In the Studio (Part 6)

Any space can become studio - all you need is some time, energy and a little imagination. Each month we feature Artist's Studios to inspire and encourage your creativity. If you would like your special space be featured in Artists in Business please contact us using the Kontactr Box at the bottom of the blog.



The Dots and Spots Studio
Dubbed the igloo in winter and the sauna in summer, a conservatory attached to the side of the family home serves as the studio for Becky, the artist behind dots and spots. “Having my own space to work is really important to me” she says “but as my range has grown, I could now do with it being twice the size!” Being glass, the space is infused with light, giving an airy feel that belies its size and Becky’s organised nature means that every nook and cranny sports a unique storage solution for the paper, ribbon, buttons and other bits and bobs that she uses to build up her vibrant – and spotty! – pieces of collage art.
The studio looks out onto the back garden and then, across a cycle path, to the trees of a local park. “It was whilst staring idly out of my studio onto the washing blowing in the breeze that I got the inspiration for my ‘Washing Line of Love’ range that is proving to be particularly popular.” Becky has recently given up her teaching career to concentrate full time on her business designing and producing cards, prints and art in her own unique style: “I’m so glad I’ve taken the plunge and am finally pursuing a life-long dream to work as an independent artist. The only thing I miss is the camaraderie of the staff-room. Sometimes working all day in your studio can be a little lonely, but now I’ve discovered Twitter I’m able to have a natter with fellow artists and crafters around the country, all from the comfort of my very own studio!”

Dots and Spots Shop
Dots and Spots Blog



Textile Artist Deborah Good
"I've worked from home making bespoke soft furnishings, home accessories and gifts for about 10 years now. I started in the dining room and, when I needed more space, progressed to the conservatory. Three years ago, when we could no longer find a path through all my materials to the door, we decided it really was time to build in the garden!
"The fantastic workshop is 10 metres long and 3 wide - I have two thirds of it, my husband has the rest. My part is self contained, cosy and insulated. (I covet my husband's bit too - would love to knock through and use it to store my fabrics tidily!)
I have a huge fabric stash on shelves (now sagging quite badly under the weight) along the back wall, an 8 x 4 foot table with rolls of fabric underneath and ample storage. All my craft fair/Folksy stock is stored on shelves and in baskets; there's a bookshelf full of crafting, sewing and interior books, patterns and cuttings; a rescued war time Utility cupboard hoards my threads, tools and other equipment and my daughter's empty and redundant doll's house is useful for stashing away paperwork. I use a 15 year old Pfaff machine and a slightly older overlocker, but also have an ancient Pfaff on an industrial bed, which is useful but very temperamental!
I'm working in my workshop most days, either on a soft furnishing commission, a re-upholstery project or my stock for Folksy.
I'm one lucky lady - I love my sanctuary!

Pretty Goods on Folksy



Ceramic Artist Charlotte Hupfield
"My passion for ceramics started from an early age, and it was at university where my skills, techniques, understanding and creativity developed. After graduating in 2008 I have continued to develop my ceramics over the past 18 months. I began by working from home which wasn't ideal as it got rather messy and storage space was limited. When everything took off 6 months ago I decided it was time to have my own creative space to produce work.
My workshop in the garden has been a life-saver and I don't know what I would do without it now. It's nice to sit out there at my leisure with a cup of tea. It's also great to have so much natural light coming in through the windows. I have the occasional friends that sometimes come to say hello, such as the robin who watches me through the window, and the squirrel who jumps about on the roof! There is a big Christmas tree right outside the window, so I'm looking forward to the sight of it decorated nearer to Christmas.
I enjoy cleaning, tidying and organising my workshop every now and then but it soon gets untidy again! I made my own ceramic plaque which hangs on the outside next to the door. My plaques have been quite popular this year and I've made several for other peoples' craft cabins and studios.
It gets a bit stuffy in the summer but it's nice to have the door open with fresh air coming in. On the other hand, I'm just starting to experience the winter weather! I'm lucky to have a hallogen heater which heats up the small space and soon makes it feel warm and cosy.
My current work ranges from handmade items inspired by the natural world such as vases, bowls, sculptural vessels, coasters, plaques, clocks, letter racks, candle shaders, as well as smaller items including magnets, keyrings and brooches. I'm looking forward to lots of future design and creativity in my workshop."

http://www.charlottehupfieldceramics.com/
http://www.charlottehupfieldceramics.blogspot.com/
www.folksy.com/shops/charlottehupfieldceramics

Zur Designs

Our previous guest writer is from Zur Designs. Here's a little bit about her.

