Captain's Log: Interview with Marlo Miyashiro, Leader of Seattle Handmade

Hello Team!
Here we are, officially Spring and wrapping up Q1 for 2015!

SFEtsy has been super busy this first quarter and one of the really fun things we did was to host a watch party at CreativeLive Studios here in San Francisco.

We gathered together to watch our friend from Seattle, Marlo Miyashiro as she taped two courses (Etsy 101 and Etsy SEO) in CreativeLive's Seattle studio.
If you missed this meet-up, no problem, you can purchase and watch either (or both) of these classes on CreativeLive's Craft Channel.
We will be doing another meet up in April at CreativeLive, so stay tuned for more information about that very soon!

Hi Marlo! Can you share a bit about yourself?

Hello! I'm Marlo Miyashiro :) I live and work in Seattle, WA creating hand-fabricated sterling silver jewelry for my imakecutestuff.etsy.com shop. I've been in the craft retail and wholesale business for a long time (20+ years) and these days I use all of that experience to help emerging artists start and improve their creative businesses with my work at CreativeArtsConsulting.com and smallobjectphotography.com. I'm also one of the organizers of Seattle Handmade (formerly etsyRAIN) - the Seattle area Etsy team (find more about our group at SeattleHandmade.com). 

How did you become part of the maker community?

When Etsy started their teams initiative (originally called "Etsy Street Teams") I noticed a new meetup group online founded by a local craft maker here in Seattle. She had originally intended the group to be an online-only group but with a bit of persistence, I convinced her let us have our first in-person meeting. After a few more insistent emails wanting more events and meetups, she kindly asked me if I wanted to take over the group - and I quickly accepted the offer! That was in 2007 and I've been team leader / captain / organizer - and now co-organizer ever since :)

What do you find most exciting about working with Makers, Entrepreneurs and Artisans?

My favorite part about working with artists and makers has always been that moment when eyes light up and smiles draw across faces making it clear that they truly understand that their dream of creating their own business can transition from idea to reality. It's immensely gratifying to know that the things I help them with can bring them a bit closer to having a business around doing the things that they love. 

What do you find most challenging about working with Makers, Entrepreneurs and Artisans?

I think it is in the nature of creative entrepreneurs to question everything - it's what gives us our ideas and makes us who we are. With that curiosity comes a certain level of hesitation that can sometimes hold us back from finding our way toward our goals. 

There is a fine line between procrastination and patience and an even finer line between researching and learning. There's a tendency to want to have all the "for sure" answers before moving forward, but with creative endeavors that is rarely the case. As a consultant and mentor, my goal is always of provide compassionate and supportive advice rooted in the reality that growth and change can be uncomfortable especially just before the goal is reached.

Tell me about a special maker/artisian you’ve met while working on your business

One maker I truly admire is my team co-organizer, Kayce of WorldofWhimm.etsy.com and NuetoMe.etsy.com - she makes amazing stuff for kids and I'm continually in awe of her creativity! That's the thing that makes creative entrepreneurs and craft artists truly special - their insatiable need to create. Even if they aren't making their actual product, they are busy working on their company brand, updating their websites, improving their online shops, designing new products, researching new trends, keeping up with others in their field - all with one eye toward the future. 

The amount of inspiration and drive it takes to pull together a creative business is incredible. The most successful artists I know are always thinking, planning, and moving forward. It's truly impressive. 

How did you learn about SFEtsy?

I first heard about SFEtsy when etsyRAIN (now Seattle Handmade) was just getting started. There were many regional teams starting all over the place and I kept a keen eye out for the teams on the West coast. I finally met one of your former leaders, Steph Cortes at the 2011 Conference for Creative Entrepreneurs. Ever since then, I've wanted to figure out some way to connect our two teams for some mutual West Coast support :)

What is one of your primary goals for your business in 2015 and for SeattleHandmade? 

For my own business, I have some fairly large projects in the works for 2015 that I have been trying really hard to get off the ground for the past year but unfortunately things are taking much longer than I had originally anticipated. I'm not at liberty to say much more about that at the moment, but if any of my "big secret projects" come through, you can be sure I'm going to be shouting it from the rooftops! 

As for Seattle Handmade, we have a website revamp in the works that will give us an updated online forum board and betters ways to connect our members with each other. We are working on plans for some sort of Holiday Show as long as we can find a suitable venue for our show sometime soon. Needless to say, I am starting my year off with pretty much everything in the air so I'm just doing my best to keep my feet on the ground and pointed squarely at the future! 

What’s the one online tool you’ve discovered that can help makers propel their business?

The best online tool that I think all creative entrepreneurs should take advantage of is whatever social media community fits best with their business model. Whether that is Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or any number of others. Blogging fits in this category too, but only if the maker has the time and talent to create great content that fits their market. The more connections we can create for our businesses and the more diversified we can be in the way we present our work to the public, the better chance we have at weathering the storms of uncertainty that hit every small business at one point or another.

Do you have any words of wisdom to help makers in their businesses?

My best advice based on personal experience: It's fine to have big dreams and lofty goals, but nothing will ever get done without some sort of plan. Consider where you want to be in the next year, two years, five years, and maybe even all the way out to ten years. Use that creative imagination of yours to craft a plan that guides you in that direction. Revisit your plan regularly and make changes as your company grows. Get outside help and advice to make sure you are always ready for your next best thing. If making a plan feels like too much work, imagine trying to play catch-up when your business takes off because of some sort of fluke and you're not ready for it. Do yourself a huge favor right now and take some time to think about the future. It's totally worth the effort and will save you tons of stress in the future!

Thanks Marlo for sharing your knowledge and experience with our community!

Follow Marlo online:
Etsy
Instagram
Facebook

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, visit Our Team Page about joining SFEtsy!

Captain's Log: Interview with Christina Loff from CreativeLive

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

We are continuing our interview series about local people and companies that are helping the maker and handmade communities. This week I had the honor and pleasure of meeting up with former Jersey Girl, Christina Loff - marketing guru and current awesome employee of SF Based CreativeLive (We met on this rooftop!) Christina and SFEtsy have an exciting meet-up planned for next week (read about that at the end of the interview). 

We are so very lucky to have several local amazing and supportive small businesses here in the Bay Area and I continue to be impressed with how open and welcoming these companies are to our team.

Enjoy this interview and if you want to come to CreativeLive on Thursday - sign up here!

Photo credit: DearHandmadeLife 

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Christina Loff. I have an Etsy shop called Tweet Sweet that I opened in 2007 but I haven't sold on Etsy for at least 5 years. I'm more of an Etsy shopper than seller these days!

I've been doing marketing for creative companies since 2005 and quickly realized that I liked marketing makers and creative companies more than I liked having my own craft business. I currently work in the marketing department at CreativeLive which means I get to do fun things like invite SFEtsy to come hang out with us and watch our craft classes.

I have lived in SF for 17 years but grew up in Jersey. You can find me everywhere as @tweetsweet (instagram, Pinterest, Twitter).

2. How did you first get involved with makers and the handmade community?

I first got involved in this awesome community by making and selling jewelry and anything you could imagine made out of duct tape. There was no shortage of craft fairs and stores to sell handmade goods to when I started my business in SF in 2003. And I was lucky enough to have a lot of friends who showed me the ropes and introduced me to store owners.  

3. What do you find most exciting about working with makers, entrepreneurs, and artisans?

I'm endlessly inspired by the makers I get to meet. One of my favorite jobs was working on craft books when I was at Chronicle Books. I was so lucky to meet so many amazing and talented artists who I still call friends today. And it was so much fun to help get there work out into the world. 

4. What do you find most challenging about working with makers, entrepreneurs, and artisans?

The thing that has always surprised me about working with creative people is how hard it is for them to promote themselves. I also do freelance pr for makers and artists and even the most talented people I work with don't always feel confident talking about their work. The best advice I can give is to always be putting your work and yourself out there, you never know who you might meet when you're talking about what you do.

5. Tell me about a special maker/artisian you’ve met in your travels?

There are too many to pick just one! I made a lot of great friends selling at craft fairs but I was also lucky enough to work with some amazing makers while I was at Chronicle. One of my all time favorite people from that time was Julie Jackson of Subversive Cross Stitch, she had some wacky and wonderful ideas and it was great fun working with her to promote her books. Working with Lotta Jansdotter was also pretty special and getting to throw events with her in her beautiful space in Brooklyn was really fun. 

6.  How did you learn about SFEtsy?

Pretty sure the first time I found out about SFEtsy was at a craft fair where you were all selling together! 

7. What is one of your primary goals for 2015?

I do some work with SF Bazaar and we've got some fun things brewing for 2015.  

8. What’s the one online tool you’ve discovered that can help makers propel their business?

I'm still in awe at the power of Pinterest for sellers. When I worked at Hello!Lucky Pinterest was one of our biggest traffic drivers. It's all about having a pinnable site and taking beautiful photos of your products that people will want to pin. But make sure to title your photos so when they're pinned your name shows up! 

9. Do you have any words of wisdom to help makers in their businesses?

Talk about your work! Carry cards, and always have samples or photos of your work on you. Do not be afraid to tell the world what you do, even if it feels boastful. You will always be your own best publicist so be proud of what you create and don't be shy!

Photo credit: DearHandmadeLife 

Thanks again Christina for your time and showing off CreativeLive's amazing space! As promised, we are excited to announce that CreativeLive has invited SFEtsy members, friends and family to come out and enjoy a very special meet-up.  Next Thursday, March 5th, CreativeLive will be taping two Etsy classes and YOU are invited to attend either or BOTH!

Longtime Etsy team captain and organizer of Seattle Handmade, Marlo Miyashiro will be teaching from the CreativeLive Seattle studios and they will do a special live broadcast just for us! 

The first class of the day will be Marlo's Etsy 101 class that will be from 9am - 12pm. Breakfast will be served starting at 8am. We will be mingling and socializing before the class begins. Maybe you feel you are past Etsy 101, but Marlo is super smart and is a wealth of knowledge and it will be fun :) Sign up here.

The second class will begin at 12:45 - 4pm with breaks and Marlo will be teaching SEO for Etsy. You can arrive for this class at 12pm and we will have lunch and snacks (and socializing of course!). 

BONUS: If you come and attend the meet-up (either class or both) you will receive both of these classes (and all the materials) for free ($58 value) 

We have room for up to 50 people at this meet-up so I hope to see you there! RSVP here. 

If you made it to the end of this post, you are now rewarded with a cute kitten photo:

If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, visit Our Team Page about joining SFEtsy!