CSA: Community Supported Art!
February 27, 2013
We are so excited here at HandMade about this new business incubator program, and apparently, so is the Mountain Xpress! Click HERE to see the write-up online…
Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy seasonal food directly from local farms. With that buy-local spirit in mind, Community Supported Art is a similar endeavor to support regional craft artists and collectors.
We are seeking craft artists to launch our inaugural Community Support Art (CSA) program. Our local CSA program is modeled after the Community Supported Art project created by Springboard for the Arts and mnartists.org in Minnesota, where it continues successfully season after season.
Join us in becoming the first Community Supported Art program in North Carolina!
Vist our homepage HERE
Seats Still Available for Friday Salon Series
February 20, 2013
An e-mail came our way today from RiverLink that I wanted to share with you because it sounds like a really great opportunity for education, networking, and community! Some of you may be wondering how this is relevant to you being that we mainly provide resources specific to craft artists and economic development that stems directly from a strong craft economy, but there is a common thread. In fact, there are enough threads to make a blanket.
During the series, conversations will include information about the environment, politics, and environmental legacies; all of this is important to craft artists and artisans. For all you fiber people out there, what would happen if the environment became inhospitable to the plants you use for natural dye, or the grass became inedible to the sheep you use for sheering to spin your own yarn? Painters, if you use natural pigments, you also have a stake in the condition of the environment. So many of the changes we need to preserve our beautiful mountains and bodies of water, and to protect our wildlife, are implemented through policy that is decided by local and federal government. It’s important to engage at a local level to get to know the representatives who will be making the decisions that affect your lives, your businesses, and your craft.
You never know who might be listening, so please consider joining Riverlink for their Friday Salon Series, to be a part of an important conversation.
Here’s their Press Release…
Seats are going quickly, but there is still time to sign up for first Friday Salon of 2013.
RiverLink is pleased to present the first of a stimulating five-part seminar series by Dr. Frank Kalinowski from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday, February 22. This first seminar, taking place at the RiverLink offices, is titled “A Practical Solution to the Environmental Crisis: The Scope and Range of Environmental Politics.” The purpose of these interactive lectures is to explore a deeper understanding of environmental issues and to attempt the placement of these issues in a larger social, political and historic context.
Kalinowski is a retired and popular professor from Warren Wilson College and the author of numerous articles and treatises that are thought provoking and informative about the complex world in which we live today.
The dates for Salon Series are February 22, March 22, April 26 and May 31.
Future dates and topics include:
- March 22, “The Constitution and the Environment”
- April 26, “Political Vision and the American Founding: The Tensions Between Logic and History”
- May 31, “Two Dreams and a Nightmare: The Environmental Legacies of Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.”
This series is free and open to the public but reservations are a must, email jess@riverlink.org to reserve a spot.
RiverLink is a regional non-profit working to revitalize the French Broad River as a place for everyone to live, work and play. The RiverLink office, the site for this series, is at 170 Lyman Street in the River Arts District of Asheville.
Located in Asheville’s River Arts District, RiverLink is a regional organization spearheading the economic and environmental revitalization of the French Broad River watershed as a destination where everyone can work, live and play.
For more information about how you can get involved, see our Web site: www.riverlink.org, or contact us at information@riverlink.org or by phone at 252-8474.
Asheville AWE Meeting March 6th
February 14, 2013
Come join AWE in welcoming Richard Handy to the next Asheville AWE Meeting. Richard is an actor, dancer, director, teacher & choreographer for The New York Studio for Stage & Screen in Asheville. He has studied theatre & dance in both England & Atlanta, GA. Richard has also studied at the Actors Movement Studio in NYC and has been teaching passionately for over 15 years!
He is going to be telling his story & helping you to write yours. Come learn from a professional how to tell your story!
Please bring a piece of work with you.
Meeting is from 6-8pm
See you there!
Survival Marketing Workshop
February 11, 2013
To be covered:
* Utilize positioning to develop an elevator speech for your business.
