Weekly-ish notes on navigating big change

Searching for "say no"

Why I’m giving it all away

The Starship has taken longer to come together than anything I've ever done.

I did it intentionally (got the idea in April, but waited to make it public until June) because I wanted to give it space to grow and see what it would become.

(take the name for example…it was originally a Bounce House. Which is fun, but a Starship is SO MUCH better!)

The side effect of all this extra time is that I got all kinds of feedback on it. Slowly, from people I trusted.

Most everybody said something like

This is a splendid offer, Tara. Starship! And I love the way you express the goodness on this page. Yummy-yum, my friend.

or

OMG. I love the idea of a Starship.

Insanely fabulous.

And well, that was pretty awesome.

But a few people (even my students!) said something like

Whoa! That's a lot of stuff! Are you sure you want to give access to EVERYTHING you're going to create this year?

WHY?

I never for a minute wavered (the Starship just felt SO GOOD)..but I did wonder: why am I doing this?

I've spent the last few weeks writing and thinking and talking about it: why in the world did I built a Starship?

Intense, yet fleeting

A live class is deliciously intense, focused burst of attention on your business. It's a moment of alignment between intention and action.
Everything comes together. BAM!

And I love being a part of that.

But I am not a one night stand.

I'm in it, here with you, for the long haul.

I needed our interaction, our relationship to take place in a way that reflected that.

Your passion for your craft isn't a one night stand either.

Those moments of clarity are sublime.
But your business is more than a few moments.

It's every day.
It's choosing to align your intention with your actions every day.
It's choosing movement.
It's choosing life.
It's choosing to go on an adventure…a continuing mission…a trek.

That trek, that commitment, needs the appropriate space and an every once-in-a-while class isn't the right space.

A starship is just the right size for a trek.

You have time to move in, space to stretch your legs, a holodeck to relax in (yes, we do have a holodeck), continuing missions and new flight logs to keep you focused and on track.

So that's it, that's the reason: I've putting everything I've made in the last year, every thing I WILL make in Starship because I want you to fall in love with your craftybiz and spend the rest of your life with it.
I want some of your last thoughts about your biz to be, “I have been and always will be, your friend”

 

(Ok, I just threw that last sentence in there because I am ALWAYS looking for an excuse to say that. Best movie line ever! I cry every time! )

Let’s craft your independence.

(If you're reading via email or reader, click through to see the changes!)

One year ago, I guided this site into the world.
I wrote a mini-festo, embracing my unapologetically wonky nature.

18 months ago, I began teaching classes for craftybizes.
I didn't plan on doing more than one, but as my inbox filled up with questions, I thought, there's got to be a better way to share the answers. So I taught a class and was hooked.

I was soon annoying my yarn-buying people by talking to the biz-class-buying people, so I split the craftybiz stuff from the yarn stuff.

And I had no idea what I was doing.

I had a vague feeling that I might teach more classes.
I thought we might explore some non-yarn stuff.

I didn't know I was crafting a community.
I didn't know I was leading an adventure.

In the last year, you've taught me LOTS (more on that, Friday).
And together, we built something so beautiful I can't look directly at it without going blind (from the tears).

To reflect those changes and acknowledge that we are each, together, crafting our independence, I've changed the site name and my twitter handle (yep, I'm @taraswiger now, because it's time to stop hiding behind my alter ego).

If I had a new mini-festo, for this next part of the journey, it would say this:

There isn't a right answer.
This is all a big adventure.
By engaging with the adventure, by exploring your own world, you are crafting independence.

We'll be talking more about this in the coming days, but one of the easiest way I'm shifting the focus is with the banners.

The banners will rotate, but I thought you might like to see them all at once, along with a bit about each photo (yep, I took 'em all).

This picture was taken for the Happy Hat pattern, but I love the clear trail in front of me.
Obviously I didn't take this one, Jay did.

This is Mt. Ranier, as snapped through my airplane window.
I love the feeling of possibility I always get in an airplane.

The most bittersweet of all the images, this is a picture out the front door of my former home. The one I moved into on my first day of self-employment, the one that was burglarized three times, the one I had to move out of suddenly and painfully.

