SF Etsy & Rickshaw Bags Design Contest

About a month ago, Rebecca Saylor strolled into Rickshaw Bagworks to collect some heavyweight fabric scraps that they were donating to Fabmo - along with some bags they made for volunteers.

Little did she know...she would spark a partnership that could very well go down in SF Etsy history.

Meet Mark Dwight...Founder & CEO of Rickshaw Bagworks. He's also the Founder of SFMade.

He's a completely talented and creative individual who really knows what it's like to start something from a small seedling of an idea - into something really special.

Read all about Rickshaw Bags and tell me you're not already feeling inspired by these people.

He heard about us through the SF grapevine and he said to Rebecca - I want to team up with SF Etsy and wanted to see if we would like to work together on some fun projects....and Rebecca said "I'll connect you!" The excitement was in the air.

I could hear the smile in Rebecca's voice when she called to tell me about partnering with them.  Shortly after, she connected me with Mark and the three of us started to coordinate a series of partnerships with Rickshaw Bagworks for SF ETSY MEMBERS ONLY :-)!! Yay'

The First partnership starts now...

THE DESIGN CONTEST!

I personally am completely thrilled by this contest...and I just know you all will be, too. Bag makers, embroidery artists and painters/illustrators will LOVE this project.

Basic Concept:

Design the front flap of a Rickshaw Bagworks Medium Zero Messenger Bag.

Materials You Can Use (limitations on material usage):

• For Illustrators/Screenprinters/Painters - use 10 oz. weight canvas & screen printing paint. Make sure you waterproof it also just in case it gets caught in the rain when it's made into a bag
• Bag Designers - heavy-weight upholstery fabric or anything that is 10 oz. weight or more. You can do a quilting technique or use your sewing machine to patch on different pieces to the front flap...the world is your oyster. You can even add a pocket to the front also (sorry, no button though)
• For Embroidery: see above. :) You can embroider on any heavy-weight fabric 10 oz. weight or more.

NO GLITTER - NO SEQUINS - NO FEATHERS - NO EXTRA PARTS

Nothing that could get stuck in a machine when being cut or assembled. 

Bag design should lay flat and be easy to fold up... nothing too thick, sticky or messy.

If you use any of the restricted materials, your submission will be disqualified.

The Pattern:

Download and view the pattern below

http://www.katyatchison.com/messengerBag_rickshawZero_medium_SFETSYFLAP.jpg

your submission will be is 20" by 15"
Keep your main design in the safe area shown below

PLEASE DO NOT CUT IT INTO A FLAP SHAPE

(that way, if you want to make this into a bag yourself later,
you can still do that and have them cut it for you)



Rebecca Saylor's flap design and the color swatches

Designing your one-of-a-kind flap...is really fun!



Mark of Rickshaw Bags hard at work with Rebecca's flap design

Here's a photo Astra Brinkmann took of me working on my bag design

How to submit your flap design:

Send a scan or a take a photo of your bag flap to me (Katy) by September 15th.

I will create a mock-bag with your design for voting.

Make sure you send in the best quality photo to get the most votes!
ONLY ONE DESIGN PER SF ETSY MEMBER

BAG EXAMPLES:
Here are the two bags designed from the flaps that Rebecca and I made. Notice that she used a quilting/sewn technique and I used a painting technique on my flap.

You can really individualize your design to suit your artistic style.


Flap design by Rebecca Saylor using heavy-weight upholstery

Detail shot of Rebecca's Bag - all photos taken by Rickshaw Bagworks



Detail shot of Katy's finished bag



Flap design by Katy Atchison - later assembled and built by Rickshaw Bagworks



This is what the mock design will look like for voting

Voting & How You Win:

Voting will begin on September 18th and will end September 24th on our Facebook Page. The winner will be announced at a September 25th event (see below). To win: you must have the highest COMBINED total of likes and comments for your bag design.

What you win:

You get your one-of-a-kind bag made - for free 
by Rickshaw Bagworks

Valued at over $89. You'll get to completely customize the color combination of your bag by choosing the final colors for the inside, outside and piping of the bag.

