Stories from the Front lines

Last week at the market a woman stood at my booth looking at the magnets for quite a while. They all look they same and fill a large display stand with a sign that says "Magnets".

After a few minutes she asked "Are these ALL magnets?"

Confused, I hesitated before answering, "Yes, they're all magnets."

"Oh," she said with a pause...and then, "What do they stick to?"

After a stunned moment I answered. "They stick to metal."

"Ohhhh" she said and thought about it for a long minute before asking "Is that all?"

When I told her yes, she left. I'm not sure what kind of magnets she usually uses, but I wish I'd asked.

I am constantly stunned at the questions people ask and the strange things they say at my booth. A few years ago a well dressed middle aged woman told me in all seriousness that she'd love to buy one of my clocks but couldn't because she lived in a different time zone.

Many years ago my friend Jane was selling jewelry at Pike Place Market and a woman spent a long time choosing a pair. When she finally narrowed it down Jane said "You know, you should really try them. Wait'll you seem them in the mirror, they look great."

The woman picked up the earrings, held them (still on the card) up in front of the mirror and said "You're right! They Do look great in the mirror!"

I just love people. It's endlessly amusing and astonishing working with the public.

Then there was the time when my boyfriend and I were selling hand panted eggs and a couple admired them, oohing and ahhing over each design. Finally the wife said "You know, I really love them.....but if you sat on them they would break."

I was speechless, but quick witted Bruce said "Well, I guess if you're shopping for something to sit on, you might want to look somewhere else."

And one my favorites was from another artist, who when asked for a business card answered "You know, I'm all out. But I tell you what - when I get home I'll throw one out for you."

(I'm sure most of you have your own stories. I'd love to hear them. Really, we should compile a book.)

The Fun Part

I used to have a joke with my boyfriend whenever we found ourselves in the middle of some unexpected adventure, like getting hopefully lost in a strange town, or finding ourselves at a wedding with a bad band and a sleeping drunk at our table. I'd look at him and say "I love this part!". As if we were watching a movie. For some reason it always made us both laugh.

About a month ago I had an idea for a new product: magnetic bookmarks. I was just about to leave for a show in Las Vegas, and before I left for the airport I ran into the studio and made some quick funky prototypes. I packed them along, showed them to buyers and all of them seemed to love the idea.

Now, I've mentioned before that I'm impatient. So I didn't do the easy thing and decide to introduce the new line next winter. I decided to debut them at The Buyer's Market of American Craft in Philadelphia, August 1st-3rd. Which meant I had just over four weeks to design the whole line and have them printed, packed up and shipped, and create a custom point of sale display (which I'll be selling to buyers for their stores.)

Developing a new product line is fun, but it's also exhausting and stressful. And you can always count on the fact that there will be puzzles and problems along the way. So doing it with a tight deadline looming really amps up the tension. I had to design each of the bookmarks inside and out, (that's 24 different designs, folks) research and order the correct magnets (not as simple as it sounds), find a place that could make custom sized clear envelopes, as well as a place that would design a custom resale display and have it delivered in time, then create and print new catalog pages, specials flyers, postcards, signs, webpages, etc. The number of phone calls, diagrams, faxes and samples that I dealt with every day was staggering. It was crazy, every minute seemed hectic, every decision more complicated than I expected. But I did it. At least my part is done - as of today.

1600 magnets arrived yesterday. 24,000 bookmarks and 30,000 clear sleeves are due here by early next week, as is the display prototype. Then I just have to assemble and package about 300 samples, pack them all up and ship them out to Philly by the end of the week.

But you know what? I love this part.

Staycation!

I work 6 days a week, so Sundays tend to be all about chores and errands and catching up on personal emails, phone calls, etc. The only time I ever take time off is when I go visit family or go to a trade show. And in my book, those don't really count. I have been incredibly busy this year and a little burned out. So have been craving what I think of as 'a real weekend' - two full days in a row of doing whatever I want to do. All day. No requirements, no obligations, no work of any kind. I figure if I can't go away on a vacation, I can pretend I'm on one right here at home, right? So last weekend I did something I haven't done in years. I took the entire two days off.

