6th Annual Summer Craftacular, Madison, WI

Naomi Richardson from The Glitter Workshop puts together one heck of an event. I attended the 6th Annual Summer Craftacular in Madison, WI on Sunday, August 15, 2010. It's always so nice to meet in person the people you interact with and admire online and Naomi was no exception. She obviously put a huge amount of work into planning and coordinating this show. Nice work, Naomi!

 
The brief deets: 

• It's an annual show. 
• Approximately 80 vendors. 
• This was the sixth year (hence the name: 6th Annual)
• Location: Madison, WI 

I talked three of my family members into going with me and I let slip on the drive that we were going to be there before the show even opened. I explained that there would be people waiting in line to get the 50 free swag bags that they give out to the first attendees. They were very skeptical that anyone would bother to wait in line for a craft show. They got to eat their words when we pulled up about 20 minutes before the doors opened and there was a good 20 people in line already. 10 minutes later, the line extended down the parking lot. Take that, family! Regardless, we got there early enough to secure our swag bags. Phew!

The venue was awesome. Might I say: Super Awesome. I might and I shall. I did. Super Awesome.

The one potential downside with a spot like that is that the vendors were split up into three areas: Upstairs where you first enter, downstairs and outside by the waterfront. I don't think it was an issue for this show at all. There we were big signs directing people to go downstairs and the volunteers greeting people at the door made sure to tell everyone to go downstairs to see the rest of the show. I had no problem at all finding everything. Twice.

The downstairs vendors had a great view of the water and the outdoor vendors were right on the water front with another stunning view. A view so stunning that I probably should have thought to take a picture of it. I didn't. Live in wonder, people.

The vendor selection was varied.  The only areas that I thought were over-saturated were cotton a-line skirts and - the ever present in the over-saturated category - jewelry.


The pricing was crazy. I'm from Seattle so I admit that I don't have a clue when it comes to the Madison, WI handmade market and what kind of prices it can support. I admit that. But some of the items were priced so inexpensively that I know the vendors can't possibly be paying themselves for their time and effort. Raise your prices Madison. Especially if you're selling online -- double your prices. Do it now.

The swag bags were pretty darn good. 
I didn't look at my swag bag until later in the day, and on a scale of 1-10 I would give them a 6. The contents were pretty good and the bags themselves were awesome. They seemed pretty heavy on business cards and promotional cards. I did get a full-size homemade caramel apple and a back issue of a crafty magazine along with a few pinback buttons and other tiny samples. The swag bags themselves were awesome and screen printed with the logo of the show on the front. It was honestly worth getting there a little early just for the bag itself.

In my humble opinion, it is much better to even have cheesy pens or magnets with your business name on them than to just include a business card or coupon. At my house, the business cards go in a box until enough time has passed and I no longer feel guilty about getting rid of them. Most people probably trash them right when they get home.

Coupons are really hard to use because, like I said, I didn't open this bag until I had left the show and I'm less likely to look up each shop online because the stuff you make isn't sitting right in front of me - tempting me. If the coupon is for use during the show people will have a hard time finding your booth. Or they will be too lazy. Or they will buy something from you and only realize after they get home that they could have saved money. None of those are good options.

Best case scenario, you'll have to tell each customer that there is a coupon in the bag and then watch them dig it out. It DOES give you a great opener to start a conversation with someone who walks into your booth so in that respect it's great. For example, Lulu reeled me in by striking up that very conversation. She said that some swag bags had a coupon in them for a free surprise. I dug around in mine and produced the official document to get my free dealie.

The pros: 

• We had something to talk about. 
• I got to choose from 3 different things so I got what I wanted instead of just a random swag surprise. (I got a needle felted mushroom pin. Awesome!)
• Because she gave me something, my animal brain told me that I owed her. I decided to buy a little felted hedgehog that I had been eyeing but probably would have talked myself out of (how many needle felted hedgehogs does one girl need? Answer: more than two). My animal brain probably would not have had that reaction if I had just found the mushroom pin in my swag bag.

The cons:

• The same thing could have totally been accomplished by setting a rule that the first 20 people to come in your booth get a treat. Then you still get all of the good stuff but without all of the digging through bags.

Something else I should mention here. This was a good sized, very nicely made felted hedgehog. I assumed it would be around $50 but I soon learned that it was $12. It's not enough. Raise your prices. For reals.

