Make It

Craftzine meets CraftMemo

Craftzine.com, the online companion to the brand new Craft magazine, just launched last week and they have so much good stuff! Natalie Zee does a great job of rounding up the coolest crafty finds from the web. I highly encourage you to check it out because there's tons of good content. Great idea to unveil the blog before the official magazine launch, this only makes me more curious to see what the first issue will look like.

I also love it when I find blog posts that I wish I'd written myself. I just discovered Craft Memo yesterday and was thinking about how to post about it on my site, when lo and behold while reading craftzine today I found a comprehensive review of this very site.

Craft Memo is an online record-keeping and management system for craft projects. The free program allows you to keep track of your inventory and calculate the cost of projects (which could be very helpful when thinking about how to price them for sale) among other features. Check out craftzine for a comprehensive review of the craftmemo site, complete with screen grabs (I really should use those more).

What crafters can learn from the fashion set

As I've alluded to before, I love it when people email me with tips/questions/suggestions.
Thanks to some recent high profile press for Make It (in the crafty blog world, which really is tiny in the grand scheme of things, but still exciting for me) I've been getting more emails than usual.

The latest came from Kathleen Fasanella, the blogger behind Fashion-Incubator. From her email:

While I realize that most of your readers are probably one person companies, some may be looking for growth. I've been gratified to help a lot of one person companies grow in not very much time. My whole purpose is growing sustainable, ethically responsible domestic manufacturing, no sweatshop outfits. Come take a look if you get the chance.

So I got the chance and checked it out and there's alot of good info on Fashion-Incubator. The focus is fashion (duh) but some of the advice and reader questions are relevant to any designer/artist.

I especially liked the post on "How to get publicity."

The competition to get press coverage in top tier magazines like Vogue, W and InStyle is incredibly fierce. Not only that, they tend to work with designers who have a track record. There is always this fantasy that a top tier magazine's angelic fairy will descend from the heavens and tap an unknown designer from Middle America and put him/her on the map, but that fantasy is better left to Hollywood movies and "reality" television shows. It rarely, rarely happens. And when it does, the designer is usually connected in some way and/or has a powerhouse publicist behind the scenes orchestrating things.

One of Kathleen's readers wrote to her lamenting why all the media kits she had sent to major magazines went unacknowledged. Not only did Kathleen respond with her own personal opinion on how to handle the matter, several of the blog readers left their comments, including suggestions for how to get publicity on a smaller scale. These readers must be fashion PR people or stylists or something, because they all had really insightful advice to share.

Kathleen's just recently started a series on how to get investors for a clothing line, which I look forward to following in further installments. Yes, her blog is fashion specific and yes most of her advice is geared towards larger businesses, but that doesn't mean there aren't some choice nuggets of wisdom to be found here if you're willing to think outside the box.

New blog resource for beaders

Typepad is my favored blogging program (over Blogger) for several reasons, but one reason is that it allows me to see where my hits come from. I can see what site someone visited that linked them to me. I always check out the site of origin because, hey, if they like Make It, they must be doing something right.

That is how I found The Bead Circle Blog. Bead Circle blogger Mandi created her blog to fill a void in the online community for artists who work with beads.

I started this blog as a way to connect and network with other artists who work with polymer clay, glass, seed beads, crystals and stones, macrame, metalsmithing, and wire. Posts provide a way to share ideas and incite inspiration through recent works by myself and others as well as patterns, tutorials, and "tricks of the trade."

Currently, Mandi is working on a two-part series in which she shares tips for buying beads in bulk. In Part One, she does a comparison of the money saved by ordering the same beads from Fire Mountain Gems and her local bead store. The savings on her FMG order are significant (it's my favorite place to buy beads as well). Mandi recommends saving up your bead purchases to only a few times a year so that you can order a massive amount and take advantage of the huge cost savings at FMG that you get by ordering in bulk. With tips like these, plus warnings of the sure-fire way to ruin your work, the Bead Circle is a great new resource for bead artists.

