Grassroots October Meeting

We have a great event coming up in October which I am moderating.  If you are in the Seattle area, you should come!  All info can be found here

Meet Our Judges

Our second judge is yours truly :) Here are my stats

please state your name and occupation: Kristen Rask owner of Schmancy and curator of Plush You! I also am the Director of PR and Marketing for Urban Craft Uprising and co-creator of Grassroots Business Association

Your favorite sport? ping pong!

Your least favorite sport? Curling?

Why do you love plush? I love plush because I love seeing how everything is translated by the designer. It's something anyone can do from children to adults, men and women. I love how each person's personalities shine through AND they are cuddly.

Grassroots Turns One So let's Party!

What was once just an idea has become an awesome new group with over 400 members and continues to grow. Grassroots Business Association has our first chapter up in Vancouver and will be celebrating our first year in business this evening here in Seattle. If you can make it out please stop by, eat a cupcake and learn more about us! All info can be found here

Tonight at Vermillion in Seattle

Ever found yourself interested in self-publishing but had no idea where to start? Or maybe you have a book idea, but don't know whether to pitch it to a publisher, find a literary agent or publishing it yourself. Kaie Wellman, the creator of the eat.shop guides and a self-publisher, can help you answer some of these questions.

About the eat. shop guides:

the eat.shop guides focus on cities both big and obvious (nyc and paris) and small and not-so-obvious (kansas city and portland). you could say we’re an equal opportunity publisher with 24 cities in our back pocket and counting. because we believe that a guide needs to come along with you–and not languish on your coffee table looking all pretty and pristine–an eat.shop guide fits perfectly into a handbag, a glove compartment box or your empty hand. and instead of having it indiscriminently feature everything but your kitchen sink, we put our eat.shop colored glasses on and carefully choose 85 or so unique, authentic, scrumdilicious local businesses that range from eye popping and brand spankin’ new to deeply patinaed and way off the beaten path, funky and unexpected to chic and shiny.

the first eat.shop guide was published in portland, oregon in late 2003. kaie wellman, the creator of the series, was at the time an art director / graphic designer with a bad attitude. to abolish the attitude, she thought about what career change might make her happy, so she took a solo road trip to san francisco to visit the gift fair for inspiration. after spending 30 minutes at the fair, she was not inspired. so with two days left in town, and looking for a new career path, she hit the streets—not to take up the oldest profession, but to explore the city neighborhood by neighborhood.

For all info visit here

Become Self Published!

Ever found yourself interested in self-publishing but had no idea where to start? Or maybe you have a book idea, but don't know whether to pitch it to a publisher, find a literary agent or publishing it yourself. Kaie Wellman, the creator of the eat.shop guides and a self-publisher, can help you answer some of these questions.

About the eat. shop guides:

the eat.shop guides focus on cities both big and obvious (nyc and paris) and small and not-so-obvious (kansas city and portland). you could say we’re an equal opportunity publisher with 24 cities in our back pocket and counting. because we believe that a guide needs to come along with you–and not languish on your coffee table looking all pretty and pristine–an eat.shop guide fits perfectly into a handbag, a glove compartment box or your empty hand. and instead of having it indiscriminently feature everything but your kitchen sink, we put our eat.shop colored glasses on and carefully choose 85 or so unique, authentic, scrumdilicious local businesses that range from eye popping and brand spankin’ new to deeply patinaed and way off the beaten path, funky and unexpected to chic and shiny.

the first eat.shop guide was published in portland, oregon in late 2003. kaie wellman, the creator of the series, was at the time an art director / graphic designer with a bad attitude. to abolish the attitude, she thought about what career change might make her happy, so she took a solo road trip to san francisco to visit the gift fair for inspiration. after spending 30 minutes at the fair, she was not inspired. so with two days left in town, and looking for a new career path, she hit the streets—not to take up the oldest profession, but to explore the city neighborhood by neighborhood.

We will be taking contributions to help pay for the space.

Please RSVP here

Grassroots Business Association Vancouver Chapter!

I am so excited! Almost one year ago, some friends and I created Grassroots Business Association. I couldn't be more honored that our first chapter outside of Seattle is starting by the amazing ladies, Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears, authors of The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business

Announced here.

Here are all the other ways to find them.
Our website: http://grassrootsbusiness.ca/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GrassrootsBiz
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vancouver-Grassroots-Business-Association/141718562578
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Grassroots-Biz/

If you are interested in starting your own chapter please contact me.

Grassroots Business Association

The Hookery

Tomorrow is our first ice cream social for Grassroots Business Association. If you like ice cream, Molly Moon's will be sponsoring this fun event. Bring your business cards, talk with fellow artists, crafters, small business folks. More info can be found here.

