Category — General

Want to know what we’re going to cover during The Business of Craft workshops this weekend? Looking to know who will be sharing their wealth of knowledge and crafty energy? You’re in luck. We’re posting it below. But read carefully. There could be a test.

Workshops:

Craft Show 101:
Craft Show 101 will cover types of selling opportunities, setting expectations, putting your best foot forward, pricing, set-up, common pitfalls, marketing yourself and getting started selling your handmade wares basics. Plus we will talk about hitting the road to travel to both larger and smaller venues.

Presenter: Carrie Nardini of I Made It! Market

Social Media Panel:
The Social Media panel consists of some of Pittsburgh’s most connected, networked, and savvy entrepreneurs in town. The panel will cover hard-hitting topics like: what IS social media, what are the best social media sites, how social media can benefit your business, what to focus on when using social media for your business, and how using social media has benefited our panel members.

Panel:  John Carman (Avenue Design Studios), Julie Gong (eatPGH), Michelle Hammon (BurghBaby), Mundania Horvath (Steeltown Anthem), Holly Maust (Interactive Swim), Lindsay Patross (I heart PGH), and Abby Ross ( PodCamp Pittsburgh).

Business Basics:
In this workshop, small business Counselors from SCORE will provide an overview of subjects that will impact the success or failure of your business. Subjects covered in the workshop will include business structures, pricing formulas,  record keeping and taxes, legal concerns, and marketing,

Presenters: Joyce Pearl and Bob DeGusipe

Wholesaling Your Work:
Ever wanted to learn how to wholesale your work to local and national stores? This workshop will talk about selling and wholesaling from the crafter/designer perspective.  It will also cover how to determine value and whole sale price, create line sheets, order forms and setting your minimums and wholesale policies, how to work with buyers if they have existing minimums and policies, how to contact stores and buyers, the difference between trade shows and craft fairs, and how to  approach retail stores.

Presenters: Alissa Martin (Pavement), Amy Lumsden (RedRaven Studios)

52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion:
Blogging Your Passion is geared to help you make your blog work for you – and not the other way around. Learn techniques for writing more engaging blog posts, using your blog to sell more of your work, and beating blogger’s block. Learn how writing better posts helps to be seen in search engines and draw in links from larger sites. If you’ve ever wondered how great bloggers come up with post ideas day after day…if you’d rather spend time in the studio than time in front of the computer…if you want to market your business, build search engine traffic, and create loyal readers & customers, while journaling your inspiration, craft, and creative process…this workshop is for you.

Presenter: Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl

Panel Discussion:
Join us as we wrap up the day with a discussion about crafting in Pittsburgh, how to get involved, and more. This is also a great place to ask any questions you have, and perhaps even get some advice from a crafty rockstar or two.

Presenter Bios:

John Carman:
John Carman owns Avenue Design Studios, a web design and social media consulting firm in Pittsburgh, PA. John got his start in podcasting as co-producer of The G Spod, and met his first social media client at PodCamp Pittsburgh in 2006. In 2008, John began teaching about topics ranging from blogging for fun to social media marketing for business. He currently helps companies develop strategies to optimize their effectiveness online.

Bob DeGusipe:
Bob DeGusipe is a SCORE Counselor and chairs the Marketing Committee of the Pittsburgh Chapter. He attended Penn State U receiving a degree in Mechanical Engineering and later Duquesne University where he earned an MBA degree. Bob spent 38 years in the corporate sector working for Westinghouse, Allegheny Ludlum and most recently Pittsburgh Corning. During the early part of his career, Bob worked as an Application Engineer and then eventually transitioned over to different business functions. He developed extensive experience in Marketing and Business Planning through various Marketing Management positions with Pittsburgh Corning. He retired from Pittsburgh Corning in 2008 and currently enjoys sharing his experience with small businesses. When not counseling Bob enjoys golf, traveling, trying to keep fit.

Tara Gentile:
Tara Gentile is the editor of Scoutie Girl (scoutiegirl.com), a blog on creative living, mindful spending, and thinking outside the box. She also writes on big thinking for small businesses on her personal blog at taragentile.com. She’s a small business brainstormer and boutique web designer with a passion for the indie craft movement.

Julie Gong:
Julie is a recent graduate of Point Park University with a masters in journalism and mass communication. She spent her days there researching and writing about digital media strategy. Julie first started her blog, A Blog of a Good Time, in 2004 to document all her good times, and has since grown to become a social media addict. You can find her tweeting about all thing random on Twitter or talking about how much she loves to eat over at EatPGH. When Julie isn’t blogging, you can find her scowering the city for a social media job or jamming out at a local music venue.

