Essential Tools – Learn a new tool or fall in love again with your old tool
Makers. What do we do? Make! And what do we use to make our goods? Tools! Here are some highlights of essential tools for makers. Whether you sew, knit, or papercraft, tools can make or break your project. Even if you have every tool you think you need, you never know when you might need another tool. Here are a few resources for upping your craft life by learning new tools or (re) falling in love again with the ones you have.
Whether you are making a beginner’s tote or a jumpsuit, this list of sewing tools from Polka Dot Chair is sure to please!
Have fun knitting away gloves, sweaters or even blankets with the essential tool list from The Blue Elephant.
Create a thank you card or refresh your scrapbook kit with any of the following essential tools from Jill Cameron’s Creations.
We held our third Craft Savvy Market on April 13,2019 and this market superseded our expectations in so many ways. Everything from our spectacular vendors, to our customers, volunteers made the event one of our best. Below, we wrap up and share part 2 of our lessons learned. Check us out in Instagram and Facebook @craftsavvymarket to see more pictures and videos from the event.
Third Time’s A Charm – Lessons Learned Craft Savvy Market #3
After every market, I breathe a big sigh of relief and then I have this desire to lay on the couch for one day straight. Please refrain from judging me! Craft Savvy Market #3 was no different. I was still exhausted, but I did not need as much time to recuperate. Here are three things I learned from our third market:
Ditch It If It Doesn’t Work – For this market, I love that we were not afraid to ditch some practices that did not work for us during the first two markets. For example, we decided to change the time of the market. For the first two markets, our hours were 11-4. For this market, we looked at our data and we decided to alter the time and I’m glad we did. Sometimes we are afraid to make changes because we often times don’t have a guarantee of success. But one thing is for sure: If you never try, you’ll never know. If it isn’t working, ditch it and try a new strategy. The worse that could happen is that you learn from your experience. The best that could happen is that you see the success you dreamed about.
Develop A Process – One of the things we tried to do for our third market was to streamline our processes. This inspired me because developing a process is the first step to becoming more efficient at a task. A process saves us from starting from scratch every time. We worked hard this time around to analyze the feedback we received from our previous markets and make applicable changes and create processes where needed. We also were careful to document processes and refine the steps needed for various tasks. This is applicable to any task we choose to undertake in our own lives. Develop a process and give it a try. If you find that the process needs tweaking, make adjustments and keep going. It’s always easier to start with a baseline.
Build A Team– For this market, I learned the value of building a team. As a crafter, we sometimes get in the habit of working solo – my idea, my execution, my work, etc. For our third market, we were more intentional about building a team of supporters and volunteers. This made the day of the market much smoother. Instead of being pulled in multiple directions, we were able to focus on fewer tasks and make more of an impact on those tasks.
by Jandi Harris
3 Lessons I Learned from CSM #3
1. After speaking with some vendors, I realized we are making a great impact. Some first time
vendors were excited to be a part of our event because of the connections they were able to make and the exposure they were able gain. It definitely feels great to be aligned with such an inspiring event.
2. Secondly,I learned to always leave room for the unexpected things.No matter how well an event is planned, it is impossible to cross all the “T’s” and dot all the “I’s”. There are some things will be beyond my control.
For example, some key people confirmed that they would attend and on the day of ended up cancelling. At that point it was too late to make other arrangements, so we had to improvise. There were other areas where we had to think quickly and develop a solution on the spot. At the end of the day, it all worked out. This market taught me to do my very best and let God will take care of the rest.
3. Thirdly, I realized the power of team work and learned the importance of having a strong and reliable team. The old adage “Team work makes the dream work” was truly in action at Craft Savvy Market #3 on April 13. I am grateful and thankful to everyone (vendors, staff, venue, and my Craft Savvy Sisters) for making this the best market yet.
We held our third Craft Savvy Market on April 13,2019 and this market superceded our expectations in so many ways. Everything from our spectacular vendors, to our customers, volunteers made the event one of our best. Below, we share our lessons learned.
