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 Amber Mahler, the artisan behind Mani Designs, recalls a favorite poet telling her that she must learn the names of the flowers, rivers and trees in her surroundings if she was ever to write good poetry. This California girl, currently living in upstate NY, took those words to heart and they have inspired her current collection of jewelry.
How long have you been designing and making jewelry?
Since 2005, so not that long really.
Where did you learn the technical aspects of the craft?
I started going to Penland School of Crafts when I first returned from living abroad. I had been in India for 5 years and Penland was the perfect place to try and transition back into America. When I first came back to the Sates I felt much like I imagine a newly arrived immigrant might feel and I was a bit lost. I decided I really needed to learn a trade -- I was really done with social service work, which had been my career prior to leaving the country. My first class at Penland was actually in paper making and painting with pulp paper. During my first day there as a work study student I jumped in a local river and broke my knee. This led me to really have to rely on the community in and around Penland, as they helped me a great deal in my convalecence. I think this was a large reason why I ended up moving from California to Penland during a subsequent Fall spent there in the “tiny metals” studio (not to be confused with the blacksmithing shop). It was in that wonderful metals studio that I learned among many other things, lost wax casting, but it wasn’t really until after Penland that I was able to, for about a two year period, just cast something nearly every other week and thereby learn the pitfalls and possibilities with this process. I was doing the casting myself at a community college where I had access to all the necessary equipment. This was invaluable and helped me to experiment in a way that I would not have been able to if I had been using a commercial caster.
Do you make jewelry full time or do you have another career as well?
This is my full time job. Owning one’s own business can easily be a 40 hour a week profession, and generally much more.
Obviously, natural forms are your inspiration. Is each piece one of a kind or are you able reproduce them? Can you briefly describe your process?
About 10% of what I make can be reproduced and I do offer each season a number of limited edition pieces, but the majority of the botanical line is still one of a kind work. And this is necessarily seasonal, as I’m casting directly from the plant. It’s a burn-out process, whereby the plant burns away and leaves the negative space in a plaster mold for the molten silver or gold to go into.
What is your favorite part of the creative process? Is there any part that you don’t enjoy?
I have to really study a plant to watch its’ stages, especially if I’ve used the plant before and am waiting for it to say bud or flower. If I know some change is surely on the way, I’ll have to look at the plant every day and I end up learning a lot about the plant in that way – and sometimes I’ll anthropomorphize the plant a bit, and kind of think it’s into this project -- that we’re working on it together kind of thing. It’s fun.
It’s very hard when a casting doesn’t work out, and that’s bound to happen now and again. It’s scary putting all this long work (in some cases, flowers that I won’t be able to find again, or that are done for the season) into the kiln -- letting the fire do it’s thing and having to wait for the results. Sometimes the whole thing is a loss, and I just have to move forward with the next one.
Who or what inspires you to do what you do?
I am very enraptured by Karl Blossfeldt’s photographs. He made his own camera in the 1920’s and shot these incredible up close black and white photographs of botanica. I’m also a great lover of nature prints and would love to move into that realm a bit more in the future. I am also inspired by my husband, Clay Hufford who is a glassblower, just finishing his glass MFA. I was really moved by his recent thesis work. The great community of artists and craftspeople who are dedicated to making good work is what keeps me going.
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I really don’t have a good answer to this question and it’s driving me crazy!
Rinse has been invited to be a vendor at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival which runs September 25 – November 8 – yes, 46 days! How do you plan for something like this? I can’t just walk in there blind, can I?
Luckily I have an insider who has helped me wade through the backend of the festival as well as my display & fixtures. What I have no help with is product. How much do I take? What do I take? Are people going to buy soap at Food & Wine festival?
Although I will never admit it, I am a bit of a number cruncher, at least when it comes to trying to figure out what is headed our way. So I worked up a formula using a few of my multi-day shows that had significantly slow days/times. I looked at an average of bars of soaps sold at those shows, multiplied that by the number of hours in the Food & Wine festival (did I mention the festival hours are 9 AM to 9 PM everyday) & about fell over when I saw the estimated bars of soap I will sell there.
