Category Archives: NaBloPoMo

Filed under Education, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as graphic work

November 3, 2014 · 9:45 am

I Miss My JamBox….

Aberrant-Crochet-jambox-radio-boombox-tapedeckmusic And I’m not talking about the current portable speaker product produced by JawBone. (Which is not a bad product, btw.)

No, I’m talking about the good old 80’s style dual speakers, dual tape, maybe a CD player too, boombox deck. The kind that could be totally used, abused and ported anywhere.

The thought struck me this morning, while listening to my daughter sing to her Kindle tunes in the shower. You know, with the Kindle on the counter, not in the shower.

With the use of good headphones, I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised about the sound quality that Kindle and Amazon Music provides. Seriously, if you haven’t checked it out, it’s worth doing. But without headphones, it leaves so much to be desired.

I used to carry my jambox to the bathroom to help me wake up and time my showers too. And it sounded better than what I heard this morning. And while you can get speakers to plug into the Kindle, like the Jawbone product above, it somehow doesn’t have the oomph. Not to mention, it adds all these gangly wires and such to contend with. Not exactly super easy to port around. Plus there’s the fragility of carrying such stuff around. I could drop my jambox on the street and it’d still run. It was totally covered in scuffs before it finally died, after at least a decade of use, and only because a thunderstorm energy spike got it. Best money I ever saved up and spent as a kid.

But today, we wonder what’s wrong with someone when they don’t upgrade their tech every year.

I watch my son shove his Kindle into the leg pockets of his jeans with his headphones in. But I think, it’s nothing like hoisting a box on your shoulder while you ride your bike down the street. Or like I did most often, rigging up a shoulder strap for my music box – anchored to the handle bars of my bike at college, or slung over my shoulder as I rode down the street.

Listening to the music emanating from the bathroom door this morning… it was like listening to mono-tone radio on an AM station.

I don’t know. Touch screens are awesome and all. But sometimes I just want a box.

Filed under NaBloPoMo

November 2, 2014 · 11:24 pm

With One Hour…

I stress when people are coming over. Torn somewhere between the desire very much to entertain friends, be a perfect housekeeper, a great mother and a business woman helping to provide for her family too. Torn between being down-to-earth and polite and tidy. I so love it when things just flow with grace and ease.

I couldn’t entertain much in my old house. Not enough room or privacy. Here I have some space finally. Guests can even stay overnight.

But I work from dawn ’till midnight most days. Constantly behind. The dishes get done and some basics, but that’s it. Here and there, customers get first crack at my attention. Kids next. The school needs what now? Hubby and I make it work somehow. He’s working his things too. The kids are busy with homework, every day, even on weekends. Then there are the volunteer things and other obligations too. And the kids can’t drive yet. Who can afford it? The load has to be shared by just us two.

Then I start thinking about people coming over, look with different eyes and – OMG, is that cracker crumbs in the corner? Then I rush through and cram in a giant clean session for the coming gathering. If I had my way, I’d pace it little by little every day, routines saving most of my life. It’s my preferred modus operandi. But when life is one long series of emergencies, with no space to come up for a breath of air, pacing is a luxury not often realized. And routines fall by the wayside.

The truth is, no one can do it all. Not without support of some kind. Somewhere you have family who help you, babysitters, a church congregation to lean on. Heck, some churches are almost like country clubs. Pay your membership fee and look at the benefits. Even those who don’t have a church network to draw from sometimes hire out help, or otherwise delegate tasks that make life work. Or they exist with different circumstances that require less effort to maintain a home, like officing somewhere else besides home. Or eating out for most of their meals, etc..

And well, I have none of that. Except the kids doing their chores and the occasional guest who pitches in. And it’s OK. It’s the life I chose to lead. Free, hard, better for my kids, and all mine.

Aberrant Crochet - If I Could Save Time In A Bottle But I love Sunday after a Saturday gathering at my house. The stressing is over. Everyone’s gone. The house is clean, mostly. And nothing screams too loudly.

Suddenly I can breathe. Suddenly I can put my feet up and rest my throbbing ankle. Suddenly time slows down. Time passes more slowly away from the computer too. It’s wonderful.

For just a bit, worry can be suspended on a Sunday like that. Not even the mail screams at you on Sundays. And today the weather is so fine. I love the fall.

And there was one more gift today. Daylight savings ended and gave us back the hour it stole earlier in the year. We slept in, had coffee and a slow morning, and felt great knowing it wasn’t as late as it seemed.

And it got me thinking about that whole thing: An extra hour – what a luxury.

With just one more hour, what could we do? If all we knew was that we only had one hour left, what would we do? And during the last year of my child’s high school career, what do I really want to do?

Because I can tell ya. The answer ain’t stress.

5 Comments

Filed under NaBloPoMo

November 1, 2014 · 11:52 pm

We Rocked Halloween This Year – Photos Or It Didn’t Happen

So I figured you might want to see photos of what we did for Halloween this year.

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, then you already know my Halloween obsession with spiders and crochet spider webs. Ah, but I did much more this year. Much. More. Mwahahaha.

See, I’m not just mad about crochet. I also happen to be mad about Doctor Who. (I grew up with Tom Baker for a hero.) And well, I have a new house, with a TARDIS blue door now. So you know it was meant to be.

If you don’t know who The Doctor is, I’m sorry. You must go on your own pilgrimage and find out. It is not a journey someone else can take for you. But for those of you Who know, and are awaiting the blue box rapture, I present testaments.

First, the homage to Grandmother Spider and her crochet webs of glory.

I finally found and unpacked the rest of my webs this year. And giant spiders. It’s hard to see everything from the street, but here’s my yard. There are many much smaller spiders everywhere too. Oh and the largest spider, to the right side of this photo, is at least 6 feet in diameter. To give you an idea.

Here’s a closeup of one of my crochet webs near the sidewalk.

I ♥♥ my spider webs!

Next I glued rare earth magnets to a bunch of plastic spiders and put them on my front door. Inside and out. And added more spiders on every other metal door in the house.

And then I did this.

Aberrant Crochet - TARDIS door with spiders

Sorry, taken at night, but that’s glow in the dark chalk. And that’s cool.

And this.

I had trouble finding an angel in my budget. At all. Not even cheesy ones. But then I found this cute little pair at a local thrift store. Ripped off the plastic plant and fake pearl bow glued to it and voilà, I give you terror. Someone added a MineCraft pig nearby. Not sure which kid from last night’s party, but it’s all cool. And delightfully geeky.

Yesterday was the teens’ party. Tonight we’re hosting the family/adult party. Everyone’s downstairs playing Cards Against Humanity and I’m the designated driver so a few could stay longer than their better halves could. Which is probably a good thing. Because it’s 20-some minutes to midnight and I might have missed out on…..

… MY FIRST NABLOPOMO POST FOR THE NOVEMBER 2014 CHALLENGE!!!!