Lessons Learned – Craft Savvy Market #3
I think we’ve done a nice job of learning from past mistakes and adjusting accordingly. I remember we decided to do a big, beautiful Insta-worthy photo wall at our second event. We did our Pinterest research, brainstormed how to execute our concept and bought our supplies. Then we made a plan to arrive at the building to install the photo wall, step up all the tables and have the vendors arrive 30 minutes later. Let’s just say that schedule didn’t work so well.
The photo wall was tough to set-up and when vendors (and volunteers) began to arrive with lots of questions and needs, stress and scrambling ensued. Note to self: don’t schedule set-up within 30 minutes of vendor arrival!! For the third market, we gave ourselves an ample 90 minutes to set-up and then opened the doors for our vendors. We had calmly set up tables, built the photo wall, briefed our volunteers and could now take care of our vendors. You can’t anticipate everything that will go wrong when you are running a business, but you can certainly learn from mistakes and come back stronger and better prepared.
Another lesson learned with this market is the importance of not hanging your hat on one approach. We typically invest in Facebook ads (along with other things) to get the word out about the event. After focusing mostly on promoting the event page, we tried adding individual post promotion to the mix and received an even better payback on our ad dollars. It was a great reminder to remain nimble and not just rest on what’s working “okay”. Sometimes you need to experiment and make adjustments to get the best possible result.
I can’t believe we just wrapped our third market! I am so proud that we’ve accomplished and grateful for all the lessons learned and support and blessings we’ve received on the journey. Here’s to getting better and not giving up!
By: Charlene Dunbar
More Room- Lesson From CSM #3
When I walked away from the April market, two words haunted me – “more room”. We used half of the space at Decatur Recreation Center for our first and second markets. The April market was the first time we collapsed the wall and used the entire room. The reality is that even when we were using half the space at the previous markets, we were already in the full room. It was up to us to see it. If we had given up after the first and second markets, we would not have made it to the full room. This market reminded me to craft my vision as a maker and to continuously pursue it with my whole heart.
My vision is my belief that a deposit was placed in me before I was born to pursue my greatest and wildest dream as a maker. My vision is about my potential and seeing my fullest self without restrictions, hindrances, fear or doubts. My vision is not about my present conditions but it is about my final destination. For some that might mean being a full-time maker, others it might be owning a brick and mortar store and for others it might mean developing a global brand.
But regardless of what your vision looks like, that means that if I have a bad market day and no one buys my goods, then no one bought my goods. Do I need to rethink my market approach? Yes. Hopefully the work I do and choices I make line up with my vision and final destination. That means I may have to be flexible and willing to make adjustments as needed. Does it mean I may need to rethink my marketing strategies? Maybe. Does it mean I may need to rethink the goods I bring to the market? Possibly. Does it mean that I need to walk away from my vision? NO.
My vision is not about the conditions around me but about my fullest potential. Sometimes people don’t understand our vision and we spend time too much time trying to convince them of our vision. But my job is not to educate people on my vision but to educate myself on how I will reach my fullest potential. My vision is bigger than my present conditions, people’s understanding and even what my eyes can see. If I plan to go from a half space to a full room, then I better start seeing, believing in and pursuing my vision with everything I got.More room.
If you do any type of crafts, then you probably face this issue: SCRAPS, SCRAPS, AND MORE SCRAPS. As a sewist, I struggle with what to do with my scraps. A part of me wants to embrace Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing of Tidying Up and get rid of all the scraps, but the fabric lover / recycler / creative in me won’t let me throw all of it out. Don’t get me wrong, (and before you judge me), I am well aware that I cannot possibly hold on to all my scraps, but for those pieces that are too special to let go of, here are five ideas that require 30 minutes or less and require beginning level sewing skills.
A carry all drawstring bag – This is a quick 10-15 minute sewing project and you can make a variety of sizes to fit the intended I use mine bag for my shoes when I travel. You could put dirty clothes, swimsuits, knickknacks, etc in your bag and the added bonus: you can customize it to fit your style.
Here is a great draw string bag tutorial from Melly Sews .
Sunglasses or glasses pouch- With spring right around the corner, this is a perfect project. To make, cut two pieces of fabric for the outside of the pouch and two pieces of fabric for the inside lining. If you want to get fancy, you can add you add batting for extra cushion.
Here is a great tutorial from Alice & Louis for this project.
