Today I spent the day dreaming with my love...

Make it Happen Art Print by wickedpaper

To Be Brave Art Print by maechevrette

Let's Go Anywhere Art Print by thewheatfield

Vast and Amazing Art Print by FreyaArt

Business, Learning, and Links, OH MY!-- A Midwest Craft Caucus Recap

This past weekend my friend and creative cohort, Jess of Iris Photography, and I took a road trip from Cincinnati to Columbus to attend the "Midwest Craft Caucus". I had been super excited about it from the moment I registered a couple of months ago, but even with all the anticipation it far exceeded my expectations!

The caucus took place over the course of two days: Saturday from 9:00-4:30 and Sunday from 9:00-2:30. It was comprised of both Q&A expert panel discussions on topics such as Social Media, Being Successful on Etsy, and the Future of Handmade as well as smaller breakout sessions. These breakout sessions were more intimate discussions led by crafty business owners, bloggers, and other experts. Everyone attended the panels while each session period had 3 different options to choose from. The fact that attendees got to choose whichever topics they felt were most applicable to their current business was genius planning, in my opinion. It prevented boredom and kept us engaged, instead of having to sit through a discussion that was far too novice or advanced for us.

 To give you a better idea of the overall event, here is the exact schedule that I chose for myself, a general description of each session, and some tidbits of wisdom I gained from each:

Saturday  

1. Social Media Roundtable:

The effectiveness of various social media platforms including Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, etc. and how to use these platforms to engage with your customers.

Tidbit: Don't bombard followers with only sales-related information. You will start to look like a spambot. Use the 1:1:1 rule-- for every 1 sale-related post, do 1 personal post, and 1 post that is related to your craft but not about you (post about other shops, interesting articles, etc.) Balance is key!

2. Financial Planning for the Craft Entrepreneur:

Assistant VP of Business Banking at Chase, Aaron Pitcock, told us everything we needed to know to get things organized on the dreaded financial-side of business form how to open a business checking account, tips for keeping things organized, and what business structure is best for our business.

Tidbit: If you are planning to borrow money for your business at some point, don't wait until you need it. The best time to take out a line of credit is when cash flow is good. Think of it more as an insurance line for when cash flow is not so good.

3. Pricing Strategies for Crafters:

Grace Dobush, creator of Cincinnati's Crafty Supermarket and author of Crafty Superstar, discussed different pricing structures, wholesale vs. retail pricing, and the downfalls of under- and over-pricing.

Tidbit: Keep meticulous records of all of your administrative costs (listing fees, shipping costs, merchant fees, domain name, etc.) for a year. Divide this total by 2080 (# of working hours in a year) and be sure to add that to your hourly wage. It's these little things that add up and eat away at your personal hourly wage.



 4. Careers in Craft:

This panel focused on the lifestyles and journeys of successful business owners who were able to transform their hobbies and passions for craft into full-time careers.

Tidbit: Set goals and put them in writing. Re-evaluate these goals frequently to help you stay on track and to hold you accountable.








5. Working with Retailers:

Handmade shop owners Olivera Bratich (Wholly Craft!), Amanda Mauer Taflinger (Homespun: Modern Handmade), and Nicole Wolfersberger (Paper Crane Studio and Gallery), talk about the best strategies for approaching stores, the differences between consignment and wholesale, and the Do's and Don'ts of retail selling.

Tidbit: Research each store thoroughly before approaching them to sell. Check out their website or visit in person if you can to make sure your item is a good fit. Blindly emailing owners without a sense of where your products fit in with their shop is never a good idea.



6. Maintaining a Webstore:

Alison and Nick Nocera of AlisonRose.com offered insight into the world of e-commerce outside of etsy. They discussed the various shopping cart options to add to your personal site, how to remain customer-friendly, and how to direct traffic to your shop.

Tidbit: Keep shopping cart simple, streamlined, and light in order to direct focus to your products and to avoid overwhelming customers.


7. Organizing a Craft Fair:

Successful craft fair planners walked us through the process of planning a craft fair from beginning to end. They gave us tips on finding funding, how to promote your fair successfully, and how to select venues and vendors.

