Dear American Craft Council, On Friday I attended the Crafting a Nation conference in Washington, DC. And while I know you didn’t organize the conference, your presence was certainly felt throughout the day. One of the recurring themes for the day was the lack of “young people,” followed by complaints about the DIY craft movement. …
Read more “One Craft: an open letter to the American Craft Council”
Quick poll: raise your hand if you’re doing (or have done) a craft show, farmers market, or other retail sale in 2010. Since you can’t see me, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I didn’t raise my hand. 2010 marks the first year since I’ve started running my business that I won’t be …
Read more “why I don't do craft shows (but why you might want to)”
On Monday, I talked about pushing the flywheel and the importance of consistency. When it comes to shows, I think you need to commit to doing a show several times in order to see the results. But I understand that doing a show (especially a trade show) is a big financial commitment. And in the …
Read more “How many times should you do a trade show before deciding it’s not right for you?”
The more shows I do, the more I start to understand what separates successful shows from unsuccessful shows. While all the pre-show prep and marketing are incredibly important, your attitude at the show itself is the secret ingredient that separates a bad show from a good one. So today I want to share my 3 …
When you’re self-employed and running a creative business, it’s really easy to be lax when it comes to routine. You can structure your days however you want. You can do what you’d like when you feel like it (or so many people seem to think). You don’t have to conform to a normal working day, …