Inspiration Thursday! Handmade Christmas

Christmas was always a "big deal" in my home growing up. After all, we're celebrating the birth of baby Jesus and birthdays are a "big deal" too in our family. Mama's family used to have a "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake in their celebration tradition. And our family has our own traditions too... but that's another story for another day.

This Christmas we don't have as much money as we'd like to give what we'd like to the ones we love - and I don't think we're the only ones in this boat. It's gotten me thinking about how Christmas seems to have gotten really big and really commercial in my adulthood. Maybe it's because I'm a grown up now and actually see the sales flyers and incentives to get the newest electronic gadget?

I remember how thrilled I was the Christmas I got a My Friend Mandy doll complete with wardrobe. Mama had spent nights making a wardrobe for Mandy - something I knew because my room was over the sewing room and for many nights before Christmas I fell asleep to the whir... whir... whir... of the sewing machine. I knew Mama had worked so hard to make that Christmas special, and it's one of the best Christmas presents I remember.

So as I've been rushing around trying to finish up Christmas shopping, it's struck me that this year gifts don't have to be elaborate. The whole point is to celebrate a birthday, show some love and let people know they're special to us. And for many in my family, that means it's a handmade Christmas. I'm giving them something that's very precious to me - time. I'm spending time making things for them instead of just pressing a button and having something shipped.

I don't know if amid the flurry of wrapping paper and electronics my gifts are going to be the stand out gifts of the season, but I do know I'm giving a part of me this year. I'm not just checking off a name on a list. I'm working toward something a little more special this year. And I'm returning to the Christmas of my childhood where the best gifts are the ones made especially for me.

Weekend Wanderings: Crafty Bastards!

Milk Money Designs creator Kathryn Ewing and I spend Saturday morning perusing the work of other Etsy-ers at the Craft Bastards! Arts and Crafts Fair. It's a fair sponsored by the City Paper and I believe also sponsored by Etsy. I was very surprised to actually speak to someone who WORKED for Etsy - interesting considering I think of Etsy existing somewhere out there in that nameless place called cyber space.

The show had a huge number of vendors spread out on the grounds of the Marie Reed Learning Center in the Adams Morgan section of DC. Among the vendors was a DIY section for the kiddies to take home a craft they'd made. And I spent most of the fair trying to spot featured artists from Etsy mailings. I even got to meet one of my favorite Etsyers - one I'd used several times in my Treasuries called Rebound Designs.

I noticed a huge trend toward screen printing. I also found it amusing that many of the fonts and designs are reminiscent of the 1970s and early 1980s... wondering if many of the people wandering the booths had even been BORN then. Guess I'm feeling old.

In any event, keep your eyes open for this show in the future. It's a great way to meet local artists, see new design trends and even pick up something handmade just for you!

Working Tuesday: Selling your creations - Shows

Note: This is part 3 of a series called "Selling your creations." If you've missed parts 1 and 2, I'd encourage you to look back and catch up!

Another way to dip your toes into the marketplace is to sell your work through shows. This is where you physically go somewhere, set up a table - or sometimes an entire booth - and sell your wares directly to people.

A "show" can take many forms. Sometimes, your local mall or a regional festival will highlight artists in the community. Sometimes museums or local galleries hold shows. And sometimes there are shops that sponsor seasonal shows for artists associated with their shops. There are several street shows throughout the summer in the DC area if you search them out - you may have even been to one!

Some shows require that you go through a jurying process to check the quality of your work, and some don't. I'd suggest you stick to the juried shows because the quality is generally better overall and people come looking to spend a little more money at a higher quality show. I've taken my work to unjuried shows, set up my booth and watched while the person selling food down the way sells out while I work to sell one piece. Trust me on this. Juried is better.

It's also been my experience that any show worth doing will require a fee for you to rent a space. Although this takes from your bottom line, it generally means more money has gone into advertising and renting a good venue. And advertising and a good venue mean better customers for you. Because I don't have much in the under $10 range, I find that the more they charge to rent a space, the better the show for me.

Once you're in the "show circuit," ask other artists about other possible shows. You may have missed the deadline for this year's show, but you can ask the promoters to put you on the mailing list for next year's opportunity. Artists are generally happy to talk about what kinds of shows have been good for them and share experiences. Look for artists with products similar to yours in price and demand as that will help you get a better idea of whether your creations will sell in that type of venue.

And once you've booked a show, remember this is an opportunity to market your work in the future. Make sure you have a stack of business cards so that people who see your work can get back in touch with you. They may not have the money to buy today, but they might keep you in mind for Christmas or might want to tell friends about you. Put out a book to collect email addresses and start a mailing list. Let people who are interested in your work know where you'll be next or when you're having a sale. I've had customers come back to see me year after year just because they want to see what work I've developed from year to year - and to get something from this year's collection!

