Creative Meet-ups

Recently there has become a bit of a trend to meet-up with other creatives like you for some good old fashioned down time - and we like it. One thing that most creatives do is work by themselves a large part of the time.  They might be full-time working from home or doing a side-line hustle in creating their dream career, but whatever it is, they will most likely need to have a chat with some like-minded people along the way.

Lets Meet: Peas and Needles

Since meeting Lucy at the Mollie Makes Awards we have been wanting to have her on for a chat and so now the time has come - its like Christmas has come early!  So lets hear all about Peas and Needles and what she has got coming up.

Let's Meet: Fall for DIY & We Make Collective

This month we thought we would have something a little different.  A fellow blogger and company owner, but I will let her explain all!

Let's meet: Frilly Industries

This month we are having a chat with another master duo, Frilly Industries.  We met these girls at Craftacular and even after their busy morning prepping and unpacking, were on form to have Sammy buy one of their scissor necklaces.

Let's hear what this dynamic duo have to say to our questions.

Makers Month: Choosing a Craft

Embroidery Hoops

We have been asked a few times recently and struggled to answer a question that I'm sure a few of you would also have difficulty answering ''what is your favourite craft?''

Over the past few years of co-running this blog, I have realised more and more that I find it so hard choose! how do I choose and I know Sammy feels the same.

String Art

I always default to saying that printing is my favourite craft, but I honestly don't have the space to set-up my printing stuff in my house-share, so I don't actually end up doing it as often as I would like - I do try to shoehorn printing in at work though!

For my job I spend a lot of time making up samples for the workshops we run and so I feel that I am constantly making, but most of the time I am not making things I like would like to be making for myself. They do, of course, turn out to be pretty cool, even if I do say so myself!

Some of my makes at The Lightbox

We are both bloggers who love crafts rather than designer/makers in the sense that we do not sell the things we make, I think I would find it hard to choose what to make and sell. I am interested to find out more from any of you who are designer/makers..

Did you get in to making as a hobby that grew in to a business? or did you choose something you want to make and then stick to it or did you change your focus after a while? or even, do you make other things in your spare time any-more or is it all about making stock now that you have a business?

Wrap Bracelet

I used to love Jewellery making and card making, but now don't do it quite so often, mainly gifts for friends.  I guess, for me, it comes down to having quite a creative job in the day, sometimes I just want to hang out with friends rather than make stuff for myself. I always wondered how Designer/makers cope with falling out of love with their craft? Does doing it as a business take the joy out of it for you?

Kindle Pouch

I have a pile of sewing ideas and projects to do and if it wasn't for the blog, I wouldn't get half of them done. Having the blog gives me the permission and drive to do something about all those ideas I have running around in my head, so I suppose it would be the same if I was making things to sell.

I'm just not sure I could commit to one style or genre of craft to make all the time to the exclusion of all the others that I like. I am sure that is why both Sammy and I love blogging and running the odd workshop because it lets us do all sorts of crafts and utilise all of our skills. It is also why we always find it hard to answer that question, What is your favourite craft?

Our new answer is 'all of them'

As always we would love to know what you think about this, Are you a designer/ maker? Do you have any answers for us? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us with #livelovemake

H

 Live, Love, Make, Like, Share, Follow, Tweet, Pin, Add, Enjoy. 

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Mothers and Daughters

What would we all do without our Mums?  To learn from, to have fun with and to realise you are more like them in your adult life, than you ever thought you were - or wanted to admit to when younger!

We are both very lucky to have our mums in our lives and know that there are some of you out there who don't and we really can't imagine what that must be like.  The memories you have of them are what you have to hold on to and make you the person you are.

We have spoken before about how our mum's have been instrumental in our crafty upbringings and Sammy works with her mum at Sew Crafty sharing both their creative skills.  Without them we would not have made all manor of items out of loaf tins, matchboxes and some sticky-back plastic - if you can guess what those were then it shows your age!

Remembering those times at the kitchen table making and creating are what childhood is about and we are both lucky that we get to do that here on the blog aswell and that our mums are constantly learning and encouraging us along the way.

As it was Mother's Day here in the UK yesterday, we thought it would be a nice time to show you some old photos. 

This is me (H) with my mum when I was about 2 or 3.  I clearly had a thing for photographs even back then! - who doesn't love a Polaroid though.  My folks still have that fireplace now, which is quite scary and that fireguard comes in quite handy for the new generation in our lives.

Speaking of which, here is my mum with my niece at Christmas, mum is now a Grandma.  Meena was trying so hard to work out what the stocking was and once she realised it was all for her, she was in her element! Sounds so much like someone else I know.

