What’s the deal with Social Media?

Since this article is on the interweb, I’m going to assume that you are too. Which means that unless there’s there’s some special kind of magical, digital rock you’ve been hiding under, you’ve heard of this thing called Social Media. If you haven’t heard of it…Welcome to the future! This week, I gave a presentation on Social Media to our awesome friends at ShowMe Etsy. I thought I’d go ahead and expand on my notes a little bit, and share them with my reader here on the Fusion blog too!

One thing that I’ve learned about Social Media over the years is that you really do get out of it what you put into it. If I want people to look at my work, and comment then I really have to be out there kissing hands and shaking babies. Adding to other people’s conversations will make them more willing to add to mine. It’s also important to do great work and be genuine about it. When I care about what I’ve made or written I like to think that people can tell, and that they respond to it. And when I’m feeling blech…well the work kind of comes across that way too. I’d much rather go to a site because there’s a picture of George Washington fighting Skynet from atop a pterodactyl than because somebody was begging me to do it.

There’s a lot of different providers out there, and I’ve not used all of them, nor is there really time here to talk about them all. So I’m just going to cover some of the big ones that I use on a regular basis…I’ve also collected a bunch of articles on one of my pinterest boards, if you’d like to read more about it. J http://pinterest.com/redherringjeff/social-media-presentation/

FACEBOOK: Sometimes I try to talk my brother into joining FB. He adamately refuses, saying that he doesn’t care about friends from high school or what kind of sandwich his coworker had for lunch. Fair enough. There are a lot of great things about FB though, especially as business owners.

• FaceBook is very organized. All the information is laid out in a linear manner, and it’s easy to pick up and add to conversations.
• I’ve met a lot of people through group boards and gotten to know them on the internet. When I finally meet these people at shows, events or on the street it’s not like meeting a stranger, but more like meeting an old friend for the first time. Professionally, it’s a great ice breaker.
• Usually the first thing I do when I get home from a show is go and “like” the cool new shops that I met that day. This is something to remember as many of our customers would like to continue the “conversation” with us as shop owners and keeping in touch through FB is a great way to do that.
• FB gives us tools to keep our customers informed about new products, what show’s were going to be in and to offer incentives to come and visit us again.
• It also creates a space where we can develop a dialog with our fans, allowing us to find out what interests them as well as create some “buzz” about what interests us.
• Likes: I try to be very careful of the things I publicly like…especially on my FB fan page. It’s totally okay if, for instance, I’m listening to a lot of Iron Maiden. That doesn’t fit into the story of Handmade Family though.
• I understand wanting to keep your life private. I’m a sharer, maybe even an over sharer at times, but I don’t want even the best intentioned person just showing up at my doorstep. So I keep my personal facebook profile locked down pretty tight. With one exception, in the about tab my website and facebook business pages are all listed. People need to be able to find where to buy your stuff.

Something I didn’t talk about is Facebook’s edge ranking system. In a nutshell, it’s how FB decides who sees what, based on how much they interact with a page. Melissa assures me that she’s working on a post all about edge rank, so I’m going to leave that to her.

TWITTER: If Facebook is a meeting, wrapped into a family reunion, then Twitter is more like the after party…complete with boxes of wine and kegs of PBR.

• Like a party, there is a lot of “chatter” on twitter, with conversations and parts of conversations streaming through the feed all day. The set up may seem a little disorganized and overwhelming at first, but it allows you to join new conversations and make new contacts really easily.
• I like to think of my tweets as free-form Haiku’s Hashtags are used to make your content more searchable or to give them a context using a minimum amount of words.
• Hashtags increase your audience, because they also group or categorize tweets. This adds you to a world wide conversation about (for example) #ghostbusters, without having to be friends with EVERYONE who likes ghostbusters.

PINTEREST: Pinterest is like the coffee table book to the modern age. It allows me to curate a collection of projects, recipes, inspiration and interests so I can look at them later and share them with others.

