04.03.08
Posted in Uncategorized, jewelry, shopping, site promotion, interviews, paper crafts, clothing at 8:02 pm by KellyM
Please meet Annie Weihrauch, Founder and Designer of www.modern-material.com
Where are you located? Online, based out of Columbus, Ohio.
What do you design? Paper, Apparel and Accessories.
Where/How did you learn this? I landed a job right out of college as a packaging and accessory designer for Bath & Body Works where I learned a lot about retail and fashion accessory design. I have taken my experiences and translated them into my own vision.
Favorite Artist who inspires you? Gwen Stefani. She has defined our generation as a style icon.
Where does your inspiration come from? Rock & roll, fashion magazines, and other designers.
What do you do to combat creative block? I’ll give myself a few days to catch up on things I neglect such as cleaning and organizing, and then I can’t wait to get back to what I do best.
Where do you design your creations? Living room, studio, hallway, kitchen, bedroom, basement….every inch of my house is covered with something I’m working on! It drives my husband crazy!
What does your work space look like right now? A disaster.
How does your family feel about what you do? They are very supportive.
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? Start small and dream big.
Best advice you received when starting your business venture? Networking. I’ve met so many great people with great connections along the way.
Favorite part of owning your own business? Actually doing something with my designs instead of archiving them in a folder titled “old” becasue they weren’t chosen to move forward.
Least favorite? No free evenings or weekends!
How do you relax? Taking a trip to Hawaii will be the first time I’ve had to relax in months.
Favorite color? Depends on what it is going on. Black or white if it’s on me. Aqua if it’s on my walls or my umbrella.
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Absolutely. It’s the foundation of my brand.
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Designing more.
A sample of Modern Material products. For all products, please visit Annie’s website.
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04.01.08
Posted in Uncategorized, marketing, site promotion, advertising at 8:20 pm by KellyM
I heard of a new site for women you may find interesting. It’s called sk*rt.
I joined up as soon as I read the post. I was excited. A new place to promote my website and for free. I really thought it would be a great thing.
This site is for women. It is a place where you can post your favorite sites, “articles” online and vote on sites, “articles” other people have submitted. You get a bookmarklet button to help you submit sites and information you find interesting. Sounds easy so far right? Well, when you submit a site it goes into the “up and coming” section. There it seems, that your submssion waits until it becomes popular. It is still viewable and members are able to vote while it is in “up and coming”.
When you click on an interesting “article” it automatically tells you you’ve voted. If it turns out you did not like the “article” you can change your mind and remove it or say that you didn’t like it. You can also save it and comment on it too. It seems like a simple site to navagate and learn. However….
When I joined, I found there was nowhere to put my personal information or my site information. (How do you make “friends” or become a fan or get a fan?) I looked at what they had to offer, and mostly all it is is shopping (name brand), family information, celebrity gossip, health and beauty articles. All have good articles submitted, yes. I was able to submit my own site after a bit of an unanswered problem, and I know I have not been a member long. I will wait to show judgement on this site for later.
Have you joined Sk*rt? How is it working for you?
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03.28.08
Posted in Uncategorized, Time Management at 9:25 am by KellyM
One thing I’ve learned since starting my business, is that there is not enough time in the day to get everything done. From maintaining your website, blogs, social accounts, family, household, friends, yourself the list just never seems to end. In the begining, everything is important and deciding what task can be put off for a later time is difficult.
I learned about time management in high school, college and at the various jobs I’ve had over the years. I know how important it is to schedule my time effectively, so that I can complete the tasks that are important first. This will minimize stress and I will be able to stay on top of things. However, this is sometimes easier said than done. Especially online. There are constantly new things to do and find out about and decide on.
Remianing focused would have to be a number one tip. For some, it is difficult to follow. I myself find it hard to do. I am focused (or try to be), then find a great tidbit of information, stop what I was doing to check out that information, which can then lead me to more great information. Before I know it, I’ve spent hours following a trail and lost sight of what I should have been doing. Now, I’m behind in my schedule.
Follow a schedule. Refering to the above paragraph, not always easy to do either. But, it will help to make a task list and at least attempt to stick with it. To make a task list, I find it best if I make my list the night before.
Make a list of everything you have to get done and prioritize it. List the most important tasks first and move on down.
Know how much time you have to spend completing these tasks. If you only have an hour, then be realistic and schedule tasks that can be completed in that hour. If you try to over schedule, you’ll be disappointed with yourself and be stressed.
If you tend to lose focus, keep a pen and paper handy and jot down your new finds for later. These can be added for when you complete your tasks for that day, if there is time, or be added for the next day.
To make scheduling your tasks easier, buy a notebook for scheduling tasks or find a task list scheduler online.
Once you are in the habit of making your schedule and following it, your day will go smoothly and you may even find you have more time for yourself. How do you manage your time?
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03.26.08
Posted in Uncategorized, fun, shopping, site promotion, interviews, paper crafts, Glass at 8:00 am by KellyM
Meet Emily Goodwin, Owner of www.emelegifts.com.
Where are you located? Crete, Greece.
What do you design? I make handmade cards and home decor gifts, such as painted flower pots and decorative glass jars which make great candle holders! I have plans to add magnets and keychains to the site in the not so distant future. Some items are one of a kind. I also do custom work.
Where/How did you learn this? Through books and magazines and also by trial and error!
Where does your inspiration come from? I have more ideas than I know what to do with, but each one gets noted down so that I can come back to it. Most of my business ideas come to me when I’m just going to sleep so that I have to put the light on and write/sketch them down before I forget. Always keep a pen and paper by your bed!
What do you do to combat creative block? Usually I’ll just move onto another project or spend more time doing website things or concentrate on my photography until the creativity comes back. It always comes back eventually.
Where do you design your creations? The spare bedroom is my workspace for creating. The laptop and random pieces of paper sit on the dining room table for when I’m doing website things, promotion etc etc etc.
What does your work space look like right now? Messy!
Best advice you received when starting your own business venture? I’m not sure I received any, but here’s something I soon learned. Build a website and they (visitors) will come is a lie! you have to work hard to get visitors and then to get those visitors buying.
Favorite part of owning your own business? Being my own boss.
Least favorite? Not having a “regular” income every month.
How do you relax? I always seem to be doing some form of work as I love what I do, so, “Huh, what’s relaxing?” But I guess I do the usual…Watch TV/films (not horror, I have nightmares!) I read a lot and love taking photos. Photography is my hobby, although it’s slowly turning into another business!
Favorite color? Purple, yellow and green. Impossible to choose just one!
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Not so much in my work, but I have a purple and yellow website!
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Everything that I love-Website design, crafting and photography.
A sample of Emele Gifts products. For all products, please visit Emily’s website.
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03.24.08
Posted in Uncategorized, marketing at 5:45 pm by KellyM
I ran accross this Blog post today, and thought I would share the find. It’s a list of 59 things you should be doing for your website to keep it up to date and user friendly. Don’t forget to read the comments also, there could be more tips posted.
Keeping your site up to date and user friendly is one of the most important things we need to keep up with, besides current designs and styles. This list is a great help.
Which do you spend the most time on, keeping your site up to date or marketing your product?
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