I got to meet OrangyPorangy in person, too. I've been an admirer for quite some time and own a few of her pieces. I found her originally from an ad in Bust Magazine. I was hoping to be able to make it to her new shop: Zip Dang in Madison - but I had some flight delays that shortened the length of my trip a bit. Rats!

The Purchases: 

I ran into one of my favorite artists at the show which was a happy accident since she is from Chicago: Laura George. I have a couple of her prints. One that I have hanging up at work instructs you on how to enjoy a banana. It gets many comments from co-workers. And another I gave my husband says, "Take your pants off." I have seen her work on Etsy and also in the coolest toy/plush store about a block from my house: Schmancy.

While Laura and I were talking, I noticed that she had a few original pieces with her for the show and decided that I had to have one. I was deeply saddened to find out that she doesn't take credit cards. There was an ATM on the premises (a huge plus for a craft show!) but I had just transferred to a new bank account and wasn't sure if I could remember my pin number. I decided to take it as a sign: if I remembered my pin, I would buy the painting. If I couldn't I wouldn't. I did remember my pin, but my transaction either would have run the machine out if money- or something else went wrong and I could not get cash out of the ATM. Laura and I agreed to do the transaction later over Paypal and she agreed to ship me the painting.

It does go to show that if someone really wants to buy something from you, they'll find a way to do it even if you don't take credit cards. But you really do miss out on all the people who are making a spur of the moment purchase. Vendors across the land: do yourself a favor and sign up for credit card processing today. When I made the leap with Shower Art, my sales at shows tripled immediately. I promise - it will pay for itself. Sign up with Propay. They are by far the cheapest and easiest and just charge you a yearly fee and a % of your transactions.

I also met Shawn from Bonny Goods who was kind enough to help me find a place in the area to have lunch with my dad: Michael's Frozen Custard. Here she is with Day enjoying their kozies. Yay!

Walking through the booths outside, I stumbled across Beth at Green Cricket Salvage.

One of her paintings caught my eye. It was probably the glitter and tiny astronauts that did it. I ogled it from afar and then from right up close and then I looked at the price: $25. Say what?

I snapped it up and would have happily paid twice that without blinking an eye. It's called "I don't know Bob, This looks a hell of a lot like Wyoming." I love it. (picture courtesy of Beth's blog post: cafe collection.)


I was amassing quite a collecting of finds and needed a new bag to put them all in - a bag that I could use as my second carry on at the airport (This is how I rationalized it to myself at the time). That's when I spotted Jim at Jimbot.

 
He sells really cool screen printed tote bags with his original artwork appropriately priced at $35. He doesn't take credit cards, but by some miracle, I scraped together enough to buy a bag with the number 3 and a robot on it. It reminded me of my husband, Mr. Gale because number 3 is his favorite number. James: Sign up for Propay. Now! Now! Now!

In conclusion: I had a great time. I bought too much stuff. I loved it. The end.

Slappy Cakes - The Extended Version

Dear People,

I think I have already told you about this magical place: Slappy Cakes. It is in Portland. Now, your next question will automatically be, "Where in Portland? What neighborhood?" I cannot help you. You see, I was born without a sense of direction. I do not drive. I do not think about where I am in relation to the larger world. I do not know what the neighborhoods in Portland are called.

I do know this though: The Internet exists and by telling you the name of the restaurant: Slappy Cakes and the word Portland - you will be able to find everything you need.

Here is the most important thing: Slappy Cakes is a restaurant where your table is a griddle and you buy pancake batter by the squeeze-ey bottle and make your own effing pancakes at your table. 

SHUT UP!
I know.

I've been there twice. The first time I went, there was no one in the place but us. The next time I tried to go there, people were lined up outside waiting to get in. I should really stop telling people about this place but I just can't help myself.

These are my friends, Tim and Merritt. They were kind enough to drive me to Slappy Cakes at the crack of dawn. Look how excited Tim looks! p.s. Merritt has a baby inside of her.

This is my friend Marlo. She is also very excited!

This is the table that is also a griddle. Look at Merritt's belly!

We arrived with these other people - literally the moment they opened for the day.

My first pancake attempt. MONEY!

I go for the flip.

I bungle it.

I think this pancake was too complex for my first try.

PAC MAN!

BOOBS!