First, I called two dear friends and we planned a canoe trip down the Black River for Saturday. Diane and Mary arrived at my house that morning and we packed up our picnic lunch and drove to Black River Canoe Trips in Tenino where our rented canoes awaited us. Then we set out on the river, and spent the day laughing, watching heron, eagles, and hawks. It was a fabulous trip. On the way home we stopped in a perfect little small town dive bar for cold drinks, compared our sunburned arms and vowed to plan special day trips more often.

Sunday was a rare treat. I let myself have a lazy morning (no chores allowed, and I had to fight myself a few times as I reached for the windex) and then spent the entire afternoon at the V spa in Olympia where I had scheduled a day of pampering. I started off with a fantastic 90 minute massage. My masseuse was fantastic. She gave me an incredible facial massage she learned in Brazil (which is where she is from). My massage was followed by a lovely lunch of salad, fresh fruit, iced tea and frozen yogurt for dessert. I felt like a princess, sitting in a huge overstuffed chair in my terry robe, being served lunch on a tray in the beautiful little private sitting room.

When they came to get me after lunch, I could barely move. But next was the deluxe anti-aging facial and knew it would only get better. The highlight of that hour was the Self Heating Mud pack which was applied to my spine and stayed on during the facial treatments. It was the strangest sensation ever, and the sounds it made! The entire hour it was bubbling, crackling, popping and even squeaking and felt like tiny fingers and bubbles parading all over my back. I loved it!

By the time I got home I was more relaxed than I remember feeling in years. I spent the evening on the deck reading and ignored the phone and kept myself from checking email. I honestly felt like I'd escaped for the weekend without the hassle of travel.

I love working for myself. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I have to admit that I'm the toughest boss I've ever had. I never imagined that I'd end up working pretty much every day when I started this business. As most of you know, there's always something that needs to be done and when your business is your passion, it's hard to choose time off instead. But I remembered this weekend that as important as my work is, I need to make more time for me. And I'm putting in for another weekend off soon.

I hope my boss approves it.

Contest!

Has it really been three weeks since I've posted here? I've been so busy since the show in Las Vegas, it's been crazy.

So instead of a long post on any particular topic I thought I'd share my excitement about my brand new Contests page. I've wanted to add a contest to my site for a long time. I love giving things away! I will not be collecting email addresses, you will not be added to any lists when you enter. But if you want to be notified of future contests you can sign up for the newsletter.

For my first contest I'm offering a supercool combo-prize. One wall clock, one alarm clock, one set of magnets, and one dozen cards. Your choice of design. (That's $90 worth of goodies.) Enter now and please tell your friends!

Off to See the Wizard

I'm getting ready to take off for Las Vegas tomorrow. I'm not really a Las Vegas kind of gal, I'm going to the American Craft Retailers Expo. It's a beautiful show (If I do say so myself - I'm on the jury) and it's well run by a Wholesalecrafts.com. In it's third year, the show is still growing and it's been really exciting to be part of it from the beginning. I'm looking forward to meeting new buyers, writing lots of orders and seeing my west coast artist friends like Amy Peters, Heather Kraty, Mercedes Brugh, and Kay Young. As I've mentioned before I get to see these friends only a few times a year and I love the camaraderie and community at wholesale shows. 

Anyway, I just popped in to leave a note - it's been too long. And I wanted to be sure and let you all know about a really cool and affordable series of classes. It's The IndieBizChicks Summer Business Sessions. These classes meet online every Tuesday night to discuss business topics of all kinds, Each class is led by an expert in the field and the guest list is impressive. Here are just a few:

• Jenny Hart, founder of Sublime Stitching
• Sue Blatt, co-founder of Renegade Craft Fair
• Claudine Hellmuth, founder of Collage Artist
• Amy Schroeder, founder of Venus Zine
• Casie Metcalf, owner of IndiePublic.com
• Laura Allen, co-founder of 15 Second Pitch

 Each class is an hour, and the entire series costs only $14.95. How can you say no? 

