How to ride the trend wave in 2011

The global financial crisis was a game changer in how we spend our money. Before November of 2008, advertising was all about “more, newer, and different” without looking at the substance or deeper significance of what was being sold. Tips and trends were about how to ride a tsunami. That it would inevitably crash and devastate  lives was not part of the advertising conversation.

We were supposed to market our work to consumers with disposable income, who were assumedly seeking satisfaction by having more of what they had, or a newer version, or a different kind of it, or more of a newer thing… you get the picture. It was pretty shallow.

By the end of 2010, we can’t read any substantial forecast for 2011 that doesn’t mention values such as sustainability, simplicity, and the human connection. The very good news for artisans is that we no longer have to find a surfboard to ride the trend wave. This year we are the wave! The trend gurus are predicting that artisan, handmade goods made with sustainability and lasting quality by humans with a story to tell are It. All you have to do to market your work now is to show who you are and what you do. Make a cohesive statement in your presentation; your photos and shop copy, if you sell on Etsy.

Through ArtisansGalleryTeam, we are carefully selecting works from the pool of Etsy shops that are legitimately handmade in an artisan studio by those who bring individual vision and advanced skills to their works. Joining with others who are the real deal is going to make riding the wave easier.

Here are some trend reports worth noting:

I have been working in "ethical" for a long time, because I find humanitarian principles very important, and I hated big fashion's disregard for them. Having said that, I think the global economic crisis has made people re think how things are made, where they come from, and has led to an appreciation of small-scale, handcrafted, tangible, home-made etc.. The human stories behind the products are interesting, the big manufacturing model had become boring, impersonal & mechanical.

Ann McCreath from Kiko Romeo

 

 Organic Waldorf Doll By SewnNatural

IMM Cologne believes that as a result of the financial crisis people are questioning what it is they need to live well. This is leading to the emergence of simplistic, formal or severe designs that combine the basic and old with the modern and the high-tech.

Interior Trends 2011 was recently released by IMM Cologne

Natural Gemstone Cluster by ThePeachTree

Whenever we feel as consumers that the time is right for paring down, we focus on simple designs and simple, warm colors. Plain metals and eco friendly materials: wood, bone, simple and soft semi- precious stones with Earth colors and a simple palette will prevail for 2011.

Lisa Jesse (Lisa Jesse has the #1 website on Google for trend prediction)

home business on steroids

What you see here is one day’s sales from OneClayBead and MarciG on Etsy! It’s freaking awesome and out of control! This is where we eat dinner generally. You can see the menorah and the flowers left from Thanksgiving, which are lost in the jumble. I print orders as things sell, and put them, with the correct piece, on my long table. There is typically lots of room for the 3 of us to eat, but it’s getting harder to sit down to a quiet meal. We have to push the sales down in order to set the table.

My friend Natalie has been coming over in the evenings to help with the packing. Here she is with my husband, Ken, as they make PayPal labels. Today the packages wouldn’t all fit in the car and we have to make 2 runs to the post office. This is my computer room but it now looks like UPS has set up an annex with board games, books, and a drum circle.
I’ve lost my zen a few times just living in this much activity every day. What brings me back is the feedback and notes from my buyers :
Beautiful! Gorgeous! Even better in real life! I am so happy with this and will be back to buy more! Oh and insanely fast shipping too... OneClayBead is awesome!
This is truly one of the cutest things. Thanks so much! I can't wait to give this to my friend for Christmas!
These are such beautiful ornaments. My infant daughter died two weeks after Christmas nearly 4 years ago, and each Christmas her brothers and I pick out a special ornament for her. Your doves are perfect.
The emotional connections made through buying and selling my handmade pottery are truly moving. It makes the chaos of my home a worthy price to pay.
Wishing you some joyful chaos today!

Thanksgiving 2010

Me, Marci, husband Ken, Mom and Dad Wolfe
We’ve eaten, walked by the French Broad River, shopped, played Scrabble and worked. This year has been so full of blessings and rich in rewards. I am grateful for my health this year, for my daughter’s acceptance into High Point University, my husband’s career success, my in law’s wisdom. There is more, actually so much more.
I wish for you:
After you sit down at the table
After you  eat and savor those familiar dishes
After you look deeply and joyfully into the eyes of those who love you :
Take a bit of food outdoors
Walk among trees, by a river, or find,  along a country lane
 some wild critter, and share your feast.
If you can, look into wild eyes.
Then touch a place of this beautiful earth, like homage to that which feeds us.
Happy Thanksgiving.

to write love on her arms

Rachel of GetReadySetGo, has asked us to make treasuries in support of a movement that creates hope for those struggling with depression. Marci (my teen daughter and model) wrote LOVE on her arms in our listing photo shoot, and this Friday, I invite you to do the same. Our healing wishes and prayers for all affected.