Unrelated, but these two Slappy Cakes customers cracked me up because they looked like an old married couple reading together at the table, but one of them is 5. Ha!

The end. (Tim wanted less kissed and more PANCAKES!!!)

Submitting your Work to Blogs, Summit of Awesome

I attended a bunch of session at The Summit of Awesome -a three day crafty conference held in Portland, OR a few weeks ago.

I was fortunate to meet Kim Werker from Mighty Ugly and Jena Coray from Modish. They co-led a session on how to submit your work to blogs. When you submit your work to mainstream magazines, keep in mind that submitting your work to magazines is a completely different beast from submitting work to online venues. The biggest difference is the amount of lead time lead time necessary for print venues. It takes months and months to get an issue to print so be sure to check their publication schedule.

If you want them to write a blurb about your work, send them information about what you do, your contact information and a great image. Convince the editor that your work will please their readers.

Press releases are overly formal and irrelevant these days. Be sure to keep everything short and to the point. Your goal is to make the editor's life easier. If your goal is to get more in depth coverage like an artist profile, you want to be an active participant in the community.

The best people to pitch at a magazine are the Assistant Editors. If you can't find contact information for them on the website or in the magazine, contact the Managing Editor to find out where to direct your inquiry.

You want to tailor your pitch to places that share the same aesethetic as your work. Don't send fabulous, edgy indie work to Martha Stewart. If you want to pitch your work to bloggers, make a list of your favorite 20 blogs in order of importance. Pitch your first choice first. Always address the blogger by name in your brief email. Send them a link to your website (always double-check that it works!) and most importantly: be casual and be yourself.

Don't bcc a bunch of people at once. Contact each blog or website in order of importance. Let them know if it will be original content and you have never been featured before. You should only contact multiple folks at once if they don't have the same readership. If you don't hear back after a week send a polite follow up email. Then, contact the next blog on your list.

Keep in mind that above all else, good photography is the #1 reason people get featured. Make sure you take the best pictures possible or hire a photographer. You can have the best product in the world,but if you submit terrible pictures, you will have a hard time getting people to take you seriously.

Now get out there and do it, peoples!

Location:14th Ave NW,Seattle,United States

Summit of Awesome Day 2 (or why am I afraid of Heidi Kenney?)

Day two of The Summit of Awesome. I never want to leave this place. Really. Except that my sweet husband is not here - is trip is perfect.

We got ton the summit in time to have "breakfast" which was basically your choice of plain pound cake, pound cake with nuts or an apple (my only complaint so far).

I was really looking forward to my first session which was with Heidi Kenney from My Paper Crane. She was really engaging and funny but also sort of shy at the same time. As though she can't quote figure out what all of the fuss is about. If you've seen her stuff you know what all the fuss is about.

She talked about how she manages it all. Her first experience writing a book and how she got started in thte craft world before there were really any resources for people. Anyone who started when she did just had to figure it out for themselves. Anyway, I was planning to ask if I could take her picture after her talk...but for some weird reason I just couldn't make myself do it. She's like craft show famous and stuff. So someone go tell Heidi that I need her picture to complete my Summit of Awesome blogging experience.

I also attended a session called "Monetizing Your Website and Online Advertising Basics" by Sara Dick and Christine Ernest from Hello Craft (the two cuties below).




Here's what I learned:

Step One: Develop and define your online audience.

Check out http://www.Compete.com. It's a website (obviously) where you can plug in your URL and someone elses URL and see how your traffic and demographics line up. It is really useful when determining what sites to advertise ON as well as useful information you can provide to potential advertising purchasers.

Other similar resources are http://www.Quantcast.com and http://www.Sitemeter.com

Which stats matter and what do they mean?

Unique visitors: individuals who visit your website. They may visit multiple times in a month, but they are only counted once.

Page views: the total number of pages that are visited on your website during a specific time. This helps determine how sticky your website is.

Step Two: Define your inventory and create ad packages There are basically two types of ads: image and text. Text ads are best used in email marketing campaigns. If you are selling ads in an email marketing campaign you should be able to tell people what your open rate is (the % of people who open your emails).

Step Three: Define Ad specs

Specify what file types you will accept. .jpg and .gif are the most common.

File size: you should specify around 50kb or less. Ad dimensions: what size ads will you accept? Many craft websites and blogs use square 125x125 or 150x150 Check out http://www.Iab.net for standard sizes and advertising specs.

