Uncommon Craft Society of Indianapolis

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At the end of February Martha got a big group of Indy crafty types together for the first meeting of the Uncommon Craft Society of Indianapolis.  It was a rousing success – partially thanks to the ridiculously delicious Bloody Marys from Hoosier Momma – and a lot of good ideas were shared.

 

 

Last week we had our second meeting, again at the Little Green Bean Boutique (thanks Heather!).  Although the crowd was a little smaller, we were really able to talk about what everyone would like out of the group.   We even had a craft supply swap – what’s better than free stuff?

 

I loved chatting with some local business owners and crafty types.  One of the downfalls of running your business online (as I’m sure a lot of you do) is that you just don’t get a lot of in-person interaction.  Plus, I’m the mom of two kids under four, so any excuse to have conversation that doesn’t revolve around boogers or the potty makes me happy as pie.

 

If you’re close to Indy, we’d love to see you at the next meeting! You don’t have to be a business owner to join – if you’re crafty (or aspire to be crafty) you’re welcome to join us! We’re planning some great stuff coming up that you won’t want to miss.  Just like the Uncommon Craft Society on Facebook to stay up-to-date on the location and date of our next meeting!

 

A little update on the Great Tooth Debacle of 2011:  It still hurts like the dickens, and I’m still taking Ibuprofen like it’s going out of style.  The dentist warned me I’m headed for a root canal if it’s not better by Wednesday.  Cross your fingers for me, okay?

Back to work!

Tweet We took a little vacation this past weekend to Cincinnati.  It was the first trip with just the four of us, and aside from a little sleep deprivation for Graham, it really went well.  I'm sorta embarassed to admit that one the main reasons we went there for the weekend was so we could go to IKEA.  My daughter even said, "Can we stay here forever?"  She's my kind of girl!

I have made some progress on my business to-do list.  I ordered sew-in labels and business cards.  I finally finished Handmade Marketplace, and I'm pretty much convinced I'm just going to have to buy a copy.  It has so much good info in at that I can't take advantage of now, so I'd like to revisit it in the future.  I also started on some inventory - a sweet little stuffed toy that is a copy of one I made for Bridget when she was little.

About a week and a half ago I filled out an assessment form on the Indiana Small Business Development Center's website hoping for a little local help on setting up a business.  I'm disappointed to report that I just got an email telling me to sign up for a seminar.  I was expecting some sort of business counseling, but maybe I expected too much?  I'm going to search around some more for some help here in Indy.

I have two birthday parties coming up, so when I got the email that White House Custom Color had press-printed cards on sale last week, I went ahead and made birthday invitations for both little monsters.  Bridget, being a typical preschool girl, wants a princess party.  Graham has no say in the matter (well he says "Buh!" and "Dada!"), so he's getting a space-themed party.  I can't tell you how happy I always am with these cards - I use them for invitations and Christmas cards - and mama loves a discount.

On today's agenda is mailing in my application for a "Doing Business As" license and waiting impatiently for a shipment of adorable fabric!

The Name Game

Tweet I really got cracking on reading Handmade Marketplace the past few days.  One part that really threw a wrench in my plans was choosing a name for my business.

So a few years back, I made almost all of our family's Christmas gifts.  I ordered some personalized ribbon that said "made by sam" to cut up and use as labels.  Fast forward to earlier this year, when some of Bridget's ballet classmates wanted to buy handmade tutus.  I used the riboon lables for those, which led me to printing business cards that said "made by sam".  I thought it was the perfect name - simple, easy to spell and remember, blah blah blah.

Now back to the naming debacle.  I started to go through the steps recommended in the book.  I checked to see if the name has been registered in my state, checked the madebysam.com website, checked for etsy stores.  The name is available in my state, but unfortunately the website is for a guy making custom corsets and therefore has a scantily clad woman on the home page.  Also, there is already a made by s.a.m. etsy store that looks to be pretty big and pretty successful.

I realized I have to rename my business even though I have a stack of super cute business cards in multiple colors (I ordered on Moo - they are awesome and you can put a different design on every single card).  I hopped right over to thesaurus.com and started searching for words related to kids, fun, toys, modern, new... every descriptive word I could imagine.  Nothing seems right. 

In the middle of this, I needed to call Bridget into the room to pick up her toys.  We have called her Bobaloo since she was a little tiny thing, so I shout, "Bobaloo!  Come down here!" and a light goes on.  Bobaloo is a great business name!  It's a nonsense word, so chances are slim someone else is using it, plus I think it has that little kid feeling.

As you can see, I have a little bit of a turquoise and red obsession these days.

I searched around, and it seems to me like this name is pretty much available (except for a few minor hurdles).  I have now reserved a facebook page, an etsy shop (with a slightly different name), a new email address, and this blog with variations on the bobaloo! name.  I'll announce them all as I get them going.

I am also exploring local non-profits that help small businesses get started.  I'll give out the details on those in the future.

Bridget begrudgingly agreed to pose for a picture in the princess tutu over the weekend, so here it is.  I didn't realize until I saw the picture that the tulle looks a little squirrelly in the front - I'll have to even it out.  Now I'm working on a punk-rock inspired tutu with lots of black netting and a super cozy beach blanket/hooded towel combo.