What's Outside Your Studio Window?

Sometimes as artists, authors, and crafters we get so caught up in our projects that we forget about what's going on outside our studio windows.

The one complaint I hear from those cooped up in their studios is that the public doesn't support them enough. They're under paid, under appreciated, and they don't want to participate in community efforts because the community doesn't give back.

So, today I want to point one very important thing out. Some one once said it and it holds true today. "You must give something to receive something back." I know you all have heard it before. A financial planner will tell you that in order to see a return from your investment you must first take a risk on a chosen investment.

As an artist, author, or crafter only half of your investment is your work. Without the public, community, you have nothing to invest in. The interest of your investment comes in the form of fans, followers, and sales of your work.

But how do you do that, right?

First you must look outside your studio window. Out there is a community full of people who can't wait to meet you. Each one of those people of their own hopes, dreams, and daily dilemmas. Just like you. Unlike you, most of them are running on schedules of work, children's activities, and family obligations.

Don't get me wrong, you may have those too. You also have a craft to sell.

When is the last time you left your studio and attended a community event. Have you gone to another photographer's show, participated in a charitable cause? Have you said hello to the guy who you pass at the bus stop each day? Each one of these people and organizations have the potential to be your clientele.

Clientele = fans = sales

It's a little known fact, too, that people are more likely to buy from you if they know you. Now, how much you decided to tell people about yourself is your choice. You always want to keep in mind that some things are too private to share.  Like never announcing on social networking sites that you or your home is vulnerable. Studio included.

This weekend, I challenge. Take a walk around the block. Visit an art gallery. Go somewhere your idle clientele might visit on a Saturday morning. Lock your studio door and instead of watching what's going on outside your studio window-- become a part of it.

I can't wait to hear what you all did.

Going The Extra Mile

This week I was reminded what it takes to sell ones craft. Last night, the Pajama Factory hosted our local chamber of commerce PM Exchange. I couldn't believe it when several businesses backed out at the last minute. I wanted to scream, "Are you crazy?"

Whether your just getting started selling your craft or you've been in business for years, there is always room to grow and stretch to a new level. It means reaching new customers, making new connections. Yeah, it's called networking.

Those businesses that backed out would have been better off cutting the left arm of their business off than to miss an opportunity to stretch.

That's what going the extra mile is all about.

When the day is over and there is still work to be done, it's the artist, author, or business owner who spends another hour working that goes the extra mile. It's the sales man who helps you even though he's on his lunch break or his shift is ending in 5 minutes and he knows helping you will mean being late getting home for that family dinner.

See what it is all about? Stretching, growing, pushing yourself for just one more sentence on that last chapter your writing, or finishing the hem of skirt before calling it a day.

No one said going the extra mile was easy. It might even hurt at times, but when it's over we're better known brands, well respected for our work ethic, and appreciated by those we were willing to spend extra time assisting.

How have you gone the extra mile lately in selling your craft?

How Much Are You Willing To Pay For Creativity?

Etsy had a really great article last week on Pricing Tips for Your Creativity. Some of you may have already read it if you get their weekly newsletter. I recommend for those of you who haven't, that you definitely check it out.

Today, I want to talk to you about prices. We all know that inflation occurs and causes even the cost of a candy bar to raise, one cent is still a raise in price. Only a few of you may be selling chocolate, but the big question this week is how much you'd be willing to pay for that sweet tooth of yours.

Maybe it's a piece of imported chocolate, or maybe your sweet tooth is yearns for a piece of hand painted delicacy or a photography shot of something surreal. It could be a warm knitted sweater or a embroidered quilt. If you're like me, it probably has something to do with paper and fabric.

How much are you willing to pay to feed your sweet tooth?

As an artist or craftier, you may be thinking "Why should I buy when I make my own?" However, once in a while, we need to step out of the studio and put on our buyers slippers. We need to look at our work with new eyes. Are you worth it? Is the piece compelling enough to buy for that price?

I once fell in love with a gorgeous gown, and I spent nine months saving up to buy it. Call it a princess gown if you will, it was my wedding gown. When I put it on, I knew there could never be any other gown that was more perfect for me than that one. It was the perfect fit.

