Collaborating with a Craft Subscription Box
The craft subscription box model is creating new opportunities for educators and craft supply manufacturers, as startups try a direct to consumer approach.
6 Expert Tips to Calm Your Nerves So You Can Give a Stellar Presentation
No matter how long you’ve been doing public presentations you likely still get that sick feeling in your stomach just before walking on stage. Public speaking anxiety is incredibly common. Although most of us struggle with it at least to some degree, there are tried and true techniques you can teach yourself that can make a big difference in your level of ease on stage.
6 Tips for Creating an Effective PowerPoint Presentation
How often have you squinted at a PowerPoint slide trying to make out tiny print? Or zoned out on what the speaker was saying because they were simply reading from their slides? Creating an effective PowerPoint slide deck will enhance your presentation and keep your audience engaged.
Bluprint Alerts Instructors to a Year’s Worth of Unanswered Customer Questions
The video on demand crafts and lifestyle channel, Bluprint, alerted instructors yesterday to a yearlong backlog of customer questions posted to their classes. These questions were, until now, inaccessible by the instructors many of whom now have a queue of thousands.
Michaels Embraces the Gig Economy With New Community Classroom Program
In a step towards embracing the gig economy, craft chain Michaels has revamped its in-store classes turning instructors into freelancers responsible for designing, pricing, and marketing their own workshops. The new Community Classroom program, which rolled out to 1,258 Michaels stores nationwide in March, allows any creative person to pitch to teach at their local Michaels store.
Best Practices for Teaching on Skillshare
Skillshare, an online learning community for creators, offers 27,000 online classes with a focus on design and illustration, entrepreneurship, business, photo and film, writing, and crafts, among other topics.
Don’t Let Social Anxiety Disorder Hurt Your Business
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, about 15 million American adults suffer from this disorder, which can seriously and negatively affect one’s life, from social to business.
From Blog Post to Online Course: How to Monetize Your Content
What are you an expert in? Do you write a blog about your area of expertise? If you know enough about anything to write blog posts, chances are you have a fantastic start for an online course.
Michaels Launches Program Encouraging Local Makers to Teach Their Own In-Store Classes
Michaels, the Irving, Texas-based craft store chain, launched a new program last month encouraging local makers to teach craft workshops in the stores’ classrooms. Called MAKERS Nation, the program is currently being piloted in five areas: Los Angeles, Chicago, Kansas City, Northwest Florida, and Salt Lake City.
Building Connections at ‘Meet the Teacher’ Programs
Each year, quilt teachers, judges, quilt shop owners, museum staff, conference/show organizers, and guild representatives gather for regional Meet the Teachers (MTT) programs. Quilt teacher, Sarah Goer, describes MTT as “speed dating for quilt teachers and guild program chairs. It’s a great face-to-face opportunity to meet dozens of people in a short period of time.”
How to Make The Most of Your Trunk Show
Although ‘trunks’ themselves are virtually a thing of the past, ‘trunk shows’ produced from a multitude of travel bags and boxes containing all sorts of beautiful handmade items are very much a thing of the present.
A Comparison of Online Course Platforms
Online course platforms, of which there are more than three dozen, can be divided into four categories: stand-alone platforms, all-in-one platforms, marketplace platforms and WordPress plug-ins. The ones chosen for this article are those most fitting for craft entrepreneurs.
Recorded Webinar: Creating and Nurturing a Facebook Group for Your Business with Ebony Love
The landscape of social media is changing, and Facebook’s new focus on fostering relationships and community means that having a Business Page is no longer enough to get noticed and heard. Learn how you can use the power of Facebook Groups to create unforgettable experiences for a captive audience that will generate cash and build community for your shop or brand.
Recorded Webinar: Learn to Create Easy, Professional-Quality Craft Videos to Share Online
This webinar is a primer on planning a video, writing a script, shooting, and editing for your creative business by expert Joy Macdonnell.
5 Tips for Making Your Artist-In-Residence Experience a Success
Andrea Tsang Jackson was the 2017 Artist-in-Residence at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and worked for four months collecting small quilt blocks made by museum visitors. Here, Andrea discusses how to approach a project proposal for a residency program. If you’re considering applying for an artist-residence-program at a museum or arts center, these tips will be helpful to you!
6 Safety Tips to Keep in Mind When Teaching Kids’ Sewing Classes
Teaching kids to sew can be both fun and a bit scary. Can a 7-year-old be taught to use a sewing machine independently and safely? Megan Avery says yes! She runs a sewing studio in New Jersey and here she shares her top 6 safety tips to keep in mind when teaching kids to sew.
Recorded Webinar: How to Plan and Conduct Your Best Workshop Ever!
In this webinar, we’re talking about tips for planning and conducting a great craft workshop with Carole Lyles Shaw. Carole spent over 25 years as an international corporate trainer and a “trainer of trainers” before she started teaching quilting workshops. Carole will share some lessons learned about planning for success and handling challenging situations in your workshops.
Recorded Webinar: Take a Peek into Retail Life with Three Brick-and-Mortar Craft Shop Owners
Brick-and-mortar retailers are a cornerstone of the craft industry, but the retail environment is going through drastic changes right now. In this panel discussion three brick-and-mortar craft shop owners will give us an honest picture of the challenges and opportunities they’re currently facing, and how designers and suppliers fit into the retail picture.
Cruising Along: Blend Adventure & Work While Teaching Crafts on a Cruise
Who doesn’t dream about getting paid to take a vacation? Teaching your craft on a cruise ship, visiting exotic ports, and eating great food sounds like a frolic, but don’t be deceived – it’s also hard work and is not the right fit for everyone.
Ely Folk School: A Craft School Based on a Retro Philosophy, Reinvented for Today
Located in Ely, Minn., close to the Canadian border, Ely Folk School offers an eclectic mix of year-round classes to residents and visitors alike.