So with that number staring at me I did what any reasonable soapmaker would do… made soap, and more soap, and more soap. We now have more soap than we have ever had.
When I started this business I wasn’t number cruncher. I hardly kept the numbers but now I can see (and utilize on probably a weekly basis) why the numbers are so important. Without creating my formula I would have never known where to begin to guess at how many bars of soap I may sell. I realize that my calculations are just an educated guess but I’ll take whatever I can get.
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Since I'm down with a nasty summer cold this week, I thought I'd take the easy way out and just reiterate the top ten trends for fall 2009. The bigger designers and retailers are already buying and producing for Spring 2010 but for those of us who are a little more tuned into the upcoming season here are the trends (in no particular order). Do with them what you will!
1. Everything 80's - puffy mini dresses, neon hues, big shoulders (it makes me shudder)
2. Dark Layers of gray and black
3. Hats!
4. Chartreuse, bright pink and jewel tones
5. Sparkle, head to toe
6. Ruching - lots of draping all across the body
7. Capes, Capelets & Cloaks
8. Bold and chunky accessories
9. Animal prints, dots, stripes and geometric patterns
10. Cinch belts and big buttons
Happy creating and here's to back to school!
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Obviously this is an area that I have and still am struggling with. And here it surfaces again.
I thought once school was back in that I would have all the time in the world to work on Rinse and then be able to be the fabulous mom, wife & homemaker that I aspire to be outside of school hours. Here we are, one week into school and It's not working. Now I know - only one week - but still, I had one productive day out of four when to get everything done I need 6 productive days out of four. It seems that everything lacked a bit and for that I have got to find a solution.
I think my key is to get organized both physically and mentally. I've already taken a couple of steps that I hope will help and have a few more in the works.
- Set office hours - this is HUGE to me. I've always wanted to be available, especially during the "normal business hours" that everyone thinks of (9-5; Monday - Friday) to service my customers. But realisticly it just isn't the best use of my time. It may be fine for the bank that has so many people on staff to do every little thing that needs to be done, but when you have a skeleton crew (mainly myself) you don't have the luxury. My office hours are just that - the hours that I'll be in the office. Hours that people can expect me to answer the phone and return email promptly. The rest of the hours are up for grabs and will be filled with production, playtime and whatever else pops up (including returning phone calls & emails.) Once I updated the hours on my website I felt such a relief. Now I don't have to feel guilty about not answering the phone when I'm in the middle of stirring a batch of soap or when I'm playing a rigourus afternoon game of Go Fish.
- Creating a Schedule - this isn't complete yet, but I am certainly implementing some key parts of it already (see above for one.) On the homemaker front, I created a meal plan for the week & a cleaning schedule. On the Rinse side, I've created a Production Request Log which will tell me what I need to make to fill any upcoming orders or any inventory shortages. I plan on plotting out days for meetings, times for working on marketing efforts, social networking (my blog hasn't seen the light of day in months), accounting...
I'm in the process of eliciting sugestions and tactics that work for my other multi-tasking entrepreneur friends and colleagues and will at a last ditch effort, seek the help of a professional organizer/time manager.
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So as these hot days of summer wind down and the economy improves ever so slightly (I think) and we enter the "selling" season again, here are 10 practical tips from me "retailer" to you "seller". (And these are in no particular order)
1. If you have a product that is priced at $60 but is not moving, try recommending a price of $58. Sometimes that little psychological reduction down to a lower price group will spark a different mind set and some additional sales. Don't be afraid to play with price.
2. Always send your merchandise with your own tags pinned or affixed to your product nicely. It's a must in branding for you and it saves the retailer time when they have to stick a price sticker somewhere and merchandise quickly.
3. Clothing designers....think about where you place your hang tags from the point of view of the shopper. Digging to find the tag (and the price) inside the clothing is a royal pain. How about affixing it to a sleeve or under arm of the garment where it is visible and accessible.
4. Always include washing instructions with your garments or soft goods - and test to make sure your garments stand up to what you are recommending.
5. Always send your contact info at the bottom of every e-mail. Retailers are usually time starved and generally not as well organized as they should be (except me) so your contact info should be handy dandy each and every time you contact them.
6. If it is feasible consider providing merchandising support to the retailer. Display items, signage, special hangers. All of this helps promote your brand and may just ensure that you get premium spot in the store.
7. Don't be afraid to check in with the store owner or manager. The more visible you are the more chance for a re-order! Also, the feedback and insight to how your product is received is invaluable - even bad news can steer you in a good direction.
8. Always send your items with a clear and professional invoice and itemized list both for your records and the retailers.
9. Have you received any press? Scan it and send it to the store in a frame or laminate it and affix an easel to it.
10. Always include a catalog or pricing sheet with every order shipped to encourage future sales or feature new products.
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The old adage that "you have to spend money to make money" is a tried and true statement that wrenches in the gut of every small business owner. No matter how big or small, in order to grow, you must continually invest in your business if you expect to turn a profit. As an example, even though most of us in the small biz "DIY" retail industry are all experiencing less sales from our retail locations, galleries, and festivals, small business consultants and moguls continually state that now is the time to spend more funds to push your name out into the marketplace.
Robert Kiyosaki, the face of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad (www.richdad.com) series of books, coaching seminars and lectures, indicates that now is the time to amp up your marketing budget for your small business, no matter what you have to go through to achieve this task. More visibility and awareness of your brand will ultimately result in more sales, one way or the other. The bottom line? The continual spending of funds for your business is the only constant to owning a business. Once you choose to stagnate, your business will do so, as well.
So, what's the reality for all of us DIY'ers who are trying to do something in this economy? How can we continue to grow our businesses while the hot breath and girth of the big banks are breathing down our backs, pushing us up against a wall with ever-changing available limits and increasing interest rates?
We all know that on May 22nd, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD Act), which forces big credit card companies to provide greater transparency for their customers. What does all of this mean, in short? Under this new bill (which will go into effect next year), there will be no more shifting of payment deadlines to initiate late payment fees; no more allowing purchases to go through if you do not have enough avaiable credit on the card to initiate over-the-limit fees; no more interest rate hikes when you haven't been late on payments, and so forth. Also, it means that you - as a spender - cannot be irresponsible with your spending habits, or else the banks can do these things to you. In my opinion, it's a great bill that helps the "little man" by creating more transparency, prevents frivolous fees to the customer, and holds the buyer accountable for his or her spending habits. In the end, it will level the playing field and put a little control back into the consumer's hands.
So, allow me to convey my cautionary tale for all of you, and show how banks are now attacking small business owners and individuals, alike, before the CARD Act goes into effect. If you don't think it can happen to you, allow me to be your personal example....
Over a few years, before starting iram-inal, I diligently worked hard on my credit. I scoured my credit reports, wrote declaration and verification letters, removed old line items, and made it as clean as a whistle. This process was a long, arduous task that took over 6 months to complete, and resulted in me having a great, clean report along with a credit score in the mid-to-high 700s (you know it varies based on the Credit Reporting Agency).
My reward? The credit card and loan offers started POURING in. I accepted some of them, and threw away the rest. The majors, American Express ($25,000 limit), Bank of America Business ($22,000 limit), Citicard ($13,000 limit), Wamu ($10,000 limit), became the springboards I needed in order to facilitate the start of my business. I decided I would responsibly use these cards and "spend money to make money...." The result was iram-inal designs.
