Planners are a great way to stay focused and timely throughout the week. As artisans, makers and creatives, our style often pushes us to stand out instead of fitting in. Here are three ways to jazz up your planning life so your planner looks as hip as you do.
Watch a live session of an influencer who is savvy with planning as you prep for the week. A live session will give you tips, insight and fresh ideas on new ways to make planning your week fun. Here are a few IG accounts to follow – @planwithilysee, @theplannersociety, @planherway.
Incorporating stickers in your planning time is a quick way to incorporate your style. Stickers add a freshness to planning that brings instant joy as you prep for the week. Here are some planner businesses to purchase unique stickers – @goldmineandcoco, @naomilovedesigns.
Make it colorful. Using colorful makers and even painting your favorite colors is a great way to make your planner really pop.
Pros and Cons of an Etsy platform by Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield
As we grow our maker business, we may have to determine the best online platform for our business. Many makers look to Esty for selling their products.
What are the pros and cons of selling on Etsy?
PROS
Etsy is easy to use and you can build a business on the platform with minimal technical experience.
There are low overhead costs for an initial start-up.
The Etsy brand is trusted and their built-in audience and network may put your potential customers at ease.
CONS
Etsy is increasingly becoming saturated and getting noticed could be a challenge.
Customers may not give purchase credit to you but to the platform. “I bought this on Etsy”
Etsy may promote other shops on your shop listing.
It’s hard to forget the emptiness I felt after George Floyd’s
death. I didn’t think I could feel worse until I started scrolling down my IG
timeline and noticed a number of Influencers I follow didn’t even acknowledge his
death. Ok, I thought. Some people’s feed are planned months in advance. So I
moved on to their Stories feed since that has more flexibility. Scroll. Scroll.
Scroll. Beach pics. Laughing pics. Cat pics. No acknowledgement of this man’s
death or even any sense of outrage that this was even happening in 2020.
Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. No changes to the feed and no acknowledgement.
I remember waking up and thinking why am I in an online community that doesn’t care about the issues that matter to me? There were some Influencers that I was honestly too hurt to keep following. I decided that I needed to take an emotional vacation from their spaces. I had to pause to reflect on what spaces I wanted to be in.
That season taught me three things –
I have the power to decide who I will give my money to. Whose goods will I chose to buy and support? I don’t need to take that power for granted but to shop responsibly.
I don’t have to sit in a community that does not acknowledge and champion the causes that are close and near and dear to my heart. Before I simply jump into a community looking to level up my business or get financial gains, I have to consider the total cost of being in that space.
I have the freedom to curate a community that celebrates what matters to me – my faith, my family, being a black woman, being a Liberian woman, my love for writing and making. Just as I have the power to take a break from a space, I have the power to create a space.
I have the power to leave a space
that doesn’t reflect what matters to me.
These three artists are making their mark on the design world and beyond, all while telling beautiful new stories about Black women. I’m especially impressed by how they’ve honed their craft and created distinctive styles. Read on to learn more about how they got started and the inspiration behind their work.
“After graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2013, Monica started her career at DreamWorks Animation. Monica decided to take a leap and become a full-time freelance artist in April 2017, after a few years at DreamWorks Animation.” 1
Source: www.twitter.com/MonicaAhanonu
“I taught myself how to use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and would animate gymnastics routines because I was unable to do them at the time. By the time I entered high school, I continued to edit photos and create graphics on my computer in my spare time.” – Monica Ahanonu 2
Artwork by Monica Ahanonu via www.3Girlstheatre.com
“Aurélia Durandis an Ivorian-French graphic artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her upbringing in Réunion Island shaped her interests in representing the power and beauty of multi-culturalism. Her recent works are characterised by Afro-pop culture, in which men and women proudly display Afro hair and braids with colourful African prints and edgy fashion accessories.” 3
Source: www.Skillshare.com
“When I was 19, I started my first year of art and design classes in Paris. It was from that moment I knew I would be an artist. I like to work on creative projects and to use my imagination to create innovative visuals—it gives me a reason to live. I can’t spend a day without thinking about new creative ideas.” – Aurelia Durand 4
Artwork by Aurelia Durand via www.Giphy.com/stickers
“Creative visionary Erin Robinson is a Fashion Designer by trade but also a trained fine artist from Parsons School of Design and the Corcoran School of Art. Her daydreamy, magical imagination is inspired by travel, color, texture, the feminine shape and the many shades and coifs of Brooklyn. She works in a variety of mediums that include watercolor, ink, markers, charcoal, stencil, collage as well as digital artistry.” 5
Source: Erin Robinson via www.dime-ink.com
“I’ve been drawing since I can remember. My parents are both very creative and made sure I had the tools to nurture my animated mind. I went into corporate America as a fashion design VP for children. I found myself stifled after a period of time and felt like I wasn’t really expressing who I truly was inside…what my true artistic capabilities were. I felt like I had climbed the corporate ladder as far as I could go, and after a sabbatical, a lot of thinking and stepping out of fear, and encouragement from a handful of friends, I decided to really share my art world. I was very nervous and had to let go of the perceptions of what others would think of it all. ” – Erin Robinson 6
“Find three hobbies you love – one to make you money, one to keep you in shape and one to be creative.
When I first read this quote on Pinterest, it really resonated with me. As makers we go hard for our passion. Chances are our craft is something we could do all day. But how nice would it be just to create something for the love of creating. If you already have other creative pursuits, maybe you can look to adding one more to your wheelhouse.
Here are five websites for some new hobbies to stretch your creative muscles and gain fresh mojo as a maker.