"I have always wanted to design jewelry, learn metal fabrication, and work with gems and semi precious stones. I started with beads and then went to wire sculpture and chain and now am learning how to work in silver and gold. I live in one of the most beautiful places in the country, the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Nestled in these mountains through all the seasons of the year, inspires me to create pieces that I hope all of you can enjoy. I love, love, love Swarovski Crystals. They add a touch of elegance to any piece. I also like the rough natural stones, and nothing adds a touch a class more than some beautiful potato pearls in any color!"

Find Zur Design on Etsy and Facebook.

Enhancing the Value of Your Facebook Fan Page

Deb Hall of Zur Designs has written this extremely useful article about Facebook. (We met on Twitter - proving that, as a networking tool, Twitter works)!






"The overall goal of a Facebook Fan Page should be to provide added value to your fans. Not only will this ensure that existing fans are active and engaged, it also gives prospective fans a reason for joining your page at a good level of involvement. The level of fan interaction enhances the overall viral nature of your page and ultimately increases your validity as a Facebook user (sometimes defined as social proof). Facebook gives the handmade indie artisan/business owner a chance to be up close and personal to those people interested in their work and to attract new customers as well…it’s word of mouth at the speed of light!



"There are many ways to provide added value for your fans. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
Offer discounts specifically for Facebook Fans only use the “Send An Update to Fans” feature to broadcast your specials
Set up questions under Discussion Tab for instance, I have places where people can post their Etsy shop URL, their blog web address, their Twitter Channel, and the Facebook Fan Page. It helps fans that are also handmade artisans gain fans and followers and it helps potential customers find a group of very fine merchants to buy quality handmade products
Post your blog entries to your Facebook Fan Page I do this automatically with an application within Facebook called Networked Blogs. This application syncs with my blog and automatically posts to my Facebook Fan Page each time I write a blog post. It’s a real time-saver!
Cross-promote your Facebook Fans who are fellow artisans by either sharing something from your page to your Facebook Profile Wall or sending a favorite item from Etsy to Facebook. Commenting on their posts and clicking the “like” link also helps and makes their fan pages more interactive as well
When you post a new item or make any kind of post to your fan page, try to put it in a form of a question such as “This is a new design I listed today on Etsy, how do you like the color or photo or name of the item?”

"Facebook offers you an unparalleled opportunity to connect with your fans and
consumers. By maintaining a Facebook Fan Page and using all the available features, you can interact with consumers the same way they interact with friends and colleagues. Maybe some of your friends have already told a couple of their friends about your business but with Facebook they can tell all their friends instantaneously and those friends tell their friends…hence the phrase viral marketing.
"Keys to Successfully Using Your Facebook Fan Page
Personalize Your Business People ordinarily use Facebook to share personal information with friends. The more you accentuate the personal aspects of your business, your products or your designs and the person behind them, the stronger impact they will have on those who view it.
Update Your Fan Page Frequently Facebook is designed around providing new information and updates. So the more frequently you post fresh content, the more often people will return to your fan page.
Utilize the Dynamic Features of the Wall Tab The News Feed on the Wall notifies users what their friends are up to. When someone joins your fan page, News Feed informs their friends and invites them to become fans as well. This is key to spreading the message of your business virally. Additionally, there is a new flexibility on the Wall Tab to show a variety of information on your Wall. You can choose between News Feed and Live Feed Additionally, on the far left of the Wall there is a series of choices: News Feed, Status Updates, Pages, Photos, etc. By clicking the link “More” you can move any of these choices to the top and change the view of your Wall to view any one of these categories. This is a really neat feature!
Enhance Your Page With Applications There are thousands of applications designed by Facebook that you can add to your Page in order to tailor it to your business and industry. For instance if you have an Etsy Shop, you can add the Etsy Shop application. Just click on the button that says “Go To Application”. For those people who use ArtFire, there is a Fan Page that leads you to the application in the same way. Once you become accustomed to Facebook and the applications available, you will find all sorts of fun things you can add to your page! If you have expertise as a developer, you can even create your own!
Consider Using Facebook Ads To Target Your Audience These ads can be targeted to reach the exact audience you want and can be socialized so that users interactions with what they see can be seen by their friends and become as viral as the rest of the elements of the Facebook page. The key to Facebook ads is that you need to be willing to experiment a bit and rely on a solid base of users to give you feedback to formulate your advertising strategy.

