Creatures and Bugs
curated by Buffalove on Etsy
Monday, August 11, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
Workshop #1 -- Show Them What You've Got!
Buffalo
Etsy Team Workshop Series #1
Show Them What You’ve Got!
Photography for the Etsy Shop Owner (and other online sellers)
Recently
the Buffalo Etsy Team held the first in a series of workshops
for Etsy shop
owners and online sellers. The focus of this workshop was product
photography.
Professional
Freelance photographer, Mark Busch (http://markandrewbusch.com/what-i-do/
) presented a very interesting and informative workshop on how to take great
photos with the equipment you have.
Mark began with a basic
overview of photographic terminology and camera settings; not only for
professional grade cameras, but for point and shoot cameras as well.
Next Mark explained to participants
how to use inexpensive and often-on-hand items to improve their photos. PVC
pipe, work lights with clamps, a cardboard box, white paper and aluminum foil
were all put to use at various times.
Mark also demonstrated how to use an inexpensive light box (found on Amazon.com)
The workshop was a great
success, as you can see from the comments of the participants:
Linda
I’m inspired to use a light
tent that I've had for a while but haven’t used. The two lights that were clamped to the sides
would be very helpful to me to give my jewelry added light.
_____________________________________
Suzanne
I am now using the
light setting on my camera to correct for the different types of available
light. I didn't even know that my camera had that function, but now that
I do, I'm using it to somewhat correct for the poor lighting and different
types of light conditions in our house.
He also explained
how to create a larger version of a light tent setup that used PVC pipes and a
roll of craft paper. Using that along with the light clamps on each side
of the tent and above with paper to spread out the light would be very helpful
with my larger felt items that might not fit in a light tent very
easily (e.g. larger handbags or the felt scarves).
_____________________________________
Erica
I didn't realize
Amazon would be a good source to purchase a light box to take photographs.
I did and am pleased with my purchase.
_____________________________________
Strix
I never thought about the
type of light. I always thought it only
really mattered if it was bright enough.
Now I better understand how to compensate for lighting conditions that
I’m using by changing my camera settings.
_____________________________________
Sarah
Since I don’t have a good camera and I used my Iphone, I was having trouble maintaining color of my fabrics. I learned that I could take photos outside or by the window even on a cloudy day and still get a good photo. Just by making sure that the sun is at a good position in the sky when you are shooting, you can maintain the proper color of the fabric. Also, a cloudy day can actually work to your advantage for maintaining colors since there is a natural filter on the sun.
_____________________________________
Sara
I learned that using a
white paper in the back of the item can reflect back light onto the back of the
item being photographed. This helps
eliminate the inevitable shadow. I’m
always trying to eliminate glare and shadows on my pottery.
The
workshop was held at Creative Essence (http://www.creativeessenceshop.com)
in Clarence Center, NY. The Buffalo Etsy
Team would like to thank Michele and Tammy for being wonderful hostesses. Stop in and say hello. It’s a wonderful place
to create!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Did I really just quit my job?
I'm starting to get used to my demanding ways,
never being satisfied with the results, giving no recognition for a job well done, and the disregard for my personal life.
As Pete Townsend penned - "meet the new boss,
same as the old boss"
Well, it's not quite like that!! I have to say that I am honestly enjoying the first month of working for myself. I do, however, feel like there is more pressure to perform and certainly more hanging in the balance.
It's probably too early to give much insight, but I have discovered that setting up a routine has helped keep me on track so far.
Being a creature of habit, I knew in advance that I needed to create what a "work day" would look like, before I began. It seemed it could be a little too easy to get distracted and find myself doing things other than working.
I have two objectives - making and selling my products and growing my DIY website.
With that in mind I have split my day up so the mornings are dedicated to writing new content and maintaining the web site, managing some of the social media (I took a Pinterest course that was very good and have started to work on expanding my business using it), as well as some of the administrative things related to selling my frames.
The afternoons are strictly dedicated to the workshop and creating products to sell.
I don't know how long I will be able to go before this model is disrupted, but I am expecting changes and am ready to adapt as needed. I'm not thinking about picking up any part-time work - yet. I am somewhat comfortable with what I have saved and am happy to say that the month of July has been better than expected as far as frame sales and revenue from the web site.