Yes, my friends… it is here. And just in time to kick my ass.

Two years ago when we were moving, I had delusions of finishing the challenge. As soon as moving from one house to the other began, I was a goner. Last year, I was determined not to let a broken ankle keep me out of the race. And of course, I won my challenge. Aside from the year we moved, I’ve accomplished my challenge every year.

This year is different. I’m actually not too confident. A lot has happened to keep me from writing. Not because I didn’t want to write. In fact I crave it. But because it wasn’t possible. Such an odd year. And my routine is so different now.

And not to mention… one of my babies is getting ready for college. And there’s a lot going on with that this month.

sigh…

Not fair. Too soon.

sniff…

11 Comments

Filed under Halloween, NaBloPoMo

December 1, 2013 · 10:06 pm

Don’t Shop-Block Your Fellow Artists

OK, I had to find a nicer way to say it. Unfortunately inspired by true events.

I thought about it and thought about it. And this was the nicest way I could think of to say that and still get the sharp point across. Don’t shop-block your fellow artists and professionals. (And likewise don’t let anyone do it to you.)

Just don’t.

When you’re doing shows, especially juried shows, there are internal cultural parameters as to what’s acceptable professional etiquette and behavior from participating artists, and what is not. Not too unlike wearing white to a wedding when you are not the bride and it’s not your wedding day, you never want to block or steal a sale from anyone else. And though most of these rules should be rather common sense to everyone, since they are mostly about basic manners and professionalism, unfortunately they are too often not clear to everyone.

One of those rules is to never violate another artist’s sales space. We all paid for space at an event, it’s your job to govern your own space, but also to support the show as a whole and to support each of your fellow artists by maintaining a professional approach to everything. Never come over to a fellow artist’s booth and talk to the customers in their space or block them from being able to shop. It doesn’t matter if you just talked to them a few minutes before somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if they’re your best friends whom you haven’t seen in years. Unless they left their glasses on your table, you don’t go after them into someone else’s space. You just don’t do it. Not to mention that it can be seen as stalking. If you just must talk to those customers, do so privately and in the public arena, not in someone’s space. Not ever.

And the same goes for friendly chatting with your fellow artists in their spaces. It’s one thing if you’re friends with that other artist and you’re chatting privately, but as soon as a potential customer shows up, you politely exit, get out-of-the-way or at least shut up right then. And you keep your chatter to a minimum, because everyone is there for one main reason – to serve the customers at the show. Nothing else should have a higher focus than that.

You never stand with in front of someone else’s space and block traffic flow to their booth either. It’s incredibly rude! In fact, it’s a faux pas for customers too. Congregating in front of an artist’s booth that you have no intention of shopping at, thereby blocking traffic flow so others cannot easily see or enter that artist’s booth, is a terrible thing to do to someone. However, because we all want customers to have a good time at an event, we artists generally try to be polite and patient with customers who do this, for a little while. (If you’ve done this unawares – now you know better – don’t do it again!)

Artists should abso-frickin-lutely know better. Traffic flow is gold at a show. Every booth and logo and display is all counting on traffic attention at a show. You can only sell as much as you are seen. And you never want to mess with that for anyone! Talk about bad, bad show karma! And if it’s obvious that you are doing something like that intentionally, it can get you black-listed – for good reason.

Why is all this important? Because shows (especially juried shows) are for professionals. Shows survive and do well as a whole marketplace. To be respected as an artist and human being, you have to consider the long view and the reputation you build every single day with every single action and choice you make. And how well can you represent not only yourself, but the other businesses (shows) you align yourself with.

So just on a purely professional class basis, you never, ever EVER do something that could cost your fellow artist a sale. You know what it’s like. It doesn’t matter if you like that fellow artist, if you do the same work as they do, or if you’re friends or enemies. It doesn’t matter if you had the same idea they are selling out there right now or you’re so sure that your product is better and it’s killing you that they were juried into the same event. You never show your ass or cost them a sale. You have the decency and professionalism to keep your mouth shut and let them do business. Express any concerns you have to the appropriate planners and then move forward being the good person and professional you know yourself to be. Don’t stoop to lower level behavior.

These professional principles aren’t just for the show circuit though. They hold true anywhere, even online. It’s happened to me.

I marketed a service offer to my followers on one of my social sites once. (I’m not just a crochet designer/writer, I work in other fields too.) In this case, I offered some tech help to some fellow professionals whom I care about through one of my various public pages. A page you have to subscribe to, to see. And guess what? Someone immediately commented about her “identical” services on my post, on my page! She was just dying for the world of my own readership (not hers) to know that she also wanted to offer what I’m offering. In all reality, she stepped into my booth space and hawked her wares.

Dude! You don’t do that!

Needless to say, I took her remark down. It’s my page, I can do that. I didn’t choose to respond to her remark though, because anything I could say would either cost me sales, or cost her own sales/reputation. And it would just leave a bad taste for everyone. After all, her remark was already… professionally awkward, to say the least. There was no way I could tolerate her move professionally. However, I also wasn’t going to compound her mistake by making one of my own in a public response to her either. Taking the remark down was as much kindness to her as it was defensive for me.

Whatever your profession, you know exactly what I’m talking about here.

So here’s the thing my dear artists and colleagues of all walks of life. I’m betting you already know this, or my title wouldn’t have drawn you in. You’ve probably already had it happen to you at one time or another. You know of other fields and incidences where this principle can be applied. And if you’ve chosen an indie-business path, then you also know that you’ve entered a world where everyone expects you to show some class, to elevate your awareness and likewise raise your level of professional behavior. Because you are everything in your business and your business reflects on your reputation. There’s no one to praise or blame but you. That’s part of what makes this path such a growth-inspiring one.

But it behooves us to help set the example. Reach out there and help those newly inducted into the world of business ownership. Be a part of discussions and local Chambers of Commerce and get to know other artists and professionals in your field. And help everyone understand the level of professionalism that is expected of them. By example if by nothing else. Pass this article around so others who might not realize what they’re doing can wake up and smell the coffee.

We all need to eat. We all need to survive. We all have medical bills, and special needs and causes we fight for. And we all have lessons to learn. There’s plenty of need and plenty of pie to go around. So have some class. We’re all in this together. There’s no need to cost someone else their piece.

13 Comments

Filed under Business, Doing the Show Circuit, Editorial, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as Business, etiquette

November 30, 2013 · 11:59 pm

Sometimes It Takes Being MacGyver To Succeed

You know, there’s a neat little benefit that something like the NaBloPoMo challenge gives you, as a writer, and as an individual pushing yourself to grow.

It puts you against a wall.

There are two types of fuel for success in the world: inspiration and pressure. And while we often crave the first, it’s the latter that we need to value a bit more. Because it often helps us the most. Why? Because it forces us to deal with things we would not otherwise choose to. And we need that as a balanced part of life too. Not too much of either, but enough of either one.