Headbands – My daughters seem to really be into headbands these days, so most of my scrap knit fabrics are dedicated to these. This project is so simple, my daughter has actually made several headbands for herself.
Carry all zipper pouch – Who can’t find more ways to use a zipper pouch? These pouches are great for pencils, makeup, coins, etc. Don’t be intimidated by the zipper. The process is not as scary as it sounds.
Scrap fabric garland– This is a great idea for your party or seasonal decorating. I haven’t actually made this project yet, but it is on my list of ideas to try. I love this idea from Grey House Harbor which requires no sewing and I love how Project Nursery uses the same idea in her nursery.Photo from ProjectNursery.com
Walk in any grocery story in at the end of January and you know that love is in the air. Whether it’s red hearts everywhere, cookies swathed in every shade of pink or all the chocolate that suspiciously appears everywhere, we know Valentine’s Day is here. But truly, we want to show love beyond one day.
Here are three ways that you can celebrate the love ones in your life – even when the red hearts and pink cookies have long disappeared.
1.Write a loved one
Write a good old fashioned love letter or pour your feelings into a card. Here are a prompts to get you started on your card – I will always treasure the time when we… or Here are five reasons I love you. You would write your spouse, partner, child, friend, neighbor or someone who needs a reminder that they are loved. Either way, write from your heart. Your words may just be what your love one needs.
2. Capture a memory by creating a scrapbook page
If you traveled recently with people love or had a special experience with loved ones, simply capture your memories. Grab your favorite color or patterned card stock from your favorite craft store and paste a few pictures from your travel or special experience. Write along your pictures to documents your memories. Add embellishments to round out your experience and make your scrapbook page special. Gift to your travel mate or love one from your special experience.
3.Print your favorite scripture or affirmation and paste it to a tag board.
Purchase materials to mount the board. Keep one for yourself and gift one to a friend. This might be encouragement for a loved one long after the thrills from Valentine’s Day is over.
We held our second Craft Savvy Market on November 3, 2018 and we had a blast. Apply to be a vendor for our upcoming market here.
We gave you our Market #2 reflections and thoughts Part 1 (here), and we are back for Part 2. Reflection allows us to the opportunity to identify what works for us and the things that do not work. As a team, we have incorporated reflection as a necessary practice because it allows us to look back and improve as well as celebrate. m
The importance of Confidence – Lessons From CSM #2
You can have the skills, and talent, but confidence will lead you to a success. A few months back when we started planning for Craft Savvy Market #2, we decided to take more risks, challenge/encourage each other, and boost our confidence in our abilities to produce a successful event. As a result, we pulled of a great market event. This personally encouraged me to step out with confidence in every area of my life. One specific example: was creating our photo wall backdrop. Charlene challenged us to make our own creative photo wall, and we accepted the challenge. As a result, we collectively created an amazing photo wall for our event. That added an extra boost to my self-confidence.
Did we have fears? YES!!! Did we doubt somethings? Of course we did. We decided to focus on the Big GOD we serve; and grow our confidence from what He did during our first market event. We grew confidence in our abilities, so we didn’t allow fears to rise within up. That confidence helped to free us to push even harder. It has helped me to move out of my self-restricted comfort zone. With that level of Confidence, I am ready to work harder for a greater outcome. With all this confidence, love, support, and teamwork, I am excited to see what happens next. I know that the next market day will be bigger and better. So with that been said, if you are embarking on a new undertaking, have supportive people around you to help build your confidence.
Mina
Pace Yourself – Lessons From CSM #2
This time around, I learned to pace myself in regards to creating products. One of the challenges of being selling handmade items is producing items to sell. Because many of us are a one / two man show, failure to adequately prepare in this area often times means we are left scrambling at the last minute, or we have a very limited supply of our products.
In preparation for market day, there was quite a few things that had to be taken care of from a market stand point and from a business owner’s stand point. Sometimes, it got overwhelming, but one thing I improved on was not waiting until the last minute to create products.
I intentionally set goals for the number of products I wanted to have on hand and broke down how many items I would need to produce over the time I had in order to be fully prepared. And every week, I made progress towards this goal. I didn’t necessarily meet my weekly goals every week, but it was much better than when I started. Instead of being a last minute producer (which impacts the quality of my product), I became more goal driven. This made a huge difference in the amount of products I was able to produce and it preserved my sanity and lowered my stress levels as well.