Next week, I'm hoping to talk to another artist about her experience with shows. Stay tuned for some real dirt on doing the show circuit!

Working Tuesday: Selling your creations - the shops

Another way to sell your creations is to get your work into shops. In my experience, there are a couple ways shops will take your work: they'll either buy it outright at a wholesale price or they'll take the work on consignment with a markup. In pricing your work for shops, it's probably a good bet there will be a 100% markup. Keep in mind, your work will still have to be reasonable enough to sell, but you'll need to make enough on the piece to make it worth your while. That's the balance you have to strike.

This is where testing the market comes in handy. If you've been selling your work, you should be getting a feel for how much people are willing to pay for your pieces. When you have this knowledge, it's much easier to price your work for sale in shops. That leaves the hardest part of this process - getting into a shop.

Here's where you'll have to do some research to find shops in your area or state that would be a good fit for your work. When I was still living in WV, I heard learned that Tamarack - the State's answer to helping regional artists sell their work - was jurying craftspeople. I found out that on a certain day the buyers were looking at artists work, packed up my samples and stood in line to see the buyer. The buyer looked at my work, selected several prototypes, discussed terms and placed an order. It took some perseverance, but the sale was worth the trouble!

Once you've identified a shop you think would be a good fit, call the shop and ask if they accept artists and ask their terms. Some shops work on a jurying process you'll have to get through. If the terms are acceptable, ask to make an appointment with their buyer. Sometimes this is the shop owner and I know from experience this can make for some great long-term relationships.

Here's where being prepared can be very important. When you meet with the buyer, make sure you have everything priced according to the terms. That way there's no confusion if the buyer wants to take certain pieces on the spot. Some buyers will give you an order for x number of pieces in x style. I've never been afraid to tell the buyer if a certain style hasn't sold well in the past. After all, if your work doesn't sell well for you and it doesn't sell for them, they might not want to sell your work in the future.
Before you leave the meeting with the buyer, make sure you set up payment terms. Don't beafraid to clearly spell out the relationship. It saves a lot of pain in the end and this is business!

One more tip on selling to shops. I've recently come across a website called Trunkt. I'm still exploring the possibilities, but it could be another opportunity to get your work into the hands of sellers!

Next week: shows.

Working Tuesday: Etsy Treasury East

If you follow the blog, Facebook or Twitter, you know I have really gotten into making Etsy Treasuries. According to Etsy:

The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 12 handpicked items each. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whomever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy.

I've very much enjoyed thinking up themes, cool names and finding items that fit into my self-picked Treasury according to color, photo layout and style. You're not allowed to put more than one of your items in a Treasury, but I find it a challenge to pick an item and find it's genre so to speak. It's taught me quite a bit about photos and layout as well. It's not gotten me a ton of new eyes, but it's been a great way to explore the world of Etsy.

Etsy has started a beta section called Treasury East. Treasury East doesn't have a time limit when the list expires into the ether, and you have more choices you can highlight. I've pulled together a couple lists just for fun.

The first I called "Cotton Candy." I've just added a new section called "Milk Money Designs" to the shop. These items were made by my good friend Kat and there's one necklace in particular that I adore - I have since she made it. It is sparkling sumptuousness and it deserved to be highlighted.

The other is "Spring can really hang you up the most" inspired by Spring and Bette Midler - again, trying for a catchy name. This one includes designs inspired by flowers or spring and are rich in pinks, reds, blues and greens. Some of my favorite designs on Etsy are in this particular Treasury.

I'm sure there's more Treasury fun in my future. These are just the beginning. In the meantime, enjoy exploring with me!

Babies, babies, babies

It's interesting how as you get older you go through "crops" of babies. First, your high school friends have a crop. Then, your college friends have a crop. Then, your out of college friends have a crop. Eventually you move to a new church or social group and, you guessed it, they have a crop.

I think we've been through 10 new babies in the past year and we've still got 3-4 on the way. One is a new nephew. Another - a boy too - for one of my best friends. The closest, however, is a little girl for a friend who was married a couple months before we were.

After months of searching for just the perfect gift, my Mom sent me a couple baby shoe patterns I thought I would try. And I'm hooked.

My first foray was for the little girl. How much fun is it to walk around the fabric store scoping out girly fabrics for little tiny shoes?? I admit, I went a little overboard. I now have enough fabric to shoe every baby born among my friends and family for about the next 10 years. But OH was it fun!

The girly ones were the first I tried - both plain and bunny with flowers. Tiny button noses! Tiny flower closures! The pair for the boy were the next. I used bunny fabric for the insides of those and hand stitched the sides for a more handmade look. Little bunny faces peek out from inside the soles!

I'm learning more with each pair I do. And enjoying every minute.