NaBloPoMo is 30 days, blogging every single day, no matter what. And of course, when you participate during the traditional November month, there’s always Thanksgiving week in there too. So you have to make your turkey, and eat and write about it too.

But putting yourself on a daily deadline and making that honor commitment to make your posts count every day is quite something to embrace. It creates stress, it forces you to be creative under less than ideal circumstances and it gets you to face a task you might otherwise wish to avoid. And it forces you to adapt when things don’t go as expected. Even when you have some ideas on what to write about, it doesn’t mean that those ideas will spark and flow the day you need them to.

The same is true in business. Even when you prepare and have a plan, it doesn’t mean that’s how things are going to work out. And you have to learn to be flexible. To think on your feet and not get bent out of shape too easily over anything.

As for writing, I personally have 49 subject ideas in my queue right now. And not a one of those ideas would flow for me tonight. So with the clock winding down to midnight and not an idea that wants to say more than a sentence or two, the pressure pot is on.

Then it dawned on me, that pressure pot often squeezes the best out of me. Because when push comes to shove, and all you have is a rubber band, a piece of gum and a toothpick and the timer is running out, some kind of genius takes place when you focus well enough.

And that’s a lot of what we deal with in business. Heck, sometimes it’s why we’re in business. We were put against a wall, our choices were pared down and we were forced to work with a situation that was not ideal or to our liking. Like getting laid off, or having a child with special needs or whatever. And we had to come up with a solution and rise above.

Being in business for yourself is risky stuff, and sometimes you have to think like MacGyver in one of those unexpected situations. How are you going to fix this, or deal with that or avoid those? The pressure is not often what I would call pleasant, and sometimes it happens as a result of some failure (learning experience) on our part, but it does often in my experience push me to elevate my thinking and come up with a solution. And I always grow.

So don’t be afraid to feel pressure. Sometimes it brings up in you skills you didn’t know you had. Sometimes that wall is more support than you think. And sometimes even, it becomes your greatest story.

12 Comments

Filed under Business, Education, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as Business, nablopomo

November 29, 2013 · 11:59 pm

Mini-Maker Faire Round Rock – Recap

Back at the beginning of the summer, I let you guys know that my crochet hook experiment was going to be at Round Rock Mini-Maker Faire (just outside Austin). And then soon after MMF, I raced off for my summer road trip across country with the kids to go visit Fearless Leader of the Crochet Liberation Front (and a few places in between). But with breaking my ankle at the end, and the long recovery from surgery, I never did give you guys a recap of how Mini-Maker Faire went! So here it is! Let me go back in time and fill you in. 😉

As you know, I’ve participated in the only two large Maker Faires hosted in Austin, back in 2007 & 2008. And I absolutely loved it! The experience was beyond my expectations and for once in my life, I really felt like I’d found more than just a handful of “my people.” It was like finding your roots in a tribe. Unfortunately though, Maker Faire was not able to come back to Austin in 2009, which was a huge disappointment to me.

Then sometime last year, thanks to the work of Austin Tinkering School, a 2012 Mini-Maker Faire in Austin was born. However, the timing of it crashed into the same time we were putting our house on the market. So I didn’t even get to attend, much less present.

Thankfully, TechShop rolled into town. They are a very cool community workshop place that I want to buy into. I learned about them through the KidBot work my kids and I were doing with The Robot Group during the summer of 2012. Interestingly enough, TechShop’s concept was inspired by Maker Faire out in CA. So it was super cool that they decided to host a Mini-Maker Faire here in Round Rock less than a year after they opened. As soon as I learned about it, of course I jumped at the chance to participate!

The Round Rock Mini-Maker Faire was crazy and awesome. And though I thought I had a plan, yeah – that went out the window. None of the site setup or traffic flow was according to plan either. And I did not get any photos as planned either. But it all worked out fine. Some other folks took pictures and told me they would contact me later to share them, but I haven’t ever heard from them. It’s somewhat disappointing to have poured so much into doing the event for free, only to have no photos or visual record that we were there or even a part of it. But that’s what happens when you are too busy to be able to take photos. However, TechShop did put together this little video and you can catch a tiny glimpse of my booth at about 11 seconds into the video! So there you go, flash proof that crochet was represented! 😉

Because I chose not to do a for-profit booth (I really did not have time to get merchandise together) I was set up in the big main room not far from the entrance. I was also right next to a working Tardis Console display, complete with buttons to push and sound effects, which you will also notice in the video. It was awesome! Though pretty loud in the echoing room. We had to do a lot of shouting to communicate while all the kids went crazy for it. And of course, I loved that all these kids are so educated in the ways of Doctor Who today.

Tom Baker as Doctor Who, with the amazing long scarf!

See, I grew up watching Tom Baker as the 13th Doctor way back in the 80’s in OK, where no one else I knew ever did. I was such a geek even then. Seeing all these excited kids was just…. sweet. In fact, one of the reasons I really stuck with crochet was due to my fascination with Tom Baker’s scarf! Which I have yet to replicate, btw. But I’ve made many, many long scarfs just because of him. Anyway, so I guess we can all lay some blame on Tom Baker and his writers for at least a little of my extreme fascination with crochet. Even though yes – I know his scarf in the show was knitted! Hey, I was a kid – the modality doesn’t matter. Simply the long scarf. That is all. That and the awesomeness that is Doctor Who. And Tom Baker.

(Speaking of, I finally got to watch the 50th anniversary Doctor Who Special tonight, and I loved it. Last cameo scene brought me to joyful tears. Tom Baker, I still love you!)

Back to Mini-Maker Faire! One of the fun things TecShop did was create an allocated chalk-board wall for everyone to write their answer to fill in the blank of one simple question: “If I could make anything in the world, I would make ____________.” The answers were quite fun! Here are just a few photos we caught. Notice how many Doctor Who references there are!

IMAG4278 IMAG4279 IMAG4285 IMAG4287 IMAG4277 IMAG4288

Finger-knitting was insanely popular at my booth at this Maker Faire – again. I have taught this to kids in the Austin area for over a decade. Usually, I tell every kid I teach – OK here’s the catch – you have to go teach others. Go infect your friend with yarn love. I do this in crochet too, but little kids love finger knitting and all that requires is yarn to keep them busy. I used to work in special education in college and we used activities like finger knitting with children of all types and abilities. It’s amazing how even a child with ADhD can calm and focus during this activity. And even the parents seem more peaceful. I used to tuck an extra ball of yarn in the hands of mothers and say – here, keep this in your purse for the next time you’re at the store with the kids. 😉

My daughter designed and made this giant wooden sword, with a little help from her dad on some of the cutting.

