Networking for Craftspeople

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Since I began writing this blog I have been struck by how many craftspeople are failing to put themselves out there!

It pains me to see artists and makers of handmade goods red nosed and shivering as the fickle public idle past their stands barely bothering to make eye contact. Going to markets or selling your goods through the odd shop or two isn't enough to promote a craft business; all sorts of strategic strings have to be added to your bow and networking is one of them.

Networking is vital for lots of reasons, not least for bringing you into contact with people who can inform, inspire, enthuse and chew the cud with you.  You'll meet other professionals in different fields, people you can discuss your problems with informally and who may provide new sources of business at the same time.

Imagine this - chatting over breakfast coffee and croissants to a high street shop manager who might be quite interested to allow you a small corner of his shop front to help pull in customers....or to a small business owner who might commission you to make something beautiful and handmade as incentive give-aways for customers. Networking events mean meeting potential clients. They are not just about boozy fat men in grey suits showing off about their car dealerships and carpet cleaning franchises (not there's anything wrong with those...). They are fun to attend and present business opportunities you might never have dreamt of.

If you are not already networking outside your group of artist and crafts contacts then you should be.
Simply google "networking events" for your area and a vast plethora will appear. The Federation of Small Businesses and your local Chamber of Commerce are quite expensive to join (around £150 and £80 annually in my area) but they provide an array of fantastic help to small businesses for example in the form of legal protection costs, debit and credit card payment discounted transaction fees, a free business banking service with the FSB, discounted roadside assistance and free training...to mention just a few.

There are lots of other kinds of local networking groups and women's ones too and they are much cheaper to join than the Chamber of Commerce or FSB but without the same incentives to join. They put on worthwhile training events though and provide good opportunities to meet other people.

So take my advice, brighten up your (sometimes) lonely, hardworking day and do a spot of networking. And if you are doing so already, tell me about your favourite networking group and how it has worked for you.

Alex Piros - Recycled Paper Secrets

I am delighted to be back after weeks of camping in our new home amidst shoals of unpacked boxes and splinter-prone bare floorboards.   A highlight of my blog-off time was meeting Alex Piros (above) of "BeGoodStayGood" who produces hand-bound notebooks and pretty paper goods. Loveitback met up with her on a hot and humid London afternoon in St Pancras station hence the setting for most of the pictures!

Alex has a stunning smile and while in fact she is German, she speaks a flawless American accented English. One of the reasons I was happy to include Alex on this blog is that while her goods are not made 100% from recycled materials she is making determined strides in that direction, and is setting a great example. Her personal ethos is to tread as lightly as possible to reflect her vegan principles. 

There's a sort of deceptive simplicity to Alex's products that is rather beguiling.  The Flutter Book in the main picture above is made from folding and cutting an A3 size piece of paper; the end result could be used for a photo album, love messages or as a notebook. I loved the idea that  it could be re-formed into an A3 poster and that when you stretch it out, it flutters like a butterfly. It retails for a mere £4.00.

Secret Pocket Book

Another that grabbed my imagination was the Secret Pocket Book (£15.00) with a hidden binding and ingenious folding flap for holding/hiding anything you might want! It was a bit dark in the cafe so I have flooded the picture with light to reveal the folding flap.

The Joys of House Moving

Loveitback blog  is going on temporary hold while we move from Kent to Gloucestershire and will reappear when ......power and water are finally switched on in our new house; when an internet connection is sorted and when the headache-inducing wood varnishing fumes have evaporated.  

These pix show where we are "at" in June and why I am not holding my breath for a speedy resumption of the blog.

Dining Room

One side of the garden room (other side looks the same)

How to balance creative work with joyless admin

 

Jessica Hall's company Bluebird Designs does a great line in enamel jewellery using recycled silver.  I remember how vibrant and delectable her designs were when I visited her stall at the Renegade Craft Fair late last year in London. She had come a long way for that - because home and studio is in Incline Village, Nevada! 

Before she opened Bluebird Designs she took courses in jewellery-making in North Seattle, Hawaii and San Francisco. Her "original bird" was made at a weekend enamel workshop in Hawaii - and from then on she was hooked.

Jessica has always been conscious of recycling and buys her recycled silver from Hoover and Strong.

How does a woman working alone manage to balance the time-consuming demands of both the creative work and the joyless admin? Jessica says she's learnt to pay heed to the moments when the creative juices are flowing freely. But it's clear the business side weighs heavily.

 "I'd have to say it's a constant juggle ....there are days I just want to sit and cry and pull out my hair in frustration and exhaustion....but I realize how lucky I am to have found such a passion in life and have it be my career as well".