Jandi
Lillie Gwen Designs at Craft Savvy Market #2
How do you reflect as a creative? Share your ideas and thoughts with us below.
Like most small business owners, I spend a lot of of time figuring out how to reach more customers and increase my sales. So I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to attend the Facebook Community Boost event in Atlanta and learn strategies for using Facebook to grow my business.
First of all, Facebook knows how to put on fabulous, engaging event. Throughout the day, there were 45-minute sessions that covered topics like “Instagram Stories School”, “Taking Facebook Ads to the Next Level” and “Getting Creative with Your Mobile Phone”. In between sessions, you could network with other attendees, get a free headshot or visit kiosks to get a free business page audit from Facebook team members. And super important, it was all free, from parking to a delicious catered Cobb salad for lunch. Ok, enough of me drooling over the event production, which was a user experience lesson in of itself.
Three takeaways from the “Connecting with Local Shoppers” session I attended.
#1 – Build your mobile presence
Customers looking for local experiences and businesses want to find YOU! Make it easy for them. This includes having a complete “About” section on your Facebook business page, such as the best hours to reach you. Even if you don’t have a physical shop or have a 9 to 5, are there certain hours that you can be reached? List them, along with the best phone number (or physical address if applicable) to contact you. I added business hours and updated my dated business cover photo with a short video (videos are king!) after attending this session.
#2 – Communicate with your customers
I appreciated this one because I sometimes fall into a rut of talking AT my customers (“shop now”, “look at this new thing”, etc…) vs. talking WITH them. You can open up the lines of communication by asking more questions or seeking their input with tools like polls or live Q&A sessions. For example, a clothing business could run a poll on what new pant colors their audience would like to see in their next collection. Another key tip was responding quickly to messenger questions or using the autoresponder option to let potential customers know when you can get back to them. Communicating well with potential customers can drive engagement and keep them coming back to you.
#3 – Build community
Online shopping grew 16% in 2017 and is here to stay, but people still crave real life connections and experiences. In addition to having an helpful Facebook business page and communicating well, consider holding events or shopping experiences. In-person events can build customer trust, help you learn more about their needs and increase loyalty through memorable in-person experiences. The beauty of Facebook Events is their visibility on timelines. Users usually search for events happening near them and pay attention to events their buddies are attending (I always click those notices! FOMO is real). Using Facebook events is pretty much a free virtual billboard for your in-person event.
It took me about 20 minutes to improve my “about” section of my Facebook business page based on what I learned in the session. I also plan to use Facebook events to help get the word out about my next pop-up shop event. Check out Facebook Blueprint to learn more helpful tips and tricks for connecting with customers. Are you already putting these three tools to work and if not, what are your favorite tips/tricks for reaching new customers online?
Do you have a local craft business and want to build community with potential customers? Consider becoming a vendor at our next Craft Savvy Market on November 3rd in Decatur. It’s a fantastic, affordable way to reach to new customers in a beautiful venue. Click here to sign up and here’s to reaching new customers!
I’m sure you’ve been there before. Maybe your kids were home for an extended period of time (i.e. summer break, winter break, a weekend) or perhaps they had limited access to technology and all you kept hearing were the infamous words “We’re bored.” Those two words can either spark creativity in parents / adults or they can irritate the heck out of parents.
Nothing beats bored kids than the opportunity to have them get creative with crafts. Here are five blogs that have awesome ideas for kids who enjoy crafting. You can thank us later, when your kids are occupied for hours at a time.
Hello, Wonderful Crafts here range from paper crafts to crafts using recycled items.
2. Lia Griffith Most of the crafts listed here utilize felt! Who know you could do so much with felt? Felt pencil toppers are perfect for a back to school craft with your kids.
Photo credit: Lia Griffith
3. Childhood 101 – This site has great ideas for tweens, who are not as easy to impress with craft ideas. There are ideas for jewelry and accessories, paper crafts, and wearable arts.
