Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

BIZtips on Etsy!

Hey Etsy shop owners (and shop owners of all sorts really... ;) Take a peek at some of my favorite tips from the Modish BIZtips blog so far published over on the Etsy Storque today! And thank you Etsy, for the fantastic shout-out!

Try this at home with Maddy: LESSONS LEARNED- Setting Goals

As some of you may know, I'm in the process of starting up a letterpress stationery line. Since a large number of you have already commented saying these articles have helped you in your own pursuits or have inspired you to consider going out on your own. I thought it would help for me to share what I've been going through getting prepared. This first installment is about the all-important goal list.

I admit it: if I don't have a deadline, I procrastinate. It wasn't a problem in school, and clearly isn't a problem at work - but when it's just me, with no one to answer to but myself, I'm certainly slower. Either it's one of the kitties being cute, or something good on TV, or the laundry has to get done. Suddenly, the day is gone and I've gotten nothing done. I know I'm not the only one who is like this, and if you don't set goals for yourself without real time lines, you may find that your dreams of your own small business will be pushed back indefinitely into the future.

Sit down and write a list of important milestones in getting yourself off the ground. If you can't get started without doing it, put it on the list - including acquiring a EIN, buying supplies, and attaining any necessary licenses. When you've got a completed list of "to dos", number them according to where in the time line they belong. For example, if you can't start purchasing supplies without a business bank account, opening a bank account would clearly come earlier in your numbering. With your numbering complete, group your goals by what's achievable at the same time, then assign due dates to each group. Make sure they are achievable in the time period you're allowing between groups, but you don't want to give yourself too much time either.

Here's a simplified version of the one I made for myself when preparing for my opening:

February 15
- complete designs
- acquire press, Boxcar Base, registration quoins
- have FEIN and Minnesota EIN
- have a valid DBA (Assumed Name)

End of February
- have a business bank account
- order inks, paper
- order and set up Quickbooks
- begin printing
- research advertising

March Week 3
- register website
- design website

End of April/May Week 1
- website up
- advertise

Realistically, you're going to run behind because of things that are out of your control. I'm currently two weeks behind for reasons that are out of my hands. The only thing you have to do in cases such as these is take a deep breath and take another look at your timing. If you want to keep your launch date, are there any areas where you may have overestimated how much time you'll need for it? Add that to whatever group of goals is held up.

-Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: GET INSPIRED- Updating the Craft Circle

[ photo by Maddy ]

If the idea of craft circles inspires you to think of your Grandma and her nearest and dearest and, say, a hundred balls of yarn, you're not alone. Having a creative full time job while also seeking out others, who like me enjoy creating outside of the office, made me think: if the "make it / make it mine" attitude is becoming such a huge culture trend now, can't we redefine the idea of the craft circle?

Certainly Etsy is helping to change the face of crafting from the ground up. With more buyers and sellers registering daily, I can't help but think of the new "craft circle" as a tool for the crafter that works similarly to the group critique of a fine artist. It's an opportunity to explore ways to improve your work and bounce ideas off of each other while in a relaxed social atmosphere. Why not bite the bullet and ask some creative buddies over for some relaxing arts and crafts time?

Here are some ideas for starting your own group:

• Meet weekly or biweekly. To keep it fair, rotate houses or apartments so one person isn't always playing host.
• Keep it social. Even if you're crafting for business, it's a great opportunity to take some time out and make new friends and get to know old friends better. Try crafting over some snacks and a movie (and I know Zodiac is awesome, but try to keep the visuals on the cheery side! Freaked out crafters equals more room for unhappy accidents).
• Share ideas and resources. Try a "supply bucket" that you can all chip in for to keep your mutual costs down - it could contain anything from PVA glue to scissors to wire cutters.
• If you don't sell through the same Etsy store, find another webspace where you can come together as a group to display all of your work and link to it on your Etsy profiles. This will get you the most cross-advertising for yourself and your other circle friends, as well as enhance the community vibe.
• Why not swap? Try exchanging creations every month or two to let everyone have little keepsakes of your time together. It's also great inspiration and motivation for each individual member to work in between craft circles.
• If you get any supply catalogs in the mail, bring them to a circle! You never know who might benefit from it, regardless of whether or not they work in a similar field or medium as you.

See you next week!

-Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- The Price is... Right?