It is a source of admiration to me the way Jessica, and so many of her colleagues in the business, run their businesses single-handedly, battling with the bureaucracy and yet still turning out imaginative works of art.

Jessica has promised herself a sketchbook for her nightstand (bedside table for we Brits) so that the ideas that seem so often to come to her in her dreams can be quickly jotted down. Jessica's friends - please note!

Although Bluebird Designs produces a variety of enamelled animals, Jessica's best seller is  her "Signature" bird.
  

She's experimenting with various avenues for sales purposes but has an Etsy shop, her own portfolio website, sells through some retail outlets and makes a point of appearing at markets and fairs.

 You can sign up to Jessica's newsletter at the bottom of her home page right here http://www.bluebirddesigns.com/

Birds of a sustainable feather...

                         

Clare Shields is fast making a name for herself and the products she makes which depict what she calls her "friendly little creatures". Clare's hand drawn signature style is perfect for the gift market of greetings cards, gift tags, tea towels, prints and mugs.  The name of her company, Lil3birdy, might suggest that it's all about birds but as you'll see below, sausage dogs and cheeky squirrels also get a look in.

Squirrels Drinking Art Print £29.00

Selection of Gift Tags

I was first alerted to Clare's work through its sheer artistry but was really impressed when I realised she insists on the highest ethical standards in the production process.

Her paper stationery is made from chlorine-free product and sourced from sustainable forests. She also works hard to ensure the same standards are adhered to by the companies involved in the production runs. 

Clare's fashion marketing background has helped her understand how the marketing and PR behind a product is essential to sales. She's selling through a good online agency (Notonthehighstreet.com) and was included in a Mary Portas concession in the House of Fraser on Oxford Street.

Lil3Birdy Mary Portas concession

Clare has a realistic pricing policy aimed at making her work affordable. She says she always considers what her competition is charging and has been forced not to proceed with some products because of the steep set up costs.

She says her Not On The High Street shop brings her “bread and butter” sales and that the best selling product at the moment is the squirrel drinking tea greeting card.

Clockwise from top left, Colourful Eccentric Birds Tea Towel; Cute Birds Postcard Set; Quirkquirk Coasters Set; Dog and Bird Mug.

Hot Stuff for Father's Day presents

Look carefully at what Tony Watts (of Square Pear Furniture) is holding in his hands. Do you remember those heart shaped sweet/candies we used to love as kids? They were slightly fizzy and had silly messages stamped on them like "real love" and "kiss". Tony Watts' award winning Hot Stuff Trivets made from locally sourced timber just have to be inspired by the original ... Here's a closer look:

Wood Trivet £30-£45

SquarePear furniture offers an expanding range of quality furniture and homewares, each piece designed with a quirky childlike feel and made with care and expertise.

I am featuring Tony on this blog because he uses timber sourced from his local timber yard (which keeps his carbon foot print to the absolute minimum) and because his trivets are a delightful reminder of childhood deliciousness.

Tony manufactures his goods entirely himself, has a multi award winning joinery background and has also studied architectural conservation.

He says of his work:

 "I approach every product with the idea of making something I have never seen before....breaking boundaries I guess."  

Maybe that's the reason why I fell for his Chunky Jigsaw Coasters and Trivet. They're clever, innovative, lovely to use and I, er, just want them.

Chunky Jigsaw Coasters and Trivet £25.45

Tony sells his inspired products through Notonthehighstreet.com and it's well worth checking through the range if you're looking for something handmade from locally sourced materials with a touch of masculine appeal. Such as these:

 

Nice Biscuit Board Platter £35.00

Compact Cassette Door Wedge £14.95

There's gold in that there dust!

Gratuitous picture of gold - although this is a story about gold...

We bought a new house last December in Cheltenham in the UK from an old couple who had begun to find the place a bit hard to manage. The husband was an amateur jewellery making expert and worked out of this room.

Messy!

Before the old boy finally kissed goodbye to his home of more than 40 years and after his tribe of children and grandchildren had cleared the decades of clutter, he gave his workshop a sweep. As one does. He then trotted down to his gold supplier who sifted through the dust before handing over 400 whopping quid to our happy homeseller. For dust! Or, I suppose, the miniscule shavings of gold therein...

So it didn't come entirely as a surprise to read last weekend that Britain's recycling industry now generates more than £10 billion in sales a year and employs more than 30,000 people.

What's more, we Brits have gone from recycling just 7.5% of household waste in 1995 to 42.5%  in 2012. Even more gobsmacking is that we now recycle more household waste than we send to landfill.

My last astonishing factoid, which brings me full circle back to gold, is that it's possible to extract more pure gold from a tonne of electrical waste than from a tonne of unprocessed gold ore. Although I understand it's a tricky process involving lethal acids - so don't try it at home!