A quick note

As my friend JR says "I love the Internets!" 

You know how you start in one place on the web and it leads you from one great resource to another? Recently I posted a question about blogging to the American Craft Forum. Now, this is a great resource - a fantastic discussion board for working artists. Well known professionals from all over the country share their knowledge on this board, and I highly recommend it. 

Anyway - I saw that a wonderful jewelry designer named Nicolette Tallmadge replied with some terrific advice. Although I don't know Nicolette personally, I know of her and I love her jewelry. So I decided to check out her blog and  lo and behold, discovered that she's teaching a live teleseminar in just a few days on Twitter. What do you know? I've been looking for a Twitter mentor!

We all know that Twitter can be a great way to expand your audience, your customer base and your image. And this class is a great deal, which is why I immediately signed up and decided to send a special edition of the Hot Tips Newsletter about it. But in case you don't subscribe to the newsletter here's the scoop:

TELESEMINAR:

How to Use Twitter to Get More Traffic, More Subscribers, and More Customers

DATE: Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

TIME: 8:00 PM Eastern Time

(if you can't make it you'll get a link to the recording)

MORE INFO: http://www.craftedwebteleseminars.com

With the class you get a downloadable guide for twitter newbies, the full written transcripts to the call, a full Twitter tools and services resource list, and instructional videos on how to use some of these tools and services. And if you're one of the first 100 to sign up, you'll get a free CD of the class. 

For just $17.95 this is a steal! 

I love the way the web makes things so easy, so affordable and so immediate. I posted a question, I got answers. I looked a little further and found a class I can take from my own comfortable chair in my own studio which addresses something I've been wanting to learn, taught by someone in my own field. Pretty cool, huh? I'm really looking forward to the class. Maybe I'll see you there! 

Two Heads Are Better Than One

So, as I said, I constantly dream of being able to create things that I simply do not have the skills, knowledge or expertise to make. And gauging from the comments and email from my last post ("Embracing Uncomfortable") 

many of you do this, too. It makes sense that our creative minds are always seeking ways to play. Over the years I've been able to satisfy some of those creative whims by collaborating with friends.

For instance, after thinking about it for years, I fulfilled my fantasy of creating a giant wooden clock with my friend Rob. I drew it, he cut it out, sanded and primed it, and I painted it. Dubbed 'Mister Kitty' by my dear friend Amy, he travels with me to trade shows often and sits in front of my booth. (My friend and mentor Julie Ueland calls this 'booth bait' because it gets people's attention from afar.) Last year Mr. Kitty was joined by Dancing Dog. I love them!

I design jewelry in my head all the time. I dream it, I draw it. But let's face it, it takes years to become a good metalsmith and I've got a more than full time job already. So a few years ago at ACRE I approached a wonderful jewelry designer named Joanna Craft and asked if she'd be interested in collaborating. To my delight she agreed and created a gorgeous line of jewelry using my artwork as the images. I can't tell you how thrilling it was for me to see what someone else's expert hands and creative mind did with my artwork. 

If you've been reading this blog since the beginning, you know about Spoonflower.com, a fantastic website that allowed me to make another one of my dreams come true. Fabric design has been at the top of my dream list for as long as I can remember. So when I discovered Spoonflower I went wild. But a few weeks ago, my friend Colleen MacDonald helped me take my dream one step further when she agreed to use my fabrics to make some of her wonderful wallets for me. 

I love all of Colleen's BCharmer Creations and it was so much fun to work with her. She helped me choose additional fabrics and colored snaps from her incredible collection and voila! 

Combining two visions and different mediums can be really exciting and rewarding, whether just for your private collection or to provide additional income for both of you. So I suggest that next time you find yourself wishing you make or create something which you don't have the skills for, find someone who does and start playing. And when you do, please send me the stories and pictures so I can share them here!