New Poll: Best Venues for Bead & Jewelry Teachers

Hey all, now that school is over I have gotten three requests to teach again. I know -- weird. And while these requests are mostly local (plus the Boulder trip next week), my friend Nikia got something like 5 classes accepted at Bead & Button next year. She's all excited, and I'm excited for her. All of this got me thinking.

Travelling to a national show is so exciting, but it's also expensive. There is travel -- by plane? by car? And there is lodging -- hotel, at the venue or close by? And food (we won't mention the bar expenses). Then you teach. You get a percentage of the tuition, and sometimes all the kit fees, which are sometimes folded into the student's tuition. Usually you can sell kits, supplies, etc. during the class (which some students resent if you push it too hard), and often there's a meet the teachers venue where you can also sell to project-hungry attendees.

When I teach locally, I don't have travel, lodging or food expenses. When travelling regionally to guilds and bead societies, you sometimes get to stay with a local host or hostess and/or have some of your meals paid for. Sometimes they will also pay your travel expenses. I've never taught at an out of town bead store so I don't know how that works, but locally, the pay arrangements vary tremendously. Sometimes you can only take 3-4 students, sometimes you have to agree to take 16-18. Sometimes you can sell your stuff, and sometimes you can't. And you get anywhere from 50% to 100% of the class fees.

And then there's the planning, prep time, kit making, tutorial writing, packing, set up etc. Generally, the expectations are higher for national events.

For me, there's also the social scene. Oddly, I probably know as many people at the national events as the local ones. And I love seeing old friends, sharing a meal, getting away from the dishes for a day or three. But teaching locally is less stressful.

So. I've created a poll (Facebook and other feed readers, you'll need to come to my blogspot page to vote: http://www.seriousbeader.blogspot.com/ ). What's your opinion? Do teachers benefit more and/or make more money teaching locally, regionally, nationally, or a combination? The poll is open until Thanksgiving weekend.

Also, add a comment here to weigh in with your details & experiences. :-)

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