UK Chancellors Budget, Corporate Black Friday = Killing the Small Indie Creator?

Is Combination of UK Tory Chancellors Budget, Brexit & Corporate Black Friday = Poisonous to Small Indie Creators? 

Kuriolgy Laboratory created steampunk spider

There I was ticking along quite nicely gradually building up sales in a definitely positive way in steady build towards the Christmas season.  I was releasing the back catalog of personal 

sculpture creations built up in years of being disability housebound. Not so much a business as a downsizing on the accumulated result of creative therapy.

Quickly a precious handful of enthusiastic return buyers had been gained since starting to 'sell off'.  Auction items were generally increasing in the amounts realized.

For the first time in years  things were looking roses for the Kuriology Art Laboratory creative process.  

Then BANG!

It was like someone had unplugged the Kuriology  computer.  Views plummeted, pre-auction end bids dried up. Off-sight sales froze! Gallery sales ground to a screeching juddering halt.  

Who?  What? How had the brakes been slapped on?

Bird on driftwood

Casting around in various indie creative chat rooms & forums a pattern began to emerge in the already expressed opinion from other diverse creators & indie sellers. 

•  (i) Sales for indie (independent) creative persons seemingly often ground to a near halt just prior to Black Friday as buyers switch their attention to massive price slashes the big corporations & multi-retailers dangle as carrots on high price tech items (made in China)

•  (ii) In the UK, after years of Tory strangulation of the UK economy by austerity, suppressing wages, punishing under 30yr olds, persecuting the poor, disabled, weak & disenfranchised....the threat of UK Chancellors autumn budget & negative effect it has & would have upon most peoples dwindling available spending power.... whilst Tories absolutely insist on staunchly defending & still  lining the pockets of their friends in the banks, corporations, big business tax dodgers, & super elite wealthy.  

• (ii) Plus......the uncertainty of Brexit on horizon?

Many people seem to carry out equivalent of holding their breath, but with their wallets.

Anatomical Heart Curse Fetish

Independent creators & sellers seem to take a hit.  On etsy the startled cries from some were loudly expressed in forums as sales dried up quicker than a puddle in the Sahara Desert .  

Old etsy hands made reassuring noises - 'this always happens' - just before Black Friday.  Sales will then pick up - they say.  The hiatus in sales only temporary?

For UK sellers, the added pressure of people waiting with baited breath to see how the Tory government was going to yet further punish the average person with this Chancellors budget. 

Squeezing with the normal conservative government disregard of the effect of their osmotic one way process of extracting money from the majority to the financial benefit of an already wealthy minority 1%. 

Not so much a 'Trickle down', more conservative policy of the majority surviving on the crumbs that fall accidentally discarded from the banquet table of the over indulged wealthy minority. Ever the way it was with Conservative policies & principals - persecute & punish the poorest, placate the rich & elite.  Not so much the conservative 'nasty party'  - more downright bloody Evil party...

• The Kuriologist could never with a clear & principled conscious vote conservative - Ever!  (I still remember the abusive years of the evil witch Margret Thatcher)

Kuriology Paper Snake

Then there is the question of a Brexit effect...the absolute mess created by, initiated by, overseen by, caused by, instigated by = the internal Machiavellian back stabbing within the conservative party itself - lets not even go there...just yet?

So is combination of UK Tory  Chancellors Budget, Brexit & Corporate Black Friday = Poisonous to Small Indie Creators? 

Probably? Possibly? Inevitably?

Who knows but you can cast your vote by bidding HERE!

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? How about Sofa Shopping Sunday?

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? 

How about Sofa-Shopping Sunday?

The internet is not quite all just about likes, selfies, porn & cats caught on video.  It has unquestionably become the go-to place to browse & shop...especially for many time pressed individuals, & equally for  those who do not enjoy the 'push & shove' of shoulder to shoulder urban shopping, especially Christmas shopping.  But are the corporations & big business  squeezing the genuinely original, different & original to the very margins, even on the internet.

Kuriology sculptures on ebay.co.uk

Personally, I tend to do 99% of my shopping in front of a reasonable size screen, in a comfy chair, armed with copious mugs of coffee, snacks & my tobacco (Yes, I still smoke at home & I can't do that in shops!).  Definitely, an advocate of Sofa Shopping Sunday.

Mouse over image to zoom

Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

Paper-mache Museum Exhibited Bird Mounted on Cornish Driftwood Stand

Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

 Call me old fashioned, but I still like eBay auctions.  Although the belting bargain basement 0.99p acquisitions to be had a few years ago are fewer & far between.  The style of eBay shopping trends having changed away from auction format to that of 'buy-it-now'.  

I still crawl through the auction listings, basically because I cannot be bothered (with the type of things I'm looking for), of having to filter out 100's of 1,000's of often poor quality Chinese items in the Buy-it-now. That said, ebay seems to be regaining some of its former popularity.  Hopefully it has at last stopped trying to be just like Amazon & may encourage back some of the quirkiness & individuality which made ebay so much fun in the past. 