• One of the things that I like about Pinterest is that it gives me a general overview of what my friends and the people that I follow are into, what’s going on in their lives, and what they’re working on.
• I pin a combination of things that I would like to do and that I know I’m capable of and things that inspire me to try to do something that I’m not sure that are possible for me.
• Ideas don’t form in a vacuum, and Pinterest is a great tool for helping us stretch our abilities.
• Pinterest is also a way to help promote your friends. I have a board called “I Sure Have Talented Friends” where I pin cool stuff made by my friends in an effort to move more traffic their way too.

INSTAGRAM: Great way to share your more personal stories, as well as works in progress and shows “as they happen” For me, being an independent crafter isn’t just about what I make. It’s also about my lifestyle, and the things I see and experience every day.

• Thinking about and capturing the every day in a way that’s meaningful and timely helps make us stronger image makers, and story tellers as well as helping to make us more relatable to our customers.
• One big advantage we have over a big box store is the ability to give very personalized customer service as well as tell a story that isn’t just about making money.
• If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas or getting into the habit of using instagram as part of your brand, a great place to kick off is one of the many photo-a-day projects out there. I do the one featured on the fatmumslim blog.

BLOGSPOT/WORDPRESS BLOGS: I use my blog to bring all the little aspects of the rest of the social media outlets together, editing all the little stories into a larger weekly (or bi-weekly) narrative.

• Blogs give you an opportunity to really talk about the things you know and love.
• They are where we can establish ourselves as an authority on our particular craft.
• Things that I might cover on my blog include:
  Daily Life stories
  Illustrations
  Tutorials
  Observations about the nature of our community or tips on being a part of it.
  Works in Progress
  Things that I’m into
  education
  goals
• The meat of our dialog happens here, and it can be lonely, especially at first as it seems like you’re shouting into the void. I’ve had people recognize me at shows lately though, and comment on things that I’ve written in the blogs. Which is always pretty great.

Thanks for joining me as I explore some of the possibilities in the landscape of Social Media? Was there anything I missed, or you’d like to know more about? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Links to more Resources:

• Using Instagram to help your business branding: www.indiemade.com
• Working at your business vs working on your business: www.scoutiegirl.com
• Personal Branding Websites (Like an online business card): mashable.com
• Using Social Media to start conversations by Brave Tart: bravetart.com
• Is Twitter the Newest Form of Literature? youtube.com
• The importance of Community, and the future of content: gigaom.com
• Using Pinterest for Business infographic: infographicjournal.com
• Getting Noticed on DeviantArt (or anywhere else, really): www.deviantart.com
• Photo a day: www.fatmumslim.com.au

Writer Jeffrey Johnson

Stay-At-Home Dad and freelance Illustrator, comiker, crafter and urban homesteader. Jeffrey  and his wife Amy work together at Fusion as Handmade Family, making back to basics toys, gifts and decor for growing families. You can find his work and personal blog at www.handmadefamily.com or around the web as redherringjeff.

For The Love Of Creating

“No one wants to climb the mountain anymore. They’re all just looking for the elevator.” – Brian McDonald

I call this “looking for the Holy Grail”. Trying to find that perfect How-To book, Pencil, or Glue Gun that will make it all click and allow us to be a member of the crafting A-Team.  While I firmly believe that anyone who has the hand-eye coordination to write their name legibly is able to learn how to create, the fact of the matter is that it also takes a lot of interest in doing it as well as good deal of work. Most people get started when they’re too young to know they’re working so hard at it, so it’s always been fun for them. So how do we expose kids to art and get them interested at a young age?

I think most everybody who took high school English in the last twenty years has seen the movie “Dead Poets Society.” The intention I think, is to inspire students to be creative…or maybe just show that one-hundred year old poems and stories still have the power to move and help us grow even today.

The problem I always had with watching the movie is that while it excited me to become involved, to write and talk about art, it didn’t give me the tools to put these new ideas and feelings into practice. The subversive aspect to learning about and being active in the arts is part of what makes it exciting. How do you teach subversion, though?

Giving kids ideas is important, but so is giving them the tools to use and explore them. One book that is popular around our house is The Dot, by Peter Reynolds.