Anyway, this year my daughter Jessica taught the kids finger-knitting while I taught crochet and talked about hooks. She also brought her giant wooden sword she made for Halloween last year, which gained loads of attention. At one point, we were working at separate tables when I turned around and realized cameras were on my daughter and she was being interviewed for some sci-fi crafty internet show thing. I still don’t know how I feel about it. I quelled the urge to run over and ruin everything by asking – don’t you think you should ask her mother for permission before you film my child? Hopefully they were responsible interviewers, etc.. Supposedly they were going to contact us if they used the footage, but we have not heard anything about it. (If anyone out there sees footage of Round Rock Mini-Maker Faire 2013 out there somewhere, please tell me??)

I didn’t have time to finish all the hooks for the experiment as planned, so I also brought my own personal collection and let people play with it. One lady crocheted a swatch using every (smaller) single hook in my collection. Awesome. A lady from Brazil came by and chatted a while. She talked about crochet yarn as fat as your thumb and as tiny as a silk sewing thread and how crochet is something *everyone* does in Brazil. She also talked about a street in Brazil paved in yarn and fiber classes. It sounded amazing. She said fiber crafts for them there is like car lots are for us here. Tons of them line the streets. Which was kind of a weird/sad thought. I must go see this someday. I wish I remembered what town she said she was from.

People who were interested in knowing more about how to read patterns came by, including some who were talking about wishing they could get more Japanese patterns in the US with symbol crochet maps. I concurred.

There was one main thing that helped me out with the giant crowds of people that I’m really happy I did. I decided to make a “science fair” type presentation board with photos and reports on it about Jimbo’s and my crochet hook experiment, plus diagrams and photos of various hook shapes and extra information. A lot of photos were taken of my board and lots of people came by to talk to me because they read my board. Very cool. However – I forgot to put Aberrant Crochet or Jimbo’s or my name on that board anywhere. It was on the report sitting in front of the board, but no where else. (sigh) Well, what can you do.

I ran out of business cards and fliers though, so here’s hoping that somehow, somewhere out there these people will get in touch or something. Who knows? But then again – how may people do you get in touch with yourself after taking a business card? Yeah. So you know what I mean.

Still, all in all it was a fascinating day of people who were fans of crochet, or fans of yarn or who were just fascinated by my experiment. I really enjoyed it and I was hoarse by the end of the day. Much of the content that I spoke about is what you see printed in my articles in the 2013 Fall and Winter Interweave Crochet magazines. (Speaking of which, the winter issue should be available in a couple weeks!)

So there you go, a Mini-Maker Faire Recap, albeit a late one! I’ll try to catch you guys up on my road trip here soon. 🙂

Ergonomics In Crochet Hook Design And The Hands That Use Them

Filed under Artist Information & Notes, crochet, Crochet Community, Crochet Hooks, Make Faire, NaBloPoMo

November 28, 2013 · 7:30 pm

I Have Some Thank You’s To Share

There are some important people and groups to be grateful for today. I received two contributions this week for my Spain trip. I know how to reach Doug to thank him, but Donna, EF is very secure, so I have no way to contact you personally to say thank you for your help! (Thank you for leaving a name!) So, Doug/Donna – thank you so very much for your kind words and support: both for my work and for my upcoming trip.

I can’t believe we leave in 98 days!!! crochethook

If you are unfamiliar with the story about my wish to travel the world to study crochet hooks and the hands that hold them, please read my post: I Want To Travel The World And Meet Other Women Through Crochet! (Again, not a pickup line.) That post tells the back story of this crazy idea I have about making a documentary about crocheters around the world, about all the very different kinds of hooks on every continent in the world, and about the hands and stories of the women who own them.

It’s crazy! And yet, I’ve never been outside the contiguous United States ever in my life. Ever. I’ve never even seen Alaska or Hawaii.

So I’m set up to go as a chaperone on my daughter’s AP Spanish trip to Spain. However, because I’m not staff and because I’m not a student, I’m on my own for all fundraising. So that’s where selling all my crochet and asking for help comes in, because I’m running out of time.

Thank you so much for the help guys!

I also want to take time to express gratitude for two young marines I know who will not get to spend Thanksgiving home with their family. Instead of sitting back and relaxing after a hefty meal, they and many other US service people around the world are working their butts off for us.

So here’s a shout out to all the soldiers, police officers, firemen, doctors and emergency personnel who are working today, keeping watch and being there should they be needed. To all the people who respond to emergency situations, to the agencies that keep things running and the night watchmen who let us sleep, and to those who volunteer at the food kitchens and keep the roads and transportation open:

Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

My Crochet Hook Experiment Will Be At Round Rock Mini-Maker Faire! Tomorrow!

What Gripes Me (Crochet Hook Shapes) – Crochet Ruminations

Crochet Hook Engineering – Types of Tools – Crochet Hook Challenge

Crochet Holding Positions For Hooks – A Tutorial

Did You Miss Out On This #Crochet Goodness?
(Twitter crochet chat from around the world!)

Juicy Crochet News: Catch Me In Print!

1 Comment

Filed under 'Tis the Season, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as gratitude, thanksgiving

November 27, 2013 · 10:08 pm

Pumpkin Pie Secrets Plus A Gluten-Free Version

I love the Thanksgiving time of year. We didn’t keep Christmas when I was a kid, so Thanksgiving was the one time each year that I got to spend with all my other family members, no matter what our religious beliefs at the time. That one holiday was responsible for most of my memories of my cousins and uncles. And it’s the one day a year we stop and purposely, as a family, as an example to our children and as a nation, take time to be grateful. I know many don’t, but in our families, we take it very seriously. Perhaps because our American family roots, both mine and hubby’s, on all four of our parents’ sides, goes back well over 225 years.

There were many food traditions in my family during the fall and winter seasons, but one absolute must tradition every year (besides turkey) was to have pumpkin pie. Not sweet potato pie, not pecan pie (though that’s a must for my husband’s family) and not chocolate or apple or any other pie. Though many of those pies were always present too.

But pumpkin pie… This was a command performance every year.

If you don’t like pumpkin pie, then I’m going out on a limb and saying, it must be because the only kind you’ve tasted is store bought. Which is nearly flavorless. Pumpkin pie should have all the exquisite spices and in my opinion, that is mostly skimped on in commercially produced pies. And if you think you don’t like homemade pumpkin pie, I’m guessing it was made by someone who didn’t have long pumpkin pie traditions in their family to know how it should taste. Because pumpkin pie is an amazing custard dessert that easily doubles for a (mostly) nutritious breakfast, with coffee of course. And those holiday scents don’t hold a candle to the real thing!

There are a couple secrets to how it should be made, of course. And it doesn’t require growing your own pumpkin. In some ways, I’d like to think that my family’s long and deep cooking traditions might have some influence on even me today. They probably don’t, but it’s nice to think they might.

In either case, I do know that this is how my great-great grandmothers liked to make this pie. They also liked to substitute sweet potatoes when pumpkin wasn’t available or was too expensive to get, but it’s not nearly as good. Some people can’t tell the difference, but I most certainly can.