As stated above, I used this large amount of credit offered to me the right way: I scheduled payments WAY ahead of time, always paid well over the minimum payment, and kept the lines below 50% of the limit. In essence, I USED MY CREDIT RESPONSIBLY. Then, it started happening, about 6 months ago: First, came an inexplicable letter from American Express, stating that they would be taking away all of my available credit, leaving room for $1000 of purchases on my card. The act would make my balance to limit ration over 90%, and would allow other credit card companies to penalize me due to the fact that I've now "spent" most of my available line.
I was perplexed, troubled.... what had I done wrong? When I called up credit card customer services, I fortunately got in touch with a very honest, very empathetic agent who informed me that it wasn't anything I'd done wrong.... no, no, no. I was "paying the price" for all of the people who weren't being responsible with their credit. Essentially, the bank was "hedging its bets" by lowering available credit on good customers to make up for the bad. My available credit, by the way, went from $25000 to $11,600 (I had charged approximately $9500 on the card at that time). Resultantly, I did the right thing, and quickly paid off over $2000 to free up some of the line, only to receive another letter from American Express again lowering my limit from $11,600 to $10,200.
Although I felt the momentary sting of "woe is me, what am I going to do?," I quickly bounced back and saw this as a blessing in disguise. I scoured the internet to see if this occurrence had happened to anyone else, and learned straightaway that I was FAR from being alone. American Express - specifically and expressly - was targeting long-standing good customers who had never violated any portion of their terms and agreements. I decided that I'd pick up the pieces, would "get my hustle on," and find another way to make money. I enrolled in more festivals, worked a little harder to grow my portfolio of stores, and cooled down a bit. For months, I spoke with my fellow vendors about this occurrence and warned them that "it, too, could happen to you." At the time, many of them scrunched their noses at me not understanding... thinking that it must had been something I'd done irresponsibly....
Although I eventually adjusted just fine with the sting, with the passing of the CARD Act, all of my credit card lenders have gotten more diligent and aggressive in minimizing the available credit open to me and other good customers. Now that a few months have gone by, more and more of my peers are revealing that the same thing has happened to them. I've been hit from every corner: Wamu became Chase, shifted my due date and closed me down; American Express recently increased my rates from 9% to 18% (I still haven't made a late payment); BOA minimized my available credit from $22,000 to $16,000 (no late payments there, neither).... In the past 6 months, I've lost over $15,000 available credit to me.
So, what does all of this whining mean for small business owners? It means that instead of making a dollar out of 15 cents, we must learn to make one out of only 5 cents. I don't have an exact science and formula down, but my thoughts are increasing your productivity with a different, less expensive medium (fyi - my handcast resin line debuts this fall), decreasing your prices a bit or creating sales opportunities for your customers with old inventory (I know, I know... no artist wants to do that), and taking on more festivals is the key for someone who does what I do. I also decided NOT to make the jump to the wholesale market, as I figure that would take an up-front investment of about $10,000 - $15,000, and I now no longer have the credit to do it.
Although I run two fashion-based lines a year, I've learned how to stretch my inventory, offering $10, $20, $30 specials at festivals with OLD inventory that sat in my studio for about a year. This little trick DOES work, and made me and my sister about $500 at our last festival, on top of regular sales. As stated above, I also introduced a new line with a less expensive medium, which has opened the doors to many more places than I'd ever imagined. I also increased my list of stores in an effort to "get a little from more," versus waiting on big checks from just a few locations.
My hope in sharing this with all of you is that you all take a close look at your "Information and Disclosures" form that so many of us throw away. Look to see if your credit card has modified your terms to say, "We can increase your limit, close your card, or change your due date FOR ANY REASON." If you do see that, a change in your card, resulting in a hit to you and your business, may be coming your way, and most likely will before this bill goes into effect.
In the end, the dust will settle and we'll all be in a better place. Our economy will eventually balance out (though I believe it will be 5 years for this to happen), I estimate that my husband (who this, too, has happened to as an entrepreneur) and I will have some tight months, but we'll make it through. With resilience, hard work, and due diligence, we can make it work. And we're trying our very best, every day. I thank you for allowing me to get personal with you, and hope that you can learn something from all of this... In the end, these experiences only make us stronger, and will continue to do so throughout the ages.
