Get Crafty!

Thanks to all who came out to my Using Social Media talk, and today’s Accepting Credit Cards talk at the Summit!

Here’s a few links for those in Caitlin & I’s credit card talk:

• Note: To all of you whom I gave a Square device & activation code to, their CEO sent out a message to everyone – literally the day of our talk – stating that they’ve done away with the activation codes, and paused the full activation of users until their underwriting and risk agreements are signed.  But, the good news is they’ll be fully ready in the next few weeks, and you having the device in hand puts you first in line to be able to start using it! You can read their update on their website here. And be sure to sign up & check Square’s Activate page, too.
• DesignSpongeOnline: Setting up your business to accept credit cards
• CraftMBA: Covering the added costs of credit card processing

Feel free to leave a comment, or contact me directly if you have a question. You can also sign up on my getcrafty mailing list to be notified when that cool CSV > Access > Quickbooks file solution [I mentioned in today's talk] is published & ready for public use.

As for the Using Social Media talk, if you become a Hello Craft member, you’ll have access to my talk & handout! Worth the membership, regardless.

Lastly, I now have all the photos and videos posted up on Flickr. Thanks again for coming out to our talks, and SUPER awesome meeting all of you!!

I’m delighted to report I’ve been invited to speak again at this year’s Summit of Awesome!

Last year’s Summit (the first one!) was held in Washington D.C., and I led a talk, with Danielle Maveal of Etsy Success/Virtual Labs, called “What’s a Social Network and How to use it for Good.”

• Read my announcement post & 2009′s talk details here »
• Here’s the wrap-up post, with photos, too »

This year’s Summit, however, is coming to the West Coast… wooo! Just over a month away, it will be held in Portland, OR., from June 16-18th, 2010, at McMenamins Kennedy School. I am thrilled I’ll be surrounded by so many talented, like-minded crafters & speakers! Plus it’s just a few days before my birthday… fun!

The details & official descriptions on all of the talks/workshops haven’t been posted yet – however, registration is now open! This year, I am confirmed to speak twice, on the following topics:

• Accepting Credit Cards
  In this talk, I will share what I have learned through both accepting credit cards online, on my shop, as well as being a beta tester for the raved-about & in-high-demand Square, which is an adapter for mobile phones, enabling anyone to not only accept credit cards on the go, but get a swipe/imprint of the card, too! I’m really excited about this talk, as I’ll be able to bring a few of the devices with me, enabling the crafters present to sign up & get started on the spot! Read all of the posts I’ve written about my experience using Square »

Speaking of Square, it deserves to be noted that *just today* they officially launched, and it’s now open to the public! They released clients for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android devices, and are sending out their first batch of free card readers. So exciting… congrats, guys!!

UPDATE: I’ll now be speaking with my awesome friend & fabulous crafter, Caitlin of Rebound Designs! Our official course description, we just submitted today:

Mobile credit card options
Learn the ins and outs of accepting credit cards at craft shows, or anywhere! We will discuss the pros and cons of integrating credit card processing into your bookkeeping process, handling chargebacks, and more. Various mobile credit card processors will be reviewed, including PayPal, ProPay, and the new in-high-demand Square. We will even have few Square devices there, enabling Summit of Awesome crafters to sign up & get started on the spot!

The second talk I’ll be a part of is one that I’ve done a few times before, and I really enjoy:

• Using Social Media To Grow, Market and Sell Your Product or Service
  Sounds like I’ll be co-leading this with Richard Fox of DIY Lounge, too… awesome! Here’s the summary:
  “With all the social media websites and services out there, it can be daunting to pinpoint which ones are the most effective for marketing your products or services. In this call, you’ll learn what it means to develop and engage with your community both online and off, as well as the best practices for each.”

I’m really looking forward to it! I learn so much every time I’m around fellow business owners and crafters/creatives. If you are called to learn more about how you can make a living from your passion or craft, register and join us!

Ooh, and it is worth mentioning, for those of you into this type of conference, there are two other really cool ones coming up soon, too:

• The Illustration Conference, July 14-17, 2010, in LA
• Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs, August 13-15, 2010, in Seattle

I’m hoping to go to at least one of those, if not both!

Are you going to any of these? Or do you have any questions, as a small business owner or crafter, that you would love to learn more about at a conference like these? Let me know in the comments.

Rebecca & I got together over the weekend to record a little pre-SXSW audio clip about our upcoming convo! It was fun to think back on all the fantastic attendees we had last year, and all the valuable information that was shared. We’re really looking forward to this year, and hope to see you there!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Becca & me, selling WilloToons at Bazaar Bizarre Maker Faire in 2008

p.s. If you live in San Francisco, I’m speaking tomorrow night, Tues. March 2nd, at the Art Institute for Fashion Business, Inc: Using Social Media to Grow Your Fashion Business. You can also RSVP on Facebook.