Mundania Horvath:
Steeltown Anthem is a blog dedicated to art, design and architecture in the Pittsburgh area. Steeltown Anthem is run by local resident and graphic designer Mundania Horvath. Mundania moved back to the city in March and saw all the amazing progress the steeltown made after being gone for 5 years! She fell in love with the city all over again and wanted to write about all the innovative design happening in the area.

Amy Lumsden:
Amy Lumsden has been working in clay for roughly eleven years, and is the owner/artist behind Redraven Studios, handmade porcelain jewelry and accessories. She is an active member of the Pittsburgh Craft Collective, assisting in the planning of crafty events and happenings.  Her work is sold at indie craft fairs and trade shows across the country, and is sold in nearly forty stores in the U.S.

Alissa Martin:
Alissa Martin is the founder and owner of Pavement, a popular boutique in Lawrenceville. Pavement opened in March, 2006 and features a creatively curated selection of shoes, clothing and accessories by local, indie, and eco-designers. Prior to opening Pavement, Alissa was a buyer for a commercial interior design firm in the Washington, DC area. Upon moving to Pittsburgh in 2002, she worked as a Development Assistant for major donors at a non-profit organization and later worked in the Events and Education department at the Society for Contemporary Craft in the Strip District.

Holly Maust:
Holly has over ten years of experience with marketing communication strategy part of which has been solely digital.  She has spoken at national, regional and local events regarding social media. She has an addiction and passion to social media and can be found engaging in that space on a daily basis. Holly Maust is President of Interactive Swim, a digital marketing agency.  She works with advertising agencies & mid to large sized companies helping them with social media , search engine marketing, online marketing and mobile technologies. Some of the clients she has touched with her social media wand are: visitPA, Visit Annapolis, Louisiana Travel, Tepper School of Business, Alabama State University,  National Healthy Marriage Center, Northern Virginia Community College to name a few.

Carrie Nardini:
Carrie Nardini is an event organizer, social media marketer and non-profit fundraiser. She co-founded the I Made It! Market in May of 2007 and has grown the event with the dual mission of creating new opportunities for local makers to sell their wares and to stimulate community building. She will share tools, goal setting techniques, organizational best practices and marketing must-dos for both craft show vending artists and budding organizers. Carrie was honored as one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 Under 40 in 2008 and holds an MBA from the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Joyce Pearl:
Joyce Pearl is a Small Business Counselor with SCORE and was formerly a small business owner of an antique store and  a children’s party business.  She also helped her husband run a specialty sporting goods store.  In her retirement, she currently works part-time at the Carnegie Museum retail shop.

Abby Ross:
Abby Ross is a communications professional who happily found her way to the social media scene when she moved back to her native Pittsburgh in 2008. She runs the @pghtweetup Twitter account and pghtweetup.com, where she promotes events and get-togethers that bring Twitter to “real life.” A co-organizer of Pittsburgh PodCamp 4, a community-based conference on social media tools, resources and theories, Abby considers herself to be “tech friendly” but leaves the hard stuff to the experts.

Learn How To Take Your Business to the Next Level!

We are offering a variety of business and marketing workshops to help local crafters learn how to take their business to the next level. The event, “The Business of Craft: Workshops and Roundtables” will be held on July 24th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Union Project, in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood.

The Business of Craft will offer workshops on Business Basics, Wholesaling Your Work, Social Media, Craft Show 101, and Blogging Your Passion.

Facilitators and Panelists include Tara Gentile of Scoutiegirl.com, Carrie Nardini of I Made It! Market, Alissa Martin of Pavement, Lindsay Patross of I Heart PGH, Michelle Hammons of Burgh Baby, Mundania Horvath of Steeltown Anthem, as well as other local crafters, business owners, bloggers, and craft show organizers.

This is one day you, and your business, can’t afford to miss!

Date: Saturday, July 24th

Location:
THE UNION PROJECT
801 North Negley Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA

Schedule of Events:

9:00-9:30 : Continental Breakfast
9:30-11:00: Craft Show 101 OR Social Media Panel
11-12:30: Business Basics OR Wholesaling Your Work
12:30-1:00: Light Lunch
1:00-3:00: 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion
3:00- 3:45: Panel Discussion

Cost:
PCC Members- $40 for the entire day/workshop or $15 ‘a la carte’ per workshop
Non-members: $55 for the entire day/workshop or $20 ‘a la carte’ per workshop

RSVP:
Please RSVP for this great event here. If you register by July 23rd, you will be entered into a raffle for crafty prizes!

we are super excited to announce that crafts n’at is back!

we are so excited about this year’s show, that we have a new website, a new location for the show, and a new color scheme. oh. yeah.

we are also excited to say that applications are opening on monday, july 5th.

so please check craftsnat.org for all of the background, the FAQs, and a must-read for vendors (including a link to access the application).