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Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

Rat Sculpture Wine Bottle Drink Stash Rodent Figure Humor

Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

I've tried etsy & been monumentally disappointed with it.  The etsy expectation to constantly & I DO MEAN CONSTANTLY, tinker, fiddle, alter, change, adjust, & manipulate as a seller the titles, SEO & descriptions of the same product, again & again & again. 

There is something broken with the esty search methods. Many of the sellers which attracted me to etsy in the first place have either gone, left or are un-locateable under the morass of designed/ but Chinese-made bangles, beads, baubles, jewelry, & sugar/saccharine coated sweetness on etsy - sufficient to induce a diabetic coma just looking at it. Hurrrumph!

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Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

Dragon Draco Wyvern Figure Sculpture Papier-mâché Art Exhibit Specimen GOT Smaug

Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

I seldom buy new tech, clothes, or new fashion items. Especially not 'designer' clothes made in their multiple thousands in far eastern factories by persons on weekly wages barely more than Western countries hourly minimum wage. I have never quite understood the mentality of paying more for an item of clothing for its label, where the punter is PAYING a huge multi-national company (which probably avoids its tax obligations) to advertise the corporate product for them - madness? 

Vintage, antique, obsolete & sometimes - the unloved = quirky, strange & bizarre are still items of choice for the Kuriologist both in their creation & acquisition.     

What to make and Where to sell? Kuriology Art - Weird Stuff

  What to make, where to sell & who too?

Kuriology Art - Weird Stuff

For the last few years (more than a decade+) Kuriology sculptures were created 'not' with the objective or purpose to sell, but to meet a desperate need of being creative whilst the artist is/was disability housebound & with additional  family duties as a full time career to an elderly relative, and still is on both accounts. (NB. Except I now Have a Disability Service Dog to enable me to leave the house). 

To buy Kuriology Art on ebay.co.uk click on image

A huge number of Kuriology sculptures have now been created, never with an end consumer or client in mind other than solely for the artist them-self = me, The Kuriologist! 

Now primarily due to the need to create some space (hundreds & hundreds of sculptures occupy a LOT of space), some of the sculptures have/are being sold on.  Commercially, economically some of the Kuriology sculptures have been sold to-date at a rate which after commissions & costs, would barely cover an hourly rate for UK minimum wage.  However, income was never the original objective or purpose for creating Kuriology Art.  

Being someone who enjoys a bargain myself & who has won at auction the occasional item well under its actual worth, it is only karma that some of my sculptures should sell to a lucky few for far less than the man hours which have gone into the creation of the said object.  Listing an item at a 'come and get me' price well below cost, is what I believe is termed as a 'loss leader'.  The purpose to draw buyers into viewing & considering other further objects Kuriology has offered for sale at more realistic price (for the seller).  It can also be fun, entertaining & even nerve wracking for me watching a Kuriology item slowly creep up in bid price (or not).

Most Kuriology sculptures have been created just to please myself as the artist, just for fun (or some might say therapy). But now that more than a few dozens have been sold I have felt the insidious creep of beginning to try to second guess what is commercially viable.  What someone else may want to buy - Stop!

The short answer is I cannot.

To buy Kuriology Art on ebay.co.uk click on image

Sculptures I did not think would sell have whistled away quicker than greased lightning & things I thought would be snapped up, bid up at auction & even  fought over with frenetic bidding, have languished.  Bringing me to the conclusion as the Kuriology artist I should continue with my original purpose of creating - simply to please myself! 

What has been really wonderful, is gaining some true fans of Kuriology Art & even Kuriology  Art collectors.  I'm told that a person who owns three Kuriology Art sculptures is - 'an enthusiastic fan'

.....but someone who owns five or more Kuriology sculptures....is 'a Kuriology Art Collector'.

I am delighted that I now have a number of both enthusiastic fans & several Kuriology collectors! 

Thank you!

To buy Kuriology Art on ebay.co.uk click on image

ebay.co.uk has proven fruitful, etsy, err, not so much.  Thesaleroom.com has been stunning in monetary amounts realized for individual pieces. Bricks & mortar galleries, as well as museum sales have slow ticked pendulously like a long case clock.  

Inquiries  to buy Kuriology sculptures have come from persons in France, Canada, USA & Japan.  Thank you, and I am sorry to have had to disappoint at this time overseas interests.  My personal circumstances are such I do not wish to overstretch myself in complexities of international taxes, duties, couriers, customs & excise.  That will inevitably change in hopefully  the not to distant future (watch this space, well, blog), but for now Kuriology Art sales will remain UK based.

The original title was 'what to make, where to sell it & who too'?