* Develop marketing strategies that make you unique from your competition.
* Apply the Four-mula 4 Success and develop an action plan to use it.
* Know how to best utilize the YOMBER Principle in dealing with customers.
* Evaluate what media to use, including social media.
(Applicable to those in business . . . thinking of starting a business . . . or who just want to market themselves; e.g., for going for a new job, helping a non-profit organization, etc.)
Location: ABTech campus in Enka
Cost is just $30 and you can save $5 by pre-registering. For more information or to register, please click: http://ashevillescore.org/score-seminars/score-seminars-survival-marketing/
SPECIAL BONUS FOR THOSE ATTENDING:
You’ll have a chance to win $500!
John C. Campbell
February 8, 2013
This year, WNC’s American Craft Week celebrations are going to be huge. Many organizations and galleries throughout Western North Carolina and all across the state are committed to honoring craft by participating in this October celebration, and we have already started planning! A few of us WNC organizations got together for a first 2013 meeting and field trip with Sherry Master’s guidance. She even organized a van to drive us all out to John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown! We went out on Wednesday and had such a wonderful time. We went on a nature walk across the grounds to visit artist studios and ate lunch in the beautiful dining hall where we were able to begin strategic planning for ACW.
Take a look at the photos from that day…
Letterpress Community
February 7, 2013
Interested in learning more about the Letterpress community here in WNC? Check out the most recent articles by Ryan-Ashley on The Asheville Post…
Free Workshop!! “Shedding Light on the Business of Art: An Intensive One-Day Workshop on Business Basics for the Artists of the Watershed”
February 4, 2013
Phil Mechanic Studios and Flood Gallery & Fine Arts Center, in association with RiverLink, Self-Help Credit Union (SHCU) and the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), are pleased to present: “Shedding Light on the Business of Art: An Intensive One-Day Workshop on Business Basics for the Artists of the Watershed”
On Wednesday, February 13th, from 9:00am until 4:30pm, Phil Mechanic Studios will open their doors for a one-day-only, free seminar (with lunch included) that will engage you in topics such as:
- Improving Your Credit Score
- Licensing, Registration with the State, and Legal Considerations
- Obtaining Funding
- Developing a Business Plan
- Growth Strategies
- Marketing, Pricing, Preparing a Professional Portfolio, and the Appropriate Use of Social Media
Each topic will be discussed by a group of experts in the field and then opened up for questions from the audience. In addition to members of the four sponsor organizations, panelists will include, among others, representatives from AB Tech’s Small Business Center, Asheville Grown, the City of Asheville, Eagle Market Street Development, Handmade in America, Mountain BizWorks, the Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF), OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling, SCORE, the Small Business Administration (SBA), The Support Center, Venture Asheville and from the consulting firm, Who Knows Art.
Two special sessions will round out the day: one that will present two artists in front of a select group of experts and give them the opportunity to present issues/problems/needs facing their business and receive feedback and a second that will wrap up the day with “success stories” that will inspire and empower you. Participating artists include Sean Pace, Melissa Terrezza, and Jeremy Russell.
This one-day event is FREE and open to all artists in the Watershed, but registration is required in order to assure seating and lunch. Register today by calling 828.252.8474 ext. 10.
SBA Launches Affordable Care Act Web Page & Blog
January 30, 2013
SBA Launches Affordable Care Act Web Page & Blog
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today launched a new web page and blog dedicated to educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act. The new tools will serve as a gateway for small business owners connecting them with information provided by SBA’s federal partners responsible for implementing the law, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“The Affordable Care Act provides small business owners with access and opportunity to provide affordable health care options for their employees,” said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. “SBA’s new Affordable Care Act web page and blog will serve as a resource for small business owners who want learn more about how to take advantage of these benefits.”
The Affordable Care Act has many beneficial measures specifically for small businesses; including slowing premium cost growth and increased access to quality, affordable health insurance. SBA’s new web page, www.sba.gov/healthcare, breaks down the key provisions of the Act based on business size in the following categories: self-employed, fewer than 25 employees, fewer than 50 employees and more than 50 employees.
