Modish Biz Tips

Do What You Love: An interview with Wendy Downs of Moop

I'm so excited with our Do What You Love interview today! It's with a lady that I've been admiring for a few years now who I've featured on Modish many times in the past. The maker of the bags we all know and love, some of the most simply stylish and durable handmade bags on the market. It's Wendy Downs of Moop! Wendy just recently added her hubby Jeremy onto the Moop team full time, and now they're working together, around their daughters schedule, moving to a new city and trying to renovate a new home at the same time, to make Moop better than ever. Read on!

What do you do for a living?

We design and manufacture bags for men, women and children.

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I started Moop about 2 1/2 years ago. For the first 6 months I worked my regular job as well to build things and reach a point that I could work on Moop full time. I was really unhappy at my job so it was easy to make the decision to leave it, but it was also a big risk. Moop was not making enough money to support us yet, but I was confident we would get there.

For two years, we worked tirelessly building the business (we still do this.) My husband is a university professor. One of our goals for this year was to have Moop in a place where Jeremy could join me full time... and we've just decided to make this leap.

In June we moved from Massachusetts to Pittsburgh to be closer to his family and to live in a city that we would be proud to have our business located in. We have BIG plans for the future and feel so fortunate to have such prospects ahead of us. Just as it was a risk for me to leave my job to work on Moop, the same is true for us now (i.e. a tenure track university position certainly offers a more comfortable security), but we are excited about the challenges and opportunities looking forward.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?

Do What You Love: An interview with Janick Gravel of Nea

Today I'm pleased to have the lovely Canadian creative powerhouse, Janick Gravel here for our Do What You Love series! Janick is the designer behind Nea, creating jewelry and her iconic wall wear full time and making a living at it too! Let's get a little glimpse into what her daily life is like and see how she manages her busy etsy shop.

 
What do you do for a living?  

I started making jewelry and selling on Etsy in 2006. At the time, I was a freelance graphic designer working from home and wanted some extra money to buy handmade. Then in 2008 I started exploring embroidery and cross-stitch and launched my Wall Wear collection in June. The response was so positive and overwhelming! Since then, I've been doing this as a living!

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I've been self-employed since 2003 for graphic design, but since 2008 for Nea. Both times, I decided to just go for it and leap into the unknown almost on a head spin, even with all the risks that it brings. Some people prefer to plan ahead, I prefer to just jump in and take the motivation and excitement with me! Then again, I don't have kids or a mortgage, so it is an easier decision for me than for many people.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?

Do What You Love: An interview with Alissa of Mew Paper Arts

After a bit of a haitus with this series, I'm back with another great Do What You Love interview, taking an honest look at creatively self-employed life. This time, it's with Alissa of Mew Paper Arts! Alissa was featured on Etsy's Quit Your Day Job series which led to an interview with the CBS Evening News and her business has been taking off! She's enjoying every minute of it and I'm so glad to have her here sharing her experiences. Read on to see what a day in the life is like for a busy (and pretty!) stationery designer!

What do you do for a living? 

I’m Alissa Harvey—I’m the owner and designer behind Mew Paper Arts, a handmade stationery boutique.  When I first started selling on Etsy the intention was focused on boxed notecards and other greetings.  Later, my business evolved without telling me, and though I still do produce stationery, my main source of income is from custom event invitations both on Etsy and through my personal website www.mewpaperarts.com.

How long have you been self-employed?  What made you decide to take the leap? 

Taking the leap felt more like free-falling face first into an abyss of the unknown!  But once I relaxed and let gravity do what it does, I started to really love that feeling!  In 2008, after more than five years in the real estate industry, I left my corporate job in a beige cubicle to give self-employment a go.  I was miserable—and that is not an understatement.  I knew that I was meant to be creative, and knew I deserved to feel fulfilled.  I had been selling on Etsy while working a day job for about a year at that time, and I knew that I just needed more time to commit to my business.  At first, I maintained a part time job doing picture framing—I still felt a need for some stability.  But after only about 6 months, that framing store shut it’s doors and I had no choice but to push Mew into high gear and make it happen.  I haven’t had even a nano-second of regret for making the decision that I made.  But on the flipside, I’ve also come to understand that I needed to go through that stifling period in a corporate environment—it is now my source of motivation to be successful so that I never have to go back to that place.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere? 

