get insider info on art fairs

Art Fair Insiders is an art fair network providing useful advice from its membership.  Get an insider’s perspective on the best and worst shows.  Keep current on entry deadlines.  Membership is free!

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/

SEO Craft Racket, The Notes!

Did you miss our Craft Racket on the subject of search engine optimization (SEO)?  No, worries!  Heidi Gustad of HandsOccupied.com and a speaker at the event has graciously shared her notes.  Add them to your growing file on crafting a business.

Download them here: craftmafia-seopost-072012

Illinois Artisans Shop – Deadline 10/12

The Illinois Artisans Program focuses national attention on the rich heritage of the fine crafting that exists in Illinois.  Our juried artists participate in art sprees, craft festivals, exhibitions and other events held at our locations in order to promote their work. The Illinois Artisans Program markets crafts through four locations:

Illinois Artisans, James R. Thompson Center, Chicago
The Museum Store, Illinois State Museum, Springfield
The Museum Shop, Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown
Southern Illinois Art & Artisans Center, Rend Lake

The Illinois Artisans Program is continually looking for talented new artists to join the Program. All areas of arts and crafts, including folk, traditional, contemporary, and ethnic, as well as fine art forms are eligible (Media). Over 1,800 artists have been jury selected into the IAP. Once selected, their work can be shown at one or more Illinois Artisans Shops without re-jurying (Application). Application deadlines are March 28th and October 12th. Juried artists participate in art sprees, craft festivals and other events held at the shops in order to promote their work. (Application Overview)

For more information:

http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/chicago/store.html

Impact Engine Applications accepted

We got this email and thought you all might like to know about this as well.

Applications for Impact Engine
Available Now thru June 30th

Calling all Social Entrepreneurs,

The Impact Engine is looking for great entrepreneurs getting ready to start or already running early stage for-profit organizations that positively impact today’s societal and/or environmental challenges. They want to find and support entrepreneurs who use business principles to change the world, improving the human condition in creative and innovative ways. Please forward this email to anyone who you think might want to know more.

The Impact Engine (TheImpactEngine.com) is a 12-week venture accelerator designed to help socially and/or environmentally minded for-profit companies move to their next level. The first group of approximately 10 entrepreneurs, Impact 1, will be matched with experienced mentors, provided access to vetted legal and accounting professionals, given help in building their business models, assistance in landing early customers, ideas on growing their organizations and access to hundreds of investors on Investor Day.

Chuck Templeton (founder of OpenTable) and Arun Sivashankaran (seasoned entrepreneur and technical guru) will be working with the Impact 1 companies on a day-to-day basis, helping them think about how to best grow their business. Chuck and Arun are surrounded by an experienced team with an extensive network that will maximize the reach that each company has. The goal is to increase the chances of success for the entrepreneur/s and condense the timeline to market adoption for their organizations.

The Impact Engine is accepting applications for our first cohort (Impact 1) of companies until June 30th, for a class that runs from September to December. For more details, please go to www.TheImpactEngine.com or you can contact Chuck Templeton at chuck@theimpactengine.com. There is an early application bonus so get your application in now!

Free Workshop! Creatives At Work Forum: Online Stores & E-Commerce for WordPress

The When: Thursday, April 12, 2012 6:00pm - 7:00pm

The Where: Chicago Cultural Center

73 E. Washington, 5th floor

The What:

Tips for selling at Craft Shows

A huge thank you to all the crafters who came out last Wednesday night to participate in our Craft Racket!

We collected a fantastic list of tips for selling at shows, from a variety of crafters. Download the Selling at Craft Shows Tipsheet, or just take a quick look at a few excerpts:

• Get people to touch and try on jewelry. Some studies say people are 40% more likely to buy if can touch first.
• It’s a good idea to include a picture of what you make on your business card.
• If you’re doing a demo [in your booth or at a show], take a photo or make a checklist of what you’ll need (including all the supplies); when you’re packing up, you’ll be sure to have everything you need.
• Don’t make everything so perfectly neat. People will be intimated to look at – and certainly touch – anything because they don’t want to disturb it.

Join the Chicago Craft Mafia mailing list (in the column over there ->) to find out about upcoming events like this one, or follow us on Twitter (@chicraftmafia) for more great tips and info relating to crafters and upcoming events!

Craft Racket, Summer 2011

Our next networking night, the Craft Racket, is right around the corner – Tuesday, July 26.

We’re very excited to have a guest presenter for this summer’s Racket. Jennifer Rapp Peterson of IndieMade will demonstrate how fast you can get your business online and ready to accept sales and connect with customers.

Jennifer will set up a complete website from scratch in 30 minutes using IndieMade’s technology. If you bring a laptop and content, you can test drive the software free for 30 days.

IndieMade offers creative entrepreneurs complete websites with an integrated blog, shopping cart, galleries, calendar and social media integration all in one place, on a custom URL (www.yourname.com). Instead of managing a separate blog, store and portfolio site, IndieMade gives it all to you on your own website, under one roof. IndieMade websites are not widget-based, they are search-engine-friendly, built in 2 minutes, and come with an easy-to-use dashboard to upload and manage your content and your sales. They don’t take a percentage of sales, all of this functionality is included in the hosting package.

We hope you’ll join us for an evening of learning, socializing, talking shop, and sharing a snack or two with your fellow crafters at Beans & Bagels on Montrose!

CRAFT RACKET – Summer, 2011

Tuesday, July 26 from 6 to 9 pm


Beans & Bagels

1812 W. Montrose

Chicago IL

(right under the Montrose stop on the Brown Line)

Cost: FREE!

Please RSVP by emailing chicagocraftmafia@gmail.com or calling Rebeca/
Blue Buddha at 773.478.3767

Social Media Summit

Image from this website http://freebiespress.com/

Learn how to effectively use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter Constant Contact and more to promote your business.  The event is being held June 16th at the Chicago Cultural Center and *drumroll* it is free!

For all the details – go to Chicago Artists Resource.

global craft blogs

Want a global perspective on craft and design?  Here are a few great blogs!

From Australia comes Clog, a review of what’s happening at the Craft Victoria in Melbourne.  Check out their sidebar for more Australian craft goodness.

Swedish ceramicist Karin Eriksson writes an elegant and often delicious blog.  I especially love the updates from her online and brick-and-mortar shop Manos.

Check out Ansie’s blog Sol Y Sombra.  It gives gorgeous glimpses into the craft world of Dubai.  Her recent posts about the Haberdashery Souk will leave you drooling.

The Daily Kogei provides an interesting look at contemporary Japanese crafts with strong roots in tradition.  You can even polish up your French as the blog is written in both languages.

For Japanese DIY turn to Japan Craft Journal.  It is c0-written by four authors scattered across Japan and Australia.

South of the Sahara is written by a South African now living in Boston and provides an amazing overview of what’s happening in the southern region of the continent.

Thinking of starting your own blog or giving your current one a facelift, take a look at Tips for New Bloggers.

If you love other internationally inclined craft blogs, let others know by posting a comment with the link.

Refinery 29

Love fashion?  Get your fix with the website Refinery 29.   Check out their Trends section to see what trends are being noticed locally and nationwide.