Hip to be Square

Thanks to all who came out to the New Jersey Metal Arts Guild sample sale at GAS Gallery and Studio. I especially thank Elizabeth, Rick, Micha and Christine for your generosity and support in making the event happen.

I had a great day! I so enjoyed spending time with the other artists and the conversations we had about design, creative process, metalsmithing techniques and how to market one's work.

I wanted to share a tasty tidbit for any artisan who a) has a smart phone and b) does retail shows, trunk sales, etc. I used my SQUARE credit card swiper for the first time. I know, I know... Square has been around awhile now... I have had my swiper but this is the first time I used it because most of my trunk shows are set up as wholesale and the merchant handles transactions.

But, if you don't know about Square, it's a small device you plug into your phone (or iPad) that allows you to swipe credit cards. It costs 2.75% per transaction. If you don't have a smart phone, you can use a computer (3% per transaction).
Find them here...

Anyway, my sales all went through and were posted to my account the next day. Soooo much easier than carting around a big machine, paying all the merchant service charges, etc. typically associated with a merchant credit card account through a bank. It did take a little time for me to learn to do a proper swipe- but the app comes with a practice tutorial... anyway, I recommend it.