New indie designer blog wants to feature your designs

While you're online searching for the right blog to approach to advertise your handmade items, take a peek at Rare Bird Finds. Former Crafter Interviewee Sharla of Sharma Designs recently emailed me to tell me about a new blog she's created to highlight indie designers and she wants you to contact her with your great products.
From Sharla:

I just wanted to let you know that the blog I have created with my friend Mei-Lynn, Rare Bird Finds is always taking submissions from indie designers.  We focus on unique items and like to post about items that are unique or are a common product with a unique twist.  Designers interested in being featured can send an email to rarebirdfinds@yahoo.com

Sharla, thanks for sharing this. I know there are super talented Make It readers who will be flooding your Inbox shortly with all manner of indie design goodness. I'm loving the cutie bird logo. In my opinion, there can never be too many blogs profiling the indie designer scene. I have an insatiable thirst for new blogs. More more more!

Targeting specific blogs for press

A great easy way to get press for your product is to target blogs. There are literally millions of blogs in existence, covering a huge variety of topics. There are two ways to utilize blogs to your advantage for advertising, one is free and one is not (guess which one I recommend).

Free: Get a write-up on a blog. There are a ton of blogs that exist soley to review or recommend products. Given the fast-paced nature of most blogs (anywhere from 1 - 10 or more posts per day), writers are often eager to have the content sent to them for a change, instead of having to hunt it down themselves. I am thrilled when people email me with suggestions or helpful links. If you find a blog that you think would be a great place to advertise your product, email the writer and encourage them to take a look at your webpage, if they like what they see, it may result in a favorable write-up. For that extra special personalized flair, try to find out the name of the writer when composing your email. Show that you've taken the time to investigate the site enough to find out who writes it. Though an email does not guarantee a mention on a blog, the process of emailing a blogger is so quick and easy and informal that you'd be crazy not to take advantage.

Not Free: Buy ad space on a blog. Some blogs accept ad space from sponsors who complement the character of the blog. Sometimes the rates are readily on display, and sometimes you must contact the writer directly. In general ad prices are reasonable and available in durations ranging from 1 week to a month or more. I recommend buying ad space on a blog you read and are familiar with yourself. Make sure you have a good grasp of who the readers are and what the tone of the blog is, before you spend the money to appear as an advertiser. You don't want to make a hasty purchase of a month's worth of ad space, only to find out that you're targeting the wrong audience.

So, with all of these millions of blogs to choose from, how will you find the right ones to showcase your products? Have no fear! I have rounded up a few blogs that focus on specific types of products, in order to give you an idea of some of the options you have. There's no way I could do a comprehensive roundup of all the blogs out there, but this should give you a starting point. Once you find a blog that is a good fit, check out their links section to find other sites with potential.

www.fototiller.com/

What they write about: All things photographic.

If you create: Handmade photo albums, cards with photography, boxes that could be used for photo storage, photographic pendants.

funkyfinds.blogspot.com
www.bussbuss.com
www.stylebytes.net/
www.stylebakery.net
www.mightygoods.com/

What they write about: Most of these sites are geared towards women's clothing and accessories, with the exception of Mighty Goods, which is more general. Major shout out to FunkyFinds for featuring me as both a crafter and a blogger last week!

If you create: Jewelry, handbags, anything cute and trendy.

swankymoms.blogspot.com/ 

www.coolmompicks.com/

What they write about: Gear for hip moms

If you create: Anything baby-friendly or mom-friendly. Diaper bags, onesies, baby cards, stuffed animals.

Fieltromania, anabelgp.blogspot.com/

What they write about: Anything and everything felt.

If you create: Anything and everything felt.

fabulouslygreen.blogspot.com/

What they write about: Eco-friendly products and design.

If you create: Anything using recycled or earth-friendly supplies.

New indie-biz friendly features at Modish

Jena at Modish has been very busy lately. She's got a few new features that would be of interest to craftypreneurs.