Photo/necklace by Maddy

[ This necklace I made for myself was a guinea pig for price formula testing. From different formulas, it would be worth anywhere from $10 (too low) to $40 (too high!). It's all in finding what's good for you and your product and sticking to it - it might take time to find the right formula, but it's worth it! ]

Probably the most frequently asked question I see when going on Craft Community boards is the question of how to price items for wholesale and retail. I've never found comparison pricing particularly effective; one can look to certain areas of Etsy where that method has created an environment where products seem underpriced which gives new businesses with a fair profit margin a hard time competitively and also makes prospective buyers sometimes think that the quality is just as cheap as the price (whether or not it may be!). After hundreds of browser bookmarks and notes to myself in my "business plan" binder, along with hours of calculating out different formulas to see which really works the best the most consistently, I've come to realize there is no definitive answer. It's a matter of personal preference (which sort of puts all of us back at square one, eh?).

I guess my point in this preface is that this post is not meant to provide you with the Golden Rule for your pricing, but give you some options for formulas I've accumulated over the past months. Since this all comes from a notebook I've kept but (silly me!) did not attribute to anyone in particular, I'm not sure where I found these specifically; however, in my experience, the following formulas are generally commonplace and only differ in the wording rather than the core math itself.

When you're ready to test these formulas, my suggestion is you set aside some time to actually start producing the product in question. Carefully time yourself and determine how long it takes to make one item (if it's something like candles or soap, which is generally made in quantity, divide the time it takes to make the batch by how many were in the batch). I generally find that charging about $8-10 an hour for labor usually creates a fair price range for most products; if more skill is involved than your average craft (say, glassblowing, for example) you should knock the labor rate up a bit. Itemize exactly how much of all your supplies you used and determine how much money you personally spent making the product to the penny. If you have your own domain name, use overhead to account for your hosting fees and registration fees, as well as any other paid fees you have. If you use Etsy and PayPal, use overhead to account for what you pay there. Make sure you write down all those monetary values, then plug them in to the different formulas. Whichever one comes out with the price you think is the most reasonable should be tested again with another product. If it still comes out with a reasonable price, you've found yourself a winner!

The Basic Retail Formula

Supply Cost + Labor + Overhead + Desired Profit = Retail Price   or   Supply Cost + Labor + Overhead + (Desired Profit x 1.5) = Retail Consignment Price

Assuming you have no intention to sell wholesale, or you only plan on selling consignment, this formula is pretty basic and can get everyone started quickly. Note the base formula as well as the consignment formula. The consignment formula adjusts slightly higher to compensate for the normally 40% fee taken by consignment shops, giving you a similar profit to what you would normally make. Don't feel frightened to do this, or to adjust slightly off of the consigment formula - the high volume of traffic and shoppers usually generated by consignment shops makes slightly higher prices justified.

The Basic Wholesale to Retail Conversion

Supplies + Labor + Overhead + Desired Profit = Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price x 2 = Retail Price

This one isn't that much more complicated. If you're looking to build a price with a wholesale base in mind, it's always good to consider what you're willing to sell your product to resellers for while still making the sales worth your while. You may decide to go for less money on the wholesale side simply to get your name out, or more because of the time and love put in. Whichever end you choose, plug it into the "Desired Profit", and you've got yourself a wholesale number.

It's important to also note here that while doubling wholesale is a generally accepted method of getting a retail price, I've also seen some multiply by 1.5 and 1.75, depending on the product. Just make sure to give enough markup room for your wholesale accounts!

The Fixed Wholesale to Retail Conversion

(Supplies + Labor + Overhead) x 2.25 = Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price x 2 = Retail Price

Instead of assigning an arbitrary profit amount to the item in question, this gives a fixed margin and can be applied to multiple items without having to toil over what you consider to be "fair". Like the previous formula, your wholesale can be multiplied by either 1.5 or 1.75 to suit your business.

Other Formulas and Discussions
Pricing Your Craft (Craftster)
Wholesale/Consignment Pricing (Craftster)
Craftster Business FAQ: How Do I Price My Items? (Craftster)
An Underselling Discussion (Craftster)
Professional Pricing for Craftspeople (Etsy Wiki)

-Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- What's In a Name?

When you're first starting out, one of the most exciting parts (at least for me) is choosing the name you'll be working with. With the introduction of the internet, people are competing across the country as well as around the world, and finding a unique, memorable name is more important than ever. You also want to ensure you're not violating any trademarks (eek!). Here's how to find that perfect name.