I’m delighted to announce our core-convos were selected… yes! They have yet to add our presenter bios & exact location info, but if you’re attending SXSWi this March, you can click the links below and add our core-convo’s to your schedule:

• SXSW SARS + Add it!
  Friday, March 12 @ 2pm
  Core-conversation led by Jay Goldman & myself (Willo O’Brien)
  Each year at SXSW, you hear about “SXSW SARS” or “SXSW Scurvy.” Days packed with panels, movies, and concerts are exhausting and wear down your immune system. Learn some ways in which you can prepare for, and stay clear of getting sick at SXSW.
• Snappy Strategies for Selling Art & Craft Online: Part Deux  + Add it!
  Tuesday, March 16 @ 11am
  Core-conversation led by Rebecca Marshall & myself (Willo O’Brien)
  More people than ever are starting their own art/craft businesses or supplementing their income with passion projects and, as always, technology rises to meet the challenge. Even as the economy worsens, our passions strengthen! Come discuss all the online tools and creative strategies that can help you sell your work online.

As per usual, I’ll be there for both Interactive & Music. Looking forward to reuniting all my awesome friends from around the globe, and meeting new fabulous faces, too!

All of us in geeky internet/music land are already preparing for our trip to Austin in 2010 for our yearly SXSW adventure (aka BEST WEEK EVER). This year (March 2009) I was fortunate enough to have led a core-convo w/ my friend Becca (view details), and while that not only was a fabulous experience, it also got me a free pass to the Interactive portion of the conference! YES! Which is why I’d love your help getting there again.

See panels & core-convos are all about the people’s vote – which is awesome – so I’d love it if you’d take a minute to check ‘em out & cast yours! The best news is, it’s simple: all it takes is signing into your account (or quickly creating one if you don’t have one already), and giving my panels a “thumbs up”. Oh & one last thing… I’m a little late on getting this post up, so this is a time sensitive request!

Please hurry, PanelPicker voting will close on Fri, Sept. 4th,
{EXTENDED till} 11:59 CST on Monday evening, September 7th
click the links below & go vote!

Right now I’m one of the main speakers on two core-convos:

• Snappy Strategies for Selling Art & Craft Online: Part Deux
• SXSW SARS (How to Steer Clear & Stay Healthy)
  

And, in addition to those two, Crissy Herron from Indie Biz Chicks listed me as a “dream panelist” for hers – aww, so nice! – so thumb this one up too:

• Marketing Your Biz Online – Without Going Broke

It’s really important to me that women are represented on panels at SXSWi (especially given our sizable presence in the field), so I hope you’ll help the cause by voting for the panels above, and for my friends, who are some of the brightest women in tech! See this list of worthy panels led by brilliant women. Here’s a few more that should be on the list, too. Get those votin’ thumbs ready!

Thanks all & see you in Austin in March 2010!

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Related Posts (other speaking events I’ve done recently):

• Using Social Media To Grow, Market and Sell Your Fashion Line
• Speaking at the Summit of Awesome in DC

Hey all! Writing you from D.C., as I’m here to speak at the first ever Summit of Awesome in the heart of the Nation’s Capital! I just realized I posted all about it on the Church of Craft site (wherein I’m the SF CoC Coordinator), but spaced posting it here – eep! Anyway, check it:

I’m speaking on a panel: “What’s a Social Network and How to use it for Good” on Friday May 1st, 11:30am-12:30pm (with Danielle Maveal of Etsy Success/Virtual Labs and myself, Willo O’Brien of WilloToons).

Some of you may remember that last year, around this time, I attended Craft Con (view photos), and the Summit of Awesome is sort of like the Craft Con of 2009. Not officially related, but it’s all about the business side of craft… which as you all know, is what I’m all about!

Here’s the full deets on the conference:

I’m so excited to see Handmade Nation! Have any of you seen it? I missed the premiere in SF that happened about a month back.

I’m also super excited for Saturday night’s Show of Awesome mini craft fair/party. If you’re close by, please come join us!

Thanks to the talented Whit Scott, who graciously video-taped our core-convo at SXSW, Snappy Strategies for Selling Art & Crafts Online, we have a video of the entire hour!

