The Anatomy of a Blog

Last week I taught a 'Blogging for Artists' workshop at the Cornwall Artpreneur Conference. Since then a few artists have asked for the information so here are some (can't give away all my secrets at once) on what you should include in your blog posts:

• Controversy is good, make a statement, no politicians allowed (in other words no sitting on the fence)
• Links to other websites and blogs are good
• Images are vital
• Have contests
• Include your customers (comments, stories, photos - with permission of course)
• Post follow up comments (even if they come by email)

For those that missed the workshop I am hosting the same session on Kingston on November 30, 1-2 at my studio. For more info visit my site - www.lindseyfair.ca

The best way to learn it is to teach it

Last week I ran a summer camp 'Beads 'n' Bowls' for kids. It was a blast, a little on the tiring side, but full of inspiration. It was amazing watching the kids teach each other things that they had just learned. That's when the light bulbs would go on. You could see their confidence growing and their skills accelerating. The picture to the side is a group of kids I taught at the MAKE camp the week before.

Now it's my turn, heading into the fall, I'm doing a lot of teaching. From business to blogging to beading. I'm sure going to learn a lot! Have a look at the new NGB blog that lists the upcoming workshops that all the artists at NGB are hosting this fall... http://notyournormalschool.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, think about something you want to learn, or practice. Maybe you can find a student. Imagine the learning then..

Successfully Sneaky Slogans

Yesterday I presented a workshop for artists in the Cornwall area on Successful Selling Strategies. The group was great; a lot of great energy in the room that I could feed off. I also met a fellow found object artist - Candice Nixon (http://www.meltingpotstudio.ca/). Anyway, back to the story... when I cleaned out my briefcase this morning I found an old napkin tucked in a corner that I kept from our trip to North Carolina earlier this month. The napkin is from the Detroit airport ( a great airport by the way ). I kept it because I loved the slogan on it. It's short, memorable, cheeky, and most of all gives you a mental picture of exactly who they're talking about without saying it out loud. In the workshop yesterday we talked about knowing who your target market is, what your competition is doing and what needs you are filling. This slogan sums it all up in one cheeky statement - doesn't it? It's a very successful sneaky slogan!

First Day Jitters

Yesterday was my son's first day of school, JK. All summer both of us were looking forward to it so much. He was so excited about it until....the night before. That's when the nerves set in. "What if they make me play games I don't know?" What if no one wants to play with me?" "What if I can't reach the toilet paper?" (I know who knew he had so many worries?) So we talked them all through and other scenarios that might pop up too. We read the letter from the school and packed his backpack with everything on the list. We made up his lunch and labelled it all.

In the morning we went over the letter again, reviewed what was for snack and what was for lunch. We walked to school early so that it was less intimidating when we arrived and we could get the lay of the land first. He made friends instantly and all seemed to be good...until the bell rang and then the tears started. So we re-introduced in him to the teacher, went over his backpack and food again. Talked about what the day would be like and told him he could ask the teacher to call me at lunch if the day was still horrible. I never got the phone call, in fact when I picked him up at 330 he said he had a great day. It was harder than daycare because he had to learn more and play more, but he liked it.

This whole process reminds me of preparing for a new show. I am all excited leading up to and the night before I get nervous. "Do I have everything packed?" "Do I have enough stock?" "Do I have the right products for this show?" So I do the same things as I did with my son, review the confirmation letter, review what I packed and try and get a goodnight sleep.

The day of the show I try and go early to get the lay of the land. Introduce myself to the organizer. Give myself a time that I'm allowed to leave if I want (if this is possible with this kind of show).

The morale of the story is whether it's the first day of school or preparing for a show, preparation is key, but most important is to make sure you've packed some good snacks!

Photo Time

Since my blog about Adversity... everyone wants to know what the earrings look like (for those that didn't come to the festival yesterday to see them, shame on you). So here is a picture of them.

For those that didn't visit the festival, it was a great day. Beautiful weather, fun music, creative vendors. As a vendor, I found the show to be a good ROI, but I did hear others saying they may have done better at the market. Interesting how somethings work differently for different people, even when you're comparing apples to apples. I actually heard this from another jewellery designer; however, maybe it was because it's like granny smiths to macintoshes not two apple the exact same. It would be interesting to do a real study on this. Julie Davidson Smith, a friend and fellow artist, sent me a pic of my booth in action. Thanks Julie.

And the last picture was sent to me by Carolyn Barnett. It's the necklace she made at the last Bead 'n' Bitch. I absolutely love the button she used! She also included an old piece of wire wrapped beach glass I had done and wasn't happy with the wrapping so I threw it back in the discard pile to redo later. Goes to show, that your disgards are someone else's treasure (just like I talked about in an earlier blog entry)!

The next Bead 'n' Bitch is tomorrow night.

A bitchin' good time!

Last night was our first Bead 'n' Bitch. The ladies had a great time and produced beautiful twisted wire necklaces. I think everyone learned something, even me. Thanks Carolyn, Julie, Diane and Kelly. See you all on the 19th!

The Art of Being Social Workshop

I am presenting a workshop for TIA (Thousand Islands Arts) on June 3rd from 7-9pm. Here's an overview of the session. If you want to attend contact TIA, if you can't attend but wish you could, let me know and I'll let you know when the next one is.

Social networking and marketing online are key to any successful business in today's competitive world, especially for artists! These two hours will be spent going over the basics of online marketing including Facebook, Youtube, Blogging, your own website and yes even Second Life. Come learn how you can profit from the web instead of spending money on it!