Why You want to be part of this:

EXPOSURE! Every design submitted will be posted on our Facebook Page with a link to your shop. We will have blog postings about the contest. And a whole event to announce the winner, too!

Not only that - you'll get the opportunity to really show Rickshaw Bagworks what you're all about...and YOU can build this bag later yourself if you want and wear it around to show off your brand and what you're work is all about.

WINNER ANNOUNCED DURING THE

SF ETSY EVENT @ RICKSHAW BAGS

SEPTEMBER 25th @6pm
904 22nd Street – San Francisco, CA
Right next to 22nd Street Cal Train Station

During our exclusive SF Etsy Event at Rickshaw Headquarters

FREE beverages will be provided by Speakeasy Beer! YUM!

All SF Etsy members can come to this free event! If you designed a flap - please, bring it to the event to show it off to Rickshaw and so we can create a pop-up gallery for all of us to talk about and enjoy during the event. We'll be hanging them all up and admiring your work.

Plus! Added bonus for attending: Rickshaw Bagworks wants to talk to YOU about teaming up with them to create limited edition bags. You do the fun part - put your spin on the front of the bag...

and then they assemble bags to your specs! Come hang with us and Rickshaw Bags (drink a free beer!)  and see why they want to work with you - help you expand your business into the art of making bags along side Rickshaw Bagworks via small batch one-of-a-kind bags & in-store consignment opportunities.  Imagine having access to an industrial sewing machine - a team of people to assemble your work - and a whole company wanting to help you ...create something... magical!

Plus, Mark will talk all about SFMade - what it is & how to join!

Questions?

Ask me or Rebecca if you are struggling with any part of this. We want to make this a fun project for each of you! 

HUGE THANK YOU to Rebecca Saylor. This has been her vision and we are so lucky to have her on our team!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: It's Not Too Late To Save Christmas

With the recent onslaught of Holiday marketing and prep articles, some of which I'm guilty of writing, many of you may be pulling out your hair feeling you need to do it all. Right now! This very minute!

Trust me I know that feeling.

Lightbox SF is here to help. We've put together a Save Christmas Bootcamp to help you focus on one of 3 areas where we can help you make quick, significant changes.

If this is your first year doing major craft shows for the holidays we can help you put together an amazing booth display, feel confident talking to customers, and making sure your doing everything necessary to gain long term fans.

However if most of your sales come from an online shop we can help you tune up those item descriptions, get amazing product photos, and welcome customers into your best shop yet.

Maybe you're feeling you've got these two areas down pat, you've been selling at fairs and online years and you're doing just fine. But how's your publicity efforts going? When's the last time you were featured in a gift guide? Yep, we can help you with that too.

So let us help you Save Christmas! Sign up for our bootcamp by November 1st and we'll get you on your way to the best holiday season yet. After the 1st we're still willing to help, but we just may not have enough time to get it all done.

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 I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve [at] lightboxsf [dot] com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Writing a Press Release That Gets Attention - Part 2

Just in case you missed it, last week I went over the purpose of a press release and how to decide your angle. Today I want to share some tips on how to get the media to use your press release and how to begin cultivating your list of press contacts.

Getting the Media to Pay Attention

If you take only one thing away from these two articles it should be this: The idea is to make a writer or editor’s job easier. They are always looking for content that their readers will enjoy and you are actually doing them a favor by sharing your story. The key is to find an interesting angle, unique approach, or tie in to a current trend. Additionally you need to illustrate how your story will be interesting to the particular readers of that publication.

Another way to look at it is to write a simplified version of the article you’d love to see published. Include all the necessary details and quotes, refer to any supporting material or articles, and show why your story is relevant. Some blogs that only use short posts may take a paragraph or two directly from your press release and pair it with a few photos. Magazines that write longer pieces will use your press release as a jumping off point, but do their own interview and/or research to flesh it out and provide their own take.

How Do I Even Know Where To Send It?

This is the part of the process that takes the most time and some might even argue is the most important. No matter how well written and informative your press release, if you send it to the wrong person it won’t get noticed. Finding the right person is about doing research and knowing your target audience.