Now, before you dive in, let me preface this by warning you it may be best to just download the video to your computer (right click & save as), instead of streaming it. Because it’s 68 minutes long, depending on your connection, you may experience lags in the streaming that make you want to throw your computer out the window, and we wouldn’t want that! :p

I know many of you weren’t able to attend and/or couldn’t get in, because it was so packed, so I hope that this video is of help! I also recently found a blog that did a writeup of our convo & summarized it well. Check it out here: Art&Seek – SXSW: Sell Your Art Online

Click To Play
or
Right click & save to Download the video to your computer
(might take awhile, but recommended)

I plan to watch it again & write down notes & links, etc, but I don’t have time today… so I thought it better to just post it up now! If you watch it and/or were there & want to leave a comment with your feedback and/or links to your shops/sites/etc, please do so!

Thanks again to all of you who were there. I’m so happy you joined us and had the opportunity to feel the supportive crafty/selling community, and join in the conversation, first hand!

Our convo was fabulous & it was because of each & every one of you who came out, added your great input, asked key questions & just in general made the entire hour so helpful to everyone who was in the room!

I’m still in Austin, staying for music, so this week is a bit crazy. But once the dust settles I am really excited to finish updating this site, add the video from the talk & so much more! If you have any other thoughts, brainstorms, questions, links – anything – please do leave a comment here, or get in touch with us directly via email. Every little comment or question helps unravel the mystery & gives me/us great ideas & info for what people are needing to hear about. They also help us make another great talk for SxSW 2010!

For those of you who signed the mailing list while you were in our convo, we’ll send you an email when it’s all up. If you weren’t able to make it & wish to be notified when there’s more here, subscribe to this site via RSS or simply sign up on our announcement list & we’ll give you a shout!

Subscribe to the Get Crafty Announcement List!

Are you on Twitter? Follow us! http://twitter.com/willotoons + http://twitter.com/beccafrog

Hello & thanks for visiting! We’re just getting started, so content will be added more & more over the next few weeks. That said, since you’re here, I’d love your help on something.

My friend Rebecca Marshall & I are leading a Core Conversation at SXSW ’09, titled “Snappy Strategies for Selling your Art & Crafts Online.” Our goal is to lead a really productive and forward thinking discussion for all participants, therefore we’d love to get a sense for what questions crafters have and/or what advice experienced e-tailers have to offer.

If you are currently selling online, or have thought of it/wanted to, but don’t know where to start – can you take a couple minutes & take this survey for us? Survey is closed for the time being… thanks to all of you who filled it out! We’ll probably post another, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to take it.

Great news: We will be video taping our SXSW session & look forward to sharing it with the entire community after we get back!

If you’re already signed up on my.SXSW, add it to your my.SXSW schedule!

Thanks for visiting & stay tuned for more!

Monday, March 16th, 2009 @ SXSW
11:30 am – 12:30 pm, Room 5B

Today, social media sites like Facebook, ecommerce sites like Etsy.com, and the endless mash up of ecommerce ingredient applications have made starting a successful business for independent artists and crafters a snap. Learn what online tools work best, how to drive traffic, successful strategies from current independents and more.

Rebecca Marshall
User Experience Professional/Jewelry Designer

Using her original photography and design plus found imagery, Rebecca Marshall creates wistful and quirky jewelry and other home adornments made out of shrink plastic (yes, shrinky dinks). As a user experience design lead in the San Francisco office of Razorfish, a leading, global digital design agency, Rebecca spends her days working with a variety of technology, media, and ecommerce clients to create a better Web. But when the sun goes down (and on weekends) she spends her time feeding her addiction to crafts, art, photography, music, books and film. Her plot to bring her passions together has resulted in her newest venture, The Catbird Nest (http://thecatbirdnest.com).

Willo O’Brien
Designer/Illustrator

WilloToons is the creative venture of well-known designer, illustrator and music lover Willo O’Brien. Based in San Francisco, she draws inspiration from the local intersection of geeks and guitars. A seasoned and professionally trained artist who has specialized in Web and Flash design throughout her career, Willo translates one’s love of internet connectivity, illustration and indie rock into unique gifts for celebrating the “geekyfantastic” rocker within all of us.From cartoons to quips, embroidery to screenprint, Willo’s designs capture her creative spin on the adjacent worlds of music and technology in the Bay Area. Whether it’s vintage swallow earrings or a whimsically embroidered infant onesie, her items showcase sophisticated design skills, a wicked sense of humor and fresh take on popular culture all packed into an affordable purchase. Willo is also proud that her line is entirely eco-conscious and sweatshop-free, supporting local small businesses as much as possible. Each and every item maintains its high-quality at a low cost to the environment, and Willo is thrilled to announce the line is transitioning into utilizing 100% organic cotton. Visit WilloToons.com for more.

The above is pulled from the description & bios on SXSW.com