what I'm reading: craft inc business planner

I just received the Craft Inc. Business Planner by Meg Mateo Illasco for my birthday, and I have to say I highly recommend it. Its the practical companion to Meg's book, Craft Inc., which is an invaluable resource for anyone running a crafts business. The business planner includes lots of useful tips and tricks, plus worksheets to help you plan a budget, price your work, or plan a marketing campaign. Not only will I use it as a resource for my business, but also when I'm teaching my students about running a business.

And speaking of teaching, I really do love teaching all aspects of running an art, design, or crafts business. I had a blast earlier this year when I did a professional development workshop at Arizona State and presenting about micro-production at Kent State (where I went to grad school). And I'd love to come speak to your school, group, or guild as well. Just drop me a line at meauman(at)yahoo(dot)com - I'd love to present on any of these business related topics - pricing, marketing and promotion, wholesale and retail shows, web 2.0 and social media, and lots more. So send me an email, I'd love to work with your group in 2010!

aerolock

One more from Coroflot. I totally need this for my road bike - aerobars that double as a u-lock. You know how much I like duel purpose stuff, this totally takes the cake!

Aerolock designed by Ben Guthrie.

nomadic wonderland

Have you discovered Coroflot yet? You could certainly lose more than a few hours browsing.

I just set up a portfolio on Coroflot, then discovered this wonderful piece by British designer Eunsuk Hur. The entire piece is modular and can be configured to the users needs. And its completely gorgeous.

fall SALE

I was doing a little fall cleaning in my office this weekend, and decided it was time for a really BIG SALE in my etsy shop. I think you'll enjoy it!

40% off all lighting!

40% off wall panels!

30% off select jewelry!

And cozy/cuffs are all still just $20 while I prepare to launch the new version.

I'm also just 2 sales away from 200, so as a little thank you, I'll be sending out a special surprise gift with the next 5 purchases! (Note: Apparently I was already at 200 sales when I originally wrote this - special gifts for the next 5 purchases anyway! Thanks for your support!)

How's that for a fall sale?

cozy/cuff sale!!!

Ok, so I know this seems a little counter-intuitive after my last post, but all the cozy/cuffs in my shop are now on sale for $20! That's over 40% off!

Why, you may ask. Well, I'm trying to make room for the next generation of new and improved cozy/cuffs. (And no, I won't give you any more info than that - I'm just going to keep teasing you until I'm ready for the big reveal.) But in the mean time, enjoy the original cozy/cuff at a really great price!

the cost of the cozy/cuff

When I showed the cozy/cuff at the New York Gift Fair in August, I got a lot of feedback on the price - namely, most people thought they were too expensive. While I've been fluctuating the price a little bit, its been within a range that covers my expenses plus allows me a little profit. But most of the cost is wrapped up in material and making costs. Why? Because they are made in small batches in the US, rather than by the truckload in China.

I was talking to a friend the other morning, and explaining that, as the daughter of a US-based manufacturer, I could never outsource overseas. Its just not something I'm interested in. Its important to me to keep production as local as possible. She then asked me, would I be willing to mass-produce the cozy/cuff overseas if it meant that then everyone in the US used one? What's more important - the type of production I value, or getting more people to stop using a wasteful product?

I was also thinking about reactions to the cozy/cuff at Crafty Bastards. I occasionally get comments from people to the effect of, "I'd probably forget and throw it away by mistake." And today while watching Big Ideas for a Small Planet, it hit me. People don't think about what they are throwing away. If we paused before tossing things in the trash, you wouldn't have to worry about accidentally throwing your reusable coffee sleeve away.

So, if I sent the cozy/cuff overseas to be manufactured just so that they would cost $5, it would be defeating the whole purpose. What's the point of replacing a disposable object with a practically disposable object? If the cozy/cuff has a higher perceived value, hopefully you will think before throwing your coffee cup away. And maybe you'll start to think before you throw other things away as well.

i heart wool

Today I'm working on prototypes for some new cozy/cuff designs (and no I won't give you any more details than that!) and it has me waxing poetic about wool and felt. So I thought it was about time I showed some images from my trip to NYC a few weeks back. I went with a bunch of Towson students a faculty, first to see Design for a Living World (again). Afterwards, we took the ferry to Governer's Island to see Pioneers of Change, an exhibition of Dutch design.

