My craft bussiness has changed over the years many ways.As you can read in my last post how my whole craft bussiness came to be in the first place. http://jennifer-collectorofhobbies.blogspot.com/#!/2013/02/how-my-whole-bussiness-got-started.html ( here is a quick link)
I have always said from the beginning of this that my mother in law has been my biggest cheerleader! She talked me into classes and then it was her idea to start selling the things I painted because she knew I needed something to do with my extra time being home with a little one. She went with me to every craft show and was my salesman telling my story over and over to anyone who would listen (see post about Kira special birth). We both looked forward to craft show days. This was a lot of hard work for little return, but we loved it. We would shop garage sales and thrift stores for glass. I even reached the point that I had make enough money from the craft shows to buy a skid of glass that was delivered to my house. The package listed me as a business; I felt that I had arrived! I became so good at painting, that I even went to Donna Dewberry 3 day class to become a teacher in her ways on One Stroke painting. I became the fastest painter in the class and one of the youngest. I meet a lot of wonderful people those 3 days and have even stayed in touch with some of them. I keep painting at home while my daughter was taking naps and even when she was a wake. She loved to watch me paint. I started teaching classes at a local rec. center. A lot of time went into planning the classes but I learned that I enjoyed come up with designs and color combinations. I also worked at Michael’s craft store for a while but turnout was low there. I did enjoy doing demo for Fork Art in the stores showing the new paint lines that were coming out.
My father in law was always a great help as a support baby sitter to my husband who would watch my daughter on the weekends when I was gone at craft shows or teaching classes. He is the one who came up with the idea to sell my hand painted item on line and put together my website. My father in law has a wonderful business sense about him and looks at things in black and white as I see everything in rainbows! He has many wonderful strengths that have kept my little business moving forward.
In 2004 my business came to a crossroad I became pregnant with our son. I keeping teaching classes but did few craft shows due to physical stress of being pregnant (my body doesn't like it). I figured once I had my son that I would take up right where I left off. Like I said I was having a son. I soon realized that he didn't want to sit and watch me paint!
I have always said from the beginning of this that my mother in law has been my biggest cheerleader! She talked me into classes and then it was her idea to start selling the things I painted because she knew I needed something to do with my extra time being home with a little one. She went with me to every craft show and was my salesman telling my story over and over to anyone who would listen (see post about Kira special birth). We both looked forward to craft show days. This was a lot of hard work for little return, but we loved it. We would shop garage sales and thrift stores for glass. I even reached the point that I had make enough money from the craft shows to buy a skid of glass that was delivered to my house. The package listed me as a business; I felt that I had arrived! I became so good at painting, that I even went to Donna Dewberry 3 day class to become a teacher in her ways on One Stroke painting. I became the fastest painter in the class and one of the youngest. I meet a lot of wonderful people those 3 days and have even stayed in touch with some of them. I keep painting at home while my daughter was taking naps and even when she was a wake. She loved to watch me paint. I started teaching classes at a local rec. center. A lot of time went into planning the classes but I learned that I enjoyed come up with designs and color combinations. I also worked at Michael’s craft store for a while but turnout was low there. I did enjoy doing demo for Fork Art in the stores showing the new paint lines that were coming out.
My father in law was always a great help as a support baby sitter to my husband who would watch my daughter on the weekends when I was gone at craft shows or teaching classes. He is the one who came up with the idea to sell my hand painted item on line and put together my website. My father in law has a wonderful business sense about him and looks at things in black and white as I see everything in rainbows! He has many wonderful strengths that have kept my little business moving forward.
In 2004 my business came to a crossroad I became pregnant with our son. I keeping teaching classes but did few craft shows due to physical stress of being pregnant (my body doesn't like it). I figured once I had my son that I would take up right where I left off. Like I said I was having a son. I soon realized that he didn't want to sit and watch me paint!
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