Trivia: Did you know that pumpkin custard was often baked not in a pie shell, but inside a pumpkin shell? And let me tell ya, it’s not the easiest to move around! (I helped my daughter make it once for a school project.) Pie shells = way easier. Pumpkin shells get soft and like to collapse.

This is one of my pies, after cutting into it to make sure the custard had set just right. See how dark the orange color is?

1) Don’t use white sugar. In fact, I don’t use light brown sugar either. I use dark brown sugar. Yep, get the flavorful stuff. And if you don’t have dark brown sugar, you can try substituting 1/4 cup molasses + 1 cup white sugar for each cup of dark brown sugar you need. (Mix it well.)

Pumpkin pie should not be a light color. It should look like a burnt pumpkin color thanks to all the flavor inside!

2) Pumpkin pie spices should include not only more than a dash of cinnamon, but also cloves, ginger and nutmeg. And sometimes a smidgen of allspice. If you have it.

Those two rules right there will go far in making your pie better than anything else you’ve had – providing of course, that you don’t have similar family recipes and already know what I’m talking about! Time and again, people are amazed how much they do like pumpkin pie when they try mine. I currently hold about a 90% win-over rate.

Want to take a stab at a delicious pumpkin pie?

Pumpkin Pie:

2 deep-dish pie crusts (homemade is always tastier)
2 eggs, lightly beaten (larger the yolks, the better)
1 15oz can solid pack pumpkin
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (or sub 1/4 cup molasses + 1 cup white sugar, mix very well)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (Watkins is the best brand)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves (no more – or it will over power the recipe)
2 dashes of nutmeg
1 dash of allspice (optional)
1 12oz can undiluted evaporated milk (or a 1 1/2 c. half & half)

Prepare pie crust dough according to recipe or package directions. Mix filling ingredients in order of listing above. Pour into pie crusts. Bake in preheated 425˚F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350˚F. Bake additional 45-55 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Note: When using a metal or foil pan, bake your pies on a cookie sheet.

Want to make this pumpkin pie gluten-free?

You can bake it like a crème brûlée custard! Ditch the pie shell and instead pour your mix into greased oven-proof ramekins or custard cups. Line a 9×13″ pan with a towel, carefully keeping all edges of the towel inside the pan. Place the custard cups inside the pan on the towel, then pour hot water around the custard cups and saturate the towel. (I use a teapot.) You want the water to come half-way up the side of the cups. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for the first 20 minutes. At this point, if you want to add a topping like pecans or streusel, this is the time to add it. Then bake it another 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Total cook time this way is 50-60 minutes (or until knife comes out clean).

And there you go. Pumpkin pie heaven! crochethook

Happy Thanksgiving preparation day, everyone! If you try my recipe, you must be sure to let me know!

PS 🙂 You may share my recipe as long as you include my name (Julia M. Chambers) and a link to this post on my blog. Thanks! 🙂

Go ahead and click a link below to pin or share this post. You know you want to! : )

3 Comments

Filed under 'Tis the Season, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as gluten free, pumpkin pie, recipes, thanksgiving

November 27, 2013 · 12:00 am

I Wish You A Day Of Ordinary Miracles….

I give you a favorite snippet sent to me once, that I’ve embellished upon. I do not know who the originator was.

“Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles….
A fresh pot of coffee you didn’t make yourself.
dandelion_wallpaper_1280x800 An unexpected phone call from an old friend.
Green stoplights on your way to work.
The fastest line at the grocery store.
Your keys right where you left them.”

And I tried to think of more ordinary miracles and added…

A good sing-along song on the radio.
A meaningful compliment paid to you.
A coupon for your favorite snack.
A discount at the gas station.
A $20 bill you forgot in a pocket.
A word of gratitude paid to you by another.
An “A” on that test, or equivalent at work.
And a chore already done.

I’m sure you can think of more ordinary miracles as well!

As we move into this holiday for Gratitude, I just want to say thanks for sharing with me, for brightening my day with your responses, for supporting my quirky dreams and for sharing with others. Thank you for your bright lights and thanks for your feedback each step of the way.

I wish you the brightest of daily blessings….
~ Julia

When Designers Hear “Can You Cut Your Price?“

Filed under Inspiration, NaBloPoMo, Writing

November 25, 2013 · 11:36 pm

I Give You Permission To Thrive!

This past week’s evolving discussion on entrepreneurial, service and creative business has been really enjoyable! 🙂

I love hearing the stories, reading everyone’s comments and even being disagreed with. We have really dug into some issues that are on the minds of the majority out there in our fields and I know that all our thoughts and input are helping others now and will in the future when they are searching.

But there is one thing I really want to give some attention to that I keep hearing in the voices of artists, and massage therapists and musicians and a myriad of other creative right-brain, heart-led thinkers out there.

And that’s this general sense of guilt that it’s not OK to thrive.

There are two angles to this: Those who don’t have confidence that they can thrive and those who do have confidence, but don’t think they should thrive.

I keep hearing things like, “My motives are not money, I just want to make enough to get by.” “I enjoy this kind of work, so I don’t charge much because I’d do it anyway.” “I can’t afford much, so why should I expect others who can’t afford much to pay me?” (That’s a big one.) “I’m not good at business stuff.” (Another big one.) “I don’t want to seem greedy, or too focused on money.” “I don’t need to learn about business. Only greedy people do that.”

And on it goes.

Umm, hello! This may be news to you, but I don’t want to just scrape by. I know what that’s like and I don’t want to live it. I don’t want my kids to live it! My father was an entrepreneur with 4-5 employees, and we just got by. Thank goodness for Grandpa’s garden some years, because when there wasn’t profit after paying everyone, there wasn’t profit. And profit is how Dad got paid. And he was seen as a leader in the community. (He also had trouble getting paid by his customers.)

We survived. Obviously I’m here to tell the story. But we did not thrive. We did without shoes, scraped by on food and cut every corner we could.

Stop what you’re saying to yourself and to others and really think about that. Because I don’t think you really mean it when you say things like that. Because that would honestly just be weird to only wish to “get by.” We cannot grow on “get by.”

And I don’t want to just survive. I know how to do that and it’s not enough for me. I want to thrive. And that’s where I’m heading.

And you know what – you can come too.

I give you permission to thrive. And permission to say no to what’s unhealthy for you. Including poisonous customers and relationships.

I grant you permission to create a plan, a strategy and a structure that is good for you and good for growing your business. And if you get paid for what you do – you have a business! It’s not a bad word!

Learning and becoming good at business is not greedy. I give you permission to go forth and conquer – not the weak, but yourself.

I give you permission to be confident, brilliant and excellent – no apologies! No dissing your accomplishments, talents or yourself.

I give you permission to be successful. And you know what else? To define for yourself what success means to you!

I give you permission to earn a living doing what you love. And permission not to feel guilty because others don’t (yet).

I don’t however give you permission to be unkind, dishonest or apathetic.

I give you permission to be yourself fully and to enjoy making money.

