
members
of her two classees they are not confidential in nature. Would it be
wrong
to ask what they are?
OK, I'm gonna go out on a limb...I know Mom-Avital doesn't like us
quoting from private messages but as you say, it's not *all that*
private (38 of us got it, though not the organiserss) but I think it's
better to quote than have rumours flying about personal tragedies and
such. So here goes the relevant part:
______________________________
Dear Lacemakers,
A letter from a teacher before the IOLI Convention would normally give
you
details about coming course, list of materials etc. This time is
different
though, since I have to tell you that I closed the Silver Pin Studio
and I
won’t be teaching any more.
It was not an easy decision to make, especially not after starting the
business
from scratch and building it slowly, step by step, over the last ten
years.
There are several reasons for my decision: first – the disappointing
NEC show;
second – European markets for specialty high end crafts (trade fairs in
France
and Germany) are saturated by mass produced product; third - booming
real
estate rocketted up the rents in Vancouver so high, that to find an
artist
studio at reasonable rate is impossible; fourth – business travel to
the US is
not as easy as it used to be, in fact, as a non-US citizen I am not
allowed to
teach without a green card. Ten, five years ago, when Canadian-American
border
was open and easy-going, it was never a problem. Nowadays, with all the
new
regulations and checks, the chance of being turned back at the border
became
reality…
I am not complaining, because I have always had more fun then worries
with the
Silver Pin Studio, and I enjoyed the work enormously.
This is just an attempt to explain simply the complex issues facing the
small
creative businesses in a nowadays world… I am not giving up lace, I am
just not
able to give lace as freely as I used to…
The above means for you that you don’t have a teacher for the workshop
you have
chosen at the IOLI Convention and I am really sorry that this has
happened.
_____________________________________________
The rest simply encourages us to go to the Convention anyway because
she's sure the organizers will be able to find us places in other
classes (fat chance! with 38 of us. Besides, if I'd wanted another
class, that's what I'd have signed up for), and lace is lace, but wire
is only a medium, so it doesn't matter what technique we study, it'll
still be of benefit, and the Convention is a wonderful spot to learn
all sorts of things.
Which, of course, is true enough, but the attitude seems a tad
cavalier. Closing the Silver Pin Studio (for financial reasons) and not
doing any teaching in the future (for the same reasons) is one thing;
pulling out of a commitment, so late in the scheme of things is
another.
It places the 38 of us (strange, for just 2 classes; I thought the
limit was usually 12-15 in a class...) in limbo.
For me, personally, it'll be little financial loss - I've not yet
bought the plane ticket, I can cancel attendance until July 1 and have
most of my money returned, and I could have cancelled the hotel
reservation without any penalty, had I been alone (my two roomies will
now have to split the cost two ways instead of 3). I can stay at home
and practice lacemaking in any medium I want, including wire, and save
the $1500 or whatever for another lace event. But what about those
who've already bought their tickets? They're non-refundable...
It has put the organisers of the Convention in an even worse spot,
financially and emotionally. RMLG is a small group, and it has been a
strain for them to organise a successful Convention. Yet, until now,
everything seemed to be pretty much under control. Now, they have this
extra hassle to cope with, with very little time left...
If desirable and talented teachers such as Lenka are
leaving lace teaching it might be good if we knew the reasons in case
other
teachers are thinking of quitting for the same reasons.
I think teachers have said - time and again - that they're not "in it"
for money; those without a regular (not lace-related) job might -
perhaps - come out even on a teaching stint at the Convention, and
those who do have a regular job and have to take time off from it might
actually lose money on it. They do it for love.
Some try to supplement the income derived from teaching with income
derived from vending - Lacy Susan (Wenzel), Holly van Sciver, Maria
Provencher - all come within this category, as did Lenka. But it's a
lot of work, and time spent travelling and I expect it plays havoc with
family life (I smetimes wonder if Susan and Holly ever see their
husbands *except* when sharing duties behind the vendor counter <g>),
or any kind of personal life at all. It certainly plays havoc with
personal development lace-wise; where do you get the time and energy to
learn more and pursue your own interests?
Is she going to continue to do her art?
I think so. I think she's going to concentrate on making lace for sale,
oriented towards the - very high - end of scale, which is why the
Silver Pin website is closed, but the
http://www.Lenkas.com
is still up.
And likely to stay up until every CEO and film/sports star has bought a
piece... :) Whether she'll be able to make money on the enterprise and
whether making lace for sale will, in the long run, make her happier
than she was when teaching, I doubt.
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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