These are excerpts from Rachel’s blog:

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know that pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.
You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption. We're seeing it happen. We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.

                                                by SewnNatural
Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.
The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence.
The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.
The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.
The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.
The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise.

                                                    by 3squares

The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.
The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

Click on any image to see the artisan’s work.

First Snow

  

The first cold flakes fell silently in the early dawn, blanketing the leaves we’ve not yet raked into piles.
Each white glistening orb seems like an answer falling from heaven. My world is transformed from autumn’s landscape of loss into a confection made with spun sugar and pearls.
It is beautiful as we walk outside, but we scurry inside soon as do all our woodland friends. Time to share our stories and dream our dreams by the fire.
Here is my new glaze, Blue Ice Crystal. The first piece sold right away but I'll be using it more in weeks to come. Wishing you beauty, and the light of love that shines from the eyes of those who gather with you by candles and fireplaces, as we burrow inside.

lulubugjewelry: he(art) and mind

Lulubug’s jewelry shop on Etsy has 3568 sales in under 2 1/2 years. Her median price point is $71. She demonstrates how a true studio artisan succeeds on Etsy, and flies in the face of many of those old long standing myths that success means selling lots of small quickly assembled components. I interviewed Sue to find out how her uniquely forged path has unfolded, with the intention that we can learn from this talented artisan and businesswoman.

With 1,642,653 jewelry listings on Etsy, Sue’s work stands out because she has learned unusual techniques:

I currently work in PMC (precious metal clay) which is a relatively new material composed of silver particles in a clay binder, which you form and then fire in a kiln. The clay burns off, the particles fuse and you end up with a .999 silver object.

I had heard about PMC and always wanted to try it, so when I saw a workshop being offered nearby in 2007 I signed up for it. Much like the first jewelry classes I took, I felt like I had found my medium, and within a couple of months had set up a little studio in my living room.

She concentrates on new designs  rather than promotion of her shop, and tracks to see which ideas are marketable:

 

Q: How do you promote your Etsy shop?
I'm not much of a self promoter. I post most of my new designs on my Facebook fan page, I have a very neglected blog, I read but rarely post in the Etsy forums, and I'm always thinking that I should be making more treasuries than I do. About the only thing I really do consistently is renew items, usually at least 10 a day plus relisting sold items.

 

What I do focus on is my product development. Selling on Etsy gives you feedback on new ideas much more quickly than traditional brick and mortar sales. Using Craftcult I can see which items get viewed the most and draw people into my shop, as well as which things may not get the most views but sell consistently. I keep an eye on Etsy trends, and when one speaks to me I'll use it as inspiration for new pieces, but I don't follow all of them. Hence some new fox pieces, but no mustaches! The one thing that is certain is you NEVER can predict what will sell well. When I come up with a whole new concept, I will make 4-6 new designs and watch them closely. If they get a lot of views or sell quickly, I'll build on the concept and add more designs. If neither happens, I let the idea go, even if I love it and think it's great. This way I build up a product line of successful sellers, but I keep adding new ideas to the mix. I read the Etsy forums very regularly, and I rarely hear anyone say to work on changing your products if sales are down. For me this is the first thing to do. I've learned not to take it personally when the design I think will sell like hotcakes is a total dud! There really is no telling what is going to sell well, so I just put it out there and watch what happens, and base future designs on that information.

Sue’s response to this question reveals a great deal:

Q: Do you think that artists are born, or made?
Both! I think we all have creativity inside us, it's just a matter of finding the best medium in which to express it. Some artists will be better than others, but I think anyone who has the desire can learn the techniques and create something meaningful.

She respects the value of hard work and education while still following the call of her inner creative beacon.

Bravo, Sue of lulugjewelry! I appreciate your time in sharing this and trust that other creatives will, too.

Wishing you all a successful journey today!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

In the studio yesterday, Marci told me that she was turning her cell phone off more often. She was weary of the drama. She was happy glazing; excited about a new design. This, above all, I have wanted to impart to my teen daughter.

After some early success in the fine art world in my 20’s , I began making pottery. Fine art is so gravely serious. Works of light and joy were, at the time, viewed as useless fluff, and perhaps they still are. I was drawn to the silent thoughtless world of clay where you can be moved to an almost holy place just by how beautiful something is.

Today I ran across this quote. It is from the novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

“she knew that she had become a burden to him: she took things too seriously, turning everything into a tragedy, and failed to grasp the lightness and amusing insignificance of physical love. how she wished she could learn lightness!”

I suddenly wanted to see lightness everywhere, to go outside and capture with my camera the light shining through leaves. To feel that lightness of being is to be transparent, thin of  negativity and judgment, and allow the light of Creation to shine through.

I’m going to do this more often. it feels good.