The Art of Crafts
The CraftBlogging community is diverse and large, covering everything from scrapbooking to knitting to other handi-crafts. They use their online communities to collaborate, to provide critiques, to engage in commerce, and simply to learn. How do you find your piece of the CraftBlogosphere? And yes, we’ll also talk crafts…our favorite solo and group projects. Leah Petersen moderates the conversation with Kathy Cano Murillo (aka Crafty Chica), Kristin Roach, Natalie Zee Drieu and Amy Sedaris.

I’m liveblogging this for Joriel, who should be here.

One of the panelists answers, “Probably marijuana” when asked what inspired her to start craftblogging.

With longer-term projects, it’s hard to blog your progress because it can take a while, and it can be frustrating for people to see slow progress. Kathy say “One idea is to put the drama that goes into your process — not everything comes out perfect, and that’s part of the fun.”

SJ asks what if you have a great craft idea and you don’t want people to “gaffle it” if you put it online? One suggestion was to make a pattern or do a tutorial for a magazine.

Kristin does a lot of recycling in her crafting. “When you create you have a lot of leftovers. I stockpile them, and my house was filling up. And I was like ‘What can I do with all this stuff?’ Waste of raw materials really bothers me, so I started coming up with ways to use all those little scraps and left overs.”

craftzine.com is a great resource — the editor is genuinely excited about finding things and sharing things with others. “It’s all about promoting the idea of MAKING. You don’t have to make it perfect, but there’s an emphasis to just make it.”

And then there’s the amazing Amy Sedaris, who while amazing, points out she’s not a blogger. “I like crafts where you can just look at things and figure out how it’s done.” When asked if there’s a photoset of the googly eye art projects on Flickr, Amy says “On what? Oh, it’s a computer thing? Oh yes: on Flickr, on Flickr.”

Craft blogging is about community AND a sense of accountability. Blogs force you to finish, the give you a sense of responsibility to your readership to finish.

What about stealing/borrowing? What about when you come up with a really cool idea and then a couple weeks later and see someone selling your stuff on Etsy.

Pricing your stuff is really challenging. What’s the line between crafting and art? Is it just price? “I want to stitching,” Amy says. “Or a depressing personality that goes with it.”

Kathy says, “You charge for your talent, not for the materials. Also, where are you selling? That matters.

Another technique: $15/hr, plus cost of materials, how many did you make, divide by how long it took, take that number, and DOUBLE IT.

When describing your product, go into detail about your materials. It shows the value.

If you make your stuff too cheap, you’re not being sustainable. If you don’t price high enough or take all things into account, you can’t keep it up.

Where are you coming from? The emotional satisfaction and making stuff for your friends? That’s really rewarding on a certain level, so maybe you’re not trying to make a buck.

How, when selling online, do you give people the tangibility factor? A compelling story can go a long way. Seeing the process of how something being made can help. “In two weeks I’ll have something on the store” — the suspense of the craft narrative can really help sell something.

So, let’s talk about the copying thing. What’s business vs. inspiration? Does the money toxify it?I brought up Joriel’s picture and the discussion about an homage vs. copying. Amy Sedaris comments that that’s a way to cover your ass. Someone else notes, how does Creative Commons come into this?

Andrea and superherodesigns is a great example of buying a piece of the crafter in the craft. It’s not just a necklace, it’s Andrea. “It’s beautiful stories but also HER. Andrea will take a moment to herself to bless your necklace.”

Custom work has more value. It’s sentimental and has a special value.

Side note: GAWD Amy Sedaris is funny. Everything she touches turns to funny.