A few ideas, by Julie Mirth {spill the beans}

As most of you know by now, I am on the ballot for the position of the new team leader. Below are some of the ideas I have.........
 

Hello Handmade in Vegas, I am Julie Mirth of {spill the beans}. As many of you know I am only half of {spill the beans}, as Brandy Decker is my partner in crime. I would like to take a minute to tell you about Brandy and myself. I want to tell you about both of us, because we are a team and although my name is the one on the ballot, Brandy will be a huge part of helping me with my new role on the Handmade in Vegas team.

We have both been crafting since we were little girls. We became crafting partners when we both moved to Vegas in 2003. We created {spill the beans} in 2008 and have been active in the Las Vegas craft scene ever since. Brandy is originally from San Diego and I am originally from Seattle.

Since {spill the beans} joined the Handmade in Vegas group we have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people who share the same interests as we do. We have also been able to attend and host many great craft shows around the valley with the Handmade in Vegas team.

I think what I would like to see happen most with the HMIV team is more unity. There are many members, however only a handful of them are active within the team. I think that some small changes could have a wonderful impact on uniting the team. Thus, my first item of business would be to have family friendly meetings, as many of us have children and cannot attend a meeting where they are not welcome.

I think it would also benefit the team to elect more than just a president. I would like to have an election for vice president, secretary, and treasurer, etc. A team as large as ours should have a proper board of officers to run things and conduct business.  I know we currently have people in charge of the jurying committee, Etsy group, Facebook, etc. However many of the team members do not know whom these people are. I would like for the whole team to know who is who, so we can all be on the same page. Possibly something as simple as adding a leadership page to the website/ blog. On this page all the positions will be listed and a small post from the person holding that current position will accompany it. 

I would like to have more HMIV only shows.  Brandy and I get asked all the time about putting on handmade only events. We have tried this in the past, however we find that not all of the handmade only people are on board, thus we have to accept home based businesses, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to fill the venue. There are many great venues in the valley that could provide the perfect setting for a handmade only show; my goal is to get everyone on board so we can have more amazing shows!

I would also like to see the HMIV team have some sort of funds to support things like advertisement, banners, show venues, etc. I think it would be great if we could do small things here and there, as so not to overwhelm anyone with fundraising. One example I was thinking of is having a team garage sale. Team members bring all the craft supplies that they are no longer using and donate their items to the garage sale. This could be a great way to clean out the stuff we no longer use and earn some money for the team.  

The things I have mentioned above are just a few ideas that I think could help the team continue to grow and thrive.  

I would like to thank Sarah Flake for having a great vision and bringing it all together! Through this amazing team, Brandy and myself have met many wonderful people who share the same ideas and crafting interests as we do. I hope to help carry the great people on this team to many wonderful opportunities in the future.

Thank You,

Julie Mirth {spill the beans}

Indie Start Up!

Hi everyone - anyone who has heard of Kickstarter.com probably has developed dreams of super-charging their business.  I sure did, and just launched my first Kickstarter project.  Basically the idea is that inde artists who need  a few extra bucks can appeal to the masses and offer really cool art rewards to those who pitch in.  I've set up a ton of great kickbacks in my project and hope you'll take a minute to watch my video here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1945838666/mr-bones-plush-silkscreened-skeleton-rattle

Happy holidays!

Future New Member

Hello Members,

My name is Patty Virginia, owner of Embellish Me Patty V. I've been active in Etsy since mid September and am anxiously waiting to join the Las Vegas Etsy Team.

I am hooked on making handmade fabric flowers into pins, hair accessories, magnets and bouquets. Please take a look at my store at www.embellishmepattyv.etsy.com to see the type of flowers I make. I'm leaning toward the fabric flower bouquets and building up my inventory for spring as this will be my main feature at my shop.

Looking forward to meeting you all and thank you for the opportunity to join this group.

Patty V
Embellish Me Patty V

TEAM LEADER/PRES DUTIES

This is what we've currently got working on the team:

258 members from all over the Las Vegas metroplex
A great jurying committee who vets/adds new members
A wonderful Facebook committee managed by Kathy Wheeler
A team Etsy shop at www.handmadeinvegas.etsy.com managed by Teri
A free monthly meeting spot in NW Las Vegas(managed by Kathy Wheeler)
A team sponsorship of the Henderson ArtWalk (now Artbeat) craft event - if we wish to continue participation
A few great team craft fairs (thanks, Robi!)
A website where locals can shop all our products at the same time and come for our information (www.handmadeinvegas.com)

As team captain, I've basically been a touch point for team members with great ideas and to a make sure information is flowing correctly. I've tried to make sure everyone was on the same page, put together the online community (which now runs it's self pretty well!) and kept tabs with Etsy admin regarding team policies and ideas. I also make periodic judgement calls on gray areas and questions that come up. I think it's important that there be one person who all the ideas are being run through so the team doesn't inadvertently work against itself and we can put our maximum effort into any projects we choose to adopt.