I give you permission to take risks, to stray from the sidewalk, to do something breath-taking.

I give you permission to let go of “supposed to’s” and instead embrace “want to’s.” And to release all scarcity mindsets.

I give you permission to ignore advice! And your parents and your siblings and anyone else who is harming, not helping.

I give you permission to ignore good advice and strike out on your own path!

I give you permission to fail! And fail again! And to not see that as a bad thing!

I give you permission to allow yourself some clarity about what you really want in life and to let go of those inner blocks that are getting in your way and standing between you and the rest of your freedom.

Why am I giving you permission? Because apparently we haven’t all given ourselves permission. And hopefully, if you know what I’m talking about, somewhere in here is a seed that you can adopt and take home with you. Go with my blessing!

It’s time for us to commit if we’re going to master the calling of being an entrepreneur. Business is like a garden that requires love and tending. And it either thrives, or dies. Or gets overgrown and sidetracked by weeds. All of us artists, writers, musicians, and consultants – we’re all entrepreneurs. Don’t kid yourself otherwise, we are in business for ourselves. Art requires discipline and skill, just as does business! So we know we can do this! If an artist can sacrifice and pour out our soul to do what we love – you tell me why we can’t succeed at the core principles of good business!

I invite you to write yourself a code of ethics that embraces responsibility, integrity and ingenuity that you can embrace heart, mind and soul.

I invite you to be selfish and think about your needs: physical, emotional, spiritual, mental. Who does it benefit if you are not nurtured? Seriously! Who? Kill the starving artist mentality!

I invite you to think of your business as a child you are bringing up and to nurture it and yourself. To nurture the relationship you have with business and money. To provide it structure that it cannot provide for itself.

I invite you to forgive yourself and to be tender and kind in your dealings with yourself. And yet, not to be too easy on yourself either.

I invite you to analyze your business inward, not just outward. Find your unique value to the world. And find who benefits from that?

I say these things as much for me, as I do for you, because I need that encouragement too. I want my children to have it someday too. There’s been an unhealthy disconnect between the creative soul-driven worlds and business and we do not need to feed or foster it.

The key is our mindset.

What does thriving look like for you?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

Dear Artists: Your Prices Are Not The Problem – Or Are They?

Dear Artists: There’s A Problem With Your Pricing – Part 2

Please Help Me Travel The World To Study Crochet Hooks!

Disparaging Handcrafts In The Name Of Law – How Far Does It Push Us Back?

Dear Artists: Your Prices Are Not The Problem – Or Are They?

11 Comments

Filed under Business, Inspiration, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as Business, handmade, thrive

November 24, 2013 · 11:58 pm

You Can’t Work All The Time

When you’re an entrepreneur, it is easy to be sucked in 24/7. And honestly, that’s much as it should be.

Why? Because being in business for yourself is a responsibility that requires your heart and soul in order to run and to succeed. Your business succeeds as you will it to. And business is work. You will find a lot of satisfaction in working for yourself, but the catch is, there’s no clock to punch out and there’s no guarantee of income and success.

But you can’t work all the time. You have to break sometime. You have to switch gears sometime. You have to rest sometime.

I tend to have my fingers in several projects at a time and work way too many hours for the pay I make. Part of it’s because I work for myself, and that’s often part of that life. Part of it is because I’m catching up from losing 2.5 months and missing all my fall shows to a broken ankle. So not only did I miss out on pay because of that, but I have medical bills to pay off too. Yippee Ki Yay. And while it feels really good to be getting back to normal (well close), I’m pretty exhausted too. Besides being a designer, I also do social media consulting for a couple of small business clients. So my brain is constantly going back and forth from creative to computer, as much as I can stand. Plus there’s the fundraising for Spain and well, everything left on my mom plate at the end of the day. Someone please do some laundry for me?

However, this is Thanksgiving week. I don’t like falling into the holidays at all, much less Thanksgiving. It’s important to me at this time of year to take time and experience this week with awareness. And to meditate on the things that matter most in life.

So today, I got ready for Thanksgiving week by spending my time baking. And with clean up. It’s still maintenance and creativity, but of an entirely different sort than my business.

We have a tradition at our charter school of making pies for the teachers. This year (after all, it’s our 11th year there) I did not sign up for the usual volunteer sheet that blankets the whole school. This year the kids took polls from their teachers and decided what they wanted to make for them and we shared the work individually. It’s our way of showing our gratitude to our teachers for what they do for us. And there are a couple of them who may get bonus food. I’m very thankful for the experts who are helping to shape my children’s experiences and are helping to prepare them for life.

So I go to bed tonight in a house that smells of peach pies and banana breads. And I make some really amazing banana bread, let me tell ya. My daughter’s peach pie rocks too. (Our secrets? Over ripe bananas and unsweetened peaches.) Tomorrow I have chocolate truffle pies to make and more banana bread I want to give to our neighbors.

I did have to stop in the middle and go buy a new mixer, but in the end it was a nice break from the usual work at hand. The baking that is, not the going to the store on a Sunday night bit. I actually kinda hate shopping. Except for yarn. And maybe motorcycles and drums.

Just as it’s important for parents to make time to still have dates even after having kids, it’s also important for business owners to still in a sense court themselves and do something else completely different than baby their business. And you may find if your ideas are getting stuck and stagnant and you’re worrying about burning out, that this is especially important to do. You don’t have to take a vacation or do anything expensive. You just have to switch gears and do something different from what you normally do to survive. It’s OK if it’s still “work,” but it has to be different than what you’ve been doing.

So unless you have a show this week, this is a good time in the U.S. to take a bit of a breather and allow yourself to do something different, that you haven’t done in a long time. And if you’re not in the U.S., then it may be a good week to make a date for a break anyway, what with other holidays looming on the horizon.

Take a break, get some rest, let down your hair and entertain yourself in some different way.

What will you pick?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

Disparaging Handcrafts In The Name Of Law – How Far Does It Push Us Back?

Help Me Travel The World To Study Crochet Hooks!

1 Comment

Filed under Business, Editorial, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as Business, rest

November 23, 2013 · 11:56 pm

Dear Artists: There’s A Problem With Your Pricing – Part 2

I received a comment on my blog post from yesterday that shows I need to further clarify what I mean when I say – price is not really why people buy. Mandy brought up the following, and it’s a legitimate position.

“Forgive me… but I respectfully disagree with one of your points. …. It’s not that I don’t value great art, but purchasing art of any kind, for any reason, is a luxury for me. So if your beautiful crocheted scarf that I admire deeply and would love to own is priced about $20 more than what I can allow myself to spend, it’s going to stay right where it is. No offense or disrespect intended, but my funds are limited and my hands are essentially tied. I may be the minority?