With out a doubt, my favorite installation was of my design crush, Christien Meindertsma. Sadly, Christien wasn't there on the day I was there, but I loved how she displayed all the steps of her process. I especially loved the details on the types of wool and dyes she uses. It brought me back to my feltmaking days in grad school, when I meticulously recorded all the wool dying I did.

Now all I'm thinking about is what a wonderful material wool is, and all the fabulous things I could do with it. (Oh, and that wouldn't it be fun to have a few sheep of my own!)

thanks crafty bastards!

A little late, I know, but thanks to everyone who came out for Crafty Bastards this weekend! Its been a year since my last retail craft show, and I had forgotten how important they are - for connecting with your customers, for getting feedback on designs, and for catching up with all my crafty friends! Thanks to everyone! (And thanks to whoever made the weather so gorgeous!)

And a big thank you to Amy Klainer, who shared a booth with me! Thanks for making the day go smoothly! Its nice to not be alone in the booth all day for a change!

crafty bastards!

Hey everyone - if you're in the DC area tomorrow, don't forget to stop by Crafty Bastards. I'll be in booth #116 with fabulous Towson grad Amy Klainer.

I've got cozy/cuffs galore, plus the new ornaments (you can't even get 'em in my Etsy shop yet), gocco prints, and all your favorite jewelry (including some new chains in all sterling silver). So stop by and say hello!

clarity and certainty

Today was one of those rare days where suddenly I can clearly see the direction I want to be headed in. I feel like I've been spinning lately, but can now see a path out of the chaos. I'm not quite ready to expand on the details, but I wanted to document how I was feeling. Because right now I am feeling sure and certain. And excited. And tired. (Ok, that last one is only because I'm coming off a long day of teaching, so its time to say goodnight.)

orange coat

I'm all about finding bright, visible clothes to wear while riding bike that don't look like, well, neon cycling clothes. I think this orange coat would be adorable to wear while I'm biking as the weather gets cooler. And its waterproof, which would have come in really handy yesterday when I was biking home from cross country practice and got caught in a sudden rain storm!

i heart teaching

I apologize for the sporadic posting of late. I've been so busy lately, and my brain has been so scattered, that its been a challenge to marshal my thoughts into a cohesive blog post. And I apologize if this comes off a little rambling.

One of the reason that I've been so busy lately is that I'm teaching A LOT this fall. I'm actually teaching 3 classes in the Metals + Jewelry and Interdisciplinary Object Design programs at Towson University. I'm also helping coach cross country at the local middle school/high school again. Plus, I recently completed my LCI training through the League of American Bicyclists, and I'll be attempting to teach a few bike classes this fall as well.

All of this is a long way of saying that I've come to the following conclusion - I love teaching!

I know I said a while back (I can't find the exact post) that I was done with teaching, but I was wrong. I think I've grown a lot in the past year, and I've come to understand just how important teaching is to me and my own creativity. I think I've also learned a lot about myself as a teacher - things that are helping with my stress levels so that I don't reach the burn out that led me to take last fall off.

I've frequently joked that if I could, I would be a lifetime student if only I could afford it. I've now come to realize that teaching is learning (and I get paid for it). I feel like I have freedom to learn, and play, and experiment, and hopefully get to pass that new information on to my students.

I'm also understanding how much the environment I'm teaching in has a lot to do with my happiness level. I'm lucky to teach with some truly amazing people at Towson, and I'm grateful I keep getting asked back to teach.

Something else I've realized is that I can actually be a rather competitive (and dare I say, jealous) person. When I see someone with a successful business, its hard to quash the voices in my head saying, "why her, not me?" I'm not proud of that, but its true. With my students and the kids I coach, I'm the complete opposite. I want only amazing things for them. I want them to be more successful than me. Its an amazing feeling to see the accomplishments my students make, and know that I helped them (even if it was just a little) a long the way.

I'm also starting to understand (with a little help from Seth Godin) that teaching is an incredibly effective, personal form of advocacy. Instead of screaming from the rooftops in the hope that someone hears me, I have a slightly smaller audience that is actually listening. Teaching can be a powerful tool in the pay it forward method of advocacy. If I can reach 3 people, and each of them reaches 3 people, and so on, suddenly so many people are impacted.

At this point, I still can't honestly say that I want a full time teaching job at a university. Even after all the growing, I still don't think I'm ready for the all the bureaucracy. But I am happy to continue teaching and coaching and learning along the way, because I can now honestly say, even on the hard days, that I love it.