One of the greatest reasons to have a Facebook Fan Page is that it is searchable by Facebook and non-Facebook users, much like a traditional website. Personal profiles are not (mainly for your own privacy). Other great reasons are: you can have an unlimited number of fans, it can increase your visibility, and help with branding your business. And let’s face it…in the end it’s all about getting your work seen and your page will be an integral part of your strategy to drive traffic to your site to see your handmade products.

If you are still unsure of how to get started created a fan page, here is a list of some resources that may help you in the process:
Socialbees
Rants and Raves of a New Age Chick
Etsy Storque
Tutorial Blog
Web Upd8
My Facebook Fan Page is: Zur Designs…when yours is up and running and personalized in your own very special way…stop by my page and tell me about it! Good luck! "
Deb.

Making Twitter Work for You

Twitter is pointless - or so it seems. Thousands of people typing 140 character messages about everything and anything. And who WANTS to read about someone-you-have-never-met's allergies, what their cute pet did today or how much they hate (insert politician's name here)? BUT like all social networking tools you CAN make Twitter work for you. The secret to using Twitter to promote your art is Quality not Quantity.




Firstly, are you following a gazillion people but, in comparison, only being followed by a fraction of that number?
Secondly, do you ever get a direct response to anything you say on Twitter or does your message get lost in the river of everyone else's tweets?
Thirdly, are you reading other people's tweets and thinking "well why do I care?"

It's time to organise your Twitter.
Firstly, you need to do some weeding out and stop following people who are not following you. Personally, I only follow four famous people - they are never going to read my tweets anyway. Unfollow all those people whose tweets you are reading but are not reading yours. They probably won't notice anyway.
Secondly, remove all those people who are following you that you probably wouldn't really want a relationship with such as people who bombard you with links with every tweet, people who make political statements that you don't agree with (block those) and people who offer to increase your followers if you sign up to their sites.*

*Once you sign up with this type of site you will be unwittingly displaying their promotional tweets too.

How do you do sort through all these people quickly and efficiently? Friend or Follow.com Type in your Twitter name and go to Following. Click on each avatar and start unfollowing.

Thirdly, sort through your Fans on the Friend or Follow site. These are people who are following you but you are not following them. Click on each avatar and decide "Do I want to follow this person"? If not you have a choice - ignore them or block them. If you DO want to follow them click Follow (duh) and send them a Direct Message.

Now you have given your Twitter account a spring clean it's time to start afresh. Direct Messaging (DM) is your opportunity to send a personal message to your followers and begin a personal relationship with potential customers or like-minded people. for every new person who follows you send them a Thankyou and Welcome to... message. If they send you a similar kind of message respond with a simple message back.

Your Twitter Homepage Have you added your own personal background? Does it reflect you or what you do? If you make art then set your images as wallpaper or create a logo or a cartoon. Update your Bio with a direct profile about what you do and add a link to your website, blog or shop.

Sorting out your Followers It would be very short sighted of you to only accept followers who are artists. Everyone is a potential customer/friend/collaborator unless they are "hard sell" merchants (people who bombard you with links but don't actually interact on Twitter). But let's say you have something of interest that only a proportion of your followers would be interested in, for example - a local event? Well clever Twitter has now added a new tool for you to use - the List. Sort your followers into lists and use your list to DM them (after all, if you have 22,330 followers, like Green Day * has, you can't physically DM all of them at once).

*I'm not jealous...

Tweeting Think about the types of tweets you are posting - are you just continually sending out links (look at me! look at me!) or do your tweets have a more human aspect to them? Nobody wants to click on a link and see EVERY piece of art you have ever made - although they will look from time to time - but they do enjoy a humorous tweet. Keep your tweets friendly and imagine you are talking personally to a real person. Each message is only 140 characters long but don't let that limit you in what you want to say. You can post several tweets in a row to keep the story going and say exactly what you want to say. If your website address take up too much space in your tweet then go to TinyURL.com and reduce the size of the URL.