All local inquiries that come in to our website at www.handmadeinvegas.com also come through the captain and I've been in charge of managing questions and request from the community and helping them find the right etsy seller they are looking for.

Additionally, I've been the press contact for any media outlets looking for information on our group and have worked with PR companies and done interviews regarding our team and our mission.

Etsy also contacts the team captain periodically with programs they hope teams will participate in and I spearhead that. For example, Etsy is coordinating with the local shop west elm right now to put on a holiday event and asked me to organize and coordinate locally to make the event happen.

Another part of being captain is seeing about getting team rates at big craft events and helping our members keep low vendor fees since we have such great adverting power within our ranks. Keeping in touch with the big promoters and maintaining relationships locally with key persons in the art community is beneficial to the team.

Our team has been the sponsor of the Henderson Artbeat event (www.hendersonartbeat.com). The new team captain would decide if they would like to continue this sponsorship and coordinate with the Water Street Business District for the 2012 year to find vendors and coordinate the on-site event.

There are no set rules or duties for the team captain, and anyone taking over can form the leadership as they see fit.

Team Store Sales P.S.

We have a negative on the team shop feedback because of the first example in my first post. More reason that this is so important.

Team Store Sales

We have had three sales from the team store in the last month. When I get notified of a sale, I e-mail the buyer letting them know that the shop owner will contact them. I then notify the shop owner of the sale and pay pal them the shipping. I ask the shop owner to contact the buyer to let them no when the item will be shipped and to contact me letting me know that they received my e-mail and the shipping. This is the only way I have of knowing the seller received the e-mail and is taking care of the sale. Letting the first seller know late was my fault (switched computers and forgot to put in the other two e-mail address'), however the item was still not sent out till 9 days after the seller was notified. The last two sellers have yet to let me know they rec'd the info. It is very important that I get this info - otherwise I have to make excuse after excuse to the buyer why they don't have their merchandise. This gives us a bad reputation. So, please - if I notify you that you made a sale, let me know you received it.
Thanks

VOTING INFORMATION

Patricia Martinez

‎-----------------------IMPORT

ANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ-----------------------

I have been assigned the prestigious role of Voting Coordinator for the position of Team Leader/President of Handmade In Vegas. As you know, Sarah has elected to step down and we thank her for her excellent leadership during her reign.

Each official HMIV shop/member is eligible for one vote. If you share a shop, you are eligible for one vote. If you’re not sure if you’re an official member, send me an email and I’lI check the records or submit your ballot and if you are on the list, your vote will be counted.

Please cut and paste the ballot below and send via e-mail to rockmybeads@yahoo.com. Ballots must be received by midnight Thursday, December 1, 2011. Votes received after this deadline will not be counted.

Thank you,

Pat Martinez

RockMyBeads

--- OFFICIAL BALLOT -----

Place a check (X) next to your selection.

____ Julie Mirth, Spillthebeans Etc

_____ Write In: ______________________________

__________

(Add the name of the individual that you would like to select/nominate as Team Leader/President)

Happy Holidays Everyone

This is a convo I received for the team.  Anyone interested can reply to Tami.

Tami Reiss (tamireiss) sent you a conversation on November 21, 2011. Uncovet.com Launch Uncovet the new daily style habit showcases design-centric items for the style addict. We'd love to include some of your groups items in the coming weeks. We are giving away a Leica Lux as part of our launch,your members can enter to win a here: http://bit.ly/Uncovet-Leica ... Please help spread the word. Thanks,  Tami Heather Pyle, team captain

New Member

Good Morning HMIV,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Carm Gargiulo and I am a brand new HMIV member. I am very excited to be a part of your group. My shop is the CrookedCrystal and I am yet another jewelry person. I am gearing my brand toward the "fun professional" I just hope that living in Vegas, and my target market being the "fun professional", that people don't get the wrong idea, Lol, if you get my drift. This is my very time every writing on a blog site, so I hope I am doing it right.

I was transplanted from Chicago to LV in 2006 due to my husbands job transfer. I like LV but my heart and family belong to Chicago. Here in Vegas I live up in the Centennial area with my husband Roger, our 2 Arabian horses, and wonderful boxer boy Pete- the best dog in the whole world!