1. Make a list. It seems obvious, but this step is an important one. Make sure it's written or typed, not just in your memory. Number or arrange them by your name preference so you can check the ones you're attached to first.
2. Check with the Trademark Office. Free trademark searches can be done here with the United States Government. If you live outside the states, check your government's website for more information on trademark searches. If your preferred name comes back with a trademark result, never fear! Inspect the entry more closely, and check to see the industry the trademark is effective in. If the name is trademarked for, say, medical supplies and you're making quilts, you're probably in the green. It's always good to come back to this page later to trademark your name. In the United States, you'll want a Utility Filing for a logo/logotype or drawing, or Design Filing for an invention or product design. It's not as expensive as people would expect - and the USPTO offers reduced filing fees for small entities (individuals and small businesses, which I'm sure the vast majority of you are!). Remember, you do not need to register with the USPTO to use the ™ symbol, but the ® symbol can not be used without a completed filing.
3. Check with a Whois. A what? A Whois search engine is a program that lets you check various domain names to see if they're available. Check out the domains you'd consider getting - if your business has multiple words in its name, check it without spaces (likethis.com/net/org) and with dashes (like-this.com/net/org). Take a look at the domains that are registered with that name, if there are any. What's on their website? You don't want people confusing your business with another, so if your business is too similar, or if the other website could be considered offensive in any way, either change your prospective URL or move down the list and start testing another name.
4. Check with Etsy. The easiest way to find out if another indie designer is using your name is to check Etsy. You can search by user name, and you can return more user names similar to yours that you might miss otherwise by typing in a keyword rather than the whole name. For example, if I were to start up business using Try This at Home as my business name and trythisathome as my Etsy name, I could opt to key in "home" and see what pops up. If nothing appears similar to what you're hoping for, you're golden.
5. Google it. Sear with and without quotation marks around your name - otherwise, enough said!
6. Check indie networking sites, blogs, and directories. They almost always come with a search engine, so hit these sites too for results that may hit the bottom of the barrel with major search engines.
7. Check with State and Local government. Now that you've done all you can online, it's time to get out of the house and make sure nobody is operating in your city or state with the same name. After all, not everyone is operating online yet, and you wouldn't want to settle on a name and start producing business cards, packaging, and other promotional pieces only to find out later a mom and pop shop about 30 minutes away is preventing you from using that name when filing for a business license. All it takes is a quick trip to City Hall - clerks there should be able to do a search for you.

I hope this was informative and helpful. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help you in any way I can - just let me know. Happy Name Hunting!

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- Build a Better Website

I admit it - I'm a very picky web browser. As a blogger I search many sites each week, looking for great new product, and I confess that I could easily be missing a lot of great stuff simply because of my internet prejudices. I'm sure in a lot of respects I'm a pretty basic Internet user - I'd say you have about 5 seconds to capture my interest, and if it's busy or cluttered, you can pretty much count on me closing the window before I get further into the site. It sounds harsh, but it's the truth - and I know I'm not the only one.

Think about it: your web presence is a huge part of what your professional appearance is. If it looks sloppy or put together with little thought or effort, how does that reflect on your brand in your customers' eyes? There are lots of "website faux pas" that are done every day, and once you recognize them and address them, people will take your company more seriously.