Links to your Twitter So, in conclusion, there is only one purpose to Twitter which, like all social networking, is to drive traffic to your website, blog or shop. This means you should add a link to your Twitter on your Facebook page, Facebook Group, blog, website, on-line shop and anywhere else you can think of.

If you have found this blog post useful please follow me on Twitter and tweet about it too!

Know Your Customer

Do you know who your customer is? Do you know their tastes and shopping preferences? Do you know when and where they like to shop? Being able to identify who, and identify with, your customer will help you to plan an effective marketing strategy.



There are six types of potential customer who browse the hand made selling internet sites.
The “buying only” customer
The “relationship” customer
The impulse buyer (that’s me)!
The collector
The bargain hunter
The Hand Made supporter

Let’s look at these customers more closely. (Please note that these are generalisations – there’s always potential customers who don’t fit the profile).
1. The Buying Only customer doesn’t have a shop of their own. They may not make regular purchases on hand made sites and probably don’t frequent the forums often either.
Positive point: they are here because they like to shop.
Negative point: it is difficult to build an on-line relationship with this customer.

2. The customer that you have a relationship with (by that I mean you are on chatting terms) is usually a seller too. This customer may be a familiar name in the forums and on other promo sites.
Positive point: this customer is easy to reach through forums, chat rooms and promotions.
Negative point: selling may be more of a priority with this customer than buying.

3. The Impulse Buyer may be shopping for a variety of reasons: boredom, the urge to spend money, saw it – liked it, chatted with you and liked you.
Positive point: anything might catch their eye, your item could be in the right place at the right time.
Negative point: they don’t linger long and rarely make a repeat purchase from the same shop.

4. The Collector is looking for something specific – it may be a particular style or craft.
Positive point: If you have what the collector is looking for then you have found the perfect customer.
Negative point: collectors avoid consumables such as soap, food and clothing.

5. The Bargain Hunter is looking for – yes, you guessed it – a bargain. Sales items, novelties, low cost jewellery are attractive to this customer.
Positive point: good news if you make very affordable items.
Negative point: bad news if you are a high-spec artisan.

6. Have you taken the “hand made pledge”? This customer has and will buy because they support hand made.
Positive point: if you are an applied artist making hand crafted items it’s all good.
Negative point: if you are selling vintage or supplies this is not your customer.

Of course, your customers will be a mixture of all of these. How many of these profiles do you fit into? I am no’s 2, 3, 4 and 6.

Here's a short exercise for you to do: Take a couple of minutes to visualise the type of person who might buy your craft. It’s easy to say, EVERYONE but that doesn’t help to define your market/target audience. Think about their age, sex, ethnicity, social class and background. Do you think your customer is just like you? Are they the people you WANT to sell to? Are there other types of people you would like to reach?
Now think about the types of people who wouldn’t buy your craft and the reasons WHY they don’t buy your craft. It doesn’t matter if you are making assumptions, you won’t offend anyone if you keep this in your head!

Researching your existing customers. OK. This is going to take a bit longer than the previous exercise. Take a look at your existing customers and try to find out the following about them (without behaving like a stalker):
What else have they bought from other sellers?*
Is there a pattern to their buying habits? Do they have certain tastes?
Are they social networkers?
Have they bought from you before?
What do they do socially? (gigs, theatre, pub, sport, high street shopping)
You can find out an awful lot about your potential customers by talking to them. We social networkers love to talk – that’s why we are on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, chat rooms and forums. Just by talking we can share ideas, tastes, trends and predictions.

* I’ve just realised that, unlike Etsy, we cannot track the buying profile of buyers on Folksy who are not sellers too – rats!

Market Research can work. I always thought that market research and customer questionnaires were a pointless pain in the *rse until I started working in a gallery. A carefully worded questionnaire can give valuable insight into the profile of your customer and help you to plan your Marketing Strategy. Of course, we have to be careful on Folksy not to spam customers or badger them with lengthy customer feedback forms but, invariably, the Feedback we receive via folksy is inadequate and doesn’t really tell us what we want to know. Potential customers, and also buying customers may, however, be willing to answer one or two questions that can really help you to understand how to market your craft. You might contact the customer after a sale or ask in the forums. Remember, open questions give you so much more information than closed questions.
Here are a few examples:
Where did you find out about my shop?
Is your purchase for you or is it a gift?
Do you regularly buy X?
How does this item compare to the high street?
What other crafts do you like to buy on-line?
What comments would you make about my customer service?
Would you shop here again and, if not, why?
It’s fairly easy to build a profile of your potential customer (you can also research strategies to attract buyers who don’t fit the profile) and it can be fun finding out too. In a future post I will be talking about marketing yourself using the research that you have found. It would be great if you could comment on this blog post with more insights, advice and ideas on customer profiling.
Thanks for reading.

