A Curated Space

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.

I have the power to curate a space that does.

by Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield

In Pursuit of Vision

Your vision is the direction you wish to steer your business. Unlike mission which focuses on the current state of your business, vision is future oriented and is centered on where your business is heading.

Where will your business be in 6 months? 1 year? 18 months? If you have a clear vision, you can thoughtfully answer these questions. While COVID-19 has taught us that no one knows tomorrow, makers with a clear vision plan can easily navigate challenges as unforeseen difficulties arise.

Here are three ways you can remain focused on the vision of your brand.Write your vision.

1. It’s hard to remain centered on your vision when you can’t even articulate where you are headed. It’s very tempting to say you know it and carry it around in your head. However that is not the most effective way to hold fast to a vision. In educational circles, it is said “If you don’t write it down, it never happened.” So take a minute and write out your vision statement.

2. Set your vision GPS for the next calendar year. Carve out time to write out a one year vision plan for your brand. Don’t hold back here. If you could truly build the brand you have deep in your heart, what would it look like? Once you map out this plan, consider how you will arrive. What steps will you take next week? Next month? Next three months? Next six months to get there? While you may have to adjust your steps at the three or even six month mark, remain steadfast in pursuit of your one year vision.

3. Anchor your vision. This means tie your vision statement to something greater than you. There will be days where you want to walk away from your vision or even your business. During times like these you have to remember your why and re-focus on where you are heading. For me, I have a memory verse that reminds me that I am not in this alone and where I fail, God won’t fail me. For others, it may be a favorite slogan, saying or even a vision board that inspires you. Take the time to root your vision in something solid and tangible.

Behind the Scenes: DIY Photo Backdrop

Hello Makers!

We’re pulling back the curtains behind something that has become near and dear to our heart – our Craft Wall. So, we launched our first craft wall at the second Craft Savvy Market. As makers it was really important to us to include a handmade piece that reflected our love for artistry and provided our attendees an opportunity to capture their time at the market.

Fast forward to our last market. The very first thing we did was search for inspiration pieces. The founders, Charlene, Mina, Jandi and I texted each other possible considerations and cast our vote on our favorite designs. The inspiration piece below from a Pinterest search was the hands down winner. Next we ordered the supplies and mapped out how we would create the wall.

It took at least six hours from start to finish to complete the project. We first spent a lot of time mapping out the look. We then divided the work and completed the wall. We kept in mind that the piece needs to not just look beautiful but also hold up for the entire market. The last thing we needed was to have leaves or our logo signage falling on someone’s head.

We were so proud of the final project. Our Craft Wall was an integral piece of our market that reflected our love for handmade artistry and it gave our attendees an opportunity to capture the market experience.

Hope you will consider adding a handmade craft wall or handmade craft element to your next Maker’s event. If you do and share on social media, please tag us. We would love to see your creation.

by Ciatta-Mae Stubblefield

Shut It Down

“No one likes any of this stuff. You shouldn’t try to make anything new” a voice hissed as I packed up the last of my merchandise at the market. As I tugged my suitcase out the door of the event hall, her voice would not relent. “You wasted your time making all of this and no one bought much of it. I mean, look at all these leftovers. You’re not a real maker”. Ok. I had had enough. I spun around to face this nasty person but I found myself standing alone in the parking lot.

Sometimes we speak to ourselves in a way that if we heard one person speak to another person that way, we would give side eyes all day. So why do we allow such cutting, toxic and negative words to be spoken over ourselves? Sometimes such negative self-talk is an indicator of how we truly see ourselves or how we feel deep down inside. We take such care to craft beautiful hand made designs, let’s take care to speak beautiful words over ourselves.

As makers here are three things we can do to walk away from negative self-talk and kick our inner critic to the curb:

Avoid absolute words such as never because it only sets you up for failure. You have the power to create your best life. You are not defined by absolute words like “never” and “always”.
Focus on the positive. Take a minute and write down things that are going great when you feel the critic in your arise. Focus on the good instead of centering on the bad.
Turn it around by speaking life over yourself – Try saying, “I didn’t sell very many goods today but I will sell more goods at my next market” or “The sale of lack of sale of my goods are not a measure of my talent.”

What will you do to shut down your inner critic?

Image Credit – Jack Canfield

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

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