I have already met many of the team members and the last NW meeting and at Tivoli this past weekend. I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you. Here is the link to my Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrookedCrystal

Etsy and West Elm: Get Paid to do Crafts!

Etsy has teamed up with the urban home furnishing store, west elm, to create a night of crafting and Etsy sellers on Dec 1st. They have asked our team to supply 3 volunteers to work the craft table in the Henderson west elm location on the evening of December 1st from 6-9pm. They have also generously provided a $200 subsidy for our team for the services we'll provide that night. I think it would be fair to divide the $200 among any volunteers.

If you would be interested in participating at the craft table at west elm that night, please contact Sarah at sarahflake@gmail.com. I'm hoping to have 3 of us there from set up until clean up, so from 5:30 to 8:30. Etsy headquarters is providing the craft. We will just need to show up and teach the craft (simple paper ornaments) to the west elm shoppers.

We will not be allowed to sell our own items at the event.

The location is The District At Green Valley Ranch
190 South Green Valley Parkway
Henderson, NV 89012

Here is more information and instructions from Etsy:



Thursday December 1st from 6-9pm:
Arrive early - You will need to arrive early to help set up the table with craft projects and supplies. West Elm is ready to provide the table and a few chairs but you should verify this with the store manager when they contact you (*note from Sarah - I met with the manager yesterday and he has a nice big table and chairs all ready for us).

Get Crafty - You and your volunteers will need to stay the duration of the event to help crafters decorate and execute their projects if they're having any trouble.

Encourage crafters to make one, share one - Each location will display a small holiday tree as a central point to make donations of ornaments and purchases towards a chosen local charity. Encourage crafters to create one ornament for donation, one for themselves or a friend, and take a project template home, if they wish. If you are curious about the charity chosen for your location, ask your store manager.

Talk to the public about your Team and Etsy - Here are some great points of reference if you have any questions from the attendees you're working with.

What is Etsy? Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplies. The Etsy community offers millions of unique items from sellers in more than 150 countries. We connect shoppers with independent creators and designers to find inspiring handmade goods, while providing artists and makers a platform on which to build their own businesses.

Tell Me About Etsy Teams! Teams are a community feature on Etsy where you can connect with other members. With Teams, you can gather at the crossroads of our marketplace and community, meet people with common interests, and collaborate. With more than 3,700 set up all over the world, teams are Etsy's direct connection to the grass-roots network of artists that make up our community. Teams range from big to small, strictly moderated to completely open, business-oriented to just for fun and location-based to focused on a single shared interest. Learn more about Etsy Teams by visiting etsy.com/teams and signing up for the weekly teams newsletter!
So, Do You Work for Etsy? Etsy is a venue where people can sell vintage and handmade goods, or supplies. These people don't work for the company, but sell their products on the site. You can find an amazing variety of items from all over the world by visiting Etsy.com but the website itself is run out of an office in Brooklyn, NY (though we now have offices in Berlin, Germany and Hudson, NY as well!).

Pass out your promo materials to interested parties.

Take photos! We want to see your crafters, some finished projects, and your team!


After the event:
Craft template extras will be left at the store to give out at the cash wrap after the event. You are welcome to keep some for the team.
Stick around and help clean up if there's a good crafty mess.
Send photo links to me!! We want to see how your event went and might like to include them in a follow up Community Stories post on the Etsy Blog.
Let us know how you used your subsidy. Photos of your promos? Great ideas for team promotions?
Take a breath and accept a huge virtual hug from me and all of the Etsy staff.

The LOT - A First Friday Venue for Team Members

The LOT is moving to a new location beginning on Dec. 2 First Friday. You know what they say "Location, location, location!!"

We'll we've got it now. The new address for the LOT is 201 E. Charleston (across the street to the east of the Arts Factory)!

Be a part of this eclectic group of crafters, artists and designers all of whom produce original handmade items in a wide variety of mediums.

Information and application procedures can be found on the Handmade in Vegas Facebook page under the Docs section. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/118037194897596/doc/283811348320179/

Would love to have lots of my fellow Handmade in Vegas team members participating in this wonderful new venue!

New team member: PupsCulture

Hi, my name is Karie Arlitz. Sewing is my Passion and I adore dogs (we have 3 rescues.) I've turned my loves into designing and creating unique and beautiful clothing and accessories for dogs and matching items for their people. My store is PupsCulture, unique handmade modern boutique fashions for pups and people. I'm looking forward to meeting the Team at the November 9th meeting!