Find Claire's textiles on Folksy





Artist's Bio - "I have always dabbled with making things for friends and family and for my home but have never really explored my creativity to its full potential before. However that has now changed and I have been surprising myself! Everything starts as an inspiration and ends up making me feel very pleased. Each item is different and either one of a kind or one of very few, so you are guaranteed a very individual item".

Blue Stripes

Find Jemima Lumley on Folksy and Flickr



Artist's Bio: " Fig is open! Our gorgeous new craft shop and studio is finally up and running.Have a look here to see how it turned out. Six of us are working and selling from here. We are: Jemima Lumley, Jane Ormes, Charlotte Harris, Helen Burgess, Kate Tarling and Rosalind King.The address is 206 Gloucester Road, BS7 8NU. We are next to Billie Jean's, near Bishop Road if you know this part of the world! Opening times are Thursday - Saturday, 9.30 - 5pm. Come and see us!

Find Le Bar Du Vent on Etsy and Dawanda.





Artist Bio - "Bonjour and Welcome to my little shop. Jewellery and accessories, pearls, often, but other beads too, and stones, wood, and vintage stuff as well. My themes: sealife, often, but also flowers and other natural creatures, and travel as well. Most of the time, I couldn't repeat a piece, even if I would, so all these are truly One Of A Kind.That being said, of course you should contact me with any question or request - I can always at least answer ASAP!"

Promotional Zines

Zines are a great way to promote yourself and your art and are fun to create too. There are two types of zine - the hand made collage zine and the on-line zine, designed to a template. Here Leanne of See the Woods describes how she designed the first Folksy promotional zine - Go Handmade.



"My decision to create and publish GO Handmade magazine to help spread the word of Folksy and the amazing crafters, designers and artists who sell there was one of pure impulse, much like a lot of my decisions to be honest.
Well it turns out there’s quite a lot of work involved in putting together an ezine, more than I originally anticipated but I still enjoyed every minute of it and each new challenge it brought. Surprisingly enough, finding good content for the magazine was the easy part. Then came the design and layout, what appeals to one person may leave another completely cold and a lot of different aspects had to be taken into consideration. I have a legal background so of course that aspect of putting together a magazine was always at the forefront of my mind during the whole process, ensuring that none of the content had already been produced elsewhere and above all else making sure that the content contained in the magazine was protected. With the images of designer’s creations effectively being published somewhere other than Folksy it was important to ensure that readers of the magazine understood that the images and content remained the property of the designers and could not be reproduced without their consent.
It was a lot to take on board but at the end of the day I think we managed to create a unique, interesting, article based publication which everyone seems to enjoy reading.The feedback from the magazine has been fantastic and with well over 5000 readers to date, I’m thoroughly looking forward to the next issue in August.We’ll have more makes, articles, recipes and crafts for readers to enjoy in the upcoming issues and don’t for keep to keep an eye out for the Christmas issue which will be something a bit special."
See The Woods

The previous guest post was by Louise from bricks and mortar shop Blue Ginger. Blue Ginger is one of those rare creatures - an independent boutique selling unique fashions for real women.



Tucked away in Royal Arcade, Keighley, West Yorkshire this shop is a little gem of fashion, jewellery and accessories. Louise's designs are made to fit real women and there is a great selection of clothes. No size 0 here!



Blue Ginger
Royal Arcade
Low Street Keighley
West Yorkshire
UK



Blue Ginger is definitely the shop to go to if you are looking for something that is not on the High Street. There are hundreds of these delightful shops in small towns and a short distance from main street shopping. If you know of any please post about them in the comments below.