Photo credit: Childhood 101-Create Your Own Decorated Tennis Shoes
4. Tinker Lab – What I love most about this site is that it breaks activities down by age. The activities range from babies (4 months +) through elementary school. There are many awesome art and science crafts projects that boys and girls would enjoy.
5. Kids Craft Room – This site has printable galore as well as kids crafts, art projects for kids, holiday specific crafts, just for fun crafts and seasonal crafts. Sign me up! With this site on board, your kids will never say the dreaded “I’m bored, mom” again.
By: Mina Jartu-Mantor
Self-belief is very important as a creative. The equation for success is confidence and trusting yourself as an artist. To live life to your full potential, you must fully believe in yourself and your ability. I’m learning that I don’t need to be great at everything and that has taken away a great deal of self-doubt. Sometimes your difficulty in believing in yourself can stem from not really giving yourself anything to believe in. Other people cannot make you believe in yourself; they can only support you.
When you believe in yourself, things are made easy. If you feel that you are lacking in this area, or just want an extra boost, consider these ideas to help improve your self-belief.
A. Have confidence in your own abilities to get something done.
B. Trust yourself, and even if you fail you will learn from your mistakes.
Speaking of confidence, a few months ago my back was against the wall. I was faced with fear and doubt. Around Mother’s day this year, a few women at my church were given fabric to sew and wear on Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, I got my fabric late and didn’t have anyone to help me sew it. So at 10 pm on the Saturday before the service, I decided to sew my own dress, but still had some doubts within myself. I kept on telling myself, “Mina you can do this” so I went ahead, cut the fabric and went from there.
During the process my husband stayed up to encourage me to the finish line. Long story short, I sewed the dress and wore it to church the next day. It turned out great and I had a lot of compliments! That boosted my self-confidence. From that moment on my confidence got stronger.
The Importance of believing in yourself comes with some benefits:
1. You have faith, no matter what happens to you
2. You are motivated to get things done
3. You recognize your ability to accomplish your goals
4. You know you can do anything, deep down inside
5. Others become attracted to you
7 Days from Start to Finish with a New Creative Idea – By Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield
“GUURRL! You have plenty of great ideas but what you really need is to execute.”
As I rattled off new craft ideas for items to sell at the November 2018 Craft Savvy Market, a good friend jolted me out of my dream clouds by looking me squarely in the eyes and telling me that I needed less talking and more action. While I initially gave her a side eye, I knew she was right. I quickly needed to go from thinking about new items to having a product in my hand. If you are planning to sell in a craft market and you’re stuck in the brainstorming phase or you’re like me and are great with ideas but struggle sometimes with execution, here is a plan for developing new craft products in seven days.
Day 1 – Search for inspiration and brainstorm new craft ideas – What would you like to make? How will you incorporate your own flair and style? Are you passionate about your product? (If you’re not passionate about it, it’s tough to expect people to pay for it) At this point, keep your craft idea to yourself. Sometimes when you share your idea, you end up getting more feedback then you probably need. Instead, reach out to a friend or family member, tell them you are working on a new product and would like for them to hold you accountable to completing it in a week. Your goal is to quickly move from thinking about a product to creating a product.
Day 2 – Research current products on the market and costs – What products already exist? How will your product fulfill a need in the market? What will be your profit margin? Consider the costs of the new product and your overall profit. While it may be a beautiful product, keep in mind your profit ratio and the overall investment (time and funds) for this product.
Day 3 – Finalize idea – Make a decision on your new product and move forward. This would be a great day to head to the store and purchase supplies. If you purchase your supplies online, simply adjust your timeline. You may spend less time brainstorming in order to accommodate for your supply order delivery.
Days 4-5 – Give yourself about two days to craft your new product. If you work with a manufacturer, keep this in mind as you review your timeline.
Day 6 –Evaluate your product – Is this what you envisioned? Do you need more time to craft?
Day 7 – Celebrate! You did it! Reach out to your accountability partner and share your final product.
If you already have supplies at home or if you can complete your product in a shorter timeline, adjust your timeline accordingly. The bottom line is to recruit an accountability partner, brainstorm/develop your product, research your field, execute and then celebrate by sharing with your accountability partner.
Hope to see you at Craft Savvy Market at the Decatur Recreation Center on Nov 3, 2018.