The web page also provides links to other useful information for small businesses, including a glossary of key health care reform terms, an interactive timeline with dates for when certain reforms will be implemented, a state-by-state breakdown of health care options, and how to learn more about specific tax provisions and regulations. Additional resources will be added as they become available.
The blog, entitled Health Care Business Pulse (www.sba.gov/blog), will provide small business owners with continuous updates about the implementation of the Act. The blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. Readers should consult their legal or tax professionals to discuss how specific matters relate to their individual business circumstances.
Textile Study Group w/ Ismini Samanidou
January 28, 2013
If you haven’t attended a Textile Study Group at HandMade in America, they happen on the third Wednesday of every month. On January 16, the group had an amazing turnout. The room was so packed that we had to borrow chairs from people’s offices! Ismini Saminidou, a wildly accomplished textile artist and designer, gave a lecture at the last meeting and presented on the exhibition she currently has up at The Center for Craft Creativity & Design. The exhibition is called Topography: recording place–mapping surface. In her Artist’s Statement, Ismini says, “I am particularly interested in the construction methods of woven fabrics, and the way that textiles can exist within a space. Narrative is a strong element in the work and often the weaving relates to a particular place, becoming a site-specific piece. The collaborative works extend my practice through conversations about materials and processes.”
The lecture was as inspiring as it was informational and I can’t wait to go see the works in person in Hendersonville. We were able to get the lecture on video, and it will be posted on the Members-only page soon. Stay posted for news about when it goes up!
To learn more about Ismini, you can visit her website HERE
To learn more about the Textile Study Group at HandMade in America the 3rd Wednesday of every month, visit the LOCAL CLOTH Facebook page…
See you at The Center for Creativity, Craft and Design…
Forum Discussion Topics!
January 23, 2013
We are so excited about the new Forum discussion topics on our Members Only site! If you’re not a member, and would like to benefit from these discussion forums, you can join for the entire year for just $25 HERE
Members, take a look at the topics listed below, and join in if you fancy. Don’t see something that interests you? Why not start your own discussion forum? Help us help you and let us know what you’d like to see discussed by filling out the form at the bottom of the page.
The discussions we have so far include:
>WHERE ARE YOU SELLING? Let other members know where you are going to be selling or showing your work. We’d love to hear what you are doing and come out to support!
>COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES. Interested in working with other artists on a large project? Here’s a great place to put it out there!
>SUGGEST/DISCUSS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS HERE. If anybody has experience working with local professional photographers to photograph yourself and/or your wares, please suggest them here, detailing their areas of expertise, contact information, website, general location, level of satisfaction from 1-5, and price range if applicable.
>SKILL SHARE OPPORTUNITY. This is a great place to talk about what kinds of skills you have to share or teach, and to also write about what you’d like to learn…
>COOL CLASSES & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. This is a great place to put anything from conferences, to craft and skill workshops, to business classes. Share your experiences!
>FEEDBACK ABOUT CRAFT FAIRS. This is a great place to talk about your experience with local and regional arts/crafts fairs. Be sure to include your medium, whether you think it was a good fit or not for that particular show, price of submission, price if accepted, whether it’s a fine art show or more diy craft oriented, etc.
>WHOLESALE VS. CONSIGNMENT. Where and how are your showcasing your work regionally? Do you have your work in local galleries, boutiques, or shops? Who in WNC offers wholesale opportunities and who offers consignment? Where do you consign and what are percentages like? Where does your work sell the best?
>SERVICE BARTER OPPORTUNITIES. Are you a photographer who hates balancing your books? Are you great with numbers but hate taking photos of your work? Why not barter services? This is a great place to list services you have to offer. When somebody sees something you’ve got that they want, they can contact you with their barter ‘offer’! Please include contact info. so people can get in touch with you.
Connected 