Individual Fashion Retail

This week we have an article from Louise who owns a bricks and mortar shop, Blue Ginger. she talks about hand made clothing and we will be exploring trends in the arts business in a further article.
"I have always been interested in art and design but was never sure which path to take. After finishing my A levelsand a foundation in art and design, I chose a Craft course at Cumbria Institute of the Arts. The course covered a wide range of crafts such as embroidery, print, ceramics and weave. Due to the fact I was still a little clueless as to what I wanted to do in life this degree was brilliant as I was given the opportunity to try so many different areas before finally choosing my final subject, Ceramics!!
I left Cumbria in 2004 and fell in to various jobs nothing to do with art and decided to do a bit of travelling. I stayed with parents in Singapore for 4 months trying to work out what career path I should take, Whilst doing this I did a teaching course on precious metal clay, very interesting and I hope to use it in the future.
On arriving back in the UK decided I wanted to give it a go at setting up my own business making my own jewellery and ceramics. I contacted Airedale Business Enterprise in West Yorkshire, UK, for help who suggested The Prince’s Trust. Airedale Business Enterprise helped me with my business plan and I had interview with Princes Trust panel to put forward my ideas. They gave me a loan to set up a workshop, but only for the jewellery. I thought this was brilliant and got to work straight away making jewellery and selling at craft fairs and jewellery parties
I decided to set up the shop Blue Ginger as it has always been a dream. I thought it would be ideal to have a workshop and place to sell in one. As before I went to Airedale Business Enterprise for help, I can strongly recommend local business agencies, all help and advice is free and as I have continued in business they are still helping.
After a year in the planning I opened Blue Ginger in July 2008. I source jewellery and clothing from the Far East, and also handmade work from the U.K with my own handmade jewellery, clothing and accessories, there is a good mix for all ages and tastes.
I really love working for myself as I spend lots of time making always having a project on the go, this is a real benefit because the shop can be lonely sometimes working on my own you can go hours without having any interaction with any one, however because I have an area in the shop where I can work on my jewellery and clothing I become engrossed in the work and hardly notice. The only other downside of having the shop would just be the stress of not knowing what is round the corner, because there is always a risk with business and you have to always be thinking of new ideas to get people in the shop and also keep them interested.
The one piece of advice for someone who is thinking of going in to business is to just go for it, if you have the passion and skills there is no harm in giving it a try. Yes, it is hard work but if you do make it the rewards will be so worthwhile.
For the future I hope to continue with the shop and try to make it a success, I am also setting up jewellery classes from the shop and hopefully precious metal clay courses. I would also like to go back to university to do a fashion degree, I love making clothes at the shop and would like to learn more about the construction of clothing."
Louise Fyffe.
Blue Ginger
Royal Arcade Low Street Keighley
West Yorkshire
UK

Social Networking For Artists

There is a plethora of social selling sites available for artists to showcase their work and most, unlike eBay, target a specific audience. If you are not familiar with social selling sites, and I'll hazard a guess that this is the minority, then take a look at Etsy, Folksy, Dawanda, Misi, Coriandr and Artfire. (Please add any that I have missed to the comments).

But, if you choose to sell on these types of sites you are not going to make many sales unless you are willing to invest some time in building up relationships - that's the "social" side of these sites. I recently delivered a seminar on internet selling and listed the different ways you can draw people to your on-line shop - Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, My Space, Flickr, Indiepublic, blogging.... did I miss any? I looked at the faces of my audience and about 20% were looking at me as if to say, Wha'....? Exactly. If you are not prepared to invest some time in promoting your on-line business then social selling is not for you, and there's no shame in that.







But blogging is, in my opinion (feel free to disagree) the second most effective way to drive traffic to your on-line shop or website. The first is to build relationships in the forums of the selling sites. People like to read insights into the person behind the business and look at colourful images, find out how things are made, share experiences. The only down-side is thinking about what to type - but this comes with practice, the more you talk about the easier it becomes to think up new stuff.


A short guide to Blogging
What is a blog? A blog is a free internet site that gives you the opportunity to publish your own words. Most people will use a blog as an on-line diary but it can also be used to promote, sell, discuss, campaign, moan and publicise. It is used by a whole range of people including journalists, political groups, media groups, social groups, subversive groups, idiots and well dodgy people!

What makes a blog? People out there in cyberspace create blogs for hundreds of reasons. Take a look at these examples I picked at random:

Pamela Angus
Kerala Life and Thoughts
Dolphin & Whale News

Some blogs are so specialist that only a tiny minority will ever read them whereas others are global and have a huge following. But blogs have one advantage over websites – they are free. Although it has its limitations a blog costs nothing but time. You don’t have to pay someone to host it, design or update it and you are not limited to how much you can post on your blog.

