School House Craft Conference

I'm getting very excited about the upcoming School House Craft Conference happening here in Seattle next month.

I was lucky enough to find out about it last year in time to attend the very first one and I have to say I wasn't holding out huge hopes for a stimulating, let alone constructive, experience. It wasn't personal.  I didn't know any of the organizers then. I guess it was mostly a knee jerk reaction to the fact that it was something put together by well meaning individuals and low profile groups as opposed to some giant, corporate machine. Old assumptions die hard I guess.

I smile now at myself. I have such tremendous respect for the handmade, small creative business, independent artist, movements. I LOVE the story of creative types of all kinds just doing what they love to do, telling their stories on blogs, and selling their work on once tiny upstart venues like Etsy, all the while unconsciously innovating and paving the way for thousands of other creative types to embrace their passions and gifts. I LOVE the way it all evolved. I LOVE that brilliant minds too introverted to shout from soap boxes have voices and are heard because of blogs, because we need them, their minds, their passions. I LOVE that handmade has strengthened the desires to act more locally, to support artists of all kinds, to see the value in objects made with true care and true quality of time and material. I LOVE that handmade has offered up support, information, instruction, and hand holding that we all sometimes need to brave the doubts in our pasts and try to make something of our own. I LOVE that handmade has reminded us that it is okay, no - it's good, to mend and make due with what we have.

But I digress......

That first School House Conference was amazing and it changed my life forever. I know of at least one person who ended up with a book deal as a direct result of attending that conference. Nothing so dramatic happened to me, but as my personal growth style would dictate, the information slowly seeped into my being. I began to take myself more seriously and to use the tools I gained to bolster that seriousness with things I could actually do to go from sitting still into movement.

I started a product photography business. While that is a work in progress and I am paying my dues, learning quickly how to do it better, it has given me a sense of legitimacy as a photographer and creative professional. I'm not making bank. I'd be surprised if I were making any kind of profit right now. But, it feels good to be on that road, to be paid to do what I do. There is a kind of pride in that that's hard get any other way.

I haven't given up on my first love, the more artistic photographs that I love to make. I'm gaining confidence there too, in part due to SHC. It's just a more mysterious route to success there. 

So, I'm getting excited for this year's conference. There will be many familiar faces and new ones too. The class schedule seems to hold much promise and my only apprehension this year is in deciding which classes to choose. They all look so good.

School House Craft Conference Part Three

This third installment of Conference Goodness was one of the most valuable for me in really setting up a mindset that I'd been lacking and craving for years. 

Small & Successful by Emira Mears 

Emira Mears is the coauthor of The Boss of You, along with her business partner Lauren Bacon. Both women also run the web design business  Raised Eyebrow.

Contrary to the traditional business philosophy that decrees "If you're not growing, you're dying" (which to me really means that if your business isn't growing like a cancer, rapidly and without limits, then you are not going to survive, let alone succeed.), Small and Successful was about having a personal vision for one's business that may not conform to traditional dogma but can be successful.

The most important takeaway from this talk for me was the question: What does success look like and feel like to me?

It might seem that having an open ended definition of success would make sense, that a vague hope of going as far as we can, earning as much money as we can, is goal enough. Emira shared a story that aptly illustrates why this doesn't always work. Sandra Wilson, the inventor of Robeez soft leather shoes for babies, was looking for a way to build a home based business so that she could spend more time with her 18 month old son. When she fashioned a pair of soft shoes from colorful leather for her son she realized that they were helping her son learn to walk. Thus, a business was born. But, it quickly became a mammoth entity that took her away from the creative aspects of making shoes and delivered her into management roles that looked nothing like her original goals. She made a lot of money but was very unhappy with the way she was spending her time. She eventually sold the company and while many in the business world see her story as a soaring success, she was never happy with the way things worked out.

The definition of success is different for everyone

*It evolves over time, changing with the circumstances of one's life.

*Write it all down

-Reevaluate our definition of success periodically and write it down so that it becomes clear what we want and when we are getting it. 

-Take note of milestones and celebrate them. It's important to realize achievement in the 

moment instead of alway looking forward to the next hurdle. 

-When we write it down we are much less likely to compare our inner feelings of where we are with the outward appearance of what we think others have. 

*Questions to ask ourselves (We are our own employers, negotiate)

-What is the minimum amount of money we need/want to earn, and what is the maximum?

-What kind of work/life balance do you want? How much time off do you want?

-How do I feel while I'm working?

-What tools do I want to work with?

Growing in our own way.

*As your definition of success evolves you may need to consider:

-Staff - Would adding staff to your business allow you to do more of the things that you want to be doing and fewer of the things you don't?

-Increased Production - Does increasing the volume of producing your product or service fit within your definition of success, or do you need to say "No"?

*Saying No - You don't have to be swept up in the tidal force of where your business is headed. You can shape that tide by saying "no" or by saying "yes, but...", "yes, if..."here is what I can do..."

-Saying any of the above can help your business by supporting the perception that you are in demand and valuable

-Defining a set of criteria for accepting new work/opportunities might be helpful in remaining clear about one's goals.

Being our own best boss.

*Get help when we need it, so that we are doing the things in the business we want to be doing.

*Prepare and learn

*Pay self well - budget for benefits, pay, and vacations or they will never happen.

Resources discussed: 

*Books:

-Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen 

-Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastination and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

*Web

-Remember the Milk - online to do list and task management

-The Boss of You blog - if any of the topics of this post interested you, this blog is a great place to read more!!!

School House Craft Conference Part Two

As if I could dream. Copyright 2011 Blue Algae Creative

As promised, I'm back with more from the School House Craft Conference. I know, I'm kind of shocked too. For some neurotic reason, once I declare I'm going to do something here on the blog it's usually the kiss of death and it never happens. Hey, maybe I'm growing up. 

This second installment of wisdom gleaned from the folks who have been there done that is all about the Dos & Don't of Approaching Shops & Galleries with your fine art or craft.

On the panel we had a variety of perspectives:

Lucy & Ryan Berkley : Berkley Illustration & Let's Share 

     A married couple, both creative, both in the business of making/selling art, with their current focus being on Ryan's illustrations.

Emily Grosse : Assemble

      Part owner and manager of a Seattle gallery, store, and educational center for fine craft.         

Andrea Porter : Matthew Porter Art

      Once owned and ran a gallery. Now manages her husband's artistic career.

The absolute, No. 1 take away from this talk is: RESEARCH!