Links

There is an article about amigurumi and it's trends featuring yours truly. Read it here. If you get a chance, check out some of the other awesome articles up there.

There are also notes up on the class given by moxie and myself on Craft Vending A-Z here

Defining Business Success on Your Own Terms

Laura Bacon and Emira Mears authors of, The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business will be coming down to Seattle to discuss Defining Business Success on Your Own Terms. To learn more and/or to RSVP please visit here

Maker Faire HERE WE COME!

I am so excited to get out of town for a few days and go down to California for the Maker Faire. I will be sharing a booth with my birthday twin Moxie. She will mostly be over at her Felt Playground so you can go play with her and learn from the felting master. We will be at booth #60 so please come by and say hello.

I am also really excited that some other local Seattle people will be there. Including my friends from Bluebottle here in Seattle. They will be sitting right next to me selling all of the work by Matthew Porter, co-owner of Bluebottle Art Gallery. I LOVE Matthew's work. It's really fun. I think that's the best word for it. I mean who doesn't love monkeys? Andrea and I also started Grassroots Business Association with a few others and recently started up our blog all about Seattle, Monkey Around Seattle.

Our buddies over at Chikabird/randl will also be a hop and skip away from us. They make really great stuff! I feel like they are always coming up with something new and cool.

Sooo I think for this next week I will be posting a lot about the show, who's gonna be there, how excited I am and all that.

Roxycraft Mushrooms

I am in love with mushrooms. I just find them adorable. Roxycraft has new patterns up for these adorable amigurumi mushrooms. I love the different tops. There is a lot of possibilities for customizing these cuties! I am gonna get to see Tamie next weekend at The Maker Faire. I cannot wait for it. After tonight it will consume all my brain power.

Etsy 101

Want to try out Etsy but you don't know where to begin? Have an Etsy shop that is not as profitable as you would like? Want to know more about how to get involved with fellow Seattle Etsy members on Etsy Rain? Want to know about other online services that might work for you?

EtsyRAIN.com's organizer, Seattle artist Marlo Miyashiro, is presenting an introduction to online sales venues such as Etsy.com, including information on the benefits of being a member of EtsyRAIN and will lead a discussion panel with 3 local entrepreneurs who have found success through Etsy.com and other e-commerce websites. Q&A following the panel discussion. Along with Marlo, will be these Etsy sellers who have found Etsy to be a profitable venture.

Marlo of I Make Cute Stuff (imakecutestuff.etsy.com) in addition to organizing EtsyRAIN, is also a teacher, mentor, arts business consultant and full-time artist that has been making and selling her work since 1993. Her line of hand-fabricated jewelry (MarloM.com) has sold in over 200 boutiques and galleries across the country is currently featured in Sundance Catalog. In her "spare time" she makes reusable shopping bags out of repurposed fabrics and sells them on Etsy (Tote2Go.etsy.com) and online at Tote2Go.com

Jonah of Maluhia Designs (maluhia.etsy.com) creates fantastic handbags and accessories using Japanese "Kawaii-style" fabrics in her Renton, WA studio. She has numerous wholesale accounts and also runs a successful supply shop on Etsy (aworldaway.etsy.com) where she offers her cute fabrics to other crafty people.

Cory of Sweet Petula (sweetpetula.etsy.com) has a very successful Etsy shop, wholesale business as well as a "brick and mortar" location in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle. She creates luxurious bath and body products and has been a featured seller on Etsy in 2009(http://www.etsy.com/f....

Chuck of Down to the Wire Designs (downtothewiredesigns.etsy.com) has been making and selling his hand fabricated jewelry for over 12 years. He has learned how to create a successful following on Etsy and was a featured seller in 2006 (http://www.etsy.com/f.... His work can be found at La Tienda, Crackerjack and Frank & Dunya in Seattle.

EtsyRAIN.com is a regional "street team" of over 500 Puget Sound based independent artists and craft makers who own and operate shops on Etsy.com - an e-commerce site that specializes in "all things handmade".

Stay for as little or as long is you like.

RSVP here

Blogging- How and Why

If you were not able to make it out for our blogging event through Grassroots Business Association you can now get all the notes here. Hope it is useful to folks! Thanks a million times over to Mega for spearheading the event.

Lot's of talking lately

Last night, myself and Andrea were some of the speakers for The Lab event. The turnout was amazing and was really fun. We talked about how we started Grassroots Business Association and encouraged folks to join a business group of their own. We do focus on craft, art and design because that's what we do and know. There are tons of groups on Meetup so I encourage you to look there for one that might suit you OR start your own. It really has encouraged me and keeps me going. Especially in times like now. If you have any questions on how to start your own, don't hesitate to email me. Because of our group we are beginning to be invited to other events like last night. Monday we will be at Crave Shop Symposium

Blogging for Small Business

I will be teaching this class with Not Martha this Wednesday.

