Shopping Basket

Shopping Basket

Items: 0
Subtotal: $0.00
Note: All prices in US Dollars
Search by Keyword

Search by Keyword

Follow Us On

Follow Us On

Follow Me on Pinterest

Listing all posts with label Organize an Art Workshop or Studio. Show all posts.
  1. I have been looking for Blogs to comment on, link to, write guest articles for etc.

    What I found was this post on organization of art and craft supplies.

    http://pixiepaperarts.blogspot.com/2008/06/show-tell-sunday.html

    Hope it helps you get some ideas.

  2. My adjustable shelves are really deep (18 inches) and my craft supplies are much smaller. Even 12 x 12 paper doesn’t use the space well. One thing really made the shelves much more versatile for me – Wire Storage Cubes!

    We found wire cubes at Target. They are the organize-it brand and they measure 14 in. square. These were more expensive than the ones I bought before, but that was a long time ago.

    Wire grid for Wire Cube Storage

    Certain colors were on sale and I recommend getting more than you think you will need. The reason is because they are very versatile and you can change the configurations that you use (I’ll explain my configurations in a post tomorrow). They just look much nicer if you have all the same color (see example below) this is where having an extra set comes in handy.

    Empty Wire Storage Cube

    When you think of wire cube storage you think of big wire boxes, right?

    Well that isn’t very versatile which is why I use plastic zip ties, also known as plastic cable ties to make them into several more useful configurations.

    Get Your Wire Cube Plastic Connector Set Here.

    Plastic Zip Ties

    Purchase plastic zip ties at any home improvement store and possibly in the automotive/tool section of places like Walmart. They come in several sizes and colors although for this project I recommend the almost clear color and the smallest size. They are easy to use and inexpensive.

    Tomorrow I will post pictures of the different configurations I have created using my wire storage cubes.

    Also Read My Art and Craft Supply Storage-Wire Cubes Part 1 and My Art and Craft Supply Storage-Wire Cubes Part 2

  3. Recently I’ve been working to make my business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

    Week one I worked on catching up on left over unfinished projects from previous weeks to prepare for my 30 days of greater profitability. As usual I accomplished some of the things I intended to do, did some things I planned to do later early, and didn’t accomplish some of the plan.

    Week two I learned new things about my email marketing to keep my messages from being flagged as spam. I joined a networking site I’ve been meaning to join for months when they ran a special I couldn’t pass up. I did a client consultation which was a new service for me. I blogged about what I was doing and I did all this while keeping up with requests for information about my business.

    Week three I mailed coupons to show promoters, had a second client consultation, worked on Facebook profile and group pages. I created a profile on Fast Pitch Networking and added a few contacts there. I worked on cleaning out my email box, and signed up for a MySpace account, and I blogged about what I had done to make my business more profitable this week.

    Week 4 what I had a new member join my Linked in account and contacted her right away with other places she could get more information. I found my friend that was already on MySpace and reconnected with her. I created an email I can send to all my customers and prospects reminding them that they can follow me on my blog, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn. I still need to finish formatting it and send it to everyone. I remembered to tell a client over the phone that they could follow me all these places. I also worked on creating my profile on Fast Pitch Networking and added a few contacts there. I blogged about my experience working toward greater profitability this week.

    This last week while checking my email and cleaning out my inbox I made a horrible mistake and downloaded a malicious file. I spent the whole last week trying to back up my files so I can reformat my computer. I didn’t accomplish many of my goals except blogging about this weeks experience.

    What I learned over this 30 days is that although I didn’t always accomplish everything I set out to do by having a goal every day and working toward it I did improve my business. I am confident that my business will be more profitable in the future because of the efforts that I made this month.

    Next time I will blog about the many things you can include on your 30 day Plan to Greater Profitablility.


    Entry 4 of 6 in the series My 30 Day Plan to Greater Profitability.
    Part 1Part 2Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6


  4. Wire cubes divided vertically for craft supply storage

    Standard wire cubes divided vertically.