Such a simple, expressive story that illustrates the possibilities of exploration and showing interest in the potential of our young people. More importantly, it gives kids the tools to explore and to share those tools with others. I love the end where the kid has the courage to ask Vashti about her art and she shares the “secret” with him.

I love hearing people who are passionate about what they do, talk about it. Often when I’m on the way home from Fusion on Saturdays, I’ll listen to “From the Top” on NPR. I like music and have played it for a long time, but couldn’t tell you the difference between a technically great performance and a brilliant one. The thing is though, in the commentary on the performances the excitement and passion for the music being created really comes across. It gets ME excited about the music in a way that I otherwise wouldn’t be. Teaching by example and sharing the excitement of the kids you’re trying to inspire goes a long way.

This Friday, I’ll be participating in the Arts for Kids event at the Shawnee Comunity College in Metropolis, IL. A couple of months ago, I was talking to my five year old nephew and told him that I get paid to draw pictures. He gave me SUCH a look of disbelief. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to talk about my work, and show kids that art is something that you can make a living doing. I hope that they get some of the excitement that I feel.

I Love it when a plan comes together.

*Update – we just recieved word that the event organizers decided to cancel the event due to the number of artists that are not going to be able to make it. We are very sad, but apparently they are going to have a new event at the school in the fall. The kids will still get to have their artistic experience and I am super thrilled

Writer Jeffrey Johnson

Stay-At-Home Dad and freelance Illustrator, comiker, crafter and urban homesteader. Jeffrey  and his wife Amy work together at Fusion as Handmade Family, making back to basics toys, gifts and decor for growing families. You can find his work and personal blog at www.handmadefamily.com or around the web as redherringjeff.

17 Questions (Because 17 is Better than 10) with Melissa Villadiego of Villa Design

We have a great bunch of artists working and showing here at Fusion, and it’s really exciting for me to be able to share them with you all!  There’s always things we wish we could ask artists when we are looking at their work, but often they are not around to ask.  One of the things I find difficult when I meet artists at our Open Houses or at shows is finding that first question to get a dialogue going. As I’ve gotten to know my artist friends though, the questions just sort of build on themselves.  So, with the help of our friend Jessi at I Am What I Am on Main Street (who I’ve shamelessly stolen a lot of these questions from), and friends from the crafting community, I’ve compiled this list of questions to get the ball rolling.

Following up on last weeks discussion on branding, our featured artist today has been with us since the beginning, and is responsible for a lot of the look of the shop.  Melissa Villadiego of Villa Design is super busy, between graphic design work, working with and coordinating artists at Fusion (which can be a little like herding cats), involvement with the St. Louis Craft Mafia, as well as making stunning glass jewelry and doing shows. On top of all that, I make her read all my posts to make sure everything’s spelled right and I don’t embarrass anybody. I don’t know where she finds the time to sleep! At any rate, It’s great to introduce you to her, and I’m glad that she was able to take even MORE time and answer some questions for us.

What do you create?
I create unique jewelry by making my own lampwork glass beads and sculptures, then using upcycled materials and incorporating metalwork. I like to say my jewelry incorporates vintage details with a modern twist.

What is your bestseller?
I sell a lot of necklaces, especially the Glass Acorn Pendants.

If you had to describe your crafting style in three words, what would they be?
colorful, organic, detailed

What goes into making your creations?
More than people think! With the glass work, I sit in front of torch that’s somewhere between 1200-1500 degrees. I’ve burned my fingers a lot. I’ve had glass shatter and hit my neck. I’ve even had hot glass go down my shirt. Not pretty.

Then, the glass beads go into a kiln and I have to wait at least 8 hours before I can check if a bead survived or at least turned out. Sometimes it’s hard to translate what’s in my head to a physical bead.

There’s also different techniques I use to make my jewelry, including copper etching, copper electroforming, silver precious metal clay, enameling and metalwork. Hmm… that’s a lot.

How long does it take to make your product?
I always answer this question in years (and I love the blank looks I get). So as of today, it’s been 8 years of trial and error to learn about manipulating glass and learning what defines my style.