1. Don't use a free server. Seeing banner ads or pop ups on a business websites is frustrating to the user and doesn't give you a professional appearance. This applies to text ads like Google's AdSense. If you can't afford professional hosting services, you should be selling on a place like Etsy or Mintd before upgrading to your own site - with the extra hit potential generated by those kinds of sites, it's probably better for smaller or beginning operations anyway.
2. If you don't have web experience, hire a professional. While I love the do-it-yourself spirit of the crafters who make the great products I see every day, I get concerned when I see websites that don't demonstrate the level of craftsmanship I know so many of you are capable of. The web is a scary medium - if you don't know how to use it to the best of its ability, you run the risk of looking less professional than you actually are. Hire someone to program and design it, or if you can't necessarily pay them a huge amount, either purchase a site template from a designer or negotiate a barter system. Aeolidia offers web design services as well as really attractive prefab designs that can be easily customized to suit your needs.
3. Don't use blink or marquee tags, or use a large block of h1, h2, or other headline text. Blink and marquee tags don't work on all browsers and often slow down your load and scrolling time because it takes a computer longer to process it. Headline tags should be used sparingly - like its name, it's really supposed to be reserved for, well, headlines! If you use an entire paragraph of headline text, it's incredibly difficult for the reader to understand what call outs you're trying to prioritize. If it's kept as a navigational device to bring the reader into different sections, it's a lot more legible, and you'll have an easier time of bringing people into the information you're trying to hand them. Avoiding use of these three no-no's in internet typography will make your site seem a lot more mature.
4. Try to keep your typefaces down to three, maximum. This is probably my biggest pet peeve, and the mistake I see being used the most often. A lot of sites use a huge variety of different typefaces and try call out different product styles or categories by doing it, but it only makes the whole site a LOT more confusing. Your whole site should boil down to no more than three typefaces ("fonts"): your Internet-standard text font (Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, Century Gothic, Trebuchet MS, Tahoma) and up to two "brand fonts". Brand fonts are those that fit in with your company - you may use them in your logo or on your packaging. If you can reduce it down to one font (not including your logo), then that's even better! Try to avoid script faces in this area as they are often hard to read, especially as they get smaller. I find that san serifs work the best for me on the web - Try This at Home's blog was a good example, which utilized the typeface Gotham by Hoefler & Frere-Jones.
5. White space is your friend. Just because there's still room in your layout doesn't mean you need to fill it. White space is a great design element that helps even the busiest of layouts breath and look less "all over the place". White space, of course, doesn't need to be "white"; here the word refers more to "empty" than to a fixed light value. Of all sites, I think Wild Garden does a phenomenal job respecting their white space. The right panel has a lot of room to breathe, and the large detail images of their shirts, which rotate on each refresh, are all photographed on a white background to help give the feeling of even more white space. This could work also with a colored background - I would just advise that whatever color you photograph on matches the intended background of the rest of the site.
6. Sketch out a clear and concise way to organize your information before you get started, and always consider how YOU would use the site if you were just a visitor, not the owner. The most successful sites I've been to have a logical way of moving around their logo, their navigation, their news, and their features while still giving each area its own clearly defined space to live in, room to breathe, and an appropriate level of hierarchy. In this area, I have a lot of respect for what Freshly Blended Press is doing with their site. Their masthead is clearly defined from the rest of the site by the choice of a color (chocolate brown) which clearly contrasts from the background of the rest of the site (white); it also cleanly goes across the whole page rather than only a portion of it, making the separation more pronounced and attractive. The navigation is basic and logically placed; the faint pattern behind it is not busy or contrasted enough to distract the browser while using it. The page's content is clearly sectioned off with a lot of white space; photos, dotted rules and large dated numbers are used to help break up the areas into highly legible sections. Font size changes between the feature area and the updates help establish a hierarchy and draw you to the feature area first; the type size change gives a good range of font sizes while not being too small or too large.

Remember - having a clean, professional website does not mean it has to be devoid of personality. After all, sites like Modish: Handmade Goods and Design Sponge have a lot of it, but they're still user-friendly. The principles behind better websites are more than that - is it easy to use and legible? Is it logical? Can your visitors understand it? Does it look to visually busy or is it effectively organized? If I was a customer, could I use this site the first time I came to it?

It may be hard to answer those questions objectively if you've made it. If you find that you're not sure if you can be honest with yourself about them, I encourage you to have people test and critique it. For the most accurate feedback, try to keep it outside our circle of friends and family as much as possible - you don't want them to soften any problems or reservations they have about it to avoid possibly hurting your feelings.

-Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- Taking Better Pictures

{Family Reunion photo by Artsy}

If you ask a lot of indie business owners, one of the most daunting tasks in getting set up is taking the ever-important product photograph. Especially on sites such as Etsy, where your product really is in a sea of competing items, you need to take great photos to capture the attention of the browser. They better they look and the more they pop, the more likely you'll get the click - and of course, the more clicks, the better the chance at the sale!

While getting a professional to take photos for you can be a great option, most businesses realistically don't have the budget for it - at the same time, nobody wants their sales to suffer because the images on their store front don't accurately reflect the commitment and pride they have for their product. So what's a small business owner to do? Start by making small changes to how you take your photos! You'd be surprised by how the tiniest detail can really make or break your photos. Here are some tips:

1. Find and get to know your camera. Most people are using digital cameras these days. If you're doing product photography, you'll probably want a Digital SLR rather than your standard point and shoot digital. A digital SLR (single lens reflex) functions like a standard film camera. You can adjust the aperture and focus point, unlike its point and shoot counterpart, which tends to have a flat focus. Always try it out before you buy it, because like any other tool an artist uses, you'll find cameras you're more comfortable with. If a DSLR is out of your price range, don't worry about using a point and click for now - you can always upgrade later, or you can simply use a film camera and ask for a CD back rather than prints (though that might be a hassle). I personally use a DSLR and would never use a point and shoot again; my weapon of choice is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT - you can find refurbished models on EBay for very reasonable prices. I bought mine online from Cameta Camera's EBay Store - I knew the brick and mortar shop since I had lived in the area at the time and knew its reputation; I highly recommend them. When you've purchased your camera, you should make it a point to set time aside to read the manual and experiment - take a couple of shots on different settings and see what you like. I highly recommend using the Macro mode on your camera for anything small, such as jewelry - you'll get very tight, graphic close-ups on details that translate very well into feature photos (remember you should also pull back to see the whole piece in alternate shots so the customer can also have a sense of scale).
2. Use natural light, or white light. I find the best shots for most objects is natural light. Don't use direct light; aim to shoot in partial shade, during a partly cloudy day, or in the morning or late afternoon. If you can't time it perfectly or weather conditions aren't ideal for shooting, turn off the lights in your room and shoot near a window that does not have direct light coming into it. If, for whatever reason, you don't have enough light or are shooting at night, you have to be very careful about shooting with household light. NEVER USE YOUR CAMERA'S FLASH - it will wash out and flatten your product, which is not very flattering. I highly recommend investing in some GE Reveal bulbs - they shine bright white so there is less of a color cast to your product. Another incredibly useful purchase (in my opinion) is either one or a couple Medusa-head lamps like this one from Target - you can adjust your light sources as well as how much is coming into the shot quite easily, rather than using a bunch of various lamps. If you do purchase a Medusa, however, make sure the plastic lamp shades around the bulb are either WHITE or BLACK, which will filter light cleanly - otherwise you will get color casting.
3. Simplify your backgrounds. A lot of times I see people shooting stuff on very busy backgrounds or environments, but I think the most successful feature shots are more graphic and are really about the product. For smaller items, solid color paper, flat table cloths or pillow cases, or wood surfaces (minor distressing is okay) are often best. Try to avoid busy patterns (if you prefer patterns, think small polka dots or simple stripes); you can make solid colors more interesting by having an interesting texture to the fabric or a pretty tooth to the paper. If you need a shot illustrating the product in your environment, simplify the space as much as possible, and use the environment photo as an alternate rather than the main picture. Most importantly, choose colors that make your product pop the most - if you're mostly metal or neutral colors, head towards bright, poppy colors. Really nice mushroom grays or warm neutrals work beautifully and look sophisticated against brighter colors or jewelry with colorful accent stones.
4. Prop simply and smartly. In the industry, professional photographers have specialized assistants known as stylists that add non-product objects to the shot to help illustrate product use, ingredients or fragrance, or help define the brand and quality level. If you choose to style your product, you need to remember to not go overboard! Keep props small and subtle in relation to the product - after all, you're not selling the props! Also consider what tone it gives the overall photograph. For example, if you have a sophisticated line of bath and body products and are shooting a lavender scented bar of soap, consider propping it with some dried lavender plants on a clean white soap dish? On the other hand, if your bath and body line was more quirky and fun, perhaps a small bath toy, like a mini rubber duck, might be right for your brand.

If you're an Etsy user, keep in mind the site will end up cropping your photos into a square when it's the feature photo - you will want to compose your photos with that in mind. If you've used natural light, I'd generally discourage bringing your photos into Photoshop unless there is color correcting that needs to be done - for example, if you have a color cast. Slight adjusting may be needed in Levels if you've used indoor lighting, which may have flattened out your product.

Good luck, and happy photo taking!

- Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Make Bath and Body Products

For most folks, there's nothing better than a wonderful warm, relaxing bath. For the creative, there's always an added bonus knowing you made the soap. Or the bubbles and bath salts. Heck, you even made the lotion you're going to use after you come out! Does that sound like it should be you? Here's the goods to get you into crafting Bath and Body product.

{photo by mi*2}

Suppliers - Multiple Bath & Body Areas
Bramble Berry: supplies for making soap, lip balm, lotions, bath salts, and more. Includes molds, colorant, exfoliants, fragrances, and more. Just starting out and don't know what to do? They also offer kits.

Wellington Fragrance Company: despite their name, Wellington stocks various bases (including body gel, liquid hand soap, bubble bath, lotion, shampoo and conditioner bases), molds, flavor oils, and salts. Not surprisingly, they also stock fragrances (what a shock!).

Save on Scents: I love these guys. While they carry primarily fragrance oils (their selection is great, they've started to expand their collection to packaging (vials, bottles, roll-ons, and more), melt and pour soap bases, colorants, and a variety of other bases including shower gel, lip balm, scrub, lotion, and other various bases.

Sweet Cakes: if you're looking into bath and body as a business opportunity, Sweet Cakes offers bulk supplies for melt and pour soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bases. They also supply packaging, lip balm bases and flavor oils, and a wide variety of fragrance and essential oils. Want to test out the scents? They also offer themed 1 ounce fragrance sampler packs.

Wholesale Supplies Plus: offering molds, fragrances, various bases, and packaging, WSP has a good selection that covers all of bath and body crafting. There's a particularly good selection of melt and pour bases to suit anyone's personal preference.