When a perspective customer walks up to a piece of your art, you want them to feel the same way. Buying art is not an impulse. It's a feeling, "a perfect fit" of sorts, that the expense from one's wallet is well worth the purchase.

The day I slipped on my wedding gown I knew the designer had made many other gowns like mine. Call it print number #593, okay perhaps not that many, but later I was still oohing and awwing over the bead work, the stitching, and the fit.

What I'm trying to say is, that dress design is a part of creativity. That sweater your knitting, is creativity, that painting that you're working on is creativity, and that novel I'm writing is creativity. In our shops, in our studios, on the shelves of book stores, that creativity has a price.

How much are you willing to pay for it?

Lending Your Blog, Would You Do It?

This week I've been flittering over the web in search of several items for back to school. A new dress for my preschooler, a dance tote, and a rain jacket. I normally turn to etsy and artfire first and eBay last. Sorry Ebay, that's just how I shop.

I ended up getting the dress and tote from two different shops on Etsy. I'll share them in the weeks to come, once they've been received.

However, today I came across an interesting idea -- borrowing someone else's blog in order to promote your business and "borrowing" that blog's readership.

Would you lend out your blog?

Borrowing someone else's blog is beneficial to those selling their craft because you get to introduce your product or brand to new traffic.  But you're not the only one who receives the benefit, as the blog's owner will requires people follow their blog in order to win a prize that they did not have to put forth. Hence, the price of borrowing the blog is a price from you. (note: you want to make the prize worth wild to the reader. Something that says, yes I want that!)

For example, a popular blog that I follow called Tea Rose Home, recently lent her blog for such an occasion.

How does it work?

Usually a blog owner puts a call on Twitter or Facebook for people willing to put forth a prize for a giveaway day. You replied back "Yes" and then submitted the materials to them at a later date  you both agree on.
This is the day they post about you on their blog, and you agree to send them or a lucky reader a fabulous prize from your handmade collection or publications.

The blog owner determines how long they want to run a promotion on you (feature you in their blog posts) and sometimes may even dictate the rules in which to commenters can have a chance to win your prize. The blog owner picks the winner. The winner's info is sent to you, the promoted,  and you fulfill the prize promise.


Sometimes, it's the other way around and you may find yourself contacting the blog owner.

You can even contact your friends with blogs that have different types of readerships. You may find yourself borrowing a few readers and building up your own readership at your own blog and increasing sales from selling your craft online.

If you are an Etsy seller, your Circle may expand and your items become more favored. 


Done right, this may just be a fun experience for both you and the blog lender.


If you're willing to lend your blog or looking for someone to borrow from, post below, hopefully you'll all be able to find a match for a great blog hop.


And we'll leave "Blog Hop" for another post on another day.

Happy Selling Folks, stay safe this weekend if you're amongst those in danger by the wild fires or wading through the flooding.

Simmering Into September

In the past few weeks I've entered into a complete new world. I used to just sit and work on my craft inside the comforts of my home. Then I took my laptop to the library or a coffee shop.  My hand made books started over running the dinning room and I moved to a new spot in the house to become claustrophobic in the midst of my own papers and materials.

Then I recently found a super place called The Pajama Factory. I know call it home to my creative side. And, I've now become a part of the staff!

Last evening, I attended first Friday at the Pajama Factory and it was a beautiful art show filled with almost two dozen photographers and they're works. I was breathless by the time I made my way through all the studios and  hallways. Not from walking around the building, but the different perspectives of the artwork and their photographers.

The one thing that also caught my eye was the prices. Who could resist not knowing how much a piece of art cost right?

In the following posts we're going to start talking about pricing our crafts for sell. Who do you determine your price? Where do you go to meet your market? And is it really a calculation or a guessing game?

Here in September, I'm moving to weekly postings on this blog. Most likely Friday's, as I'm ankle deep into a new novel draft, working at the Pajama Factory, and stitching handmade books in between.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to post them below, I'll address them promptly as I can. I'm so excited about having my own space away from home dedicated to my work.

Where do you find yourself most productive?

What's Community Got To Do With It?