Having said that, in the past year or so I have started teaching myself to crochet as a hobby, and have started giving crocheted gifts. As a result, I’ve had ladies ask me if they could buy some of the things I make. I’m lost when it comes to pricing my work because I am a hobbyist, and a newbie. My materials and time are valuable, but maybe not in the same respect as those of you who are true artists and are supporting your families with your craft. I am guilty of thinking to myself that I’d like to offer my work for a bit less than some of the prices I have seen, because of my personal experiences, and because I know most people in my community and surrounding area are not likely to pay “artist prices.” Have any of you run into this, and do you have any advice for someone just starting out? I’m not opposed to one day crocheting to sell, but for now it is just something I enjoy and a way to give practical handmade gifts.”

Mandy, thank you for your valuable addition to the discussion and daring to disagree! I’ll explain my position better below. Dear Community, she’s asked a question of all of us, so feel free to respond, politely.

First, I’ll refer you to my article “How Much Are You Worth.” Here I talk about the difference between novice and expert work and about sweatshop pricing. And that’s something we all have a responsibility to do something about. We have gotten used to being able to live off the work of others in low economies. And so when it comes to the actual cost of our materials and goods where we live, where it’s more expensive, we still think in terms of 3rd world sweatshop pricing. But do we really expect anyone to live off 50 cents an hour? Or for anyone to pay off their degrees and training and education, not to mention materials and taxes and fees that way? Of course not. No reasonable person would. And yet, every time we price our work in par with a sweatshop, that’s what we do. And in an economy that is much more expensive to live in. I cannot usually buy yarn as cheap as the sweater you buy at WalMart. So when I make that sweater from the materials available to me, cheap or expensive, it’s still going to cost way more, no matter what – even if I don’t charge for time and expertise at all. And there’s nothing at this point that I can do about that.

On the other hand, in general, the market will not bear outrageous pricing. So I would argue that there should be a natural cap to how much beginner level type work should go for. Sticking a bead on an ear wire and slapping a $100 price tag on it better mean that’s one heck of a valuable bead. Because we know how much skill and time went into it and that cannot alone bear the weight of the price tag. Sometimes things just aren’t practical or there just isn’t a market for them. Who wants to pay a significant chunk of money for a cashmere wash-cloth to scrub dishes with? Unless you can provide some amazing advantage as to why this would make someone’s life better, this is just not likely to sell. There’s no demand and even more, it doesn’t make sense.

We can’t always afford the work we love.

This is part of life. Sometimes that means we learn to make it ourselves to offset cost of time. But even then, even with my level of expertise, I can’t myself always afford the work I can produce.

For example, I have a friend who has amazing wood carving skills, he literally works for the stars – several celebrities own his work. And yet, he has four kids, one with downs and says he cannot afford the work of his own hands. The materials and time and methods are all that specialized and expensive. Should he stop making what he makes? No. There is a demand for it and what he does is highly specialized and arguably a dying art. He’s really (I mean really) good at it. Would you have him instead do something he’s not good at? Not to mention take away the work that is feeding his family, and paying for the therapy his child needs for downs. Even so, he doesn’t yet feel like he can justify owning one of his best pieces yet. The materials and expenses alone are cost prohibitive.

Now, my friend works in a highly specialized scenario that relies on the help of galleries and such, which also increases his expenses, but his story illustrates a point.

When you are in the handmade market, it’s important to price fairly and consider developing a range of products.

That is, if you have no plans to get that highly specialized. You want your highs, your lows and your middles. For example: I have some amazing purses I’ve made, where the blunt, literal cost in materials to me is over $150 and I haven’t even lined them yet. Their final cost will be substantial. The silk, the beadwork, the specialized hardware to make them look and work right – all of that requires not only a lot of time and expertise out of me, but also the money to acquire materials. And because I’m not a warehouse, I cannot get warehouse prices on materials either. So I’m slowly but surely investing in the work I’m putting into them. Everyone loves them. Will everyone be able to afford them? Nope. But they are my OOAK high-end specialty art pieces and out there someone will decide to snap them up. That said, I also have made some purses I could comfortably sell for $35. My level of expertise is the same, but what is different is mostly my cost in materials.

This is why it’s important to have a range of product prices and work you are doing in business, if you want to hit a wider range of customers. The fact is, it’s my work, my service and my story that will draw you to me. (My writing even.) Either you will like my work or you won’t.

Maybe you can’t buy my high-end expensive purse. In that case – the price data is what helps you say “no” to that particular piece.

However, that is not the same as saying no to me.

Because if I have another beautiful piece, where the materials do not cost nearly the same, and it is in your price range, you will likely settle for that instead.

And that’s one part of what I mean about people not saying no based on pricing.

Sometimes “No” Is Really About Guilt

There’s also the reality where people say no seemingly “based on price,” but it’s really based on guilt. The “it’s not you it’s me” scenario. When a customer has money issues or financial PTSD, that is not something you can ever control. And their bad relationship with money is theirs to bear, not yours. Getting their sale will not make a difference to you in the long run. You have to look at and make decisions based on the long financial picture of a business, not the spur of the moment whim. This gets back to knowing your market and even knowing your individual show. Not everyone will feel like they can afford your stuff. If they did, then you might as well be a dollar store and have trouble paying your bills.

Newbies who are dropping their prices out of fear that they can’t get a sale is an entirely different thing from trying to price fairly. It’s important to understand the distinction. A) Price dropping like that creates an unhealthy relationship with money and it can get you into trouble with your business. B) Most juried shows forbid it and it can get you kicked out. C) Business is risk. Don’t get into it without embracing that fact. It’s not if you will fail at some point, it’s when. And it’s about you learning not to see failure as a bad thing. Becoming a business owner is one of the best things you can do for your own personal-growth. Kinda up there with parenthood. You will learn amazing things, whether you set out to or not. D) People are not turning down the artist based on price as much as they are based on their experience. If you like my work, my story, my service, and if I have something in your price range you want – you are likely to buy it. Period. It’s really that simple. If you don’t like my work, no amount of dropping my price is going to make you spend money on it.

And that pretty much sums it up.

Everyone justifies their spending somehow.

I know someone who for years complained about how she hated her shag carpet, but couldn’t afford to get it replaced. carpet was her “luxury.” And yet, she always had the latest clothes and fine jewelry to wear. It was her choice. She just didn’t invite anyone over.

Me? Hey, I value quality shoes. I’m on my feet all the time and have a degenerative genetic joint condition that causes pain. You better believe I invest in good footwear that won’t aggravate my degenerative condition. It could cost me hundreds of dollars, and I don’t care, I will work a 3rd job if I have to not to be in pain. I also value a good dishwasher. For reasons I just stated, I try to limit the time I’m on my feet. So a dishwasher that never breaks down and practically eats the garbage from my dishes is an asset I want to own. My time is worth more than to be constantly fixing something.

I know someone else who has almost no kitchen ware, but they have cutting edge materials and sewing equipment for quilting. And yet another person who values homegrown food most of all and would sooner spend $10 on seeds than on a new shirt.

We all have those things we see the value in much better than we see in others. You want to look for the customers who will value you.