Sammy and her mum were destined to work at a Haberdashery business together as in this photo, they are both modelling outfits made by Judith (Sammy's Mum) from matching fabric.  This was not the only occasion that their outfits were coordinated  as Sammy recalls 'my mum often bought an extra metre of fabric to make me an outfit to match hers'

'This photo is of us more recently and as you can see we have stopped wearing the same outfits, although we have been know to turn up to work unintentionally wearing the same colour'

So thanks go out to our Mum's for making us the women we are, we would not be where we are without you.

Love you

H & Sammy

Book review: I Just Like to Make Things

January is all about making changes and getting to grips with all those things that you keep meaning to do and so this book by Lilla Rogers is the perfect January read.  I Just Like to Make Things is a book to find out what steps you can take to be better at your chosen creative subject.  Perfect for seeing whether you want to turn your passion into your job.

Firstly a bit about the Author, Lilla Rogers runs the Lilla Rogers Studio in the US which is an illustration agency representing artists in the US and across the world. They license and sell work for surface design, and accept commissions for editorial, graphic design, corporate and advertising clients.  Having an agent is more of an American thing to do to help you sell your work, or if you are a traditional artist in the sense of selling artwork.  For people who make things or are running things as a sideline, then having an agent would perhaps feel like a weird thing to do.  Although it can be great to get your work out there to a larger audience with smaller effort from yourself.  Its a bit like adding yourself to Etsy or Not on the High Street, as it gives you a wider scope but without having to market yourself as much as you would normally have to.

Anyway, back to the book.

The How to Make Great Art section gives you 12 steps to help your craft.  Lilla suggests that before you promote yourself you need to get really good at what you do.  Keep learning your craft and exploring, alongside keeping positive and pushing yourself to work harder.  Working for yourself means having the motivation and enjoyment of what you do and the 12 steps keep that in the forefront.

One of the main reasons people start their own creative business is to make some money on the side of their day jobs or just start up their own business doing what they love all the time.  In the book, Lilla gives you a guide to making that money and helps you remind yourself of why you do what you do, with some notes to write down on these pages.

Throughout the book their are exercises to see what drives you as an artist and get you thinking about your work.  The Nail polish colour game is great as it gets you to think of 5 colours that jump out at you out of the colours on display.  It helps you to think of the colours that you really like and perhaps choose some which are different than the usual thing you would go for.  Sometimes taking yourself out of the comfort zone can be good.

There are interviews too with different artists and creative people, all of which Lilla has represented somewhere along the line.  They give you advice on how they started, what drives them and how to make more money with your artwork.

The book has so much to read and take in, all things which can make you think about your work in a whole new way.  It is spiral bound which I always love as it means you can open the pages and not have to break the spine or have things holding it down to keep the pages open.

Throughout there are some great photos of Lilla's own work and her studio, which the nosey part of me loves.  The fact that the main points for Lilla are that your work should be the best that it can be, before you start to sell it, is a really refreshing change.   Most books highlight the way in which to sell your work, rather than the product itself.

As this book is from an American Author it is geared towards the US market and so some of the information and links are for US based companies and so you would have to research similar companies in your own country.  Also, the market for creative work would be different in another country and so you would have to consider these differences too.

This is a great book for getting your brain thinking and widens your scope for how and why you should be getting your work out there.  It is nicely designed and laid out and so there Graphic Design skills clearly were utilised by the publishers here.  It would be great to have a book like this from a UK perspective, but I guess we are still catching up with all the US creators out there and so it may well come soon.

Until then, its great to get some insight from someone with nearly 30 years experience.

Love it
H

Link for the week: Crafty Subscription Boxes

Currently there are lots of boxes of craft goodies that are on a monthly subscription or one off buys. These are a great way to kerb your crafty spending - let's face it we could all do with a bit of tightening our belts at the moment!

So I thought this week's link could show off a few boxes for you to take a look at and see what could be winging its way through your door once a month.

http://www.craftycreatives.com - this one is a rolling contract and you can order here

http://www.theoldschoolclub.co.uk - there current boxes are sold out but you can start a new subscription for May to September in which you get 4 boxes.  You can buy them here.

http://www.studiocalico.com - these ones come from America and you can buy 1 month or a subscription with them, more information here.

So with the rest of your Long weekend you can have a look around and see what's on offer, there are plenty more of these box offers around and so these are by no means endorsed by us but a flavour of the types of boxes you can buy.

So, which one will you go for?  Let us know if you already have a subscription box and how you find it?  Sammy is already a Studio Calico addict and so I am sure she can tell you more about that one if you want more information, just ask a question below.