Start off by making a list of magazines, newspapers and blogs that you think would be interested in your story. Then begin the research. You’ll want to look at back issues to make sure they publish the type of story you want to pitch. Make note of what section seems most appropriate, hot new trends, gift guides, profiles, or a feature article. Come at it from different angles, you might be able to get a profile in the small business section of your local paper, product coverage in a national women’s magazine, and an interview in a handmade or craft centered blog.

Then you need to find out who specifically to send your email to. Look at bylines and the masthead for names of writer and editors of the right columns and sections. If you're lucky emails will be posted, but if you can only get a name that’s a start. Also look for writer's whose name you see popping up in several magazines and blogs, they are most likely freelance and will have a number of publications they are writing similar stories for.

Now you’ll most likely need to pick up the phone. This may make many of you cringe, I know it’s my least favorite part of the process. However if you keep your call brief and to the point and even practice what you’re going to say ahead of time, you’ll be surprised at how easy it can be.

If you’ve been able to find the name of the writer or editor you want contact, call the main number for the publication and tell the receptionist that you want to send a press release to so-and-so. Most likely they’ll have no problem giving you an email address. If you don’t have a name to go on give them a brief, very brief, description of your pitch and ask them who the best person would be to send it to. For example: "I sell handmade soaps and we're launching a new line. Who's the best person to send my press release to, a beauty editor perhaps?" Don’t overwhelm the receptionist with details, she wants to help you, but has other things to do.

Building on the Basics

Besides just going to publications you’re already familiar with look to your competitors and target audience for more ideas. See if your competitors have a press page on their website, who’s written about them? Or do a google search to see what comes up.

If you’re connected to your target market via Facebook and Twitter, look at what articles they share or ask them what they read. Do these publications seem like a good fit for you? Also look to your blog circle. Most blogs list links of favorites or friends, look through these to find other suitable outlets. Then do the research outlined above.

Putting together your media list is an ongoing process. You’ll constantly be finding new publications to reach out and your contacts will often change jobs, so you’ll need to update. If you set aside a few hours a month, you can always have an up to date and well targeted list.

Now get sending!

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Writing a Press Release That Gets Attention

As promised a little primer on writing a killer press release. They're really not that hard, but you can't just whip one out in 30 minutes. Well most of us can't anyway.

Press releases are often a daunting area for small business owners. Writing about yourself or your business is hard, not to mention the time it takes out of your already busy day and generally there’s little to no money available to hire someone else to do it for you. I get it, I’m guilty of neglecting press releases for myself in lieu of writing them for our paying clients. But I've see how powerful they can be time and time again, so I want to impress upon you their importance and give you a few tips to make them less scary.

The Basics

A press release should follow a basic format, be only one page in length and only be used when you have something of interest to share: an event, new product, or tie in to a current trend.

Well-written press releases will attract the attention of writers and editors. They may take your press release and turn it into a short story for their next publication or they may do a little more research and put you into a larger piece they're working on. Writers and editors always need story ideas so you're doing them a favor by giving them interesting news. The stories they then write are free advertising of the best kind. How many blog and newspaper links do you see shared on Facebook each day? I think you get the idea.

Being written about in the press also gives you credibility, broadens your audience, and reminds previous customers how wonderful you are. Plus it sparks other publications to pay attention to you. Nobody wants to miss out on talking about the hot new product, trend, business, etc. in town.

Just to give you an example of how this can work. Earlier this year I sent out a press release for a client of ours, Amy Ahlstrom. The next day I got an email from The Jealous Curator saying that she loved Amy’s work and would write about it the next day. A couple gracious sentences and a few photos was all the post contained, but that was all it took. The next day there were 4 more blogs that had posted something about Amy’s quilts. Mentions on other blogs continued for the next 3 days, 11 mentions in total and none of them except The Jealous Curator had been sent the press release.

I’m Convinced, But What Do I Say?

If your first instinct is to say, “What’s newsworthy about my business” or “Why would the press pay any attention to me?” Then you need a new perspective.