Q.  So what to make?

A.  That which enthralls, entertains, challenges & interests me as the Kuriology artist 

Q.  Where to sell?

A.  Through those portals which best suit my own limitations, requirements & time constants

Q.  Who too?

A.  Persons who appreciate the quirky, individual, different, unique....& that can be anybody!

  

SciFi Art Decor - Day of the Triffids meets Little Shop of Horrors

Sci Fi Art Decor

'Day of the Triffids' meets 'Little Shop of Horrors' 

SciFi Alien Plant from Kuriology

As a teenager I voraciously consumed by reading nearly every science fiction & science fantasy book that I crossed paths with.  

Buying  a new pulp book each time a new title appeared on the book stand of the railway station newsagent in the under pass through which I went on my way to school

This was how I spent my earnings from my evening paper round (to lazy to get up early for a morning paper round), SciFi books, along with ten No.6 fags every day, the school boys cigarette of my time. I still have several dozens of those now quite tatty paperback books.

Moorcock, Heinlien, Herbert, Asimov, Clarke, Dick, Guin, Anderson, Bradbury, Niven, to name a few.  It was ever the likelihood that such consumption would have an effect upon both thinking & development as a teenager and does seem to have lasted a lifetime.

...as has the smoking, but Players No.6 cigarettes stopped production long ago.

Inevitable that in the Kuriology Art Laboratory of GM (gently manipulated) species, an alien plant or two would be created at some stage.

The good news, they don't need watering or feeding, don't grow any bigger & still look like they may might just consume your neighbors cat for lunch

The one in the video has been listed on ebay.co.uk.  At the time of writing it has bids & will sell.

Traditional Dark Demon of Christmas bound in chains by Christianity

Traditional Dark Demon of Christmas 

bound in chains by Christianity

Folk art, primitive art, outsider art - it all seems to me be reflective of usually ordinary people simply wishing to express their own creativity without the bounds, constraints or rules of conventional art or art establishments. Kuriology Art is Folk, Primitive & Outsider, creations made for the joy of being creative. 

I have always had a mild fascination with mythology & mythical beasts primarily from Greek & Roman mythologies.   Greek Satyr & their Roman counterparts,fauns, have always appealed.  Pan (or Celtic Cernunnos like horned deities) cloven hoofed, horned & a little on the dark side.  Depicted as Devils by abrahamic  dogmas & religions  that always felt to me on a bit of a power trip by those in positions of authority to try to sub verse & sub due older pagan religions & belief systems.   I have always had a problem with the bible ever since I learned as quite a young man it is just a book compiled by the Council of Nicea, a committee under Roman Emperor Constantine. The misery & pain inflicted upon humanity by dogmatic fanatics of this & other such books. Plus, we all know as fact that the camel was a badly designed horse drawn up by a committee, as was the Kangaroo, actually a mouse drawn up by another committee.

It is only in quite recent years I have learned of 'Krampus', a traditional Christmas Demon in primarily Germanic countries in Northern Europe.  Seemingly a hangover from deeper older faiths, subdued by Christianity.  Subdued to the point where the demon now wears chains.

This Christmas demon is however a modern social workers nightmare.  Where as Santa rewards children (& some adults) for good behavior over the year - Krampus is the opposite.  This dark beast with an enlarged tongue, horns coven hooves, runs around abducting naughty children either in a sack or in a woven basket.  Physical violence is part of the tradition by beating the children by spanking or with birch cane or canes, or even in some extreme depictions with a whip? 

Clearly the threat of being put on Santa's naughty list is not enough of a deterrence for 'some' kids - to the point where they are threatened with abduction & torture to behave....interesting!

In recent years 'Krampus' has been undergoing what some may call 'Disneyfication'.  He is being made 'cute', cuddly & simply a little misunderstood.  Personally, I prefer the depiction of a demon that frightens the crap out of people.

Just saying 

*Oh, the folk art Krampus in the slideshow is available at auction on ebay.co.uk   

Where To Get Really Bizarre and Weird Secret Santa Gifts This Christmas

Where To Get Really Bizarre and Weird

Secret Santa Gifts This Christmas

 Unusual & Different Christmas Gift Ideas from Kuriology on ebay.co.uk 

Most of us have at one time been stumped when faced with getting a gift for someone which requires being something really unusual, completely off-the- wall, bonkers mad & utterly strange 

....especially for Secret Santa!

Then there are the people we need to get gifts for who already seem to have 'nearly everything.  Not to mention - 'The Collectors'....whose tastes are, well sometimes a little strange & may be teetering on the edge of what is socially acceptabile.

Kuriology has Good News for gift givers!   In all probability their target gift recipients won't yet have acquired weird & wonderful, quirky & bizarre creations from Kuriology.

...and sometimes those of us who actually  like the peculiar, strange & quirky need to reward ourselves.  Socks, ties & underpants are completely practical, but what was really wanted was something strange....say like a triffid, or trilobite or a big turtle?   

Bizarre Gift Problem sorted.... 

Paper Nautilus

Simply search 'Kuriology' on eBay.co.uk