Tidbit: Start with developing your show's identity and go from there. Create a theme, a website, a logo, and branding before promoting to make it easier for potential vendors to decide whether they are a good fit for the show, as well as to make the event more memorable and identifiable for potential attendees.




8. Connecting to Your Community:

Panelists discussed the importance of going beyond dollars and cents to develop relationships with your community as a means to positively affect local cities and towns, as well as to promote the handmade movement.

Tidbit: Most people these days have heard about the economic and environmental importance of "shopping local" but many are still unsure of how to go about doing that. We as artists and crafters help by giving people an outlet to accomplish this.

Sunday

1. The Craft Fair Experience:

Craft fair insiders gave us the scoop on everything from getting the most out of your application process to being a good vendor and neighbor at the show. 

Tidbit: Don't expect the show organizers to do all the leg work. Utilize the promotional materials that each show gives you and promote to your own fan base.

2. Teaching Your Craft:

Emily Westenhouser, teacher of both craft and fine arts, talked to us about her experience in each of these fields, how she got started, the differences between teaching children and adults, and venues where freelance teachers work. 

Tidbit: For those who are newbies at teaching in the arts and crafts realm, start out by volunteering at community centers, shops, and museums that offer classes. Think of your volunteer experience as long-term training for the teaching jobs you would like to pursue down the line.

3. Getting Published:

We got to interact with Grace Dobush once again as she gave us insider tips on how to get started guest writing for popular blogs, getting articles published in magazines, and even writing your own craft books.

Tidbit: When pitching potential articles to magazine editors, don't just offer a topic, offer a new angle on that topic. For example, don't email and say, "I'd love to write an article about crocheting for your Crochet Monthly Magazine". Be more specific such as, "I'd love to write a How-To article about crocheting miniature dog replicas to go in purses so you can get the look of accessory pups without purchasing a real dog. I have sold many of these crochet dogs at shows and online and many people have expressed interest in learning how to crochet them for themselves."

4. Finding Success On Etsy

We attendees were lucky enough to be graced with the presence of Danielle Maveal from Etsy.com as she spoke to us about what it really takes to be a successful Etsy seller. She addressed such topics as accurate tagging, thorough item descriptions, and what to do if you're an Etsy virgin.

Tidbit: When trying to figure out who your target market is or what your ideal customer looks like, just remember that they probably look just like you...but with more money.

5. Working with Street Teams and Collectives

Stephanie Tardy of Handmade Detroit, Abby Langdon of Etsy's Plush Team, and Cinnamon Cooper of the Chicago Craft Mafia offered incredibly insightful words of wisdom about the ins and outs of starting and operating a successful crafty collective. They discussed everything from funding, to team organizational structures and committee responsibilities, to how to gracefully part ways with not-so-great members. 

Tidbit: Set up a group mission statement at the beginning of formation to establish guidelines for team membership and to avoid getting members whose goals do not align with those of the group.

**WOW! WOW! WOW! So much great information!**

The funny part about all of this is that I only attended 1/3 of the possible sessions that were being held at the caucus. If I were able to attend all of the informational sessions I think my brain would have turned into blissfully educated mush. The creative energy in the room was buzzing, and we left feeling inspired, motivated, rejuvenated, and re-focused. The organizers and volunteers did an excellent job of keeping everyone engaged, informed, and fed. I would definitely attend another caucus in the future!

Did you attend the caucus?? What did you think? I would love to hear from you!

Road Trip Photos Part One: Signs

At the end of August my boyfriend, Kyle, and I took a long road trip down to Arkansas to visit my sister, Jennifer, her hubby Jarrod, and their son (my adorable nephew) Gavin. We drove from Cincinnati, to St. Louis, to Arkansas, to Memphis, to Fort Knox, then finally back home. We had such a good time and discovered that if we can survive a road trip that long in a Mini Cooper, we could probably survive anything together. I took such an overwhelming number of photos on this trip that I have decided to break them down by category.

The first category in this series is "Signs"...all of the quirky, funny, and lovely signs we saw on our trip.



Welcome to the South. Home of fast food and porn.



"Use the Rod on Your Children"?? Did I read this correctly?



"Sheesh!"

I think the Mini counts as small...

We didn't get to see these guys and I was heartbroken. Oh well, guess we'll just have to go visit San Diego zoo.

Dear Jesus, Thanks for the postcard! Love you too.

