Trish Salerno, executive director of Arts Kentucky, said the Louisville-based site has attracted more than 1,500 artists from around the world. Artists can receive e-mail through the site and find professional art appraisers to make sure they get a fair price for all works. Later this year, the Kentucky Arts Council will host a conference that will give artists another opportunity to expand into cyberspace. The troubling question for many Kentucky artisans is whether handmade crafts can be sold successfully on the Web, Redmon said. Those are expensive and personal purchases for many customers, who would rather buy crafts in person.
Some products are more successful on the Internet than others.
Hand-woven rugs and clothing haven't done well, Redmon said, because they are the type of items people want to touch before buying. E-mail this story to a friend. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written consent of the Lexington Herald-Leader is prohibited.