Are there any materials that you have used in your products that you think may be unexpected?
Maybe the vintage glass cabs. And old buttons.

Why handmade?
Crafting, and handmade in general, supports your local community.

What do you think differentiates crafting from other types of business?
The creativity. The craftsmanship and hard work that goes into each item. Passionate artists.

What do you enjoy most about selling your handmade goods?
Interaction with fellow artists/crafters and with the public, which is why I love doing art and craft shows! It’s a lot of prep work to get ready, but on the day, it’s a lot of fun for me. And a lot of laughter.

What personality Trait do you possess that you think helps you the most as a professional crafter?
Detail-oriented. Maybe to a fault.

Do you take custom orders?
To a certain extent. With glass beads, I don’t because every bead will be different. One torching session will produce different results than an other.

Who are you outside of the business?
I’m a graphic designer. Foodie. Vintage lover. Amateur photographer. I’m also a geek and a great lover of cupcakes.

Do you buy handmade, and why?
Definitely. I’m supporting the local community that’s why.

Do you have any short-term goals?
Build my wholesale business.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years? 10?
Still doing what I love.

Where can we find you to see more of your work, ask questions, and give you our money?
Too many to count, so just go to my website, www.villadesign.org. And like my FB page, follow me on twitter and check out all the pretties I pin on Pinterest. Go!

Who shot first, Han or Greedo?
Who? (I’m kidding! I sense my fellow geeky friends will strangle me) Han!

Not funny, Melissa…Not funny.   Thanks again for talking with us today, Melissa!

Is there anything I missed, anything you’re dying to know about glass beads, jewelry, frits or being awesome? Leave us a comment, we love hearing from you all too! Also, don’t forget that in just four short weeks it’ll be July, and the year will be half over. I’m planning on doing eleven projects inspired by pins on pinterest in an 11 days of pinterest feature to mark the halfway point to Christmas…It’s never too early to start making junk to give away to the family, is it? If you’d like to see some of the things that I’m planning on, or would like to suggest a pin that I might love (or hate) to make you can check out my 11 days of pinterest board or leave me a comment in the comment section.

Thanks, and see you next week!

Links:

• Melissa’s Website: www.villadesign.org
• Facebook: villadesign
• twitter: @villadesign
• Pinterest: TwentyThree

Writer Jeffrey Johnson

Stay-At-Home Dad and freelance Illustrator, comiker, crafter and urban homesteader. Jeffrey  and his wife Amy work together at Fusion as Handmade Family, making back to basics toys, gifts and decor for growing families. You can find his work and personal blog at www.handmadefamily.com or around the web as redherringjeff.

17 Questions With Shelah McClymont of The Foundrie

When I first walked into the Foundrie, I was struck with just how cool a shop it is. Not just cool, but rich…like a dark chocolate mousse, or the smell of aged and oiled leather. There’s a feeling of caring craftsmanship that permeates the whole shop, from the window dressings all the way down to the smallest handmade item. Wait! Did I say Handmade!? Why yes I did! Our friends at the Foundrie stock all local handmade and vintage items.

Recently, they decided to move to a new storefront in Chesterfield mall, and (from what I could see by peeking through the windows) it is going to be even better than before! I thought it would be great if I could tear Shelah McClymont away from preparations for the grand opening on April 18th to ask her 17 questions about herself, the shop, the community, and of course Star Wars.

How did you come up with the name for The Foundrie?
I wanted a name that helped convey that we sell found/vintage items and a carefully curated selection of handmade wares. A foundry is typically a place that makes metal castings and parts so I thought the name was fitting. However I didn’t like the way Foundry looked so I chose to spell it Foundrie instead. Then I searched for the domain name and once I found that it was available, I knew I had a winner.

If you had to describe the mission of the Foundrie in three words, what would they be?
Support small business.

What does handmade mean to you?
Handmade for me has a more broad definition than it did several years ago. To me handmade is something that is being independently produced by a single person or a small group of people using handmade elements in their products. It is people using their creativity and drive to carve this niche for themselves in the business world and I am so proud to be a part of this community of people.