Love it 

H

Workspace: Craft Closet

This month's creative space comes courtesy of Becky from The Craft Closet, which we featured in one of our who's who's last year.

Where is your space?

In our little rented flat I have taken over a corner of the lounge with my big desk and some shelving.  Because I can't close the door on my creative space, I need to keep it reasonably tidy.

What do you do in it?

Because The Craft Closet is an online business mostly, I spend lots of hours at my computer, so I have a gorgeous, puffy Donna Wilson cushion to keep me comfy on my chair!  When it comes to designing new kits I have a nice selection of trusted books and pretty magazines for inspiration.  The desk is also pretty big so I have room to make up all our craft kits before a Market or Craft Fair.

Why do you like it?

Because it’s quite a small space, everything is accessible and I can easily surround myself with bits and pieces I love.

What would make it better?

It would be nice if I had some better storage, my stash of wool is currently stuffed in a bag under the desk along with my boxed up sewing machine.  I'd also like to have a little more room for all the supplies for The Craft Closet kits, which we make at home ready for Markets, Etsy & Craft Shows.

I dream of having my own Creative Room full of crafty goodies, one day . . . .

Thanks go to Becky for sharing her space and her book collection with us.

Live it.  Love it.  Make it

H & Sammy

Live it: Owning My Own business

I have always wanted to work for myself, to have my own business. I was brought up to want that for myself, my Dad was quite insistent that it was something I should strive for, whatever industry I chose to go into, the goal was always to be independent.

So now that I do, I have my own business, It's lovely... right... 

Yes, yes it is really Awesome. However it is by no means the easy path. Running your own business is just that, the buck ultimately stops with you, and only you. You are responsible for every aspect of that business, delegation is a great tool, but it is just that, a tool to be used wisely. I am really lucky, I run my business with my parents, they are so supportive and with me every step of the way. I have learnt so much from both of them, and from my experiences with Sew Crafty. The biggest thing I have learned is that I LOVE my job, despite it being challenging and a lot of hard work, I really couldn't picture myself doing anything else right now.

There are so many things I love about what I do...

I work in an industry that I adore... I have never known an industry like it, the Haberdashery/craft/sewing world is just so amazing. I have met so many lovely people over the years, customers, sales reps, advertising reps, editors and other business owners that I am so proud to call my friends.

I work with my family.... Working with my Mum every day and with my Dad on the behind the scenes stuff makes me so happy, I am lucky to have a really great relationship with my parents, I am so grateful to them for trusting in me and pushing me to achieve.

I get to create... all day, everyday and I get to play with pretty things, I never knew when I was studying at school that a 'job' would be so much fun.

Inspired... I am surrounded by inspiration everyday, sometimes it can be a new catalogue from a supplier, or a customer who comes in with a challenge for us to help them with. 

Exceeding expectations... my least favourite common phrase of the last ten years is 'you don't sell .........., do you? I would like to ban the use of this negative question.  However it is so lovely when I get to say ' yes we absolutely do' seeing the smile on the previously dubious face is one that cannot be compared.

Helping people... I always thought that this would be the part where I came unstuck, I have never felt confident in a teaching role, but as it turns out, I am pretty good at it. It doesn't always involve a 'class room' situation, sometimes it is as simple as giving an opinion on which buttons I like best on a customers garment. Sometimes all the help people need is a second opinion. Helping customers to realise their vision is one of the happiest parts of my job.

Happy customers... not every customer is happy, some are challenging, as in all areas of retail, but we are so lucky to have so many happy customers. They make me smile on a daily basis

Rising to the challenge... We have a lot of customers who throw us a 'Challenge' whether it's matching a button, or a ribbon colour, or a product they don't expect to find with us. Everyday I am put to the test, sometimes it means sending the to a place we know that may have what they need, but most of the time we get to surprise them by having what they need.

Like any job there are pros and cons, I am grateful everyday that my job is mostly fun, happy and ultimately rewarding.

Do you love your job? do you own your own business?

Try making a list of the things you love about it.  On those hard days take a look at it and remember why it's worth it. You won't regret it.

Sammy xxx

Link for the week: Business Bites from Rock and Roll Bride

With it being the new year we are looking forward to creating lots of lovely new content to throw at you! I thought this week's link should also help you with your creative process too. 

Here is a little collection of business advice that our fave wedding come business chick Rock n Roll Bride has put together, it seemed rude not to share. Check out her business bites you may well see some of the tips in action on here, so do comment if you see something you like!

We are on it like a car bonnet!

H