RAWRRR!

This was a sign at the Patton Armor Museum near Fort Knox. I just love the unapologetic tone. "You didn't listen. Now you're stuck. Your fault. We'll let you out when we feel like it."

This is Kyle's cupholder in his car. Apparently you're not supposed to put wine glasses in the cupholder...hmm...

Let's get it on...

Thank you gas station sign. You're adorable.

"60% of the time, it works every time."



Kyle's doppleganger. The license plate says "KBall"



Shoutout to Grandma WillowTree

Is it delicious chili, coleslaw, potato salad, and goulash?!

Oh my. Do Precious Moments really need their own museum?



They were reeeeeally pushing this advertising campaign with the freaky cartoon child spokesperson.



Wow. How forward of you.

Not sure what kind of games constitute "XXX Video Games" but I'm pretty sure I don't want to play them.

The country's first Wal-Mart.



Mental Vacation-Mode

Just wanted to check in.

I have been sucked away into M.I.A.-ville since my vacation down south to visit my sister. On the plus side, I got to cross another item off of my 25 Things List (the visit itself) so "WOO!" for that. I took a TON of photos and had such a great time with my sister and adorable nephew, Gavin. It was also fun to take such a long road trip with Kyle. We ate lots of fattening, deep-fried, and delicious southern cuisine which I'll tell you about soon. Please bear with me as I try to get back into the swing of things, MoKoPo-wise!

Photos to come! :)

Saturday Seven

Seven Places I've Been and Loved:

1. Paris, France

2. Rome, Italy

3. Destin, FL

4. Hilton Head Island, SC

5. Chicago, IL

6. Washington, D.C.

7. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Happy Birthday America!!

I spent this 4th of July with my second family, my friends up in Columbus, OH. It is rare to find a group of people who you can completely be yourself around, without any fear of being judged or made to feel silly. My friends in Columbus are those people. One such friend, Darcy, and I were chatting this weekend about how comfortable we all are around each other. There are no formalities or expectations and we can be away from each other for weeks or months at a time, and when we're back together, we fall right back into place like we never were apart. I arrived on Thursday and after I carried all my luggage and things into where I was staying (Melissa's Condo) I plopped everything down, sat on the floor with Darcy and Steph, and started eating the carry-out sushi I had gotten along the way. There was no formal greetings or silly small talk, we just got right into conversation as Darcy reached over and grabbed a sushi roll off my plate, no questions asked.

I spent most of the weekend lounging by Melissa's pool which was FABULOUS since it was the most "summery" of experiences I've had so far this year. Friday was "Red, White, and Boom" in downtown Columbus so Darcy and I went to Mongolian BBQ to visit Tori (Hi Tor! Your hair looks like...) and we got some delicious grub there. Then we walked to Goodale Park nearby but not before we stopped at the grocery and got some ridiculous beverages called Dragon Joose or something (think Sparks+Dimetapp+Steroids). We sat in the park and drank our Joose and watched the fireworks, but mostly chatted about life, love, and soul mates. Afterwards we met up with Melissa and Matt at Matt's sister's apartment on campus and enjoyed their company before heading home for the night.

Saturday was a lot of fun! Me, Darcy, and Molly went over to Mike's house for a grill-out with his entire family. Delicious food and drinks and a little Catch Phrase made for a great evening. The best part of the night, though, by far was the Sparkler Extravaganza (or "sprinklers" as Mike kept calling them). I used my spiffy new camera and got some great, dynamic shots of us spelling things out and creating designs with light. So. Much. Fun.

Sunday was more pool time followed by a "Rotic" evening (roMANtic minus the man, hehe). We made a TON of food at the house and even though I ruined the chicken for Molly by adding garlic (she's allergic), there were plenty of other goodies to make up for it. Pasta salad, corn on the cob, caesar salad, and of course, Golden Oreos.

I just couldn't get enough of Columbus so I stayed til Monday. Melissa had Monday off so she and I enjoyed our time by the pool all day, then met up with Darcy at BJ's (YUMMMM) for dinner and dessert. I said my goodbyes and made it home just in time for Trivia Night :)

It's weekends like these that keep the possibility of moving to Columbus after school alive.

And one more I jazzed up a bit: