Creative Motivation

We all get into a creative funk. Well I’ve been in one for a while. I’ve set sales goals for my items and haven’t meet them this year, I’ve been allowing the money side of my business to take over my passion for what I do.

So yesterday I talked to a really good artist friend of mine. I told him that I felt unmotivated, unfocused and/or discouraged.  He told me that I need to:

- surround myself with people who are doing what I’m doing

- be consistent, create a routine

- take what I’m doing to the next level

This is all so true. What I’m doing is what I want to do, I just need to really step out and connect with more people and elevate my business.

So here are some ways that I can implement his advice into my life.

- surround myself with people who are doing what I’m doing:

 Look on Craig’s list for events , artist meetups and groups, join a group on meetup.com, go to art and craft fairs in my area, join etsy groups and be a part of forums. Just be out more and let people know what I’m doing and show genuine interest in what they do and follow up with them to keep a relationship going.

- be consistent, create a routine:

Set specific goals/ to dos and follow them. For example, blog at least once a week and work on something business related for at least an hour a day.

- take what I’m doing to the next level:

By doing the above two things I know that I can elevate my business/passion. Whenever an opportunity comes my way I’ll be ready for it and confident enough to talk about what I do.

It was a really great conversation, it’s always good to have a friend who can throw you back on track.

Craft Shows and Fair Tips When You're Low on Cash

You Don’t Have to Just do Big Shows:
Really big well known shows are great but you can get a lot out of smaller or lesser known shows and events.
My first show was at a vegetarian society event, I was selling soy candles so the audience was great, I got a lot of feedback and it helped me to get out and sell/expose my products while only paying 10 dollars for a table and I got free food! Here are ways to find smaller shows and events:
-Craig list searches in the community section under events or artist
-look at your local farmers market website for vendor applications
-a lot of schools hold holiday and seasonal events
-go to coffee shops and look at their bulletin boards
-community websites have there local events on there and they are usually looking for vendors especially around the holidays 
Trust me there are a lot of places where you can vend.

Share a booth
If you have a friend or family member or even another crafter or artist that you’ve seen at shows ask if they would like to split the booth fee at an event. You two can help each other with sells, setting up and taking down displays and someone to talk to when things are slow

Volunteer
 Earth Day in St. Louis is a big deal we have a huge festival that I would have loved to vend in but the booths are expensive and I was late on the deadline, so I volunteered! It was a great way to meet others, really feel like your are helping/contributing, and I was able get a behind the scenes look at how things are done. When you volunteer at fairs, events, festivals etc it’s a perfect time to talk with others about what they are doing, what you’re doing and to even learn more about the crafting or art business. And its always great to make a new friend. If you can wear something that you make and remember to bring business cards.

Attend the Show as a customer
You can see how the crowd of the show is. Look at others booth display and designs especially crafters and artist that make similar items to you. How do their prices compare to yours? What do you like about their booths? How can you incorporate parts of their display into yours and make it truly yours. Talk to other crafters as a customer and see how they talk. How is their approach? Does it make you want to buy their products? Are they telling a story?

Basically use this time to not only peep out the competition but connect with other crafters and artists. If what you make can be worn, wear it( you may find new customers)! Ask vendors about the show, if they know of any other shows; how they got into vending and creating items. You can even talk to others attending the show as customers and see how they heard of the show, if they like the vendor's selections,etc.

Be friendly, be yourself and take note on everything.

Work Harder

Bottom line if your aren’t able to attend a show or be a vendor take this time to work. You can build your inventory, work on branding and marketing, research upcoming events that you can save up for and work towards.

In between shows I make sure I have enough of my watercolored business cards in stock.

Grilled Curry Tofu w/ Mixed Greens

Very quick and satisfying recipe, cost about 5 dollars

Ingredients:

Curry Tofu
Tofu (frozen and thawed)
Trader Joe's Coconut Curry Sauce (or any curry sauce you like)
Curry Powder and Turmeric (these are optional I just used them cause I had them)
Red and yellow Peppers (diced)
Onions
Salt and Pepper to taste
2tsp of oil


For the Salad
mixed greens
light dressing (I used light Trader Joe's Champagne Dressing)
dried cranberries (optional)

Directions:

1. Place your oil in a skillet and put on med heat.
2. After your tofu is frozen and thawed, cut your desire amount and simply squeeze the excess water out with your clean bare hands. Then dice the tofu into bite sized chunks
3. Once the oil is heated add your onions, peppers and any other spices that you like.
4. Add your tofu to the mix once the onions and peppers get soft (they do not need to be completely sauteed)
5. Add more oil if needed to aid in the browning of your tofu. You want to get a nice crust on the outside so let them stay on one side for about 3 minuets then turn over.
6. While you're waiting for your tofu to cook rinse off your greens and mix them and the cranberries in a bowl. You can add your dressing right before you add your tofu on top.
7. Once both sides of the tofu are brown add the curry sauce. You only need enough to cover your tofu so that it can absorb the moisture. Let the curry and tofu marinate for about 4 minuets.
8. Add your dressing to the greens and place your tofu on top. Yum Yum.

Tips for Using Soy candles

Before your light that wick and sit back to enjoy your new soy candle, read this list.

Cure: All found on earth candles are made to order, so when it gets to you, don't light it yet, wait one to two weeks for the wax and essential oils to settle and blend, this process is called curing.

Cut: Trim the wick to one forth of an inch (do this every time you relight the wick).

Memory: The first burning of the wick is the most important time. To ensure that you get the best scent throw and the most use of your wax burn the candle so that the pool of melted wax gets as close to the edge of your candle as possible, some suggest that you burn the candle for one hour for every inch of the diameter of the candle. So if you have a 3.5 inch diameter candle burn it for 3.5 hours.
Stay Still: Once you light a candle leave it where it is. Imagine if you were walking down some steps with your candle and you happened to trip, all that hot melted wax will be all over you or on the steps or both, these are all horrible scenarios so please avoid moving that candle.
Extinguish:Now that your room is filled with the scent of your soy candle you don't want to ruin it by blowing it out and releasing all that smoke into the air. You can invest in a wick dipper or do as I do and us tweezers to lightly bend the wick into the wax pool and then pulling it back up and making sure it's straight. You might get little black flakes from the wick in your melted pool of wax, use the tweezers or any other object and get those nasty things out.
Be Safe:Please keep in mind that you are dealing with fire when you're enjoying your soy candles. Allows read and follow the safety tips on the bottom on the candle. I'll list some tips here just as a reminder.
-never leave a candle unattended
-do not place by drafts, drapes etc
-keep away from children and pets
-never place objects or water into a candle.
-do not light a candle for longer than 3 hours.

I hope this gave you all some help on using your soy candles.