Thanks for reading.

glorious

I know, I still have plenty of catching up posts to do.  But that doesn't mean I can't post about what's going on right now, right?

The weather today was absolutely glorious.  I can't think of any other way to describe it.  I biked the long way to cross country practice this afternoon.  (I turned my normal 2.5 mile trip into a 12 miler.)  It felt so good to be out in the sunshine.

I plan on being outside biking, running, hiking, etc. as much as possible this fall, to make up for the awfulness which was last fall.  And luckily, the weather forecast for the next week seems to back up my plan.  Hopefully you'll have a chance to enjoy some sunshine this weekend too.

(catching) up

Its been more than a few days since I've blogged last, and I feel like my life has been a whirlwind.  The gift fair, a trip to the bamboo bike studio, and then cross country camp for 3 days.  I'm wiped and the next few weeks aren't going to be much better.

I promise I'll be blogging about the gift fair and the bamboo bike studio, but for now I thought I'd share this picture from cross country camp.  (In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, I was one of 3 chaperones for a group of 15 high school and middle school cross country runners.)  It was an incredibly stressful 3 days (for a number of reasons), but one of the coolest things we did was climb to the top of this mountain!  Straight up the cleared section!

I'm actually scared of heights, but I was fine the whole way up and down.  My focus was completely on the kids and making sure they made it up (and down) safely.  It was pretty cool to realize I can move beyond my fears when helping others.

the last minute

Seriously, when did I become so last minute?  I'm leaving for the gift fair tonight, and I've still got a million things to do!

No time for proper blogging, so I thought I'd share a peak of little project I'm working on for my booth.  Wish me luck!

colors

As is always the case it seems, I'm back from our annual week camping at the lake and am suddenly panicking that New York Gift is less than a week away!  How does it always sneak up on me?  I'll be spending the next few days scrambling around - choosing colors for my booth, updating line sheets, getting together promo materials, and all the other miscellaneous pre-show tasks!

And thanks so much for your comments on my last post - lots of great things to think about!

how much? (and what colors?)

Last week I picked up a big batch of the new ornaments in white from my powder coater.  I'm planning on doing a whole wall of them for my booth at NY Gift.

I've got an idea of where I want to go with the pricing, but I though I'd throw it out to you?  How much would you be willing to pay for one of these (retail)?  (Each is 3" in diameter from laser cut and powder coated steel.)  What would you be willing to pay for a set of 3?  Or a set of 6? 

And while you're suggesting, how about colors?  What other colors would you like to see them in (besides white)?

Thanks!

the $10 book sale

If you know me at all, you may know that I have a slight addiction to book buying.  (Ok, that's a lie - I have a huge addiction to book buying.)  Well, its time to purge some of my collection to make room for new books. 

I've decided to make some of my books available for sale - all are just $10 (including shipping in the US only).  They are all used, but in very, very good condition.  If you're interested, just email me at meauman(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll send you a PayPal invoice for your book (or books).

Here's what I have available:

Cutting Your Car Use by Randall Ghent

Creatively Self-Employed by Kristen Fischer

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood

Chi Running by Danny Dreyer

Fast Track by Suzy Favor Hamilton and Jose Antonio

Asphalt Nation by Jane Holtz Kay

Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott

Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky

Guidelines for Online Success by Rob Ford

The End of Overeating by David A. Kessler

Buying In by Rob Walker

Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt

If you'd like any of these, or need more info, please email me at meauman(at)yahoo(dot)com.

moomah

I've been thinking a lot lately about how amazing it would be to run a little space where I could teach classes of all sorts - bicycling, jewelry and metals, or whatever my little heart desires.  Moomah, a creative arts cafe in Manhattan, is a stunning example of what I'd love to have someday.  I'm planning on stopping in when I'm in the city next.  We'll call it "research."  Yummy tasting, visually stunning research.

via Design*Sponge

where the wild things are

Last night, I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with my little brother.  I'm sure we annoyed everyone in the theatre with our best Statler and Waldorf impressions, but we've both read the HP books so many times that was hard not to be a little critical.  I'd recommend going to see it though, if for nothing else than to see this trailer on the big screen:

It was amazing to see it in the theatre, and I can only imagine its going to be the best film of the year.  I can't wait until October 16th!