First, there's the Modish shopping directory, which currently only features crafters and stores that Jena has mentioned on her website, but will eventually expand to include others. Becoming part of a directory is a great, free, easy way to gain more visibility for your products. Here's Jena's blurb on the new feature:

The Modish indie shopping directory is an ongoing link listing of all the indie shops that have been featured on Modish, all in one convenient spot. Updated weekly, featured sites, sponsor sites and other indie resources will be listed here. If you have an indie shop (online or brick and mortar), know of an annual indie/craft event, run an indie zine, blog or forum and would like it listed in the directory, just e-mail me with your website address, a brief description of the site, and the category it should go under. Easy peasy! Directory listings are a free service provided for indie businesses and shoppers alike! NOTE: I reserve the right to refuse directory submissions for any reason.

Second, Jena will be starting a new monthly giveaway of an indie goodie box and she needs crafters to supply goodies. I wholeheartedly think it's worth it to donate a few pieces to freebie giveaways like this. Why don't you also include a coupon to be used for a discount on a future purchase, to encourage the recipient to visit your online store. Email Jena for info on how to participate.

Third and finally, Jena now offers banner creation services. This is a great cheap-o way for new crafters to get a banner made that they can use to advertise not just on Modish, but on any number of blogs and websites. Not everyone has the time or equipment to create a banner that represents their brand in the best possible way. Take a look at her samples and see if Jena's work is right for you.

Big props to Modish for expanding and continuing to offer new content and services for both fans of indie crafts and the crafters themselves.

Online craft communities

The Internet is an amazing resource for information that allows people from all over the world to "meet" and exchange ideas. I write this blog in Massachusetts and I've received comments from readers in England and Australia. Through writing this blog I've been exposed to so many craft and design blogs, it's incredible to think that I was totally unaware of them 6 months ago.

No matter where you are, you can find people online with similar interests. If there are enough of you, you could even call it an online community.

There is a very robust and active crafting community, and even withing the online craft world, I've found sites dedicated to various subsets of the crafting community:

The Creative Cafe is a crafty blog for over 30-something crowd:

Just a few of the men who knit/blog. Follow their links to find other blogs of male crafters (turns out there's alot of them!):
http://www.menwhoknit.com/
http://www.yarnboy.com/wp/
http://yarnballboogie.typepad.com/
http://www.thecrochetdude.blogspot.com/
http://boiknit.blogspot.com/

The MySpace Crafty Latinas Group, started by Kathy Cano Murillo.

Do you know of any other online communities that are a subset of the crafting community?

Blogging as Branding

Freddy & Ma is a handbags line that also has their own blog. Typepad recently interviewed one of the owners, with a focus on how the blog has helped business.

What inspired you to start a blog for F&M? Had you blogged before?

Before the F&M blog, neither my sister nor I had ever blogged. We thought the blog would be a great way to help communicate with our customers. It has served as our official website (it took 8 months to get www.freddyandma.com up and running, the TypePad blog took 5 minutes), the company diary, photo album, message board and scrapbook. My goal was that in two years, someone would "discover" our brand, poke around on the blog for a bit and by scrolling through the posts, get a sense of how our company started, where its been and where its going. I can't think of a better way to communicate your brand to a new customer.

Read more here.

It takes a special crafter to work the rocking horse look

I mentioned earlier that the wooden crates Joanna is choosing to display her wares at her upcoming fair work nicely to compliment the aesthetic of her vintage-style work.

Conversely, the Small Object is a crafts line that is a little bit modern, a little bit kitschy and alot quirky and therefore requires different types of display accessories.

At the Small Object blog, Sarah shows some examples of how she planned to present her items at the upcoming Renegade Craft Fair.

Exhibit A:

D-I-Y Gift Bags

Here's a tip for Joanna or anyone else with a craft fair coming up: give your packaging a personal touch by making your own gift bags for customers to tote their goodies. The super simple tutorial at Cut Out + Keep shows how to turn a rectangle of paper into your own customized gift bag. If you're planning to do major volume of sales and can't make enough of these babies, try making custom bags for a third of your supply and then supplement the rest with store-bought bags; only use the special custom bags for customers who purchase more than one item, as a special thank you to them. This is a great way to use up scrap paper you may have lying around that you never knew what to do with.

Regular brown paper and string was used in the tutorial, but your imagination is the limit when it comes to creating your own bag. Cat Morley, the blogger behind Cut Out + Keep has alot of other simple projects on her site worth checking out.

[pic from Cut Out + Keep]