Calling all early birds!  This Saturday, July 3rd, from 9am-3pm, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts will be hosting their annual Yart Sale.  The Yart Sale offers tons of variety for every kind of shopper.   From original paintings, handmade ceramics, fiber arts, jewelry, to art supplies and vintage items, they have it all.  Browse a selection of art, craft, and cool finds offered at deep discounts, and enjoy a little sunshine while you’re at it!  Hope to see you there!

check out a great post about one of favorite bloggers {mundania of steeltown anthem} on another of our favorite blogs {looking sharp!}.

you are both #rockstars in our book.

thanks to everyone that came out for the letterpress demo and studio visit with lisa from sapling press. a special shout out to lisa from ella studio for her help and expertise!

the event was a huge success, with over 30 people learning about letterpress, making valentines, and taking part in the valentine cards for pittsburgh seniors project.

for some amazing {and we do mean amazing} photos of the event, please check out local photographer stephanie casey’s blog.

Looking for something to do tomorrow? Why not check out the Third Annual Quilters Weekend at the Heinz History Center?

Browse the booths from various quilt shops and suppliers. See demonstrations by experts and visit the make and take section. And, of course, view the wonderful finished quilts on display. From modern to contemporary, there is one for every taste.

Members – this is the perfect thing to do before our meeting tomorrow!

January 24, 2010
Hours 10a – 4p

I Made It! Market, the city’s nomadic indie craft marketplace is hosting a handmade market just in time for Valentine’s Day. Shop on Saturday, February 6 from 12 – 5 pm at the Union Project where over 50 local crafters will be offering their best handmade wares.

The I Made It! Market creates events with a two-fold mission in mind. Our goal is to raise funds and awareness for non-profit, arts and community groups working hard to improve our communities AND to provide the opportunity for Pittsburgh artists and craftspeople to establish their small businesses by bringing handmade wares into neighborhoods where they can expand their networks.

Visitors to I Made It! Mine will find a variety of handcrafted goods including bath and body products, greeting cards, clothing, plush toys, costumes, letterpress artwork, photography, housewares, ceramics and so much more.

Descriptions of the more than 50 vendors can be found leading up to the event on the I Made It! Market blog.

Crafty goodies made by local vendors will include:

• Superhero capes for kids by Kiddy Kapes
• Fine cards and stationery by Sapling Press
• Cruelty-free soap and body products by Sunstone Soap
• Recycled eco jewelry by 19Moons
• Handbags by Jilsy Designs
• Screen printed apparel and housewares by garbella

Raised to have a deep appreciation for thrift store shopping, Arielle believes that in one way or another your wardrobe can almost be completely stocked from the bounty of the blue tag special aisle. In her teens, she never paid full price for a piece of clothing– cutting, beading, cinching, and embroidering those blue-tagged specials to create her own personal style.  Once in college, she started to make garments from scratch, using sheets, curtains, and whatever fabrics she could get her hands on.

Arielle credits her sister for helping her find inspiration.  Her sister surveys the current fashion trends and sends Arielle “digestible” emails that she can process. Inspiration also comes to Arielle from fabrics, also found by rummaging at thrift stores.  She uses recycled fabrics not only because they are cheap, but because conservation is all about survival. 

“I’ve definitely used my fair share of curtains– in fact, I was once selling at a street fair in Portland, OR, when a passerby remarked on the similarity between one of my skirts and the curtains her grandma had in the basement. Oops. I thought it was beautiful…”

Ahead for Fancy Clothing are structured dresses, tunics and tops that are true to the foundation of her designs: simple, sensible and feminine.

The Must-Knows:

What craft tool can’t you live without?

My two sewing machines aside, it’s the scissors!! I can’t begin to express the true value of a nice pair of sharp sewing scissors

If you would want to see a celebrity wearing one of your pieces, who would it be?

It would be amazing if I could get Zooey Deschanel to don a Nancy Drew Jumper, and if Karen O or Chan Marshall wanted to flaunt a Cinch Dress on stage, I would have no objection.

What keeps you trucking during those long hours of sewing?

The biggest, most amazing help to productivity is a good audio book. I’ve been pillaging the library’s book on tape section for years now, and was ecstatic to discover (thanks once again to my sister’s net-wisdom) that most major libraries have an online audio book library. Revolutionary!

Visit Fancy Clothing’s Etsy shop here!