What is blogging? Does it really help promote my business? How much time is involved? I'm already a blogger but am looking to increase traffic? How can I get other bloggers to list my blog on their blogs or sites?

Come talk to other small business owners about blogging. Blog can be a very effective free promotional tool for your small business.

The first portion of the event will focus on discussing blogging. The remaining portion of the event is dedicated to a general meeting and chatting. Stay as little or as long as you like.

For more details visit our site

RSVP here

The Lab

I will be at this event speaking with friend and owner of Bluebottle

Velocity Art And Design is pleased to announce our latest Lab event:

Creative Business Growth: A Workshop With Local Experts

Join us on March 19th from 6-8 pm for this event at our Seattle Store
251 Yale Ave N. Seattle WA 98109 206.749.9575

Guest Experts include

Rory Martin: Rory has run web design and marketing firms for 12 years. His area of expertise is growing small business with limited resources, web design, search engine optimization, and applying social media to business models.

Tracy Schneider: Currently a writer with the Seattle P-I and principal of her own marketing firm, Tracy specializes in unconventional marketing for businesses and non-profit organizations. Tracy will be discussing how to promote oneself and one’s company through traditional and non-traditional media.

Andrea Porter and Kristen Rask: Owners of Bluebottle Gallery and Schmancy, Andrea and Kristen are collectively the Grassroots Business Association. They will be talking about the GBA, their perspective as retailers, and how to become part of a supportive network of small businesses. They will also address other relevant topics to growing a retail business.

I am really excited about the cupcakes!

Stuff.

Schmancy has a show going up this Friday. If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by.

There is a great article over on Design Sponge about selling work in hard economic times.

Don't forget, this is the LAST week to apply to this year's Plush You! show.

Megan and I will be teaching a class next Wednesday on blogging. RSVP here

Bending the media to your will: How to get free publicity for your business

Class
What do journalists look for in a publicity pitch? What makes us hit delete faster than you can say, “I’ve got a great story idea for you…” And where the heck do you find these elusive journalists anyway? Veteran freelance writer, author, and blogger Michelle Goodman offers tips on writing an irresistible media pitch and talks about tools you can use to put your business in front of hundreds of lead-hungry reporters, producers, and bloggers. For those of you not yet blogging or taking advantage of social media tools like Twitter, she’ll discuss how to position yourself as an expert online so that reporters start seeking you out.

Speaker
Michelle Goodman is a freelance writer and author of My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire and The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube, both published by Seal Press. She writes a weekly career column for ABC News and blogs about work/life balance at Nine to Thrive for the Seattle Times. Her articles and essays about alternative careers, personal finance, and human mating rituals have been published by the New York Times, CNN, Salon, BUST, Bitch, The Bark, Yahoo! HotJobs, PayScale, AOL, and many more. In her seventeen years as a full-time freelancer, she’s had the opportunity to promote computer games, marital aids, dog pajamas, home colonics, and just about anything else that can be sold. She lives in Seattle with her eighty-pound lapdog, Buddy. For more scoop on the freelance life, visit Michelle’s blog at Anti9to5Guide.com

Please RSVP here

Mentions here and there.

Here is a nice little write up over at Craft about the Plush You opening over at Double Punch Gallery Thanks again to Craft!



Gallery Hanahou has their Luv-able and Hug-able show coming up. Mochimochi Land has cute pictures up about her pieces and more on the show.



If you couldn't make it to the You Bazaar...Bazaar Bizarre is right around the corner! In the meantime, go here to see some pictures of this year's You Bazaar!



If you are in Seattle, our next Meet and Greet for Grassroots Business Association is this Thursday! Hope to see some of you there.

Grassroots Business Association

Last night was our first Meet and Greet for our new Grassroots Business Association and it was really awesome. Thank you to anyone that came. It definitely fueled my fire and made me feel like there are people out there that want to share ideas, do collaborations,etc. And most importantly it made me feel like I wasn't alone. Business is hard, especially in our current economic state. It's nice to know that I am not the only one that feels like I am not the best business woman around, or that it is really hard for a lot of folks right now and it's not just me. It really got me so excited about what this group could be for me and for other like-minded people. It was really laid back but not so "Seattle". People talked without being forced to, there were plenty of people offering their expertise. Oh man. If you are in Seattle, want to open up your own business, have one already, etc. You should come to our next Meet and Greet. More info will be up on our site soon or visit us on Facebook