Making a Living as a Kaleidoscope Artist
an interview with Jan Haber, co-owner of Hand of the craftsman and kaleidoscopesusa.com
Interviewed by Bernadette Finnerty

TCR: How did you become involved in selling crafts, specifically kaleidoscopes?

JH: Shel and I were working artists for several years before we opened our gallery. Shel was making jewelry, and I was working with stained glass, making small hanging constructions, and doing some macramé. I was making some commissions and selling through some galleries.

I happened to notice that my stained glass pieces (which are meant to be in a window) were being displayed flat on a counter, and this really upset me.

At this point, the crafts industry was really just getting started, but Shel and I knew we could do a better job of presenting handmade American craft than the galleries we had seen up to that point. We set out to create the kind of store that we would want to be in … one that offered a variety of crafts at a variety of price points.

We also believed fervently that customers should know about the artists who made the work in the store, and that the prices should be plainly displayed. Early on, we mostly carried our own work; my glass and macramé pieces and Shel’s jewelry. We gradually added other artists to the mix.

We were pretty successful right away. Since then, we have moved three times, each time to gain more space.

We became involved in selling scopes because we were collectors. We had always liked glass and prisms, and even before we were married, we would give one another “optical toys” as gifts. At the time we opened the store, there weren’t any artists making quality kaleidoscopes, but we found some decent ones that were made in Britain and sold those.

So when the first handmade scopes started popping up at shows, we bought them. Then, suddenly, Smithsonian magazine did a major story on modern kaleidoscopes and that was the real turning point. Everybody realized it. Then Cozy Baker wrote her first book on the subject and the kaleidoscope market grew from there.

TCR: What do you consider the biggest challenge for kaleidoscope artists who are selling their work today?

JH: I think the challenge, as for artists in any medium, is to stay original and keep coming up with new things, and at the same time be on top of quality control. I’m continually impressed by some of the diversity among artists, you think that nothing new could possibly be created, then someone does something you’ve never seen before.

TCR: What is the best way for kaleidoscope artists to find a market for their work?

JH: The best way to get noticed is to do the shows. The Buyers Market of American Craft has an excellent kaleidoscope section. The artists who exhibit there are top of the line. But we’ve even found artists through letters they’ve sent to us. An artist might send a letter and a kaleidoscope and we’ll evaluate their work. Sometimes it’s good enough to sell in our gallery, other times the artist just isn’t ready. We suggest what they need to do to improve their work.

When evaluating kaleidoscopes, we look for high quality optical or “first surface” mirrors, originality, and of course, the beauty of the images.

TCR: What makes a first surface mirror different from a regular mirror?

JH: In a regular mirror, the silvering is behind a piece of glass, but in optical mirrors, which are often used for scientific purposes, such as in microscopes, the silvering is on top, the light strikes that surface first and there is less blurring of the image. The enemy of any kaleidoscope maker is blurring of the image. These mirrors are expensive and difficult to work with, but they make for the best quality kaleidoscopes. To compete with the best, you have to use these high quality mirrors.

TCR: How did you begin selling kaleidoscopes on the Internet, and how much of your business is attributed to it?

JH: We began selling on the Internet about 12 years ago, when the Web was just getting started. Shel has always been somewhat of a “tech-head.” We started the Web site as a way to show off our collection, and we unveiled it at a Brewster Society Convention several years ago and got great response from artists and collectors alike. Today, there are many kaleidoscope sites.

I must stress, however, that having and maintaining a quality Web site takes a lot of time and skill. Shel devotes many hours each week to keeping the site up to date — adding and removing items, noting when an item is out of stock, updating photos, packing and shipping work and accounting for all of this. The Web site has become its own business, quite separate from the gallery.

TCR: What criteria do you use to feature kaleidoscopes on your Web site?

JH: There is nothing on the site that we don’t sell in our shop, so we use the same criteria for both in terms of choosing artists. However, not all kaleidoscopes in our shop are suitable for presentation on our Web site.

In order to be considered for inclusion on KaleidoscopesUSA.com, the scope must be immediately eye-catching, and price vs. size must be easy to explain visually. For example, some small, wearable kaleidoscopes are very expensive because the artist chooses to use precious metal and expensive stones or glass in the kaleidoscope, while other larger scopes can be less expensive. This is hard to convey within the context of our Web site. Some kaleidoscopes truly must be handled in person in order for customers to appreciate their value, and price.

At this point, the Web site makes up about 20 percent of our business overall.

TCR: What advice can you give artists who aspire to make a living making and selling kaleidoscopes?

JH: As I mentioned before, there is a huge difference in quality when you use quality materials such as first surface glass mirrors and hand-blown or other high quality glass pieces.

You must also take the time and make the effort to exhibit in shows, both wholesale and retail. Many kaleidoscopes must be “experienced” to be appreciated and purchased.

NOVEMBER 2002: TABLE OF CONTENTS