Suppliers - Soapmaking Exclusive
Creation Herbal: offering essential oils and soapmaking ingredients, Creation Herbal also offers organic alternatives for those crafting for that market. If you're interested in doing a more advanced soapmaking process than simple melt and pour, they have beginner recipe kits complete with all necessary ingredients and a step-by-step book to help you through it.

Suppliers - Fragrance Exclusive
Scent It: various fragrance oils available in various sizes, including sample sizes if you'd like to experiment before you buy a bulk size.

Suppliers - Packaging Exclusive
SKS Bottle: a really, really great variety of packaging options for bath and body products. I've used them before while I was in school developing a fictitious bath and body line for a packaging class - and I'd use them again.

Books - Soapmaking
The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch: featuring recipes and techniques, this book helps inspire new ways of making your soaps unique. Probably the best feature of all, Cavitch also offers insight on soapmaking for profit, including the hardest part for all of us - understanding the government's rules and requirements!

The Natural Soap Book by Susan Miller Cavitch: also by Ms. Cavitch, this book features soap recipes in the cold process method using all-natural ingredients. In addition to the recipes, Cavitch also discusses ideas for creative packaging and presentation.

Soapmaking for Fun and Profit by Maria Nerius: geared slightly more towards the business side of soapmaking, including pricing and marketing, it also addresses how to develop recipes and setting up a workspace.

Melt and Pour Soapmaking by Marie Browning: through great imagery and easy to follow directions, this book will help you make your melt and pour soaps even more unique with discussions on fragrance, additives, colorants, embossing, embedding and more. Though the title would suggest it's only a book about melt and pour, there are also recipes included on hand milled soaps, bath salts, bubble baths, massage oils, and bath powders.

Making Natural Liquid Soaps by Catherine Failor: in addition to all-natural recipes for shampoos, bath and shower gels, and bubble baths, this book gives insight into the chemistry behind bath and body product, and how to use different hard fats and soft oils to the best advantage. There's also information included about how to formulate your own blends, and addresses basic techniques that everyone can follow.

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Paper Craft

Hey, it's what I went to school for! Well, sort of, but it ended up being a large part of my education. Paper arts is one of those craft categories where you can pick a project that's either really, really cheap - or really, really expensive. The best examples would probably be simple card crafting on the cheap end, and bookmaking on the "wait until your next couple of paychecks" end, but both are fun and rewarding. For a paper geek like me, it gets my heart racing. Here are some supply sites and general resources on the web I find to be really helpful. I can't offer you any tutorials on the web because I still haven't found any that I like which illustrate and explain it well for beginners; I've included some good binding books in place of any web tutorials.
{photos by bird in the hand}

Suppliers - Bookbinding

Talas: they have everything under the sun  for the book arts and are the first company I went to in college for more advanced supplies. They've got a great selection of book cloth to choose from (sample swatch books available for purchase!), and their book selection is definitely worth checking out (a number of them I either own or have read).

Hollander's: I'd heard about these guys recently. Their retail storefront is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but they also sell their supplies online. If you're a beginner, they have large variety of text blocks already sewn and finished so you don't have to worry about the sometimes frustrating steps of gluing your signatures. All you have to do is add your endpapers and attach to your covers!

Suppliers - General Paper Crafts

Gocco on EBay: This little machine is super fun to use. It's an investment, but it's definitely something any serious paper geek should have.

Making Memories: Despite the fact Making Memories is traditionally seen as a scrapbooking supplies vendor, their assortment is really great to look at for card making, shadowboxing, and other crafts. I love their fabric tapes which are really handy when making books to finish off the bound edge in a professional - but colorful! - way.

Impress Rubber Stamps: In my opinion, the best, most trend-forward assortment of rubber stamps, period.

Paper Mojo: I could stare at their Contemporary Prints section all day. They've got all sorts of awesome papers to choose from, from patterned to lace to tissue.

Martha Stewart Crafts: whatever, I'm a sucker. Really beautiful ribbon, paper, punches, embellishments, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Kraft Outlet: I love brown kraft paper. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's awesome. Kraft Outlet has a whole bunch of nifty things for packaging, stationery and other various paper-based projects in sweet, sweet kraft.

Creative Paper Crafts: I found some pretty cute rubber stamps here. They've got supplies for a variety of crafting techniques including origami, embossing, and quilling, as well as scrapbooking supplies.

Resources and Information -  Letterpress

Don Black's First Press Suggestions: want to get into letterpress but you don't know which machine to start with? Here's a good page to get your started.