What do you enjoy most about selling your handmade goods?
The opportunity to connect with like minded individuals who want to support local artists and small business owners.

Why do you think it’s important to buy handmade?
Being involved in the handmade movement over the past 5+ years has honestly shaped my path in life and allowed me to pursue my dreams of owning my own business. Without handmade and a following of great people wanting to buy handmade to support local artists and designers, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love for a living.

What do you think differentiates crafting from other types of business?
The crafting “community” is much less cut throat than other types of business and we all want to see each other succeed. There is a lot of sharing of information and resources and cross-promotion to help ensure success for everyone who wants to be involved.

What personality Trait do you possess that you think helps you the most as a professional crafter?
Stubbornness? Or I guess a gentler word might be tenacity? I like to do things my own way and I always have. Working for others has always been a challenge for me and although I learned so much as a visual merchandiser for big box stores I am so happy to be my own boss these days.

I noticed that you carry both Handmade and Vintage goods in your shop. What do you think it is about these things that make them go so well together?
People who appreciate handmade items like the one-of-a-kind nature of these products and I think vintage items are the same way. When you find something vintage you never know if you will ever see another like it and you love the uniqueness of the item. It is also a way to keep parts of our history alive and buying vintage is about as eco-friendly as you can get, which is super appealing to the handmade shopper.

You have a great storefront, but you also pack up and take the show on the road to do shows. How are the two different, other than the obvious change of venue?
It is always a challenge to scale back our displays and booth setup since we are spoiled to having the space, tools, and time to create amazing in store displays. But we love traveling like gypsies from show to show and getting to meet new people, spend time with crafty friends, and find new handmade product for the shop so we keep applying to bigger shows and always do a little happy dance when we get an acceptance email. Our next big show is Renegade Craft fair in Brooklyn, NY this June and we can’t wait!!

How do you find and/or select new artists?
As mentioned above we scout artists at craft shows and we also stalk Etsy and invite favorite artists to apply to consign. A lot of artists come to us through our website and friends who help spread the word when our applications are open for consignment.

When selecting artists to consign have you ever come across an application that made you go “What the, what?!”
Of course. That is the nature of “art”. Everyone has their own aesthetic and sometimes it isn’t what we have in mind or our shop. All art has it’s place but you have to work hard to find the place where it fits and will sell. We had a painter/sculptor apply recently and although their pieces were cool and interesting it didn’t fit in with the aesthetic of our shop and the price points being between $500 and $1500 were just too expensive for a shop in a mall. Their reply to not being accepted was, “You fools. Your loss.” That had us much more shocked than anything so far.

How many different artists do you have showing at the Foundrie?
This summer we have over 50 consignors.

Running a store front sounds like a lot of work. Do you still find time to make anything yourself?
It is a lot of work. I find myself working on my own jewelry in the couple of days leading up to a big craft show because when you have the expenses of traveling and booth fees the only way to make your money back is to sell your own work. And then I get to bring the leftover inventory back to sell in the shop so it all works out pretty well.

Do you have any short-term goals? Where do you hope to be in 5 years? 10?
I am definitely a one day at a time kind of gal and thinking too far in the future freaks me out a bit. Our short term goal is to get the store re-opened in our new location by April 18th. This summer we are looking to hire a couple of interns to help grow our business. I think we just want to take it slow and steady and see where this road takes us. I hope 10 years from now I am still doing what I love surrounded by a supportive group of friends and family.

Where can we find out more about the Foundrie, your artists and show schedule?
Our website is being updated as we speak but you can always find all of the info at http://www.thefoundrie.com.

If you could go back and do it over again, what would you do differently?
Not a thing. I feel like everything is a learning process and a chance to evaluate past decisions and experiences and use them as a platform for change and growth.

Who shot first, Han or Greedo?
My husband was only slightly disgusted when I asked for his help with this question and he said, “You know it was Han, right?? Right??” So I guess I am going with Han.

Thanks so much for taking a minute to talk with us today, Shelah! We’re all looking forward to checking out the new shop on its grand opening on the 18th!

