Friday Finds

 Wherever you are - wishing you A Sunny Day! Today's Friday Finds:

'A Sunny Day!' by creativeatelier

A cheerful friend is like a sunny day which sheds its brightness on all around!

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Monday Team Challenge

Good Monday morning! Hope you all are enjoying the holiday weekend! 

This week's team challenge is the Profile Challenge.

I am always so disappointed to find a new shop with beautiful, creative handmades, nicely represented, only to realize there is little to nothing in the shop's profile about the hands behind it all! Not only is it disappointing, but in today's Etsy environment, it is a bit suspect. As a buyer, I want to know something about the artist I am buying from - how long they have been practicing their craft, how they got started, what motivates them to create. And the cherry on top is when the artist shares a little about the process involved in their art.

Our team challenge this week is to self-critique your shop profile. Here is a good article about the subject, and of course, other team members are always happy to help!  If you rework your profile and would like to be featured here next week in the "before and afters", convo your old and new profiles to me. 

Okay Team - Let's do it!

Before and After

 The Banner Challenge

Your team captain is a bit unorganized, and as such, there are no "befores" from our banner challenge. But I would like to show you some "afters."

Greg's shop, Wood Bone & Stone had no banner. He discussed this in a team forum thread and Aimee of AimeePawluk graciously stepped forward and made a banner for Greg's shop. Greg now has a "front door" to his shop and it looks awesome with his handcrafted leatherwork!

 

Sandy of Grandma Sandeze Boutique was not happy with her banner, and Sylvie of Albina Rose made a new one for Sandy's shop. The banner represents Sandy's shop well:

Sylvie also helped out Chitra of Chitra's Jewel Art with a new banner which represents Chitra's work beautifully:

Besides examples of  "afters" in the banner challenge, these are great examples of  "teamwork"and reflect the gracious and giving spirit of our team! Thank you to all who participated in the challenge and team members who helped out others. You all are awesome:)

Tuesday's Teamie

This week's Tuesday Teamie is  Kelli of Accessories by Kelli.  Kelli is one of Etsy Handmade Team's most active members and she can be found in the forums helping out other members and sharing the handmade love!  Kelli is the Chairperson of the Survive & Thrive Committee and keeps us updated to important changes on Etsy and how we might Survive & Thrive here. Thank you Kelli for all you give to our team and thank you for sharing your story. You are an inspiration to us all!

My life spans 2/3 of the 20th century, and so far 12% of the 21st. I grew up in a traditional family. My father taught high school math in a private boarding school and my mother taught piano in our home. Predictably, I married a man whose father taught high school science and mother taught first grade. He became a college professor, and I spent pretty much my entire life on or around private school and college campuses until 1997 when we both retired. I have been a realtor, a banker, an insurance processor, and a librarian at different times in my life, but, contrarily, never a school teacher.

My mother and my two grandmothers were skilled in embroidery, knitting, crocheting, lace-making, hand sewing and machine sewing. They passed these skills on to me (except for the crocheting and lace making, those were too much for me and still are). During World War II, we knitted for the war effort. We knitted 10” x 10” squares that were bundled up in batches and given to the Red Cross. They made them into afghans and blankets for the hospitals near the war zones and also gave them out to victims of the London Blitz.

My grandmothers and mother made sheets and pillowcases for our families from sheeting they bought in bolts, and decorated the edges with delicate crochet patterns. They made lace tablecloths and napkins with matching lace edging. They made sweaters, winter hats, socks, mittens, my aunt even made a full length coat of boucle yarn, it was gorgeous! My mother made most of my clothing when I was young, until I became a rebellious teenager and demanded “store-bought” clothes like the other girls had!

Wool was precious, especially during that war, so any damaged or outgrown garments were unraveled and knit into something else. When I used to stay with my grandmother, every evening after the supper dishes were washed and put away, the radio would be turned on in the living room and we would sit together with our knitting, listening to Jimmie Durante, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and friends, or Fred Waring’s Orchestra. Saturday afternoon at home the opera was always on and we sat and knitted together.

In college I knitted whenever I was not in class or studying. At Bennington College things were very flexible so I knitted argyle socks in class, until one professor asked me to stop. He said that my classmates were distracted, watching the yarn bobbins bounce around as I flipped them from side to side. I knitted sweaters with Norwegian patterns of snowflakes and deer for all my friends, and gave everyone mittens with snowflakes on them. Later I knitted layettes for my babies, and made clothes for them when they were young.

Today I knit while watching television; it is relaxing and at the same time it is exhilarating to me to see an item take shape as I build it. My process is always the same: I select a design and a color palette, and begin building a hat or scarf or bag. As I build it, I make decisions along the way; whether to knit a colorful design into it or knit a lacey pattern into it or make it a solid color with textural features. The process also helps me stay away from the snacks; if I think I want a snack, I always feel the need to knit just one more row before I get up and go to the refrigerator. One more row turns into one more inch, then one more, until an hour has gone by and I haven’t put the knitting down. Once it’s finished I can’t wait to start the next one.

