If you're a fan of arts and crafts furniture and live in or plan on visiting the Dallas area this holiday season, The Dallas Museum of Art presents The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs touring exhibition until January 3, 2010. In addition to the newly-acquired Corner Chair (image accompanying this blog), there are over 40 other objects and pieces of furniture by Rohlfs on exhibit in the Chilton l Gallery of the museum.

Image: Charles Rohlfs, American, 1853 - 1936, c. 1898-1899. Courtesy of the Dallas Museum of Art, gift of American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation in honor of Joseph Cunningham.

Interested in viewing more arts and crafts decorations? Check out my article: Examples of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship in Chicago, IL feels there is no reason why artists can't completely support themselves plying their trade. To that end, the Institute is starting a two year program combining hands-on learning, mentorship and providing one-on-one time with the faculty of successful artist-entrepreneurs.

At $15,250 for the entire two-year program you may consider it pricey or reasonable. The program has a 45 student limit with no age limit for enrollment. Per the website, the requirements to apply simply include artistic excellence. To find out more, make a cost/benefit analysis and see if you fit the criteria, visit The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship website.

I've added a new feature to Arts/ Crafts Business Profiles: topic areas where you can promote your arts/crafts business. Here's the first one: Describe Your Favorite Arts or Crafts Product. This gives you a chance to tell a story about your product and upload a couple of images.

Being able to submit information about your arts/crafts business will be a continuing feature in the Profiles section. If you would like to suggest a topic, send me an email.

The image shown is one of my first craft projects: an Edwardian bear with a broken arm. It was a very popular gift item for children with broken limbs.

I've been watching with a combination of amusement and horror Bravo's Launch My Line. Ay carumba! Like The Fashion Show (one sewing challenged designer sent his model down the runway in a garment held together with safety pins) the majority of the designers on this show appear to have no concept of what it takes to properly construct a garment or use a sewing machine.

It's an insult to proper clothing designers or for that matter your average home sewer that these individuals can think drawing few sketches and coming up with a design concept can make them a fashion designer.

For goodness sake, I would think they had some lead time between when they applied for the show and the first day of filming - why didn't they pick up a stripped down Kenmore at Sears and at least practice sewing a straight line or learning how different fabrics drape? Was this too much trouble? Alternatively, an hour at a fabric store checking out the material and supply lists for patterns such as Vogue or Simplicity would at least given them a clue as to what materials are recommended for different type of garments.

I commend anyone wanting to start a business or jettison the corporate life to move into a more creative type business. However, good practical experience is the foundation on which businesses are built. FYI, my father taught me how to sew when I was eight, I designed and made my wedding dress and I've been designing and sewing my own clothes since and I still don't think my sewing skills are sufficient to apply for a show such as this.

Here are some articles I've written on related topics:

• How to Get Practical Arts and Crafts Experience
• Finding Craft Making Classes