We were lucky to catch up with Gail Mercer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gail thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I worked managing a custom frame shop for 35 years. I received so much satisfaction helping customers choose mat colors, designs & frames for their artwork . Working in the shop & actually creating their pieces was my favorite part and then seeing their joy over the completed piece was wonderful. When I retired I knew that I wanted to keep up the creativity and produce something that would inspire others. I remembered that when I was a young girl I loved wood burning with my grandmother so that is what started me on my journey as a pyrographer participating in Art & Craft festivals & events as a vendor.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Gail Mercer & when I retired in 2021 I started “Bee U-nique Crafts by Gail”. At first I started out building windchimes from old metal pieces and tools that I found at antique shops and thrift stores. Now I create hats, purses, wood plaques, cutting boards, boxes & actually anything else that I can burn using pyrography. All my items are one of a kind, sketched, designed and burned by hand. I don’t use digital images or a laser. I take great pleasure in knowing that my final piece is unique and completely created by me. My moto is “Create to Inspire”. My biggest challenge was pricing. After figuring in my cost, time (sometimes I spend 3 to 4 hours on a piece getting it the way I want) and profit margin, I was not happy charging that price. Now I just simply ask myself what would I be comfortable paying for this, and thats what I price it. I want others to enjoy my pieces and feel that they can afford them. I mostly participate as a vendor throughout the year at various art & craft festivals in Coastal Georgia & North Florida. I love meeting all the folks that come by and visit my booth to check out my hand created items, even when I have been asked “what kind of laser do you use?” I reply “Ooooh do not say the L word”. I am very proud and joyful in the fact that all my pieces are made by hand with love and thought into the design and creation.
I am also the merchandiser for a Georgia country musician. We collaborate on items and designs that reflect him and his music. We have an online store and I also set up at his shows that will allow us to sell merchandise. It has been so much fun working with him and being a part if his amazing musical career.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

For someone that has not participated as a vendor in an art & craft event usually does not realize the application process. Most of the art & craft events I do are “juried “. There are pop-up markets that are not juried and these are mostly vendors that buy and resell items. If the event is juried then you pay to apply, usually $30 to $40. The application consists of describing your process, your product and the prices. Also you have to submit photos of your booth set up, what you will be selling and one showing you actually creating your items. Once you have filled out and submitted your application it goes to the jury panel and you wait to see if you are accepted. Most of the time its a point system, you get points for things like quality, originality, process, setup, etc. If there are multiple applicants selling the same product such as jewelry then the spaces are limited.
Once the deadline to apply is over then they go through the applications and contact all the vendors to let them know if they are accepted or not. Its a wating game. If you are not then you loose the application fee if you are then you send in your booth fee usally $300.00 and up for a 10×10 space depending on the event. Most events have a lot of rules when it comes to load in and load out. One of the events that I have done every year has 4 pages of rules and regulations.
My reason for explaining the application process is so non-vendors realize that we put alot of time, hard work and effort into these events, we need to be sure to clear our expenses before we can even show a profit. For me personally I choose to participate because I love being a part of a community coming together and seeing folks out supporting local artists and vendors like myself.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I love creating items that people see and have a connection with. So many times a person will see one of my pieces and have a story that relates to it, It’s absolutely rewarding. I will share one that touches my heart, I was at an event on St Simons Island in Georgia a few months ago and I had hand sketched and burned a wood plaque with the beautiful St. Simons lighthouse. A gentleman came by my booth and spotted it, he just stood there looking at it for the longest time. I greeted him and explained my inspiration and process for creating the piece. He told me that he felt it was speaking to him because he had lost his wife a year ago, it was their anniversary and they had been married at the lighthouse. He purchased the item and thanked me for reminding him of how special this place was to him and his wife and he such wonderful memories.
It is those times that keep me on my creative journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Beeuniquecraftsbygail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bee-U-nique-Crafts-by-Gail-108587478365540/