The same works for my sewing. I made a lot of quilts when we first retired, then ran out of people to give them to. So when I make a hat or a bag, I do it the way I did the quilting. I select a style, and a size, then select the fabrics from my stash, and begin building the sunhat or the bag. Decisions are made along the way – shall I add lace edging or rick rack to the hat, how many pockets shall I put into the bag, etc. The process of building it is absorbing and the result is very satisfying. Whether it sells right away or sits in my shop a long time, I still look at it and think “that’s a good one, glad I chose these colors…” or whatever. They are my creations and I am proud of them. If I couldn’t continue making them I would be very bored and unsettled.

The tradition and the personal contact of handmade are very important to me. I love it when buyers strike up a conversation with me. I like the connection; these are my creations that they are acquiring, that I am turning over to them to enjoy and care for. It’s sort of like when we bred spaniels, each puppy that went to a new home I made a connection with the family that was going to love and care for the pup, and I placed it into their arms with love and hope. That’s how I feel about my creations.

Friday Finds

'Pashion for petals' by rbetzhold

Summer blooms we can keep all year

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Brand Image

Sylvie's Perspective

               ...from the ❤

Do You Have a Brand Promise?

I have seen this subject come up frequently in online discussions and at those times, I had honestly, never thought about it.  After doing a little research and 'studying' shops with an obvious brand image and promise, I now understand how important it is to have that branding.  This also fits in well with part of our team mission and member certification--to present shops/businesses that elevate the value and worth of handmade.  Having a professional demeanor and image can immensely help us achieve that goal.

I am still not well versed enough on the subject to give advice to anyone, so will let some of the online experts do the talking.

Let's start here, with one definition I found:

The brand promise is what audiences are assured of receiving as a result of their relationship with the brand.

And another from Brain Trust contributor: Jean Wilcox, Co-author of Abullard's ABC's of Branding :

A brand promise is the statement that you make to customers that identifies what they should expect for all interactions with your people, products, services and company. It is often associated with the company name and/or logo. Sometimes also called a "tag line," here are three examples of brand promises following a name or brand:

• For a heating and air conditioning company:  ABC Heating and Air -- "We're not comfortable until you are."
• For a tire company:  Dave's Tire Company -- "More than tires, we deliver peace of mind.
• For a fine dining restaurant:  Carl's Steak House -- "Our food is the best, but the memories we help you create are even better."

One more definition by Christine Hendricks, Director of Brand Strategy:

A brand is a promise a company makes to its customers, which must be delivered upon consistently with every single interaction.

I'm sure you now get the gist of what a brand promise is. And the importance of having one for your business as well as a brand image.  They are tied together. It's an identity of who you are, what your product is, your customer service and what your customers will come to recognize and know you by. It also should convey to people who are not yet your customers, what they can expect from you.

Sounds simple but it's not been that easy for me to create a brand image or promise. That's because I was all over the map with my work. There was no cohesiveness or balance between my creations and my image. I was trying too hard to be everything.  And it wasn't working, but that doesn't mean it can't work for someone else.  In the right hands, a menagerie can be a brand image in and of itself.

So I took the advice of some very successful artist/artisan friends, who, by the way, all have successful businesses with very defined images and brand promises--let your work dictate what your brand is. In other words, look at your work and draw from those elements to create your brand identity. From that, your brand promise will naturally develop. And because you reached inside of your work, in essence, you, it will honestly represent you and your image.  Some of you may already have a very clear idea of what you want.  Just go with it!

It definitely is something to seriously consider.

So I end with this last, and my favorite definition of a brand promise that I believe happens to fit in perfectly with our team mission.  Also can be applied to the recent happenings at Etsy, where many feel that they broke their promise to us:

From Garr Reynolds :

Brands are Personal--

The greatest brands of all — that is, the greatest brands to you — are much like a trusted friend. In a sense, we judge brands by asking ourselves the same kind of questions we would ask about people we know or are thinking of doing business with. For example, we might ask: Is he authentic? Is he reliable? Is he honest? Can I trust him? Does he make me feel better about myself? The bonds we have with our most trusted friends, are bonds based on a promise. Our relationships with brands are not (usually) as strong as those with people, of course, but if a brand breaks a promise, you can bet that customers will feel betrayed, anger, and take their business elsewhere. Great brands have distinct personalities and people choose brands, more or less, that match their own unique personalities.

❤☮❤☮❤☮❤☮❤☮❤☮❤

Friday Finds

Visit our blog for Friday Finds where each Friday a new team treasury will be featured. This
 is our Team Front Page where everyone gets a chance to be found. So to all our talented treasury makers - keep 'em comin' - we love showcasing our artists'  handmade lovelies!

Today's Friday Finds,

'{{Coffee & Cobalt}}' by ChYMieRa

All handmade by Etsy Handmade Teams' members... and some things that are on my Mother's Day wishlist! do enjoy!!

Treasury tool by StylishHome.