Crafting the Small Business Workshops at Maker Works in Ann Arbor

Flint Handmade is sponsoring this fabulous series of workshops at Maker Works in Ann Arbor about the business side of crafting!

We hope to bring some of the panelists to Flint in 2013 for our very own series of crafty business workshops!

In the meantime, we are working to arrange a ride share from Flint to Ann Arbor.  Email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com for more information.

See the press release below for more information:

Crafting the Small Business is a 9-week series delving into the logistics (and fun!) behind owning and managing a small business that caters to the 'handmade marketplace' in southeast Michigan, the state of Michigan, the U.S. and abroad. 

The handmade marketplace is no longer an underground scene. It is an expansive network of online marketplaces, individual online stores, indie craft fairs, crafting blogs, opensource project websites, and independent Brick-and-Mortar stores. 

Crafting the Small Business aims to empower beginner and intermediate crafters by offering face-to-face time with experts from around southeast Michigan, including bloggers, sellers, instructors and consultants.

The sessions include:

• June 7 - Visioning: How do you get there from here
• June 14 - Pricing and Revenue: How to get paid and not lose money
• June 21 - Your Marketing Toolbox
• June 28 - Art of Giving Great Service
• July 5 - Pop-up Events and Shows [Featuring Flint Handmade Executive Director, Crystal Pepperdine!]
• July 12 - Lighting is everything: Photography & Styling
• July 19 - Into the online Marketplace
• July 26 - Building On: The brick and mortar store [Featuring Flint Handmade Executive Director, Crystal Pepperdine!]
• August 2 - Ethics of handmade: Taxes and Insurance

Crafting the Small Business series meets every Thursday night, starting June 7- August 2. Each event session tackles a different topic and hosts a variety of panelists and hands-on workshops.

Registration opens May 1 and will remain open throughout the entire 9-week series.

$300 for entire 9-week series.

$35-$45 per session if individually purchased.

A limited number of scholarships are available.

Register by callling 734-222-4911! We can then answer any questions that you may have!

Learn more by visiting:

The program description 

Individual session descriptions

Panelist Bios

Registration

Hope to see you there,

Thea
Membership Coordinator
membership@maker-works.com

Maker Works

3765 Plaza Dr.

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108

734.222.4911

FREE Residency at Maker Works in Ann Arbor!

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

Our friends at Maker Works in Ann Arbor have an amazing opportunity for crafters/artists from Southeast Michigan to experience a FREE residency!

 

Check out this email from Thea, Membership Coordinator at Maker Works, for more information:

"I am writing to tell you about an artist residency we are starting at Maker Works, specifically for artists living in Southeast Michigan counties around Detroit. The artist residencies allow 3 selected artists full access to Maker Works' 4 studios (Metal, Circuits, Wood & Craft) + tools + classes for free! And also includes our computers + software, project storage space, free wifi and more.

There are 3 categories in which artists can apply: Craft, Contemporary and Emerging. This allows artists who work in more traditional ways in things like woodworking to not have to compete with artists who work in performance art, video or installation. The Emerging category is specifically for artists age 25 years and younger and not enrolled in an academic institution.

For more information, click HERE.  Please pass along to anyone who may be interested in applying!"

Consider the info passed on, Thea!  :)

Southeast Michigan Crafters Meetup at Maker Works in Ann Arbor

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

Recently, I took a trip down to Ann Arbor with my friend Antonia (aka Toe) to check out a Southeast Michigan Crafters Meetup at Maker Works.

Tool Layout from Maker Works Facebook

Maker Works is "an 11,000 sq. ft. member-based studio located in Ann Arbor, MI. It features 4 areas of making: METAL, CIRCUITS, WOOD and CRAFT. It also provides hundreds of hand tools, classes, a retail store and more."

From left to right: Rae, Karen and Sarah

Karen of One Girl Circus and Rae of Made by Rae have been organizing these monthly Southeast Michigan Crafters Meetups for about a year to give crafters the opportunity to meet, network and craft together! 

The location for the Meetups often rotates, but I was glad to go to one at Maker Works, which I learned about at the 2010 Maker Faire.

 At the Meetup, Toe made a bracelet with beads she brought...then she gave the bracelet to me!  Thanks, Toe!

This lovely gal was making a fabric puppet theatre to fit in a doorway.  So cute!

 After we crafted for a while, Thea from Maker Works gave us a tour of the facility.  We started in the CIRCUITS area.

Super cute signage!

This area is located between the CIRCUITS and CRAFT area.  It's called the tool crib...what a great name!

My favorite tool at Maker Works was the Amaya 16-thread embroidery machine in the CRAFT area.  Thea said that this is one of the most powerful tools in the entire facility.  It requires a 3-hour class to learn how to use!

The very same Epilog laser cutter I saw at the 2010 Maker Faire is located in the CRAFT area.

The laser cutter makes some cool stuff!

The MakerBot 3D printer that won a blue ribbon at Maker Faire is also in the CRAFT area.  (Guess who else won a blue ribbon at the 2011 Maker Faire?)

Leah used one of the Bernina sewing machines available in the Maker Works CRAFT area.

The ShopBot CNC Router cutting out stools in the WOOD area.

Fullly operable vintage metal lathe in the METAL area.

Flint Handmade is considering organizing a field trip down to Maker Works in 2012.  Please email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you are interested!