Creating a blog. There are several blog businesses out there but I am only familiar with Blogger so I can only help you with this particular site. As Blogger was bought by Google you will need to create a Google account using your own email address. Google accounts, like Yahoo, are free and you can receive and send email with your Google (Gmail) account. First log onto Blogger

and there will be a screen to help you set up the account. Next Blogger will take you through the step by step process of creating your blog. Before you create your blog think about the following practicalities:
Title.
Introduction.
Profile.
Links.
Advertisements?
Slideshows?
Apart from the name of your blog address, which you cannot change, anything else, including the title, can be altered, updated and deleted by you. Don’t like the font? You can change it. Background? Change it. Which colour would you like to choose for your text, background, links, headings, subheadings, borders, side bar titles etc? Blogger can do it.

Does and Don’ts of Posting. Once you have set up your blog you are ready to start posting. Here are some tips about making entries to your blog.
- Do insert at least one image for every post. Blogs about artists for artists are boring without visuals.
- Do check your spelling – typos make poor reading.
- Do avoid writing anything slanderous or libelous. They can get back at you by bombarding you with comments and dissing you on their own blogs.
- Please respect the copyright laws as it is easier for “copiers” and plagiarists to be discovered. People WILL and DO sue!
- When posting images of your work protect your intellectual property rights by adding “The images (or paintings etc) are the sole property of the artist. Please respect the artist’s copyright”.
- Do add links to your posts and also on the side bar too. By swapping links with others you will increase your visibility on the web.
- Do not use profane language or your blog will be blocked from some sites.
- Use the tags for each post wisely because search engines pick up on them therefore tags are a useful tool.
- Decide whether you want viewers to be able to comment on your blog. You can set the comments so that you can check them for suitability before you publish them.

Blogging Extras. Now you have a blog who is going to read it? Well no-one unless you tell them about it. There are a gazillion blogs out there floating in cyberspace but only a fraction are read. You need to find ways to get your blog noticed and, once noticed, to keep a balance of first time viewers and return visitors.
Consider the following: who do you WANT to read your blog? Why do you want them to read it? Where will you find these people?

Working on the basis that publicity is FREE and advertising is what you PAY for I have the following suggestions:
Registering with Search Engines – it can take up to six months for a search engines, such as Google, to pick up your site. There is a site that will add you to all the search engines Dogpile.

Joining Chat Rooms and Social Networking Sites – specialist sites, such as Indiepublic, are useful tools to promote and meet other artists. They are also time consuming.
Blog Group sites – such as Bloggernity and My Zimbio are social networks for bloggers. You will be able to view all sorts of arts and gallery blogs. They will be able to view you too.
Art Listings sites – such as Axisartists and The Saatchi Gallery are useful for free publicity.
Gallery websites and artists’ websites – ask if they will add you as a link if you add them as a link.
Business cards and articles for newspapers and magazines, both on-line and hard copy, will increase your exposure.
Advertising – you can add Google Adsense to your site. It is free but it takes Google some time to pick up what your site is about. Then they will paste ads on your site for galleries or art suppliers. Each time someone clicks on them from your site will increase your exposure. If you get enough clicks and then set up an account, you could get paid too! But there is no such thing as a free lunch – you have to pay a fee for payable Adsense and it can prove costly.
Site Counters – Bravenet will give you a site counter for free. It is a very useful tool to help you measure the number of views you received daily and can also break it down into new and returning visitors. If you just get the basic counter you don’t need to pay for extras.

This article is the sole property of Jo Whitehead. Please respect the author’s intellectual rights. Do not copy or reproduce this article in any format.

Our previous guest post was by Jackie from Forever Foxed. Jackie sells cards and buttons on a terrier theme. Here is what she says:

"Here at Forever Foxed HQ we work around the clock creating a range of greetings cards featuring our favourite beardy dogs; Wire Fox Terriers, Airedales and Irish Terriers. We produce unique, quirky and fun designs either handmade or printed, all on high quality paper. You don’t have to be a dog lover to love our cards but it probably helps!

Forever Foxed Blog

Forever Foxed Folksy

Forever Foxed Etsy

Forever Foxed Fox Terrier Rescue

If you buy one of our Dog on Wheels photo cards you can sleep soundly knowing that a percentage of the profits is donated to Fox Terrier rescue organisations both in the UK and the US. Why not take a look?

