Handmade Healing: 6 Ideas for Health and Wellness
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Did you know that quartz is known as a healing stone or that dandelion leaves are incredibly nutritious? To support the handmade community and healthy living, we wanted to do a roundup of products made by hand with the intent of making us all a little healthier. So here goes:
Online Printing Solutions: More Perks than Price and Quality
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Do you print pictures? Of course you do…I think all of us would answer yes to that question although we probably all would answer very differently on where and how we print them. Do you print them at home or send them out? Do you print mostly for personal or business purposes? The two most important reasons for selecting one way over another is price and quality although I think there are a few wonderful surprises that might make you sway one way over another from our 5 top online options to print your pictures.
5 Ways to Decide if You Need Multiple Stores for Your Products
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Do you have multiple creative passions? Maybe it's photography and jewelry or pottery and painting...whatever the passions, do you struggle with deciding to separate your sellable products into multiple shops or keep them housed under "one roof"? This is definitely something to consider and here are 5 simple formulas to help you make an informed decision:
Smooth Sailing: 15 Tips For Shipping Handmade Products
by Justine Smith / Timely Tidbits
When I first started selling online, I made so many mistakes – from under-pricing to forgetting to factor in my time and fuel expenses. By the time I had a couple hundred sales under my belt, shipping was second nature and I barely had to think about it.
Let's Picnik: Photo Editing Made Easy!
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited about something that I couldn’t sleep, but that’s exactly what’s happening to me right now. The clock just struck 12:44 AM and I finally just gave up and pulled myself out of bed because I knew there would be no chance for shuteye until I released a little of my excitement.
Sweet Creativity: Handmade Inspiration for Valentine's Day
by Dionne Christiansen / Timely Tidbits
No matter what day it is, or what the weather is like – my Sweet Tooth wants to be appeased. It might be the end of a long stressful day, or the end of a wonderfully relaxing evening – but they both end the same way – with me wanting dessert.
Branding You: 5 Ways to Improve Your Professional Image
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
As we all know, your brand is you. It's what matters in a first impression, it's what counts on a sale, and it's what keeps customers coming back. Maintaining your brand should be top priority as we learned from The Importance of Branding and one of the best ways is to improve your professional image. Here are 5 ways to improve your professional image and increase your brand equity in the marketplace.
Prepping for Your Next Art & Craft Fair
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Have you ever participated in an art festival or craft fair as an exhibitor and worried about preparation and all the items you need to bring along? Today I’ve prepared a list of items you should consider packing, along with some general tips on your attire in preparation for your next event. Even seasoned pros forget the essentials from time to time, so "making a list and checkin’ it twice" is a handy habit for you to get into before you leave for an event to avoid scrambling at the last minute for something you’ve left behind.
5 Reasons to Respond to Your Customers
by Ram Dutt / Timely Tidbits
Customers, Customers and more Customers. We all want to earn the trust, satisfaction and loyalty of our customers because all of these result in predictable revenue for our business. There are many ways to attract and retain customers including offering a great product at a fantastic price or a well organized display in the right place at the right time, but sometimes it isn't just about the product. Sometimes, it's about the interaction between you and your customer.
Be Proactive with Your Time Management
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Is your plate too full? One recurring challenge we’ve witnessed artists and crafters struggle with in running their business online is time management. It’s no mystery that managing your shop, blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts, email, product production, fulfillment as well as countless other requirements is a struggle to keep up with, let alone fitting a personal life in there too!
How A Bean Cake Can Make You King For A Day
by Francis Raymond / Timely Tidbits
Yesterday, many people across the world celebrated la Fête des Rois (this can be translated to "The King's Day"). Every year, on the 6th of January is l'Épiphanie (Epiphany), which commemorates the day when the three kings reached baby Jesus' crib about 2000 years ago. The Romans were among the first to make a party out of this very peculiar day, though it's only just from the Middle Ages that the Fête des Rois as we know it today took shape.
Resolutions for 2010...What About Your Business?
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Have you committed to any New Year’s resolutions for 2010? How about for your business? The fam here at Meylah have several core values that get us out of bed in the morning and when we decided to write a blog post about New Year’s resolutions for artists or crafters' small businesses, we found that all our ideas tied closely to our own values. So with that, we thought we’d share a few.
Peace Out, Artists and Crafters!
by Jessica Howard / Timely Tidbits
Doves symbolize peace, and many people find their own peace in creativity.