Wholesaling Insider- An interview with Jess LC

{photo of Meet Me at Mikes shop- from an old Modish shop tour}

This week we'll be talking about selling your work via wholesale and consignment. We're going a little backwards, starting with an interview on wholesale today, back to wholesale basics tomorrow and then onto consignment stuff Thursday, but we do things to the beat of our own drum around here, right?

So, to start us off, we have an interview with wholesale pro, Jessica Constable of Jess LC jewelry. She's sold her jewelry in over 150 shops and boutiques over the last 9 years and has been working on her jewelry line in Chicago full time since 2007. Today she's here to offer us a little insider info about successful wholesaling!

I know you've been selling your jewelry since you were just 15! How did you get started selling your jewelry wholesale to shops?

When I started it was really pretty simple. I would walk in the store and start a friendly conversation with the sales staff. I would also mention that I designed jewelry and would like to meet the buyer or owner of the store. If they were receptive to the pieces of jewelry I was wearing or to a few samples I brought, they would usually have an impromptu appointment then, or they would set a date for me to show them the full line. It was pretty easy to tell whether the owner was interested in my pieces or not in the first five minutes.

Another thing I did in the beginning was consignment - where the store split the retail price with me 50-50, and I only got paid once the jewelry sold. Any unsold merchandise was later returned to me. Now I have sales reps who sell my line for me and I pay them commission.

If a designer wants to approach a shop about carrying their work, what are the proper steps to take?

Do What You Love: An interview with Susannah Conway

We're back with another Do What You Love interview, this time with the fantastic Susannah Conway! Susannah is a photographer, writer and teacher- you may know her from her gorgeous photography, from reading her insightful blog or perhaps taking her popular Unravelling e-course. She's gracious and kind and inspiring in so many ways, I'm so pleased to have her here to share her insight on life as a successfully self-employed (and single!) woman. Let's meet her!

What do you do for a living?

I am a photographer and writer, and I run the Unravelling e-course online.

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I’ve actually been self-employed, in one way or another, since 2003, when I left my full-time job as a fashion editor on a UK national newspaper and became a freelance journalist. In 2005 I lost my partner and didn’t work for year, but as I worked through my bereavement I started to pick up article commissions here and there before I decided to launch my photography business in 2007. In 2008 I started teaching the Unravelling workshops locally before offering them online this year. My reason for taking the leap in the first place? I hate working in an office and feeling like an automaton.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?

I work from home and it is an absolute joy to be able to do so.

Do you have a partner or assistant, or are you going it solo?

Do What You Love: An interview with Jan DiCintio

Today in our Do What You Love series, we have an interview with the wonderful Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie and Scoutie Girl! Jan is one of my go to ladies to ask for advice when I feel the like my business-brain is about to explode. So, I knew she'd be an excellent voice to include here as she's full of life experience and laughter, which we can all use a little more of. Read on to see how she makes her way through the sometimes crazy world of self-employment!

What do you do for a living?

Most hours of the day, I am a fabric and surface designer. I design and sell collections of my fabrics to hobbyists and other small business owners; I create surface designs to sell to manufacturers; and I work with manufacturers to print large wholesale orders. In the other “most hours of the day,” I write/manage/edit posts for my blog Scoutie Girl, which features passionately handmade items from independent artists & designers.

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I started painting anything that dared to get in front of my brush in 1998, but I didn’t sell my first piece of art until May of 2000. It was exhilarating b/c it was truly a whim! My son was 2 at the time, and my husband, Matt, strongly encouraged me (and helped me) make more art – partly to keep me from cleaning the house twice a day while my son napped and partly b/c we both recognized the potential money-making opportunity. The deal was sealed, and it set me on a path of learning how to build a business around something I really enjoyed. There have been many stepping stones, crossroads, ‘the-light’s-not-getting-any-greener’ and ‘oh-$hit’ moments along the way (as well as a couple part-time job stints), but basically, I haven’t looked back since 2000.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?