Back to what I said before about fair pricing.

I repeat, we’re not talking about over-pricing. (Though there are cases where it can be used as a management tool, but that’s another article.) I’m talking about fairness that’s win-win. But as Laurie Wheeler from The Crochet Liberation front said it best: “You are not a sweatshop!” And you’re not. OK? So stop working on something for hours and then charging $2 to a stranger for it. It’s wrong. And anyone who supports that kind of self-abuse is also wrong. As is anyone who raises their kids to think about money and work this way. And those 3rd world countries everyone’s wishing could get better pay will also never be better off, as long as we all help promote this lack of value for time and hard work. If you’re giving a true gift, or you’re doing charity work, that’s one thing. But that’s not what we’re talking about.

What is my hour worth? A sack of potatoes? A loaf of bread? A lunch? Or a cheap cup of coffee?

When you dare to enter business, it’s important to recognize the value of every single part of the equation. And it’s time we grow up and get a handle on what a responsibility this really is. My customers work hard for their money, every bit as much as I. My suppliers also work hard for their money, every bit as I. When all we respect each other, we create balance and everyone can win.

There is another thing though. We tend to be worst of all about valuing the work that women traditionally do. Even we women do this to each other. Even in this day and age. And we need to stop and think about this when we size things up and question whether we’re guilty of it or not.

So, I leave you with a challenge. Whether you own a business or not, it’s a good exercise to help you get a handle on what you value, how you spend and also recognizing how it might be for others too.

Stop and think about a $20 bill and just what you would justify spending it on and what you would not. Would you take a friend out to lunch? Would you buy a scarf? Would you pick up some gourmet coffee or buy a pack of smokes? How about a case of canned goods? How about a skein of yarn, or a tube of paint? Maybe an organizer? Or an iPhone case? Makeup maybe? A couple of crochet magazines?

What things could you do with a $20 bill and would or would not do? And once you’ve thought about that deeply, then analyze each item’s true worth in terms of the value it provides or not. $20 to feed a friend, or to keep someone warm for the winter, or to help you get organized, etc..

Money is nothing more than a tool. How do you use it?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

Dear Artists: Your Prices Are Not The Problem – Or Are They?

Disparaging Handcrafts In The Name Of Law – How Far Does It Push Us Back?

Help Me Travel The World To Study Crochet Hooks!

33 Comments

Filed under Business, Crochet Community, handmade, NaBloPoMo

Tagged as Business, handmade, money issues, pricing

November 22, 2013 · 11:58 pm

Dear Artists: Your Prices Are Not The Problem – Or Are They?

I wrote the article: When Designers Hear “Can You Cut Your Price?” a few days ago and it has really stirred up some conversation from fellow business owners. Comments from Twitter, Facebook, G+ and this blog have poured in from around the world as other artists and entrepreneurs chime in about their experiences and frustrations.

And there’s a common theme popping up – the concern about pricing.

Often times, artisans will lower their prices because they want to be sure they will make some sales. There’s nothing wrong with making money – we all need to eat. Still from our business side of things, we start to see our expenses pile up, and we get worried. And then we start tweaking our prices.

Maybe we see someone else’s lower prices and we feel we have to compete. Maybe we’re just nervous about the show. Maybe we really haven’t thought through the true cost of our item. Maybe we have guilt issues over making money on our own and by not working for someone else to be paid. Maybe we truly just want to have some fun and throw a sale, kinda like how we might throw a party. And maybe we ourselves have undervalued an artist before and we know it. So we try to compensate for that guilt too.

Who knows? But right or wrong, we all give lowering our prices a try sometime, for some reason.

But here’s the thing – that bit that you lower your prices to, at shows and for general public shopping, does not really make a difference in getting the sale or not. All it makes a difference in is your bottom line.

People are not really quibbling over dollars here and there. And people only think on the surface that they spend money with artists based on price. Perhaps a little, but it’s not really the core place that people operate from, it’s a peripheral one. Price is a data point by which we try to measure our true reasons for what we buy and why we justify it. But it’s only one data point and it’s not the core.

The heart of why people buy is not money, but instead their experience of it.

Why? Because innately, we are after the human experience of things. Innately we are ever seeking to improve that core life experience and either you, your story and your product fit into that connection or you don’t.

If you are truly an artist and not just a manufacturing machine, and if you will truly embrace your art, your expertise, your passion – people don’t just invest in the thing you produce. They invest in the artist. They invest in you. They invest in your future and your light. And that’s where you want to distinguish yourself.

Price your items fairly.

In no way am I saying be extravagant or unreasonable in your pricing approach. We’re not talking about pissing into a jar and hawking it on Craigslist for a million bucks. But you need to think about all of your overhead, your taxes, your licenses, your internet fees, your materials, your table fees, your travel fees and last but not least – your time. Think about it fairly, set your price and then stick to your guns.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t ever tweak your prices.

Figuring out your market usually takes time and experience. Until you’ve been in business for at least a year, you really don’t know anything. And never use your first show ever as a measure of what business as usual looks like. Whether that first show is good or not, no individual show is going to tell you what you can count on. So you will adjust from time to time as you figure things out.

But never do you want to make your prices unfair for you. For the health of your business, you have an obligation to care for it, just like you care for a child. In order for it to grow and thrive, and in order for that business to successfully serve your customers, you need to make good healthy decisions.

You are judged by the prices you set, for better or worse. And if they are not right, they become your problem and not your solution.

If you don’t want to be associated with knock-off bargains, flea-market tactics or Wal-Mart mentality, then don’t look like them. If you don’t value yourself more highly, why should anyone else? And if you don’t stand up for yourself, who else will? It’s your life to live and your business to run, no one else’s.

This is a really important thing, because in the handmade and service markets, prices that are too low are often a sign of inexperience and lack of professionalism to everyone in the know. Your fellow artists know it, your buyers know it and your show directors know it. It takes discipline to run a strong business. If your prices do not match the needs and design of a show, it just might be what keeps you from getting in. And it could be a whispered warning that you might be too risky to team up with either.

Pricing should not be about fear or negative emotions.

It’s fairness and it’s strategy. Gather your data, give it the attention it deserves and then design a logical working framework with flexibility built in.

Last but not least, build in lows and highs, but remember that most of your sales come from the middle.

Part of the human psychology is built around the justification of what experiences we choose. And most of us will not fall into the extremes. But we will look at those extremes as measurements to help us find the middle ground that feels right to us. We like groupings of threes, fours and fives. Too much more and it gets complex, too little and we innately don’t feel we have enough data to make the jump. Make it easy for your buyers to feel good about their decisions, knowing they are looking for certain data points to reach their conclusions. And then wow them with your amazing talent and service. You’ll have it in the bag!

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

Dear Artists: There’s A Problem With Your Pricing – Part 2

Disparaging Handcrafts In The Name Of Law – How Far Does It Push Us Back?