Links:

• The Foundrie: www.thefoundrie.com
• The Foundrie on Facebook : www.facebook.com/thefoundrie
• Renegade Craft Fair: www.renegadecraft.com

Crafternoon Delite And Other Events At Fusion

As a blog follower, I often notice when bloggers post late…So I’m sorry for my tardiness after the holiday weekend, ha-ha-ha! And to top it off I’m not even posting about what I said I was going to, so I’ll go ahead and apologize for that too. I’ve been blogging for awhile now, but am still learning some things about it. For instance, the fine art of planning more than a week ahead for posts, or having it written before the day I say it’ll be posted. I’m getting better though, so thanks for bearing with me. Can I put a smiley face here? I’m going to put a smiley face here. 

While I’m on the subject of planning, I have a calendar book where I write down all those important dates. On Sundays I’ll take a look at it and see what days I’m babysitting, and what days I can get the car if I need it. Days with the car are kind of special, because it’s a hassle to have it. Basically we all have to get up early to take mom to work. Ugh, I do not miss getting up and going to work in the morning. At any rate, when I have the car, I try to plan something fun to do with the girls to balance out the early morning and hours of errands. Several months ago my 3-year-old daughter Abby and I went to story time at the local library. We heard some stories about camping out, sang some songs and made a craft. A pretty sweet campfire to hang on the fridge, I think. I love spending time at home with my kids and making things in our own space, but sometimes it’s great to get out there and do something with other people.

I remember a couple of years ago being sick and watching all the extras on The Lord Of The Rings while I lay on the couch feeling sorry for myself. I lay there and watched this team of people work on their separate projects, or together on something grand and simply incredible like this “miniature” of Minas Tirith and thought how wonderful it would be to sit with creative people and talk, encourage, support and push each other towards greatness while we worked on making things. This was pretty soon after I’d moved to Saint Louis, so I was still working at a non-art job, and wasn’t a part of the local community yet. I’d have friends come up for the weekend and we’d work at the kitchen table and then later we moved to a weekly sketch group either at one of our houses or out at a local coffee shop, bar or restaurant. That feeling of connecting with other people who shared our interests was awesome, and was always a good time.

Fusion has a huge class room space in the back area of the store with plenty of tables to work on, chairs to sit in and space to spread out. Christine Warner of Color Wheel Art does classes back there every Wednesday and Saturday, which is a great use of the space, and our other artists schedule classes in their specialties every now and again as well. We also use it for events like our quarterly open house and monthly Crafternoon Delite! The Crafternoon event started as a way to get together with our crafty friends that we only see at shows, eat some snacks, chat and hopefully get some work done in the process. Like my blog posts though, throwing successful events on a monthly basis is sort of a learning process. Sometimes we try things, and they just don’t work, so we tweak the idea to see if that works better. In talking to people about what they don’t like about the event, or why they can’t make it, there are two big things that have come up time and time-again. The first one is easy, we’ve been having the event on Saturday afternoons. If there’s not a craft show, then somebody’s getting married, or going to a birthday party, mowing the lawn, washing their hair… the point here is that Saturdays are busy. So to address this, the event has been moved to a week night.

Usually I bring some of the smaller hand-work that I have to do, whether that’s sketching, stitching or tagging. My wife on the other hand will lug her sewing machine out along with some fabric to cut and stitch. A lot of our crafts require pretty specific equipment and supplies, and it’s kind of a drag to lug it all over creation to do what you could do at home, but I maintain that doing it with other crafters will be both encouraging and maybe we can all learn a little more about each other and the things we make. Is there anything else you think we could do to make events more successful in the shop? What types of things would you like to see? Do you prefer a presentation with activity type of event, over a more social one? Let us know! Leave a comment in the comment section, we’d love to hear from you!

Links:

• Events at Fusion: fusionbysmh.wordpress.com/events
• Lord of the Rings photo found here: theonering.net
• Crafternoon Delight at Fusion: fusionbysmh.wordpress.com
• Afternoon Delight on Youtube: youtube.com