    We were talking about how the wire cubes are nice if the things you need to put in them are 13 x 13 but most of us need some different configurations for our storage. I used plastic zip ties to add shelves to my wire cubes.  While I was looking around the internet today I noticed that some sets of cubes come with clips to add shelves.

    Wire storage cubes for craft supplies and scrapbooking paper

    I divided my cubes into fourths, third, and even eighths by attaching a shelf to the grid on all 3 sides of it using the plastic zip ties. I also added little plastic drawers. The plastic drawers fit perfectly and add a lot of versatility to the shelves. Unfortunately I can’t remember where I got them.

    Wire cubes divided every inch for 12 x 12 paper storage.

    Also read My Art and Craft Supply Storage-Wire Cubes and My Art and Craft Supply Storage-Wire Cubes Part 2

  5. Recently I’ve been working to make my business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

    Week one I worked on catching up on left over unfinished crafts and business projects from previous weeks to prepare for my 30 days of greater profitability. As usual I accomplished some of the things I intended to do, did some things I planned to do later early, and didn’t accomplish some of the plan.

    Week two I learned new things about my email marketing to keep my messages from being flagged as spam. I joined a networking site I’ve been meaning to join for months when they ran a special I couldn’t pass up. I did a client consultation which was a new service for me. I blogged about what I was doing and I did all this while keeping up with requests for information about my business.

    Week three I mailed coupons to show promoters, had a second client consultation, worked on facebook profile and group pages. I created a profile on Fast Pitch Networking and added a few contacts there. I worked on cleaning out my email box, and signed up for a MySpace account, and I blogged about what I had done to make my business more profitable this week.

    Week 4 what I accomplished.

    • Power Pay contacted me but then never got back to me. I guess I still need to call them next week.
    • I remembered that I had a Linked in account and had a new member join there.
    • I found my friend that was already on MySpace and reconnected with her.
    • I created an email I can send to all my customers and prospects reminding them that they can follow me on my blog, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Linked in. I need to finish formatting it and send it to everyone. I remembered to tell a client over the phone that they could follow me all these places.
    • Worked on creating my profile on Fast Pitch Networking. Added a few contacts there.
    • Worked on cleaning out my overly full email box which got even fuller despite my efforts.
    • I blogged about my experience working toward greater profitability this week.

    Here is what I didn’t accomplish.

    • I still didn’t get my accounting done.
    • I didn’t call the people I just mailed free newsletters to in the last few weeks to ask them what they thought of the newsletter. It is probably too late but I will try to fit this into next week anyway. Call your prospects right away they are only interested about 7 days!
    • I didn’t create any articles to send to show promoters that will encourage them to list their shows with me.
    • Since I didn’t write the articles I also didn’t start calling my huge list of show promoters. Obviously I didn’t sign them up in my email marketing system.
    • I didn’t get the article written for my newsletter although I have some very good ideas to write about.

    I hope that this series is inspiring you to work along with me to improve your businesses profitability by doing something each day that will make your business stronger. I know that I’m a bad example but I would really suggest that you write your goals down on a calendar. This way you can truly see what you did accomplish and will remember what you didn’t get done so you can work on it in your spare time or in your next 30 day plan.

    The plan for the next 8 days:

    Day 24-Write and send a quick email to all my customers from the past asking them how their businesses are doing? Tell them how my business is doing and showing them where they can get more information from my business. Sort of bring them back to take another look at my business.

    Day 25-Write the article for my newsletter.

    Day 26-Finish writing my book.

    Day 27-Clean out my email box.

    Day 28-Do my accounting

    Day 29-Create articles to send to show promoters who haven’t listed with me yet.

    Day 30-Call show promoters and ask them if I can send them free articles.

    Day 31-Blog about my 30 days to Greater Profitability for my art and craft show business.


    Entry 4 of 6 in the series My 30 Day Plan to Greater Profitability.
    Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6


    Art and Craft Show Expert Shasta McLaughlin provides articles, hints and tips, checklists and more for artists and crafters that sell handcrafted products who want to save time looking for shows, packing for fairs, and get more sales at festivals. Now she is revealing how to collect your customers contact information, follow up with them and make more money while working less. Go to http://www.extravaganzacrafts.net to get her newsletter, The Extravaganza Craft News, that will help you avoid mistakes, save time and money when preparing your craft show booth.

  6. Recently I’ve been working to make my craft fair business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

    Well last week I worked on catching up on left over unfinished projects from previous weeks to prepare for my 30 days of greater profitability. As usual I accomplished some of the things I intended to do, did some things I planned to do later early, and didn’t accomplish some of the plan.

    Here is what I did accomplish.

    • I kept up with incoming orders and new requests for information while getting my kids ready to go back to school.
    • I published my monthly craft newsletter that I try to accomplish the last week of the month (although it won’t be due out until the next week).
    • I learned something new about my email marketing that will keep my messages from being flagged as SPAM as often.
    • I worked with a new client doing a phone consultation on building their website (this is a new service I offer).
    • I blogged about my experience working toward greater profitability this week.

    Here is what I didn’t accomplish.

    • I really didn’t get my goals written down on a calendar although I do have them planned out in my head.
    • I didn’t get my accounting done and it has been falling behind a few months now.
    • I didn’t get my office really clean (instead I worked on my daughters room and it is greatly improved).

    I hope that this series is inspiring you to work along with me to improve your businesses profitability by doing something each day that will make your business stronger. I know that I’m a bad example but I would really suggest that you write your goals down on a calendar. This way you can truly see what you did accomplish and will remember what you didn’t get done so you can work on it in your spare time or in your next 30 day plan.

    The plan for the next 7 days:

    • Day 8 -Get my coupons sent out that I mail to show promoters each month.
    • Day 9 -Call the people I just mailed free newsletters to in the last few weeks. Ask them what they thought of the newsletter and if I can sign them up for a free report and to receive further information from my company. Sign them up as prospects in my email marketing system if they say yes.
    • Day 10 -Do my accounting.
    • Day 11 -Create a few articles to send to show promoters that will encourage them to list their shows with me.
    • Day 12 -Start calling my huge list of show promoters and ask them if I can send them free articles that will help make their businesses more profitable as well as articles that will make their vendors businesses more profitable. Sign them up in my email marketing system.
    • Day 13 -Continue calling my list of show promoters and sign them up for the articles in my email marketing system.
    • Day 14 -Contact PowerPay about getting a system in place to be able to accept credit cards.
    • Day 15 -Continue getting PowerPay set up and blog about my experiences this week.

    What are you doing to increase sales in your craft fair booth?


    Entry 2 of 6 in series My 30 Day Plan to Greater Craft Show Profitability. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

  7. Plastic Storage Drawers for craft suppliesOn my wire cubes I have these little plastic drawers with the Boy Scout emblem on them. I am not sure where I got them but I have all kinds of things in them. I would take some better pictures of them except something happened and my phone camera isn’t synchronizing correctly with my computer. Hope to get that fixed soon.

    They contain roller stamps and ink for them. They also contain pop dots a.k.a. thick foam tape for scrapbooking and rubber stampers. They have boxes of paper clips I used to make angels, baskets of shells, juice can lids and scratched CDs saved for various kids art projects, corner rounders, stickers for kids projects, and so much more. I also have several of these little plastic drawers in a cupboard full of rubber stamps.

    Plastic Craft Supply Storage Drawers

    I love these little drawers on my wire cubes because two of them side by side perfectly fit the width of the cubes. You can also do as I’ve done here and use the plastic drawers as a shelf. Another option would be to stack 3 plastic drawers on one side of the cube and use the wire cube pieces to divide the rest of the cube vertically.


    Also see
    My Art and Craft Supply Storage-Wire Cubes
    My Art and Craft Supply Storage-Wire Cubes Part 1


  8. I’ve been keeping my eyes out for ideas to share with you that would help make your craft show booth more professional. One of the key factors to me has been portability, ease of set up and a clean professional look.

    I found this versatile shelving system from The Container Store and wanted to share it with you.

    The supports and shelves can be set-up in any configuration. Supports can be set up further apart or closer together, they can also be set up facing each other or facing away from each other. Shelves can be added at several heights to bring your crafts up to your customers eye level and add interest to your display.