If your serious about writing, then you join a writer's group. If your even more series about getting published, you attend a writers' conference. And, if you're an artist or crafter, you join a group of talented people who share the same interest. There are all types of groups, workshops, and gatherings available to those who are in the pursuit of their craft.

But how does one go in the pursuit of customers? Do you meet customers at conferences? at workshops?

The answer to those questions is probably not. If your going to a writer conference and selling books, then yes you'll sell to other authors, because let's face it. If they like to write, they like to read. Just like you. However, if your and artist selling paintings, chances are you're not going to sell as many paintings to another artist as you are to an art collector in a gallery.  See the difference?

So if you're getting out there to enhance your craft, that's great. Keep up the good work. Now, it's just time for you to step out into the community with a different gait.

What I mean is, you've chased down the best conferences, best workshops, and best places to talk shop. Now, you need to do the same thing with the community. It's more than attending a local PTO meeting at your child's school or volunteering to be the Den Mom for your son's cub scout troop. Yes, you will meet people, but are you meeting the right kinds of people?

These are the people who will be your customers. They are people most likely to pay you for the craft your selling. Who are they? Well, that's for you to figure out, and I'll help you in another post.

Today though, take a look at what is happening in your community and surrounding areas. Is there anything that inspires you to help, volunteer, or donate your time and craft? Is there any event that you just want to become a part of as an attendee where you can mingle with others and build relationships with potential customers?

As an author, I attend workshops, writer groups, and conference each year in the pursuit of getting published, but more so that I can be a better writer. Along the way, after many years, I've developed a network and support group. Some of those in my network are fellow writers, some are potential customers waiting for a new book to hit the shelf. You'll find me browsing the shelves of a book store alot, or sitting with a cup of tea and my laptop at a local coffee shop. Sometimes, I squeeze in a book club around my kiddo's hetic activity schedules.

As a crafter, I attend parties and gatherings that let me get to know my customers and maintain a relationship with them and introduce myself to new customers. I do this online through social networking and in person. I sell guest books through MRsCHADT, so where do you think I go in the community to get to know others?

That's right, bridal shows (yes, even though I'm already happily married), craft fairs, card parties, local craft shops on weekend demonstrations, and sometimes I drop off little sample product and gifts at hospitals to be included in new mom packages.

What ways  can you think of that will help you become apart of the community more and begin your own customer network?

Sometimes, its more than just selling your craft, it's showing others who you are beyond the studio.

I'll see you all on Monday, as I'm taking off tomorrow for a long weekend with my kiddo's before they head back to school for another grueling year of homework.

Eaten Any Good Words Lately?

When I was a kid, I would hear the expression, "Eat your words". Usually, I'd hear this when someone said something about someone that the person didn't like.

As a grown up, I've found a words slipping out, that later I wish I had eaten. Haven't you?

Words have a profound effect on our society. Whether the words are spoken out loud, or put into writing, they carry a lot of weight. Sometimes, they can be sweet. Sometimes, they're down right bitter.

How do you want the words about you tasting on someone else's tongue?

That my friends, leads us into today's discussion.

The best kind of promotion you can achieve for your shop or yourself is word of mouth. Yep, we've all heard about it. We've all done it.

I just bought this really cool pink blouse and I can't wait to tell my friends about it. Been there. Done that. Haven't you?

So have your customers. They too, will be spreading the word about what cool findings they saw in your shop or what great service they received from you. You're latest masterpiece might have brought them to tears. They'll tell someone. Anyone.

And you want those words from their mouths to be the sweetest words anyone has ever heard and tasted when they repeat them to someone else. The last thing any small business owner wants is their brand or product becoming bitter in someone's mouth.

We all have to face it. Many of us have been taught not to gossip, but when you come across something really great, you've just got to share it with a friend.

Will the words spread amongst friends about your handmade talent and items flow sweetly onto the next customer in line, or will the foul smell of a bitter customer plague you with it bad review?

Sometimes, it is not necessarily words that stir the flavor of review amongst others when it comes to promoting ourselves and our craft. It is, almost always, our actions that come across loudest that attract others to share good and bad experiences with their friends.

In the words of Lance Morrow:

"As they marched, the crowds lining the route broke into applause, a sweet and deeply felt spontaneous pattering that was a sort of communal embrace. Welcome home."