Do YOU Have What It Takes?

Being a self employed artist sounds as if it is the ideal job but do you have what it takes to be a successful arts business? In a previous post our guest interviewee, Patti Ursel, said the following:
"Being self employed has its benefits and negatives and surprisingly it can be the same thing. Setting your own working hours can be a big benefit but because you can set your own hours everyone else finds ways to pull you away from your schedule. Its so easy to say yes to a coffee or shopping date when you don't have to ask a boss for permission to leave.
Being able to work until 3 am instead of a 9 to 5 seems like a treat until you MUST work until 3 am because you have a deadline.One of the hardest aspects of working out of your home is the lack of immediate feedback and interaction".

How do you assess whether you have the ability, stamina and discipline to be a successful self employed artist?
Take an objective look at yourself, your art/craft and your business. Ask yourself the following personal questions:
• Can I make enough art on demand without getting bored?
• Would people buy my style of work?
• What's the competition like?
• Is my work good enough to sell?
• How fast can I get a range ready to sell?
• What are the costs of making my product?
• Will my “other” life stop me from becoming successful?

How honest have you been with yourself? let's say you make teddy bears:
- it's fun making the first ten - will it still be fun when you have made your 100th?
- Do people want jointed teddy bears or are people now buying more sock toys and kawaii?
- Who else is out there making teddy bears and soft toys?
- What is the quality of my work? Is the quality of my 100th teddy bear as good as my first?
- Am I prepared to work late into the night to meet a deadline?
- Do I know how much it costs in materials, time and equipment (and possibly overheads) to make one teddy bear? how much does it cost to make twenty?
- Where would I rather be - making teddy bears or down the pub with my friends/visitng family/taking the children to the park? (This one is about life/work balance and other commitments).
Have you seen the UK TV show Dragon's Den? (Shark Tank USA) This show spells out the most obvious glaring mistakes that people make in business and that is: most people fail to secure backing from the dragons because they either don’t know their business inside out or they have unrealistic financial targets.
But that's not us, is it folks, because we KNOW the who, what, where, how and why of our business and we know how to manage it. We know when to crank up that work ethos and when to wind down and make time for ourselves/family - don't we?

In a future blog we will be discussing business partnerships - Made in Heaven or a fast road to Business Hell?

Our guest interviewee (see previous post) is Patti Ursel of Getglassy. Here is a small selection of Patti's original fused glass creations (she also works as a stained glass artist and lampworker).
" I create using glass as my main medium - stained glass, fused glass and lampwork. I love working with warm glass, with the torch and the kiln melting the glass into beautiful treasures.I am also a graphic artist. I also oil paint and dabble in photography. I have been knitting, crocheting, and sewing since I was very young. There aren't many crafts I haven't tried."




Find Patti's glass here
Getglassy on Etsy
Getglassy on Artfire
Getglassy.com
Getglassy blog

Making the Right Impression

Tips about presenting yourself as a serious artist.




You have arranged to bring your work to a gallery, either in person or delivered by courier, but have you thought about how it will be packaged?
At Keighley Arts Factory we have seen artists bring their precious art in a plastic shopping bag and we have received work from couriers that has been "thrown" into an empty box too. Even jewelry and small items have arrived in paper envelopes! Two issues arise from this:
* How will a gallery value your work if you don't value it?
* How can you protect your art in transit?

Framed art work, placed in plastic bags, will knock against other surfaces and, particularly if you choose soft wood, will dent and knock the frames. We would prefer to see art protected in bubble wrap or blankets. If your frames ARE soft wood then add cardboard or bubble wrap "corners". When you choose quality, hard wood frames that have been professionally made, then this kind of damage is greatly reduced. You should choose a reputable courier and pack all your art yourself. Make sure that your boxes are fully lined with bubble wrap, blankets or air filled plastic cushions. Don't allow framed work to touch other framed work - keep a padded barrier between each piece. Wrap the box well with parcel tape, label it "This side up" and ensure it is visibly labelled where it's going and where it is from. Also, don't forget to call the gallery with the name and contact number of the courier and the day it is due for delivery.
Your art is your ambassador - if your work looks poorly presented and protected then the gallery you are working with won't make the effort needed to sell your work. If your art looks well framed and undamaged then it will project the image that a gallery is attempting to create.

Keighley Arts Factory