Taken from the train from Seattle to Portland, I'm pretty sure this is right outside of Portland. This was the first leg of a loooong train ride all the way to San Diego…one of the most adventurous (aka: hard) trips I've taken.

This is a snippet from my journal…a letter I wrote to you. It says, “I have hope. Clean, unfettered, feathery hope. For you.”

This path curves around my favorite blueberry farm, in the mountains.

nyc skyline banner

The Manhattan skyline, as seen as I drove from Brooklyn to Queens for the Bust Craftacular last September. The day before I got up early to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge because I heard the view was gorgeous. Surprise! the fog was so thick I couldn't see my hand in front of me, let alone the skyline!
But as I drove to the show the next morning, I finally got it. The view was amazing, even if I did have to watch the stop + go traffic while clicking my phone camera. Safety first!

And that's it for memories of adventures, but it's just the beginning of a fun week.

To celebrate this site’s one year anniversary, I’m throwing a  launching brunch for the Starship.

I’m cracking champagne over the bow, I’m making pancakes in the replicator.

You can join me in the Starship (tomorrow!), but you can also celebrate with me in the comments, on Twitter, and in the SparklePointers.

Tomorrow, I'll invite you to the brunch; Thursday I’ll explain WHY I’m giving everything I made in the last year away for less than ½ priced; and  Friday (my birthday!) I’m throwing a little birthday party with an awesome gift for you.

I’m so bad…

Do you ever say that to yourself?

When you know you should be doing one thing, but instead do another?
When you know what to do to move your business forward and just don't do it?
When you feel guilty for not doing better?

In our recent Starship chat, “I'm so bad” jumped out at me.  I heard it (in some form or another) from everyone.
From hard-working, thriving mavens.
From successful, I can't fulfill demand crafters.
From just getting started, don't know where to go next adventurers.

I thought (and said): You're doing what you can. This takes time and you're on the path. You might not be there yet, but you ARE taking steps to get you there.

And then, out of town visiting my mother-in-law for her birthday this weekend, I had a seizure of panic on Sunday morning. I turned to my husband and said, “If I was only working harder, I wouldn't feel so bad about taking this weekend off. If only I got more done last week! Ugh, I just feel awful!”

Jay, wonder-hub that he is, said, “You couldn't do anymore. What you're doing is enough. And you know it. You know that longer hours and more work doesn't lead to better work or more sales. It just wears you out.”

He was convincing and I was calmed, but I got to wondering, where does this come from?

Is there some gold standard of productivity, some level of business that we're all striving for? If so, where in the heck did it come from?

More importantly,  how did it insinuate itself into my relaxed, experiment-rich, journey of a business?

I find there's a tension (for some of us) between wanting to thrive, to grow, to move AND wanting to keep a Sabbath, to respect the cycle, to grow organically.

We worry that we're not doing, being, pushing enough while also knowing we need naps, floor stretches, and novel-reading.

We embrace the tenets of self-care and rejuvination when we're tired and burnt out, but rush back to pushing and judging when we're short on cash.

Clearly, an experiment is order.

But what?

What would help YOU remember that by going slow, taking time, taking naps you are refilling the well, not shirking your duty?

Share your thoughts in the comments and we'll build an experiment together.

Laila’s crafting a community-lovin’ business

The concept of “creating community” can be tricky. I asked Laila, who is the creative genius of LaiGrai to give us her insights, because the Ravelry group for fans of her work is seriously fun place. Unlike a lot of other groups based on a shared passion for an artist's yarn (even mine), hers is filled with fun, sillyness and non-stop interaction.

Long before I knew I was going to create my own little community of craftybiz'ers (the super-awesome gathering place is coming in just! 4! weeks!), I was curious about Laila's and so I shot her these questions.

 

(because I find everything about Laila completely adorable, I'm keeping her answers in her own voice + style of writing. I know you're going to fall in love with her!)

Laila, your Ravelry group, which celebrates your handmade yarn and spinning fiber is seriously rocking.
Has it always been like this?

In short, yes and no.

Let's start from the beginning.