First try looking at your business from a customer’s point of view. What are you doing that benefits them? Do you solve a problem? Are you great with customer service? Does your product make people laugh or make them feel better?

Then look at your business in the larger context of current trends. Are you addressing a growing awareness or concern? Do you fit into a trend or buck a trend? Do you or your business have a connection to a country or issue that’s in the news? Or can you provide insight on a current news focus?

Be sure to think both National and Local when looking for your angle. Human interest is always a great focus, giving back to the community, helping an under served population, hosting a fundraiser, or simply beating the odds and doing something most wouldn’t.

Now Dig Deeper

After you’ve decided what the general angle or focus of the press release will be use as many details as you can to really target your message. Show that you know your audience by speaking to their needs, concerns and/or interests. My favorite analogy for this is dressing for an interview. I would guess that you would wear something very different to an interview at a bank than you would for an interview with a design start-up. Tailor (pardon the pun) your language accordingly. If you’re sending to DIY craft magazines you’ll have a different tone than if you’re sending to fine art publication or even a small business magazine.

However this doesn't mean you should fill your press release with industry jargon. Use plain language and lots of details that really speak to the readers of the publication you're sending to. Are they looking for light fluffy pieces on new products to buy or real problem solving tips to make their life easier?

I started this series by warning you that you should be sending out holiday pitches now, but be aware of the timing no matter what month you're in. Is there another holiday coming up that your news would be perfect for? Is one of your target publications doing a special issue on handmade or San Francisco? Also be aware of lead times. Blogs generally only need a few days, but giving them a few weeks with time sensitive information is a nice courtesy. On the other hand many newspapers and weeklies need 4-6 weeks lead time and national magazines can need as much as 9 months lead time. So plan ahead.

Next week I'll lay out some strategies for cultivating a list of contacts and reaching out to them. But for now start thinking about pitch angles.

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Getting Some Ink

I’m going to keep today’s post short. I’ve managed to break through my feeling unmotivated and stuck period, hurray!!! However now I’m feeling overwhelmed with the impending Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs, 200 Yards opening, and building an e-course. Hmmmmm, I wonder why?

Today I just want to wet your appetites and get your mind working. I haven’t talked much about PR, writing press releases, or reaching out to the press here and I’ve been amiss to do so. In my former life I was a publicist for restaurants, wineries, and spirits companies. It’s something I do quiet well. My husband commented last night when I showed him the latest mention for the 200 Yards opening, “I’ve never known someone who’s in the paper as often as you.” To which I replied, “It’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s the best way I know to market my business.”

That’s it in a nutshell. Getting a reporter, blogger or editor to cover your business not only spreads the word about what you’re doing, it gives you validity. People trust these sources to tell them about cool things they haven’t yet discovered. And the best part about publicity, it’s free. All it takes is a little effort and strategic thinking.

The story of the latest mention for a little context... About a month and a half ago I was reading the Chronicle when I saw an article about the Tenderloin being the new spot for hipster restaurants and coffee shops. My first reaction was, damn, I missed it. Not the Tenderloin trend, but reaching this reporter. (The upcoming 200 Yards show focuses on the Tenderloin and will open August 4^th at Café Royale.) But the writer had a voice I liked, a little snarky, and nothing about the piece was hard news, so I reached out anyway. I found his email on the Chronicle website and forwarded him my most recent press release with a personal note mentioning that I had seen his story and that we were also bringing some interesting new attention to the neighborhood. Earlier this week he gave me a call, we chatted for about 15 minutes, and a little blurb (it's the second item down) ran in the next day's paper.

I’m not going to overload you with tips, tricks and strategies right now. Instead I just want to get you thinking about the stories that could be told about your business, something newsworthy, human interest, or just play WOW! What trends have you been reading about that you fit into or even buck?

July is the month you should be reaching out to glossy magazines for holiday articles so I’m a little behind in coaching you on that, but we’ve still got time for newspapers and most importantly blogs.

Over the next few weeks I’ll lay out some lessons on getting your own publicity that will have you feeling confident enough to give it a go and savvy enough to get results. It will be fun I promise!

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!