I got a lot of etiquette questions this week, so I’m posting all the answers below:
I’m just starting out, and I have lots of questions I’d like to ask successful business crafters. What’s okay and not okay to ask about?
In general, it’s okay to ask about process, not product, and it’s always best to ask for help from businesses that don’t compete with yours. For example, if you sell plush toys, it’s not okay to ask another plush artist where they get their fabric, who their distributor is, or what consignment stores they work with. Instead, try … Read more »
Reading blogs is great, but sometimes you want more. Sometimes you want to be able to ask questions in person, as they come up. Sometimes you want to be around other people who are struggling to do the same things you are. Sometimes you want to learn a little more interactively than you do by just reading.
That’s why on Saturday, April 4th, I will be co-teaching a crafty business workshop with Jamie Chan (Bazaar Bizarre, Mary Jane’s Attic, Urban Fauna … Read more »
If I want to transition into doing more editorial-prop-type work, I’m going to need to beef up my portfolio. I’ve already done some work for book publishers like Chronicle and Scholastic, but most of it’s not very sophisticated, being geared mainly toward the kindergarten crowd. My portfolio needs a lot more examples of the kinds of projects I’d like to get hired for. It needs to demonstrate that I’m capable of handling more complex work of various scales, while appealing to the needs of marketing and art directors.
I’ve therefore begun an on-going … Read more »
How do you make a living off your art? That, my friends, is the $50,000 question. There are the standard models we all know about, but they’re all deeply flawed in the same way: in order to be successful, you need to spend most of your time on non-creative endeavors.
Take the typical gallery model, for example. Unless you are sponsored by some incredibly well-connected patron, you need to go to graduate school, network like crazy, and then apply for shows, grants and residencies with the hope that you will secure one out of fifty. All of this while maintaining some … Read more »
I really respect doers. As a thinker-planner-worrier-maybe-eventually-doer I admire people who seize opportunities immediately and run with them all the way to the finish line. Kelly Malone of