Business Name | Website | About | Submitted Achievements |
aftcra | http://www.aftcra.com | aftcra is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell handmade goods made by artisans in the US | Provides a marketplace for true makers to sell their wares. Active in the handmade community. Actively promotes other handmade organizations. Provides advice and resources to other handmade businesses. Encourages and supports handmade businesses. |
Caitlin Bacher | www.caitlinbacher.com | Caitlin is a social media genuis who creates profitable strategies for makers and bloggers. | Caitlin has helped hundreds of makers and shop owners over the course of the last year reach new heights by implementing her tips and tricks in the social media world. For many that means an increase in fans and followers, as well as financial gain. Plus, she's hilarious. |
Creative Hive Co. | http://www.creativehiveco.com | Effective marketing tips and strategies for makers, artists and designers. | I've benefited from Mei Pak's e-courses, CreativeLive classes, blog posts and private FB group. Her tutorials are easy to understand, immediately applicable and bring positive results. As a successful artist and maker herself (artist and founder of Tiny Hands Jewelry), Mei has extensive experience in building a handmade business from scratch and how to acquire new skills to adjust to rapid growth. She is incredibly generous with sharing what she knows, and her attentiveness and attention to detail combined with her savvy business sense, makes for quality content and support. I appreciate her honesty and sound advice from her years of experience as a handmade business owner, and the way she extensively tests out new methods before sharing them with others to ensure they will, indeed, help fellow makers. She is also extremely interactive and quick to respond to questions via emails or her FB group. |
Cyndie Spiegel | http://www.cyndiespiegel.com/ | Cyndie is a huge supporter to online business owners. She helps strategize your creative business. | Has cultivated a great community with "the collective of us" Spoke at ALT summit, venture pop, TXSC 15, and many others I'm sure. Launched an online course for creatives! She is doing great things for our people and embracing being yourself in these endeavors, and helping you find the courage to do it. She is truly inspiring. |
Danielle Spurge-Swavely / Merriweather Council | merriweathercouncil.com | Danielle teaches handmade biz owners how to kick ass. | Etsy course Shopify training Tons of free content: blog posts, etc. |
Fan Alley | http://shopfanalley.com/ | Store in CA that sells only handmade goods and local artist prints | This store started off as a dream with two friends. Eva now manages it by herself and with the success the store got a whole new makeover and reopened in the summer of 2015! The store carries only handmade products and small artist prints. Every weekend she allows one artist to showcase and sell anything they wish and get this, she doesn't even take ANY of the cut! She does this solely to support local artists. |
Leanna Lin's Wonderland | http://leannalinswonderland.com/# | Leanna Lin’s Wonderland is a gift shop and art gallery in Eagle Rock, CA. | Leanna Lin's Wonderland is a playful gift shop and art gallery featuring independent artists + designers for the young at heart based in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. Leanna Lin carefully selects brands that make you smile from art, jewelry, toys, stationery, books, decor & more. Some of her favorite brands include ban.do, Bird of Virtue, Genevieve Santos, Honey My Heart, Jetoy, Joey Chou, Momiji, Rock Scissor Paper, and tokidoki. Leanna also designs her own limited edition line of jewelry that adorns the back counter. Leanna Lin's Wonderland is also home to awesome art exhibitions curated by Hana Kim of Supahcute throughout the year, as well as events, pop-ups, and creative workshops. You can also make your own beaded jewelry in her DIY beading studio. |
Leanna Lin's Wonderland | leannalinswonderland.com | Unique curated items sourced from many local and handmade artists. | Leanna continues to open her store to the community and use it as a place to support the many artists that are carried in her store. |
Local Take | http://www.localtakesf.com | Local Take provides opportunities for independent designers and artists to gain public recognition | For over 7 years Jenn Meyer has been supporting handmade artists through her pop-up shops around San Francisco. She has always been an innovator and creative thinker and a smart business person. Local Take is about to open a second location in SF and she will continue to provide a home to artists where their fans can come and shop in person. |
Lucky Break Consulting | https://www.luckybreakconsulting.com | A business strategist that works with makers on their wholesale, pricing +branding strategies | Lela spent 2015 working makers from various industries on building their businesses to fit their dreams. She is always dispensing advice, but she also leads by example, standing firm on her mission and values. She is one of the few strategists I have seen that have truly built a million dollar business, and she is always willing to teach every single thing she knows so that others can do it, too, but without as much heartache. In 2015 she launched a new branding course that really helped makers dig deep into who they are, and not just what they look like, which felt pivotal to the maker movement. The maker world is truly better with Lela in it. |
Lula Mae | www.lulamae.com | Lula Mae is one of the best giftshops and supporter of local makers | Voted best boutique in Pasadena, carries multiple handmade lines and supports so many local makers. In addition to her regular craft classes, Owner Marci Toombs teaches Starting Your Own Business, Concept, and Brand. She takes such pride in helping makers at all phases of their business learn how to market to shops like hers and gives such great insight into the mind of a store owner. This year she was also asked to be a judge for the Jackalope Spring show. |
Market Your Creativity | http://www.marketyourcreativity.com | Lisa Jacobs is a marketing consultant for creative entrepreneurs. | Lisa Jacobs owns Energy Shop Jewelry, a spirited little spot where she sells gemstone jewelry and Feng Shui supplies. Since 2010, she's earned over six figures with her creative Etsy business. She found that she loved the business side of the Energy Shop as much as she loved making the products, so she began her consulting business which has become equally successful. |
Pep Talk Press | http://karichapin.com/ | Kari Chapin is the best-selling author of The Handmade Marketplace. | Kari Chapin revolutionized the crafting community with her best selling book: The Handmade Marketplace. Since then, she has been a big supporter of the community with her subsequent books: Grow Your Handmade Business and Make it Happen! She recently launched a line of office products to increase your productivity including The Brilliant Ideas Launch Pad. I'm looking forward to seeing the effects of her new direction: Pep Talk Press in the coming year. |
Pinspiration | www.PinspirationAZ.com | Pinterest-Inspired DIY Maker Space: Studio and Wine Bar; Where Community Meets Creativity | Our most important accomplishment is truly how much our maker clients love us. We literally get hugs daily from makers who say we've changed their life and they have an outlet for their creativity again. Pinspiration has removed barriers for makers by creating a convenient, inspiring and playful venue that appeals to young and old, male and female, experts and novices. We've developed important community partnerships with area craft businesses and opened up a Project Designer Program, whereby Makers can design and sell kits in our studio to our customers. We also have a handmade retail area where we showcase different local artists. We employ makers to teach our workshops and classes. In addition to being well received by a large community, we have enjoyed over 50 media appearances (including two national news features) and earned the "Best of the Valley" award in Phoenix,AZ (major metropolitan city) during our first year open for three categories- Best Place to Discover Your Inner Artist, Birthday Spot and Best Summer Day Camp. We are navigating the craft industry and were able to attend the CHA conference and American Made at Martha Stewart's headquarters. We have also hosted several blogger events onsite and sponsored charity fundraisers. |
Tara Swiger | taraswiger.com | Tara helps makers figure out a path to their best business | Tara has not only mastered Periscope to help raise awareness for her biz, she uses it almost daily to help makers create their best business. Plus a hundred other things. She is awesome. |
The Merriweather Council | http://www.merriweathercouncil.com | Danielle helps handmade shop owners optimize, leverage, and prosper | Over the past year, Danielle made big changes in her business so that she could focus on helping other handmade shop owners to improve theirs. Countless business owners have not only seen massive increases in sales, but Danielle also helps to give shop owners the confidence to truly be their own boss. Not only is Danielle sharing her experience and wisdom with the community, but she manages to do it while still producing products for her own shop. |