Businesses aren't islands- we all help each other. so from the very start, i had the aid and wonderful support of my first yarn mentor rachel-marie. rachel marie wanted to help me get my newly formed group going.

we kicked it off with a big shared knit-along … bringing in a THIRD person,  melissa of yearofthegoat, by deciding to use her “the medium is the message” tunic sweater as our knit-along pattern.

it was completely unintentional- it wasn't like, i'll do this KAL and people will flock to me- or anything. it started that rachel & i were going to work through the pattern together and people saw our photos on flickr and wanted to make it too- so we put up a thread and more and more people joined… it felt SO great!! many people came out of lurking + rachel marie brought her base + melissa helped point people our way with mentioning our KAL & my group in a magazine… so that was the start of my group becoming “active”!

next, a knit-along-er who made the sweater with us, { & who would later become one of my close yarn friends}, drucilla pettibone, suggested that i host/participate in the tour de fleece in 2009, something i had never really heard about… so just like that, we started a tour thread seeing if anyone was interested in doing this crazy thing? the tour  team was born – that is sort of how i reached my core group of fiber friends,

the first team had a full pirate theme and i custom made over 20 ravatars (avatars for Ravelry) in photoshop- everyone picked monikers like “marooned hot pants”  – it was a hilarious good time and that was the first thread that reached over 1000 posts!!

now i host a team annually, this july will be our 3rd year.

there is a lot of silliness that happens in the group and we sort of feed off each other with that- nothing is too silly for us.

as a way to pay it forward with all the help i received, i keep my group super super OPEN to any and all fiberistas looking for a place where members are already active & looking to host a KAL {maybe as a way to test a pattern, or just for fun}

last year, rachel-marie was hosting a handspun sock-along (one of the owner's of webs was participating!) and rachel was hosting a sweater-along. this year- currently dani is hosting a shawl-a-month-along

The  KALs (knitalongs) are open-ended so the most recent couple are STICKIED to the top of the board but the others are not archived so anyone can pop in & use all our past comments as helpful bits on how to get past a tricky spot that had the rest of us stumped (or  more like, just me ;)) or to revive a KAL that petered out.

it is more fun that way- no deadlines to stress over, make what you want..when you want it!!  we also have a thread dedicated to just SUGGESTING what we want to make next called “future fun-alongs”

Do you think a lot about “building community” or has it happened organically?

so yes, it has happened organically- but also because i realized that what makes me most happy about being a fiberista is the community. and that is beyond etsy, beyond ravelry even, i spend every day corresponding and emailing the friendliest (!!) knitters and spinners and chatting about fibers. i love talking about yarns and wool breeds and even just seeing what people are creating.. another thing that keeps it open and friendly is that i never force anyone to use only my fibers- b/c that's not the point.  so despite it having the most like ME-ME-ME name ever “i love lai grai” – it is really way way way way more than that! it should be called- “i love talking to like minded spinners, knitters, crocheters, who are funny and witty and just want to be able share jokes and humor and recent projects and new fiber acquisitions and of course, gab about the latest fiber club shipment, or show what just came out of your dyepots!”

i don't ever want it to feel like- THIS IS ME BEING PROMOTIONAL. b/c it was never about that- i love that it stays true to what the rav boards are… FORUMS! anyone can start a topic- i love that there are definitely ancient threads, showing my history- i love that threads can get buried and pop! back to the top after a long hiatus and i'm like, oh i totally forgot we had a “what are you watching?” tv thread! i love the IT crowd, it's great to see that my friend dani's kids do too! haha, and we are ALL true blood fans! tara- you and i discussed our love for HIMYM! 🙂  (we also have a what are you reading thread + a what are you listening to music thread!)

it's just a place to come and chat and sometimes bitch and always laugh and be super super friendly!

Most everyone you listed here, the most active community members, actually sell what you sell (as do I!)…but there's no hint of competition in your description.

sure, technically we are all in “competition” with one another, but i just DON'T see them as that- they are truly my friends.  some of us talk every day. we try to plan fun things to share together. lacey dished how she works in those awesome knitted icords, and dani shared her awesome triloom photos, and faun shows peeks at some of the awesome flea market finds she digs up (for crazy cheap too!!) and despite them having their OWN ravelry groups- i like that we are able to cross over without being like … oh gawd, stop pushing your fiber in my group (well they never do that anyway, and certainly aren't PUSHY) but still, i would LOVE if one of my customers bought from them- i support all their shops – why shouldn't my customers?

