Lessons Learned from Craft Savvy Market 4

We held our fourth Craft Savvy Market on November 16,2019 and this market proved that we cannot remain stagnant at any point on our journey as entrepreneurs. No matter the challenges, we must push through and persevere in order to grow. Below, we wrap up and share part 1 of our lessons learned. Check us out in Instagram and Facebook @craftsavvymarket to see more pictures and videos from the event.

Trust

Trust. I’ve always struggled with trust issues – relationships, projects, hopes and dreams. It really wasn’t until my thirties that I realized that my struggle was not a lack of trust in people but a struggle with fully trusting God. As we started planning for Market 4, my old struggles were back and doing a number on me.

With one team member pregnant, we were down to a team of three. I kept wondering how are we going to pull this off with only three people? How would we make this market better than the last? Who was going to do all this work? What was really going on? Somewhere between July and November, I realized that I didn’t need answers to my questions. I just needed more of HIM. And God came through.

At Craft Savvy Market 4, we increased the value of our market by adding the talents of Atlanta influencer Trina Small; we rolled out new merchandise – Craft Savvy Market Creative Creed magnets and added more vendors to the room. We even created a new craft wall. It wasn’t easy but we did it. We did more with less.

I just want to take a minute and put my God on blast for who He is – mighty and wonder-working. He’s worthy of all my trust. I am so grateful that I serve a God who blesses me in spite of me. I’m taking my testimony from Craft Savvy Market 4 into the next decade as we plan for Craft Savvy Market 5! Trust.

by Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield

CSM 4 LESSONS LEARNED

1.Market, Market, Market – This time around, I realized that money spent in marketing is money well spent! For market #4, we decided to increase our marketing dollars to help get the word out to more people and we saw a difference. It is also worth mentioning that marketing dollars must be spent in the right place – i.e. where or who you market to matters. Marketing must be targeted and specific. It must put you in front of YOUR kind of customers. In the past, we’ve tried different forms of marketing that did not always pay off. I believe that we are moving closer to formula that works best for us.

In addition to paid marketing, we must not underestimate the power in free marketing – i.e. telling your friends and family about what you are doing and asking them to share the good news. This year, I was especially blessed to have many of my family and friends make special efforts to come and see what Craft Savvy Market was all about.

2. Work the system and let the system work for you – This year, we tried a new system that made the day so much easier and peaceful. Don’t be afraid to try a new system that may work in another area of your life. I took something that I had used in a different area and tweaked it for Market #4 and we were pleased with the results. The more systems you have in place, the smoother the process is. A smooth process means less stress and more smiles. Consider implementing systems for social media, customer communications, product development, etc.

3.There is power in relationships – While every market may not result in millions of dollars worth of sales, there is always the potential to connect with people who can open doors for greater things down the line. One thing that Craft Savvy Market has helped me to work on is being open to talking to more people and connecting with them. Sometimes I like to stay in my shell, but being a business owner has pushed me to slowly get out of that. This year, I was afforded an amazing opportunity by someone who visited my booth at market number 3. That person did not buy anything at the time, but I still took the time to strike up a conversation. Imagine if I had not made a good impression when the individual stopped by.

Establishing relationships or even striking up conversations may not always result in a sale, but it has the potential to lead to so many open doors. So I challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone – smile with more customers who come up to your booth, strike up a conversation. Who knows were it will take you?

by J. Harris

5 Instagram Accounts Every Crafter Should Follow

As a creative, there are times when our creativity seems to be stuck in a rut. Sometimes we can ride the wave and wait until inspiration finds her way back to us. Other times, it seems like she took a long bus ride across the country and she may not be returning. Thankfully, with the help of social media, inspiration is just a few clicks away. Here are 5 Instagram accounts we love that are sure to help you get your creative ideas flowing, regardless of your craft.

@Crafttherainbow – Here you can get inspired by craft projects that represent all colors of the rainbow. photo from houselarsbuilt

2. @Houselarsbuilt – Here you get creative inspiration for living – (home, decor, events, crafts, etc).

photo from @houselarsbuilt

3.@damasklove – The page will give you all kinds of fun inspiration and easy DIY projects that will get you back to creating.

photo from @damasklove

4. @Pantone – This page will keep you inspired by the most recent color trends. Anyone who loves color can’t help but enjoy this page.

photo from pantone.com

5. @Kailochic This Instagram account will inspire you to be creative in your everyday life. She covers everything from DIY to home to event decor to crafts.]

photo from @kailochic

What other social media accounts do you draw inspiration from? Let us know so we can grab some inspiration too!

Don’t forget to RSVP here to attend our next market (Holiday Market) on Saturday, November 16, 2019.

How IG is Hurting your Creativity

I’ve been an avid user of Instagram for about 4 years and I confess, it’s my favorite social media platform. I love its visual, clean format and exchanging ideas and stories there. My clothing business, perspective and connections have all grown beautifully with IG. But I’ve also noticed that endless scrolling on Instagram has sometimes hampered my productivity and (gasp!) confidence. A close friend of mine always says, “It’s all about balance”. As we start a fresh year of bold goals, here are some thoughts on how IG can actually hurt your creativity.

Comparing yourself

IG has tons of inspiration, but it also makes it easy to compare yourself excessively and feel bad about your progress. I’ve literally scrolled myself into depression by dwelling on how amazing someone’s else feed is or how much their audience “loves” them. It’s tough to remember that IG is a highlight reel and that everyone’s journey (and water bill) is unique. Do yourself and your confidence a favor and avoid comparing yourself to others on IG. I’ve actually made the choice NOT to follow certain people/brands to minimize the daily temptation to compare myself.

Source: Florence Given Art

Conforming instead standing out

Again, it’s great to be aware of what’s working for others, but if you carbon copy what everyone else is doing and how they’re doing it, you rob the world of your secret sauce; you. This is especially true in spaces that seem crowded. What if Rihanna had not started Fenty Beauty because she figured there were too many make-up brands?? Or worse, if she had decided to play it safe and launch a copycat make-up brand? Do you, boo.

Wasting precious time

Recode* estimates that people spend an average of 53 min on IG everyday. I confess that my average is higher than that. I recently started using the Insight tool and whenever I feel pressed for time to work on my goals, I remind myself of how much time I’m wasting on IG. Mindlessly scrolling can take up chunks of time that could be used for strategizing, creating or networking. Go make something beautiful happen IRL.

*Source: Recode

Putting too much stock in “likes”

Likes are great, but they don’t always translate to real value. Some of my bestselling creations have received low to medium likes while items that turned out to be duds received tons of likes. IG a good source of input, but balance it out with other means of feedback and what your gut is telling you. I’ve seen brands/creatives who are killing it in real life and have a modest IG following/engagement. Of course, put your best foot forward on your feed, but try not to obsess over how many people are giving your posts a thumbs up. They don’t equate to your value as a creative or better yet, as a person.

For the record, I love Instagram and believe that it will continue to have a major impact on the creative world. But as a designer/businesswoman who wants to flourish, I’m learning to guard against comparing myself, conforming, wasting time and seeking validation on Instagram. Do you agree with these pitfalls? How do you manage your relationship with IG? While you’re thinking about that, let me go see what I just missed on IG, lol.

By: Charlene Dunbar

Craft Savvy Market #2 – Lessons Learned Part 2

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

Craft Savvy Market Atlanta — **Lillie Gwen Designs at Craft Savvy Market #2**

How do you reflect as a creative? Share your ideas and thoughts with us below.

Click here to read Part 1 of our lessons learned.

It’s Important to Believe in Yourself

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