Briarpress: the letterpress printer's haven. Whether printing is new to you or you're been doing it for a while, there's something for everyone, including classifieds (need a printer?), help forums, and workshop / class announcements.

David Rose's Introduction to Letterpress Printing: really resource for information about the history of letterpress, printing manuals, equipment, and supplies.

Resources and Information -  General Paper Crafts

Martha Stewart Crafts Projects: if you're doing paper crafts, might as well go the patron saint of all things (somewhat) crafty, Martha. There are actually a bunch of really cute projects here that can really  inspire new ideas and don't necessarily utilize her product. It's well explained and illustrated, too - heck, I used to design and create place cards for a living (worked at an invitation store), but I'm not sure I could have explained the process of pop up place cards better than the way it's described in the Themed Bird Party place card instructions!

Books - Book Binding

Making Books by Hand by Mary McCarthy: I bought this book back in school during my sophomore year, when I was first getting started in bookbinding. It was a really helpful reference on alternative binds or little things I could do while constructing my book to make it special. I'd definitely say it was a worthwhile purchase, especially for a beginner, because of its clear photos and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.

The Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding by Heidi Reimer-Epp: this book really has a bit of everything in the process of making a finished book, from the papermaking process to several varieties of binding. It's well illustrated and explained, so anyone of any skill level in either area can easily pick up the crafts.

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Sew Stuff

The last time I sewed was a long time ago. Once upon a time, I studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design over the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, only to realize I hated the industry and... well, frankly, didn't have the patience to sew and liked the design half better. I'm sure half of it was that I just wasn't very good at it, even with this super duper high tech machines that are out now. I thought I'd share with you what's around that is getting me excited to hop back into it, and I hope you'll be excited too!

{photo by bitsandbobbins}

Books

In Stitches by Amy Butler: This book is a tasty looking book. Amy Butler in general I think has an amazing taste level for a lot of the accessories patterns she publishes, and I think this book is a testament to that. The only thing that's holding me back from buying this at this very moment is the fact I don't have a sewing machine here in Minneapolis (yet). It's on my list of priority purchases, but I doubt the boyfriend wants a book laying around while I can only use it to appreciate pretty pictures. Sigh.

Sew U by Wendy Mullin: Another book earmarked for later. The author is Wendy from Built by Wendy, and I think that sort of speaks for itself.

Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter: The third book I'm waiting on. What excites me most about this book is how simply everything is explained and that everything in the book is a functional item that I could see myself using regularly or decorating with. That I find to be pretty rare, as people's taste in patterns don't always match or you just may not have a use for something in particular, but this book makes me want to buy a mass quantity of yards of patterned fabric and just start producing!

Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi by Tomoko Takamori : I'm not sure I could properly describe to you how freakin' adorable this book is. Everything Japanese is pretty much intrinsically cute, but Amigurumi (those heartbreakingly sweet little crocheted animals) just take the cake. This book's all about how to make them - I certainly was never one for crochet, but I'd probably just buy the book to let my heart melt every time I look through it.

Fabric Suppliers

Crafty Planet: Don't come to the Twin Cities without going to Crafty Planet. I had heard a lot about this store in the past, but for the longest time had no idea it's literally, oh, ten minutes of a drive from my apartment. It is the fun sewing crafts MECCA of this area. Their online shop is cool, but when you get to see their entire assortment right in front of you, it is at the same time the most motivating and overwhelming thing. You're immediately flooded with project ideas but you'll have no time to complete them all without going back to your college days of no sleep and lots of coffee!

Repro Depot Fabrics: I love their assortment of funky fabrics. Right now I'm falling all over this silver Damask and am utterly glad that all of my money is currently tied up in my upcoming apartment move!

Jena's note: Purlsoho: This (and Repro Depot above) is where I always get my fabric to use as backgrounds for the shoppe- they have great customer service, and an incredible selection of fabrics plus books and magazines, accessories, yarn and patterns.

I hope this has been helpful! See you on Thursday!

- Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Make Jewelry

Among many things I dabble in, I love jewelry. Other than paper crafting, there's really nothing more relaxing that wrapping wire while watching a movie - I can't really explain it, and maybe it's just me. If you're one of those who, like me, love to keep their hands busy, it's certainly a worthwhile thing to pick up. Here's some suppliers and tutorials to keep you busy (in no particular order).

{photo by yo kelley yo}

Suppliers

Fire Mountain Gems and Beads: Really great supplies to get you started. There's a lot of diverse stuff, and their customer service is very helpful.

Rings and Things: Probably my favorite supplier. They've got a lot of unique items, and it's my go-to place for charms at the moment. Shipping is very quick, and their customer service is amazing.