i feel like there is plenty of fiber-love to go around! the more you give, the more you receive. b/c i have their backs- they have mine & we never planned that- we just became pals and WANTED to spin-along together or knit-along together. but then, i have to step back and remember that each of these gals are ROCK STARS, i am honored that we get to be pals and i love that my ravelry group makes it even easier to connect with even more yarnies like them- b/c i am ALWAYS open to making more fiber friends! 🙂

It seems (from your explanation), that the steps to growing your community were:

1. Partner with others in the community
2. Create a space where everyone (even “competitors”) are welcome
3. encourage sillyness, inside jokes and fun!

yes!

partnering with others & embracing competitors are kinda the same! they go hand in hand.

plus, yes- silliness, inside jokes, fun are crucial. start with a core group of 5-10 participants that are really active + good friends.

reach out to include others- that means -ALONGS! spin alongs, knit alongs, hug alongs, laugh alongs! those are really the cornerstone foundations of a fun group.

try to create some base rules, but keep it loose. by not demanding that everyone only use my fiber- it made more people feel able to be included without financial pressure.
also, create some threads that are not about fiber/yarn/knitting/spinning. yes we all love those things- but what ELSE do we have in common?
a love for true blood? AWESOME!
a hankering for british comedians? yes please!
coffee addicts not-so-anonymous? yes, yes, we are all that too!

and like you always say, tara, let YOU shine through and they will come & want to hang!

 

A huge thanks to laila for giving us a look into how she's done it.

Even though she's a knitter + talked about knit-alongs, I'm certain you can adapt them to fit your own craftybiz.

What bit of community-lovin' can you apply today?
Tell us about in the comments!

 

(all images courtesy of LaiGrai.com)

In which sparkly shoes and a handknit invisibility cloak make taxes funner

Last week I had to do something really unpleasant (it had to do with taxes).

Even though I knew the worst-case-scenario was not actually all that bad, I still couldn't get over the really overwhelming sense of doomdoomdoom.
And it was manifesting in a crazy case of shaky hands and shaky voice.

I did not want to do this thing with my Minnie Mouse voice. I did not want to burst into tears.
This thing totally did not deserve tears (really, it wasn't that big a deal).

I wanted to feel calm and centered and relaxed.

So I sat in the car, outside the office with my journal and asked (and answered) some questions. Sort of like Havi's stone-skipping questions, but quick and shallow.

These questions could be applied to anything unpleasant and maybe make it slightly more fun.

Can I learn something more about what to expect, so I feel better prepared?
Can I make this any quicker?
Can I make this more fun?
Can I make this more silly?
What can I notice, right now?

My answers, for this specific unpleasantness:

Can I learn more?

Yes, I had all my paperwork ready and knew what to expect…but I still felt shaky.

Can I make this quicker?

Actually, no. I have to wait until they call my name

Can I make this more fun?

Grumpy Tara says…no.

Can I make this silly?

Only in my imagination.
What if my sparkly shoes were blindingly sparkly? What if they lit up the whole room?
What if my favorite Polymath Designs earrings were actually deflector shiels? None shall pass!
What if my handknit shawl was really an inivisiblity cloak? And the people who are stressing me out can't see my shakiness through it's stunning beauty?

My @spiralshannon earrings (which secretly double as negativity shields)
My suddenly-magical outfit.

What can I notice?

The cherry blossoms out the window. I'll take a picture of them when I'm done.

 

I'd love to know how you could use the questions (or your own!). If you're going through some unpleasantness, share your own answers in the comments.

Sabbatical 2.0

Last December I had good plan. I was going to take 2 weeks away from my “public” work and write and plot and read and refill.

I called it a sabbatical.

But then my house got broken into while I was Seattle. And we suddenly packed everything we own into a storage space and moved our little family into a very tiny, very temporary space. Oh, and there were the holidays. And travel. And no one bought anything for 3 weeks (a never-before streak that freaked me right out).

My sabbatical was more work and hassle than working.
It wasn't a rest, it was a marathon of stress.

And when it was over, I jumped right back into everything.
Big wholesale orders. Big classes. Big sales.

But as my latest class comes to an end and I start to plan the next thing, I keep pondering that sabbatical. What could it have been like?
What would that mindful stepping-back have felt like if life didn't jump in?

Can I have a do over?
Is that allowed?

A question of permission.

As the World's Best Boss (my mug says so!), what do I allow in this business (life)?

I'm allowed to

  • take short breaks
  • take long breaks
  • to keep working on the stuff I love.

I'm allowed to try this sabbatical again.
But this time, with a better container (length of time, specific experiments). I won't keep myself from the stuff I love. I will figure out what, exactly, I want the sabbatical from.

What's the stuff that I love?

  • My CraftyBiz Kitchen. Working with them one-on-one, teaching a class each week.
  • Talking, sharing, tweeting, being social.
  • Yarn: spinning, dyeing, designing.
  • Writing.

So what do I really want a break from?

Selling.

Ah!

Is that all?

Yes. The planning, organizing and all the work associated with selling. Classes, yarn, patterns, books. All of it. I just want to make make make.

Ok! We can do that!

As the World's Best Boss,

I hereby grant permission to take a sabbatical from all selling until June.

Really? Is it that easy?

Well, there may be questions, concerns (chief among them…can I really afford to stop selling?) and weirdness. There will be exploring (will I have more time? more energy?) and experimentations (what would it be like if I just made what I made and then put it up, without fanfare?).

Why June?

It seems like enough time to really take notes and experiment. 2 weeks was way too short. 2-3 months seems better. Also, June 3rd is my birthday and it's the anniversary of this site. I have ideas for celebrating.

NO selling?

Here's the thing: you can always buy this stuff if you need help in your CraftyBiz. More stuff (like a book) may even quietly join that stuff. And I'll always be adding yarn to to the yarn shop (because I can't stop myself from making it) and sending my yarn to shops and craft shows.

But what I mean is that I won't be spending time planning how to sell something. I won't be consciously selling. In fact, I'll be consciously not selling, just creating + refining. When I start to sell again, I hope to be more clear about what I do, how I help and what exactly I want to spend my time doing.

It all comes back to safety

Tomorrow, I'll talk about how not-selling is safer than selling. Yeah, weird.

Irony alert! I have 3 spots in the CraftyBiz Kitchen, the only place to get the classes  and books I make for the next 3 months. I thought I should tell you (I know a few of you have been waiting since December): You can grab a spot here and have an inside look at how this not-selling is going to work.

Craft Film Club

Do you know about the Craft Film Club Mercedes started?
It's not too late to join!

This month I'm the hostess, which means I get to pick the movies and encourage y'all to share your thoughts, creative inspirations and projects.

March's Picks:

Amelie (on Netflix, on IMDB)
Umbrellas of Cherbourg (on Netflix, on IMDB)

Ok, the French major in me has to point out that their titles are SO much more fabulous in their native French! So if it's not terribly pretentious , I'm going to refer to them by their French names.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

I first saw this gem on January 4th, 2002 as an enthusiastic sophmore French major with my adorable boyfriend (who grew up to be my husband) at a little art theater in downtown Dayton. The Neon only has 2 screens, but they have a fantastic coffee bar, wine beer and fancy popcorn and plush velvet seats.

I remember feeling delighted (and a little shocked) throughout the whole movie. Who knew movies could be this drenched in mood and color and bonhomie?

I was smitten.

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

I've only seen this movie once, on the recommendation of Jane Brockett in The Gentle Art of Domesticity. Coloful, bright and yes, a musical. Completely, delightfully bright (and parapluies is just a fun word to say). Parapluies!

Why these movies?

I picked these two movies because of their use of color to illicit mood (and because in 7 years of studying French I watched a zillion french movies and want to share a few of them with you). I also think that Amelie had to  be inspired just a little by the magically musical world of Parapluies…and maybe a bit by Catherine Deneuve's style.

I can't wait to see what crafty projects they inspire for you!

I plan on making at least a yarn inspired by each of them…what are you going to make?

 

——-

Postscript:  An update for you who have been waiting!
I'm deep in writing mode on the Guidebook for everything-I-know-about-marketing-your-handmade-goodness (yeah, I don't have a name for it yet). You can get first dibs on it (along with getting it first, you'll also get to help me write it) by signing up here.
Note: If you're in the Bake Sale Marketing class, you're getting it as part of the class.

