"Hands of Harvest," maps way to working artists, craftspeople, bed-and-breakfasts, local restaurants, farms and ranches and guide services and other attractions in the Golden Triangle of Montana.

The scope and usefulness of "Hands of Harvest," a guidebook newly published by a consortium including the Cascade County office of the Montana State University Extension Service, is only hinted at in its subtitle, "Celebrating North Central Montana’s Fine Craft and Cultural Heritage."

by Scott Freutel, MSU News Service

http://www.montana.edu/commserv/csnews/nwview.php?article=1823

The purpose of the 80-page full color book is to steer visitors to working artists, craftspeople, bed-and-breakfasts, local restaurants, farms and ranches and guide services and other attractions in the Golden Triangle. (The Golden Triangle is that huge expanse defined by Great Falls at the base, East Glacier to the Northwest, and Fort Belknap in the Northeast.)

The authors identify six trails or loops in the Triangle, and devote a chapter to each and its history and participating businesses. Over 100 businesses and attractions are featured.

The "Foothills Loop," for example, which takes in East Glacier and Browning, Dupuyer and Shelby, identifies and briefly discusses 15 attractions. Among them are craftspeople’s studios, bed-and-breakfasts and a lodge, the studio of a Native American artist who works in stained glass and porcupine quills (and welcomes visitors by appointment only), and historical tours of the Blackfeet Nation. A short history gives context to what visitors are likely to see on this particular tour. A map keyed by attraction type shows what’s where, and a sidebar suggests a side trip.

According to Wendy Wedum, Cascade County’s community development Extension agent, "Hands of Harvest" was a community project from the start.

Artisans and other Golden Triangle residents wanting to boost tourism were inspired when Becky Anderson, creator of a similar project in western North Carolina, spoke to interested people in Fort Benton in 2002 and said that craft-worker participants in her area had increased their incomes an average 23 percent over five years, in part because the project enabled them to stay home and sell their wares instead of having to travel to arts and crafts shows. According to Wedum, Anderson’s Golden Triangle audience asked themselves, "Why not do the same for north-central Montana?"

In the end the MSU Extension service collaborated with other organizations to refine the concept, sign up and provide arts-marketing training for participants, write and edit the text, find suitable photographs, and print the book in an edition of 2,500 copies. The book was designed (by Creative Wave Design) and printed (by Northwinds Publishing and Printing) in the heart of the Golden Triangle–Great Falls. Participants include the High Plains Heritage Center, Glacier Action Involvement Now (GAIN), Travel Montana, the Montana Department of Commerce, Glacier Country, Russell Country, the Pondera Coalition for Progress, the Shelby Chamber of Commerce, Liberty Arts Village, and individual volunteers.

According to Dave Sharpe, MSU Extension specialist in community development, "Hands of Harvest" may well be a model for other locales within Montana.

"Every year nine million tourists come to or through Montana. Many of them are wanting interesting things to do, wanting to know of off-the-beaten-path trips they can take–and a lot of them want to take home arts and crafts." Sharpe points out that one in 80 Montanans makes a living in the creative arts, so there’s plenty of supply to meet the demand.

Participants–businesses, organizations and people listed in the book–pay an annual $25 fee. In anticipation of the publication of the "Hands of Harvest" guidebook, working artists were offered training in marketing their handiwork and businesses. They attended such classes as "Putting Out the Welcome Mat" and "Effective Displays" and learned how to tell the story of their art.

As defined by the guidebook the Golden Triangle incorporates some 25 communities in 11 counties and parts of three Indian reservations–Blackfeet, Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap.

"Agriculture is the Triangle’s dominant industry," notes Wedum,"but now, with the drought in its fifth year, many people are seeking to augment their incomes just to make ends meet. The ‘Hands of Harvest’ project–book and training–is meant to help them do just that."

One craftsman featured in the Foothills Loop section of the book is cabinetmaker Mike Brown, who started his business, Michael’s Workshop, in Conrad three years ago.

"We’re an infant business and we’re hoping to grow," says Brown. "We’ve been working on a shoestring for a long time, and the book’s a good way to help us hillbillies. It’s a good way at least to get our work shown in color. We’re hoping [the book] will generate some traffic–I do believe that, thanks to the book, people who are passing through, people interested in Montana, will have a direction, something in mind." Brown notes that "Hands of Harvest" provides his Web address — http://www.michaelsworkship.com — and that that, too, will generate sales.

For more, visit http://www.handsofharvest.org.

"Hands of Harvest" is available for $12 postpaid from Cascade County Extension Service, 1807 3rd Street Northwest, Great Falls MT 59404. The book is sold at some Chambers of Commerce, museums, and participants’ businesses for a suggested $10. For a wholesale price schedule, write or call Wendy Wedum, [email protected], (406) 454-6980.

SIDEBAR

Tell its story–and price it right

Last spring, the Hands of Harvest organizers presented a workshop on how to market art and crafts to visitors–including visitors directed the participants’ way by the "Hands of Harvest" guidebook. Here are some of the tips presented.

• TELL THE STORY Every piece of art has a story that’s as individual as the artist who created it. A buyer will treasure a piece of art that came with a story; that story is part of what the customer responds to in buying art.

• ENGAGE YOUR VISITORS You’ve opened your studio to the public. Now, how do you deal with prospective buyers? Not every visitor wants a long conversation, but by getting the conversational ball rolling you open the door to telling the visitor the story of your art and making it personal.

• PRICING Artists tend not to be good at valuing their own work. One speaker suggested premium pricing on exceptional pieces, more reasonable pricing on others, as a way to boost sales.

• PAY ATTENTION TO PLACEMENT Well-designed displays can be as important for sales as the art itself. A good display has eye appeal, draws visitors’ interest and keeps people moving through the exhibit.

• GOOD GRAPHICS PAYS OFF Strong, well-thought-out reproduction and presentation of your art in printed materials and on Web sites can boost sales. Use good sharp images and engaging designs, and pay attention to detail. People who see your pieces in print and on the Web will be interested in buying only if the design and presentation are good.

A FINAL WORD Selling art in Montana can be hard, in part because Montanans are good at working with their hands and have a real can-do attitude. Frequently Montanans will look at an item in an arts and crafts show and then go home and try to make it themselves. Although this makes fine crafts hard to sell to natives, it opens the market to sales to visitors who want to take home a well-crafted piece of Montana.

Contact Scott Freutel, (406) 994-4902, [email protected]