Next month, I will detail some of the things I did prior to leaving my old job to prepare mentally and financially for this adventure. In the mean time I recommend these two books to anyone who is on the fence about their current job:
The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?
The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
Al
Monday, July 21, 2014
Creative Spaces: Where Buffalo Etsians Make Their Magic.
This
month’s featured artisan is Sara Goldhawk of Goldhawk Pottery Etc.
Along
with running her Etsy shop and being our team captain, Sara is very active in
the community teaching classes and exhibiting at craft shows.
Sara has been making pottery officially since about 1998. While living in Washington, DC she decided to learn how to make wheel thrown pottery at a community studio. She’s been making it as a business since 2010.
I asked Sara where she learned her craft. “I have a degree in fine art from Daemen College where I took a hand-building ceramics class, but I did not learn how to “throw” on the wheel until I started at a studio in Washington, DC. While they were considered lessons, I mostly watched my studio mates at work and eventually got the hang of it. Since starting my own business, I’ve learned a lot from watching You Tube videos!”
Those of us that work from home have to find a place to create and contain all of our supplies and finished work along with packing supplies and all that comes with
making
and selling.
Sara said she feels lucky to have a home studio in her Williamsville basement. “An old pottery wheel was donated to me by a family friend! I love being part of a community studio, but having my own offers a lot more storage space and flexibility. I also have the added pleasure of having a little thief who watches me – my 1 ½ year old cat Jet. Recently he has started stealing my paint brushes and taking them upstairs. I’m not sure what the fascination is but it’s kind of funny! He has a brother, Jesse, who has no interest in stealing”.
Having a place of our own where we can go to do what we love can be so important to an artisan. Sometimes we just need to shut out the rest of the world so we can dream and plan and create!
Sara
shares what she enjoys most about working in her own space, “I love working
with my hands and crafting something out of nothing. It may sound corny, but there is an unspoken
language - I don’t talk while I’m making it.
I just know when it’s right. Also, I am fully in control of this
process, and I make every part of my pottery (except for some tiles that I have
recently started to paint). In addition, while I’m nervous having the cats
around while I’m glazing (I don’t want them getting dust on their paws), I love
it when they visit to watch me at work.
So I’m rarely alone!”
I asked her what her “dream studio” would be like. “A bigger, cleaner studio with someone else who does the cleaning! Keeping the studio clean, and recycling clay is hard work. There’s a lot of dust from the clay (you have to pound dry clay back into a powder to recycle it), but also dust from the pottery glazes that float around. More shelves would be nice and perhaps a larger slab roller for bigger items such as platters.
Sara is one busy women! She has a very
tight schedule in the summer due to her craft shows. “I show twice a month at the Saturday Artisan
Market at Canalside from May to October, so I need to have new work ready twice
per month. That means making pottery
(wheel thrown and hand-built) daily for a week (sometimes up to 8 hours a day)
followed by a bisque kiln firing, followed by 2-3 days of glazing (which can
take up to 7-8 hours a day especially if I am painting details on my
work).
From start to finish, pottery
requires at least a week to building, dry, trim, fire and glaze, but it usually
takes up to two weeks to complete most things. The day after the kiln is fired
and cooling is my most relaxing day because I can do other things. I can take photos and tend to my Etsy shop,
etc. FYI – I consider pottery a part time job, though sometimes it is full
time. I do also teach community classes and have consulting work (in arts
education) so I have to juggle my schedule quite a bit”.
Having a home studio can require some planning especially if your craft will take up a lot of space. Finding out what works for other crafters can be helpful to those just getting started.
Sara’s
pottery requires some expensive equipment and a fair amount of space and
consideration. “If you have never made
pottery before, I would not suggest creating a studio without solid
experience. I do have my own kiln which
is in the garage, and that required a special electrical set up that only a
qualified electrician can do. My kiln is
very large so it requires a lot of power, but there are smaller kilns out there
for small loads that may not require as much. You can see many videos of me
unloading my kiln on my YouTube page. I
would suggest doing a lot of research before venturing into setting up a
studio. And yes, I’d recommend having a
cat or two around to keep you company”!
It
has been so interesting learning about Sara’s studio and to see where she
creates her beautiful pottery. Thank you Sara for the wonderful photos.
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/goldhawkpottery
Twitter:
@saragdc
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/goldhawkpottery/
Monday, July 14, 2014
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