Good Shtuff – Extraordinary Hibernation Edition

Good Shtuff is a weekly-ish look at what I’m reading and thinking about. This week, we're celebrating extraordinary hibernation.

  • It's National Hibernation Week. Havi said so.

Which makes SO much sense;  I've barely been able to come out of my blanket fort, even though I have this incredibly awesome thing to brunch.
But now that I have permission to hibernate? Everything is ease-y-er.
So go on, nap. You know you want to!

As she says,

I will speak to your brilliance, your depth, your beauty, because that’s what I see and know to be true.

Amen!

Finding our place in this space

Daily Photo 14: Unusually large selection of duct tapeWho knew the world contained this variety of duct tapes?

I've been thinking a lot about community.
And culture.
And what makes a space a space.

Havi talks (brilliantly) about culture.
And Diane has been talking about (financial) sustainability in our crafty world.

And the range of answers in her comments has me wondering: what is our online, bloggy, crafty world?

There are craft bloggers and podcasters (like Diane) that don't sell what they craft.
There are crafters who don't blog or podcast but want to sell what they craft.
And crafters who sell what they make, but don't blog or Twitter or even get online.

And then there's me.

I starting blogging (oh Diaryland!) 10 years ago (and no, you can't read what I wrote then) and have been writing something online ever since.
But it's not really humor.
It's not really tutorials.
It's not really essays on the craft world.
It's not really…anything.

Over at Blonde Chicken Boutique, I write about my yarn. How I make it, what inspires it, what to do with it.

Here, I talk about having a crafty business. What that's like, what I've learned, how you might do it.

I'm part of the community, but I'm not interacting in the same way.
And this works for me.
It's built a business and friendships and allowed me to do what I really adore (talking to other crafty business-lovers).

But is that allowed?

Several of my newest clients are brand-new to the whole online-craft-world and they're wondering if they should do it all: blog, tweet, podcast, sell their craft.

My answer is always the same: do what suits you.

If you like writing (as I do), write.
If you like photography, Flickr.
I you like getting to know strangers with similar interests, tweet.

I'm not sure where I fit into the greater craft blog world and that's ok.
It's ok if you don't know where you are either.
And it's really ok if you don't blog or tweet or sell your thing.

You are welcome here all the same.

(Remember, there are no secret handshakes.)

Finding what works for you is the first step to making sure you spend your time on doing what WORKS for you.
What brings clients.
What fulfills your needs.
What makes your business hum with fun and profit.

I'm working on a class that will answer your specific questions on using social media (blogs, twitter, etc) to sell your thing (it's not quite ready to announce yet, but you can sneak a peek here), but before I announce it, I just wanted to remember:

It's ok to be where you are. It's ok to NOT use social media.
It's ok to use it however you've been using it.

Really. You can't do it wrong.

The only thing that's wrong?

If  it isn't working for you.
If you're not getting what you want and need.
If it's wasting your time and frustrating you.

And that's what my class will be about: ignoring the shoulds and finding what works for you, in a non-icky, totally full-of-ease way.

I'm curious: what do you know works for you?

Good Shtuff: doodling, sipping and crushing

Good Shtuff is a weekly-ish look at what I’m reading and thinking about. This week, it’s all about finding the ease.

Doodling

Lynda Barry says some beautiful things about doing things by hand in this great interview.

Handwriting, for example, is a very complicated thing. It moves through time with no delete button in the same way we do.

Sipping

Marissa wrote a beautiful mini-festo about choosing sipping over domination. I am practically allergic to any form of violence, so I very much appreciated this:

I don’t want to feed an ethos of power struggle, scarcity or battling.

Not even metaphorically. Words matter.

It reminded me of a post I wrote a few years ago, when I decided instead of “crush it” I'd make my goal succulence.
Irony: that year I was featured in the NYT best-seller, Crush It. Yes.

Month of Love

I can't believe I'm already at the 4th Annual Month of Love, my yearly attempt to spin yarn inspired by couples. It's my most favorite yarn-y thing I do and the feedback is amazing.
This year it's reminding me to do more of what makes me feel like this.  Connected, creative, easy.

What are you reading and thinking about this week?

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