Comments on: Interview with Meg Mateo Ilasco – author of Craft Inc.

By: CraftSanity » CraftSanity Episode 79: Crafting a Business with Meg Mateo Ilasco

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:31:09 +0000

[...] And, just in case you missed it, check out Meg’s whipup interview. [...]

By: Make Something Today - Today Top Blog Posts on DIY - Powered by SocialRank

Make Something Today - Today Top Blog Posts on DIY - Powered by SocialRank — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:35:06 +0000

[...] Interview with Meg Mateo Ilasco – author of Craft Inc. [...]

By: Pink Chalk Studio » Blog Archive » Another One Bites the Dust

Pink Chalk Studio » Blog Archive » Another One Bites the Dust — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 04:40:44 +0000

[...] book Craft Inc. – Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business. Yes, that lucky star again. Kathreen interviewed the author of the book last week on Whip Up and asked people to leave a comment answering two questions related to [...]

By: kathy

kathy — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:56:17 +0000

Great review. So glad I’m learning about this book. I totally can’t wait to get it!

My biggest challenge is focus. Deciding which ideas to pursue. I have a gazillion things going on in my head at any moment in time. Just walking the kids to the bus stop generates at least 10 things that need a fun pattern. A lack of focus can lead to a lack of action. I’ve been trying to be heads down lately and see things through the rough days. One foot in front of the other. Pick a task and grind it out. I’m always amazed at what comes out the other side, things I didn’t imagine were possible.

Right now my most satisfying moments are e-mails I receive from people off line from blog comments. Women that have never commented publicly but feel motivated to send me a note thanking me for inspiring them, for the clear instructions in my pattern, how accomplished they felt making something for their grandkids. I really can’t describe how that feels except that it tells me I’m right where I should be, doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

By: megan

megan — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:33:43 +0000

my yarn store “lettuce knit” will be four years old this december. my biggest challenge is balancing the demands of running a business with those of being a mother and keeping a home.

my proudest moments are when my customers/friends tell me that i have created a community and that their lives are enriched by the sisterhood they find at lettuce knit.

By: Merrill

Merrill — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 23:54:03 +0000

I opened my etsy shop in April (electricbluebird.etsy.com). I think right now, my biggest challenge is promotion, getting my name out there. I think you have a bigger challenge in that respect when the world is really your market thanks to the web. By the same token, there are so many wonderful tools out there that make promotion easier and fun, like blogs and sites like whipup!

My proudest moments lately have been the purchase of my paintings. I really consider crochet my first love but I have dabbled in painting. I’d sold more paintings than crochet at this point!

By: MzTallulah

MzTallulah — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:48:05 +0000

I haven’t started a business yet – but I guess the biggest first hurdle would be managing to combine my full-time job with my crafting activities; moreover, my chosen medium is knitting, and I don’t like chunky knits, so that means that my output is very limited and time-consuming, so pricing would alos be complicated.

My proudest moment so far has been seeing my mother turn from critical of the time I was “wasting” with needles in hand, to a proud wearer of my creations and someone who will praise my knitting to whoever’s listening.

By: Corvus

Corvus — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:48:10 +0000

What is/was the biggest hurdle to starting your business?

Advertising: getting the word out, making myself stand out from other indie designers. I’m a full-time student in a totally unrelated field (Microbiology/Biology/Biomedical) and thus can’t dedicate the time required to effectively advertise. Maybe if I knew what I was doing a bit better it would take less time, but hey! I’ll learn.

What was your proudest moment in your business?

My first repeat customer, who said wonderful things about myself and my work that are simply not true and thus left me glowing for a week.

By: Kelly Darke

Kelly Darke — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:51:07 +0000

I can relate to so many of the other posts – it seems we all go through a lot of the same situations…
anyway, my greatest hurdles recently have been creating products consistency (I’m in graduate school and have two little kids), and trying to decide how to market my work. My paintings are so different from my jewelry and handbags and I’ve been trying to market them all as one group. I think I will start marketing my jewelry and handbags separately from my paintings.

my proudest moments: getting my paintings accepted into a gallery – selling a painting at an opening. and having the recipient of a handbag (her husband bought it for her as a gift) call me and rave about the bag, everything from the construction, design, to the fun element of sound you got when the bag moved (hanging pieces would swing around) – she totally “got” the whole thing, it was such a great feeling.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:42:45 +0000

My biggest hurdle seemed to deal with time management and motivation. I would come up with great ideas but I would put off producing the amount of these things that I needed to have the inventory for displays in shops or shows. I really think it was a mental block, wondering if I was good enough, if I would fail or succeed, etc. I mean, as long as I was in the planning stage, there was hope for the future. Once I did it, if I failed, then I officially was a failure. (OK Not true, but that’s how it feels in my mind sometimes.) I sometimes like the potential of a project more than actually getting deep into it and seeing all of the flaws and problems. I mostly overcame that by setting myself production goals. For example, maybe 10 very simple pendants a day for 10 days in a row. It got me in the habit of working vs planning to work.

My second biggest hurdle (or maybe it’s tied for first) was Katrina nearly destroying my home. The last two years I have used my studio for storage while I repaired my home. I’m almost back to normal finally. YAY!

My proudest moment was being asked to be the featured artist at the holiday open house of a store that’s too nice for me to even shop there. But she is carrying my stuff now, she’s excited about it, and she wants to put me on display. LOL So I get to wear grown-up clothes and sit with my jewelry and talk to customers and try to pretend like I’m not dying from nerves. Anybody got some xanax I can borrow?