JewelrySupply.com: I have yet to order from them, but they seem to have a pretty good assortment. I like to do a lot of simple charm work in my jewelry, and I'd definitely consider them when buying in the future.

Frost Creek Charms: Exclusively silver-toned metal charms, but they have a great selection.

Laramie Studios at EBay: Far and away my favorite source for vintage beads. Since they're located near Providence, Rhode Island (which used to be the jewelry capital of the world), they have great resources at their fingertips and have great finds! They're consistently very helpful and friendly, as well.

The Plastic Shop at EBay: An absolute must-see. The entire assortment is full of quirky vintage plastic beads and cabs which make perfect pins or design elements. They've got your trendy vintage flowers, but there's really so much more. I've previously purchased really cool cabs of women's profiles that I'm still holding on to for the perfect project.

Beadin' Path: A somewhat recent find for me, Beadin' Path has a lot of great Vintage jewelry supplies, including Lucite beads, cabs, and pendants. I like that I can shop by color, which is really helpful when I have a project already in mind and know the color and material I want to work in.

Tutorials

Fire Mountain Tutorials: Fire Mountain has a lot of really great beginner to advanced tutorials to learn from. They're well-written and extremely helpful, regardless of what level of crafting you're on.

Bloglander Jewelry Tutorials: Fun, easy projects for the beginner.

Norma Jean Polymer Clay Food Tutorials: Mini polymer clay food jewelry is pretty big, and nobody does better tutorials for getting into makng them than this website. The bakery section? Far and away my favorite - I'm a carbs kind of girl.

TheClayStore Miniature Food Tutorials: More miniature food, but less realistic than Norma Jean's in its style. Very cute and cartoony.

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Be a Blogger

Interested in blogging on your favorite indie finds? Perhaps you're a crafter right now who'd just like to keep your customers in the loop on upcoming projects. Here's a quick start guide to various blogging services as well as blogging programs (if you have your own server/hosted site you might want to go this route), and some basic HTML tutorials to help make your blog a little extra special.

Blogging Services
Blogging services are websites that have already integrated their blogging program into their site, so when you create an account, you're already set up. There's nothing to install, and unless you want to customize your layout in anyway, you blog can be up and running the moment you log in. Most of these have free and paid accounts; if free accounts are available, they have specific limits on them (full layout customization not available, only one author allowed, et cetera). Here are some (of many) services you can choose from, listed alphabetically. This list is not all-inclusive, of course, because there are so many options to choose from nowadays!

Blog.com
Blogger
LiveJournal
SquareSpace
Typepad - the service I use and recommend; also supports Modish
Wordpress

Blogging Programs
These guys are the actual programs that services have installed on their sites to produce your blog. Most are Open Source (free), but don't rule out paid licenses - they often have features and support that Open Sources don't offer. Open Source programs usually have modification sites tied in with them; users, rather than the original program writer, create features they need and will direct you how to edit the code to attain that feature yourself. Some edits are easy, but if you're a beginner at HTML and program language, this is not recommended - you may break the program and not know where you went wrong. Either trade up for the paid license that includes the feature you need, or find someone knowledgeable to help you modify the files for you. Please note this is also a limited list - I'd be here for hours compiling all the programs available!

BBlog - free
Greymatter - free (I used this program for a long time for my personal site and loved it)
LiveJournal - free
MoveableType - free and paid (depends on usage)
Wordpress - free

HTML Guides
Most blogging programs need very minimal HTML knowledge - if any! - but what happens when you want to center something or include a picture, but there's no button to do it for you? That's where these guys come in.

HTML Code Tutorial
HTML Goodies
HTML Source
Webmonkey - the primary source I used when I learned HTML (gulp) about 10 years ago - and the layout still hasn't changed! They do a great job of simply explaining everything, so you can "get it" quickly.

Networking and Publicity
You're up and running and have a few posts - but now what? Clearly you've got to get someone to read your posts, but since you're just starting out, you're not sure if you want to get paid advertising yet. What blogs do you admire? It wouldn't hurt to contact their authors and ask for advice - they may have some good insight on how to develop a reader base. You never know - if they like the tone of your work they may be interested in a link swap. More importantly, it'll start to develop a relationship with some other people in the community - and that's what a "community" is all about, right? Here are some other places to submit your link that may be worthwhile.

Blogarama
Blog Flux
Blogs By Women
Delightful Blogs
Design Directory
Indie Collective
IndiePublic - a social network site for the indie community; always good to maintain a profile and post your feed on it - join the Blogger Group, too!
Trunkt Reading Room

Hope this has been helpful! See you every Tuesday and Thursday,

- Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.