Until next time, Creative People....
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Firstly, let me say sorry for the inconsistent blog entries this summer! We've all been a bit remiss in posting and I've been downright lazy. But if you can't take a few weeks to smell the flowers and recharge then what is the point?!
Ok so with that out of the way, thanks to my good friend Polly out there in California I was reminded of this great resource at www.spoonflower.com. They are this North Carolina based company that will custom print fabric that you design! OR you can choose from designs that are already uploaded. They launched in May of 2008 and although I have not yet personally tried this, being a graphic designer my creative juices are already flowing! If anyone out there has used them, I'd love to hear your comments! It seems like a great resource...here are the basics!
- All your designs are private unless you choose to make them
public
- There is no minimum fabric order and no
set-up fee. You can order a swatch of quilting-weight cotton for $5 or
a yard for $18. Registration is free.
- Your designs can be placed into a variety of repeats, and the preview of your fabric item is online and immediate.
- You can print on quilting-weight or upholstery-weight 100% cotton, or organic cotton sateen.
Happy designing!
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Just wanted to write alittle blurb this week about how excited I am for fall......
Even though its still 90 degrees and steamy here in Atlanta, I feeling fall right around the corner! Here at Sage Saks, we're knee deep in new fall bags and fabrics. In early summer, big name brands, both stores and clothing labels, start revealing their hot trends for fall and lucky for me, I can incorporate them all into my fall collection. This fall I'm seeing alot of red ~ we're calling it "Geranium Red", Black ~ in all types, and Ikat prints. Working with all these fall fabrics gets me in the mood for cooler weather, football games, and great handbags!
It will be here before you know it!
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This will be my last post for awhile as I will be going on “maternity leave” for a bit in just a couple of weeks. Or days.
I have been thinking about the progression of my business over the last few months in trying to get things squared away for some time off. Much easier said than done, I’m finding, especially approaching the holiday season. It’s hard enough to crane my neck about the daily duties of production to perform my roles as creative, PR, and R&D, much less plan a large amount of time away from the studio. Time where not only am I stocked up and ready for any orders that may come my way in the mean time, but somehow planned and ready to tackle life after my return to the ‘norm’ alongside the daily items of running a small business.
I’m still at a loss for how some things are going to shake down, but I think I’ve reached a point where I’m comfortable in my communication with buyers, retailers and other vendors that I’ve made appropriate preparations for this time, outside of actually taking on a business partner.
On the larger scale, I think entrepreneurs should make peace with their abilities to get done what can get done and keep their life in balance. Practically, I think that looks different for everyone, so I’m posting a link to a plethura of helpfulness I’ve found on http://www.designspongeonline.com/category/biz-ladies for your perusal.
Enjoy!
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To sell, or not to sell?... that is the question. For many months now, I have blabbed on about the vital importance of a crafter establishing their marketing presence in cyber-world. Simply, having an online presence helps to validate your brand to the buying marketplace. Like many businesspeople, I decided that I had to have a website in place before I began to push my wares to boutiques and galleries to help me seem like a more established business than I was at the time.
The quick and dirty? If you're serious about growing your brand and taking the leap from hobbyist to entrepreneur, you'll make sure this one significant step is completed first. It is the only surefire way to establish yourself as a professional in an already oversaturated retail market.
I just recently started to walk into stores to push my line of jewelry (www.iidesigns.com) using a technique I learned from my friend - and fellow Beehiver - Amy Leff of Throwing Stars Jewelry. Prior to my recent adventures in "store hopping" (that's another blog entry in itself, for another time), my regular modus operandi has been to email the store, insert photos to the body of the site (more on that later, too) and refer the owner of the store to my website. Presenting myself this way has afforded me great growth in this slow economy, and will most likely work for you, too.