Step Four: Implementation

Think about where you will put the ads and what that means to your advertisers. Ads that are above the fold (shown on the top of the screen so you don't need to scroll down to view them) are more valuable. Also, ads closer to your content are more valuable because people tend to ignore ads in groups. That said, you also have to consider what the experience is like for your users. It's a fine balancing act

Step Five: determine which model you will use.

The simplest is a static ad that stays in the same place for a set period of time.

You can also use Share of voice: # of impressions forecasted divided by # of impressions purchased= sov% you sell sov on a cpm basis - per 1000 (cost per 1000 impressions or number of times the ad will be shown on the site)

Cost per click (cpc) ads are shown on the website until they receive a specified number of clicks.

Step Six: Reporting standards

It is customary to send the customer a screenshot of their ad being displayed on the website once the ad begins running. Check out http://gyazo.com.

Clicks: let your customer know how many clicks their ad received during the time it was running.

Impressions: If available, let your customer know how many times their ad was shown on the website.

Click through rate = # of clicks divided by impressions.

That's the end of your lesson. More soon. In closing, enjoy these pictures from the party tonight at Land during the tour of the Buy Olympia warehouse.

The Summit of Awesome Day 1

Day 1 at The Summit of Awesome and before 6 hours have even gone by I've made my own name tag, attended two sessions, screen printed a t-shirt with the conference logo on it, made my first zine, watched a man receive a Shower Art (http://www.uglybaby.Etsy.com) and become a bit bewildered, stolen a t-shirt from a nice lady and eaten tater tots.

I can only wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Today I attended Danielle Maveal's session called "Unblocking Your Creativity." she put together a little zine handout with some exercises to help you realize your creative potential. One of the tasks was to make a list of the top five reasons you aren't able to do the things you want to do - what is holding you back. Then, you make a list of why each of the reasons you gave is total bullshit.

Touché Danielle. Touché.

I'm leaving the conference with something tangible that I can use to call myself out in my free time. Watch it self!!

Here's a picture of Danielle looking kind of sick of me saying, "Look cuter. But don't move. Nope, cuter." it's a rough process, but just look at the results!


I also attended the session on Getting Press for Your Business with Kari Chapin (author of Handmade Marketplace) and Christine Ernest (Hello Craft).

I learned some great stuff and was relieved to know that I probably don't need to write a really official press release-ey press release but that I can contact folks online and introduce myself and my projects that way.

If a traditional press release is up your alley, here are some tips I learned:

Figure out what your hook is.

Figure out what season you want to promote yourself in. Do your products male great gifts? Are they more of a back to school item? Figure it out.

Depending on the type of publication you are sending your release to, you should time your pitch accordingly. For example, releases to national magazines should be sent 3-4 months in advance (or six months for holiday pitches).

It's important to target your release well. Know who you want to send to and why. Know what you want from them and consider whether you are prepared to receive press. Will you be able to fulfill orders and keep up with demand?

If you are targeting online publications and blogs then great photographs are essential. If you are emailing images to someone, only attach low resolution files and let them know that high resolution images are available.

Create an About page with high resolution images and quotes from customers that bloggers can refer to for more information.

Always follow the submission guidelines to the letter.

Always address people by name.

Make it as simple as possible for them.

If you can find a features editor and make them your best friend, you should. Or, if you can get a gig as a features editor, take it. The compile e products for montages in printed magazines. Look in the masthead of any magazine you think would like your products to find the listed features editor. Write to them directly and introduce yourself.

Make a fact sheet with lots of bullet points about your products. Include lots of white space so the amount of information isn't overwhelming.

In closing, here's a cute picture of Kari. Yay, Kari!

Location:NE 33rd Ave,Portland,United States

Handmade name tag

Create my own nametag. Check.

Location:Summit of awesome

The Summit of Awesome

I'm on my way to the Summit of Awesome and testing out my iPad on the way. I haven't figured out how to upload pictures yet so you'll have to enjoy this random image of a squirrel instead of something timely and poignant.


He's CUTES!! You can read all about the Summit of Awesome and check out the schedule here: http://www.hellocraft.com/2009/04/summit-of-awesome-announces-awesome-schedule/ If there's a session you're really quite interested in hearing a report about holler and I'll see what I can do. More soon.

Location:On a train bound for Portland