    With extra pieces available you can add extra supports or shelves or subtract them from your set up to make your shelves fit in any size craft show booth.

    With the right hooks art could be hung from the outside of the supports as well as set on the shelves.

    A versatile shelving system that can be set up in many different layouts to create the perfect art or craft show booth display.

  9. Recently I’ve been working to make my business more profitable each and every day. Today it occurred to me that I should share with you how I plan to do that.

    • Day 1-Set a goal to do something to make my business more profitable each day for 1 month.
    • Day 2-Make a plan. Get out a calendar and write down the goal for each day until calendar contains one goal for each day. Make each goal one that can be accomplished in a time frame of 1 day to 1 week.
    • Day 3-Finish writing down goals on calendar. Breaking larger goals down into step by step goals if necessary.
    • Day 4-Clean office so I can find everything I need to accomplish goals.
    • Day 5-Do projects I’ve been putting off for the past month or so especially accounting.
    • Day 6-Finish projects I’ve been putting off for last month.
    • Day 7-Blog about my experiences this week.

    PS. This is not my office! LOL

    Entry 1 of 6 in series My 30 Day Plan to Greater Craft Show Profitability. Part 1Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6


    Art and Craft Show Expert Shasta McLaughlin provides articles, hints and tips, checklists and more for artists and crafters that sell handcrafted products who want to save time looking for shows, packing for fairs, and get more sales at festivals. Now she is revealing how to collect your customers contact information, follow up with them and make more money while working less. Go to http://www.extravaganzacrafts.com to get her newsletter, The Extravaganza Craft News, that will help you avoid mistakes, save time and money when preparing your craft show booth.

  10. Set a goal for your art or craft business, then set a reasonable amount of time to accomplish that goal in.  Working on it a little bit every day makes it nearly impossible not to accomplish it eventually.

    Goals that you might need to work on to improve your handcrafted business:

    1. Learn to know my customers and market better.
    2. Improve the customer service my customer receives.
    3. Sell more at shows-become a better salesman.
    4. Follow up more with customers-collect contact information and follow up respectfully.
    5. Improve marketing plan or pieces.
    6. Build a website.
    7. Promote my “handcrafted” website.
    8. Automate more of the sales process.
    9. Make my business paperwork including business cards, fliers, brochures, catalogs, invoices, etc. more consistent to build brand awareness.
    10. Make sure all my business paperwork has correct information on it including business name, contact name, complete mailing address, phone, website, and email.
    11. Improve my displays.
    12. Find new places to sell my arts and crafts including gift shops, galleries, specialty shops, and handcrafters boutiques, etc.
    13. Improve my online sales.
    14. Improve my offline sales.
    15. Improve my accounting techniques.
    16. Improve profits-set correct prices or cut costs.
    17. Organize my workshop, studio or store for a better customer experience and better efficiency.

    Setting a goal for your art or craft business  is like climbing a pyramid you can’t do it in one giant step.  Instead break it down into smaller steps.  Promise yourself to at least try and do one  smaller step a day.  Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t, instead try to go on the next day and celebrate the days you accomplish more than one step.

    Work on one of your business goals at a time until you get really good at doing it consistently.  When you are really good at reaching your current goal add another goal without dropping the first one.

  11. I’ve found another idea that would help make your craft show booth more professional.  The main factors to me have been portability, ease of set up and a clean professional look.

    This shelving system comes from The Container Store.

    This system folds flat for transportation and is made of hollow tube cast iron in a pewter finish.

    Available in 3 shelf, 4 shelf, 6 shelf, 4 shelf media or 6 shelf tower there are lots of possibilities for your art or craft show booth display.

    My affiliate link is below.

    3 Shelf Folding Bookcase
    Makes Portable Craft Show Set Up
    Easy and Professional

Artist  ·  About Us  ·  Promoter  ·  Products  ·  Contact Us  ·  Blog  ·  Resources  ·  Policies
Copyright © The Extravaganza Craft Productions
shasta@extravaganzacrafts.com