Workshop Description:
This professional development workshop offers a strategic approach to sales for makers and artists. Participants will examine key areas often overlooked in the development of effective sales practices, with a focus on aligning creative integrity with market presence. The session will provide practical tools for refining communication, enhancing customer engagement, and articulating the value of handmade work. Artists will leave with a renewed understanding of their role not only as creators but also as ambassadors of their craft.
Instructor Bio:
Laura Wood is a full-time jewelry artist living in Asheville, North Carolina. Her creative practice began in dance and shifted to contemporary jewelry in college, at University of Georgia, where she was introduced to jewelry and metalsmithing. A performative arts background continues to influence her work. Sculptural forms are thoughtfully engineered for the body and are intended to contribute to a daily experience.
Her jewelry is represented in galleries and exhibitions nationally and internationally and has exhibited in widely celebrated craft expositions including the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, DC, American Craft Council Show in Baltimore, MD, and Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art and Design Expo (SOFA) in Chicago, Illinois. Her retail store, opened in 2024, is located in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC.
Laura’s work is among the permanent collections of the Gregg Museum of Art at North Carolina State University (NC), The Racine Art Museum (WI), The Mint Museum (NC), The Enamel Arts Foundation in Los Angeles (CA), The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PA), Yale University Art Gallery (CT), Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AR) and The Crocker Art Museum (CA).
Laura completed a three-year term in the resident artist program at Penland School of Craft (2017-2020). She is the founding voice of the annual ECU Symposium (2010) and co-founder of Jewelry Edition (2012-2021). The retail store, Laura Wood Jewelry opened in the River Arts District, Asheville, NC in 2024. She earned a BFA from the University of Georgia (2007) and an MFA in metal design from East Carolina University (2011).
