Tag: growth

A Curated Space

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 –

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Top lessons learned from our first market – Part 1

Top lessons learned from our first market – Part 1

As crafters, we are all about risks. We take risks when we use new materials, try new projects, mix different mediums, etc. On a warm summer afternoon in June, we crammed into a booth at Panera Bread and took a risk to join hands and organize our first Craft Savvy Market.

craft market atlanta

 

 

Here we are, almost four months after our first market day, and now that we have exhaled, we are sharing our top lessons.

 

1. Growth and success sometimes means making the choice to stay instead of walking away.

Going into this experience, I soon realized that while we have all been friends for over 20 years and have a lot in common, we were actually four very different thinkers and four very distinct creatives. And that made me want to run to the hills.

But by October, I recognized that it was through our creative differences that we would create a very successful craft market. Our multiple perspectives and ways of thinking was actually a strength not a weakness. So I learned not to look at our differences as a sign to look for an exit but as an indicator that we were actually on a path to creative excellence.

Many times we flee the creative process before we see fruits because the road feels uncomfortable or we wonder if we are on the right path when there are creative differences. But when we push through the challenges, we get to see the fruits of our labor. In the end, I’m so glad I continued to push through and am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with three very distinct thinkers who also happen to be my super talented, always creative Craft Savvy sisters.

–Ciatta-Mae

2. Presentation and packaging matters

As market day approached, the opportunity to share my jewelry crafts with our customers excited me. But then came the questions of packaging. If you’ve participated in or visited craft market shows you probably understand where I am coming from. Packaging can make the simplest things into beautiful looking gifts or it can lessen the impact of a great gift

. And frankly speaking, I didn’t put as much thought as I should have into my packaging. I used medium paper bags, but all my products could not fit the bags.

Thinking back, I should have assessed my items closely and given myself time to create packaging that would wow my customers. I should have considered a variety of sizes. Moving forward, I plan on having pretty packaging with more options for my products.

Mina

Read Part 2 of our top lessons learned here. Apply to be a vendor at our November Craft Market here.

Maybe you participated in a craft market for the first time or you took a creative risk for the first time. What new understanding did you possess after the experience? We would love to hear from you.