I built my website myself. I taught myself the web building application, trial-by-fire, and am still today the editor of my site. Other crafters always inquire why I would take hours and hours to build and edit my own site. What it comes down to is that I'm a true "Do-It-Yourselfer": Having this control allows me to not have to rely on someone else to edit my work properly, and allows me to make quick changes when needed (and there are always quick changes needed on any website that is voluminous). I recognize that as I continue to grow, I'll eventually have to hire someone to maintain my site; however, knowing how to build the site myself allows me to better recognize when the person I'll eventually hire is - or is not - doing something properly. For me, the old adage "knowledge is power" is tried and true.
Although I generally make all of the decisions for my business, and normally delve out a plan of action for where I want my business to go and how I can accomplish acheiving my goals by myself, I sometimes heed the advice of others in my strive for greatness.
I relayed in previous blog entries that last February, my sister, Mari, and I attended the Buyer's Market for Philadelphia Craft, and attended the Visiting Artist's Program to learn about the in's and out's of wholesale. I still 100% endorse the program if you have no sound understanding about wholesale.... experiencing the market and seeing how vendors display their product is worth the trip in itself.
However, one point that was impressed upon me and my sister over and over again was IF YOU WANT TO COLLECT WHOLESALE ACCOUNTS, YOU CANNOT SELL ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE. This oft-repeated message was told to us by vendors, exhibitors, stores, and the teaching staff at the Visiting Artist's Program. We left the marketplace assured that this bit of advice was the pearl of knowledge that would open our doors to an entirely new world of customers through wholesale.... and so away the shopping cart went. In following that much-repeated edict at the Buyer's Market, I now fear we may have closed the door to our existing customer base, and new piece-by-piece purchasers who stumble upon our site.
A part of owning a business is conducting market research. You must look at other relatively young - and seasoned - businesses to see what these companies are doing that are working (and in some cases are not working) to their advantage. I have a few seasoned jewelry designers who have carved out career paths for themselves that allows them to identify and relate with their base customer while still selling in big-box shops that I choose to "follow." I've read books about these designers, their business models, and regularly check their sites to see if they've come upon any innovations in website design and marketing that I haven't yet considered.
I also look at relatively new designers to see what may - or may not - be working on their sites. While my site has an identity all its own, still "checking out the competition" is imperative for growth.... You have to remember that the biggest companies in teh world do the same thing: google watches microsoft, pepsi researchs coke, papa johns researches pizza hut, and on, and on, and on. Market research is a part of creating staying power for your company so when your competitor innovates, knowing what the market is responding to prevents you and your existing marketing scheme from stagnating.
In the past few months, I've done a lot of research to see if companies that I identify with as being successful sell on their websites. I was very surprised to find these companies - who all sell at the Philadelphia, New York, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Dallas wholesale markets - also sell on their webstores.
Although my company is still in its infancy stage, and I have a LOT of growing to do, I MUST follow the steps of these larger, successful companies to be viable. Even though I'm a small company, I refuse to THINK small, and still reach for the sky. Knowing that I have a recipe for success will allow me to keep growing. Even though I'm a small company, I'm still competing with the Alexis Bittar's, David Yurman's and R.J. Graziano's of the world (all major players in my genre of craft - jewelry). At the end of the day, we all sell a product, and we're all selling it to the open marketplace, to a shared customer base, regardless of how big or small the company may be. My philosophy is that the customer may choose to spend their $100 on a well-made, handmade local piece, instead of going to Lenox Mall to shop for the day.
This summer, I am re-engaging my webstore for purchases (for my Fall/Winter collection), and will go one step further to add a gift certificate program to the site for holiday shoppers. Although I do not feel my business has suffered from going without a shopping cart for 10 months, I feel that there are everyday customers - the customers who are helping to build my business now, purchase-by-purchase, that I missed by heeding that advice. At the end of the day, the message is that as small business owners, you have to take a risk try things you would not normally to see if it works for you. If you don't, you may regret your decision in the long run, because learning from your mistakes in business is much more valuable than not doing anything at all.
Until next time, Creative People.....
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