In that spirit, the Meylah team wishes you and your glue guns, cameras and paint brushes all an artful holiday and crafty new year.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Winners Announced!
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Over the past twelve days, we have featured an incredible array of talent from child painters to handcrafted soap makers and felt creators to handbag designers and glass and jewery makers to photographers, we have had a tremendous turnout. Meylah has had the pleasure of hosting the Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway featuring all of these talented and local creative individuals from the Pacific Northwest and we will continue to put the spotlight on our local community of talented artists, crafters and photographers in the future.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 12: Stephanie Du Bois
by Ram Dutt / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the twelfth and final day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! On the last day of our Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway, we are so thrilled to introduce you to Stephanie Du Bois and Northwest Beads Designs. Stephanie makes wonderful custom beaded jewelry and donates for a great cause at the same time. Read on to meet Stephanie and don’t forget to comment to be eligible to win one of her gorgeous bracelets!
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 11: Leah Pellegrini
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the eleventh day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! Today, we are so lucky to have Leah Pellegrini back with us at Meylah! We featured Leah in our Glitter and Gold Stars category back in November and now she is here again to share with us more about her glass artistry and celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! In this interview, we decided to focus on her online business and how she manages that side of the things so enjoy and be sure and leave a comment to be eligible to win a glass mobile that Leah is giving away today!
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 10: Jacob Lucas
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the tenth day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! Today, we are super excited to introduce Jacob Lucas, a very talented Seattle photographer who in his own words enjoys “photographing all aspects of life, from stunning landscapes to lifestyle, from festivals to weddings, from places to people and everywhere in between." Jacob has a keen eye for quality in his images and I believe it is his inspiration...after reading about Jacob, I'm sure you will agree.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 9: Sharlet Driggs
by Ram Dutt / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the ninth day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway where our featured artist/crafter will be giving away a FREE GIFT to one of our lucky readers! Today, we are happy to introduce you to Sharlet Driggs, owner of Sharlet Designs. Find out a little more about Sharlet and her wonderful creations in textile arts, décor, wearable art and artistic children’s toys in our discussion below.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 8: Ricco diStefano
by Ram Dutt / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the eighth day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! On the eighth day of Christmas, Meylah is pleased to feature Ricco diStefano, a very talented and multifaceted person. His artwork shows passion, inspiration and truly a person who can articulate his thoughts on the canvas. A great example of this is in his book “Of Dreams & Shadows”. He comes from a family of artists and musicians and has had many years of experience working as an art director.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 7: Ellen Rowan
by Ram Dutt / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the seventh day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! On the seventh day of Christmas, Meylah is pleased to introduce Ellen Rowan of ZoomAlbum and ReCaptivation! Yep, in addition to being a busy businesswoman, Ellen is also a mother, community supporter, environmentalist and social media connector. Hanging out with her is just inspiring and energizing. We first met Ellen at the Fall City Stimulus Art Fair and instantly became big fans. After reading about her, we are sure you will be big fans as well.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 6: Chirag Vedullapalli
by Ram Dutt / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the sixth day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! To celebrate today we want to introduce Chirag Vedullapalli, my son, who was our inspiration to bring Meylah together. Chirag is 9 years old and in the 3rd grade. He is very passionate about helping the community through his art and started his journey to become an artist 4 years ago. He has completed over 150 paintings in that time, which can be viewed from his Flickr Photostream. In addition to Flickr, Chirag also manages his community network through his fan page on Facebook.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 5: Crystalyn Kae
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the fifth day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! Today, we are privileged to introduce Crystalyn of Crystalyn Kae handbags. Crystalyn is a phenomenal, eco-friendly designer. Her handbags are totally unique and irresistible! Most of her designs are vegan friendly, made from water-resistant, leather-like material and many incorporate vintage fabric and flair, like the Soirée Messenger Bag and her pleated clutches.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 4: Benalily Designs
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the fourth day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway where a featured artist or crafter will be giving away a FREE GIFT to one of our lucky readers who has left a comment, so make sure you visit and comment each day!
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 3: Glass Elements
by Courtney Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the third day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! On the third day of Christmas, Meylah is pleased to introduce Marja Hunta of Glass Elements. We became instant fans of Marja when we came across her fused glass creations on Flickr, then we had the privilege to meet her in person at the most recent Etsy Rain event in Seattle.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 2: Julie Simpson
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the second day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway where a featured artist or crafter will be giving away a FREE GIFT to one of our lucky readers who has left a comment, so make sure you visit and comment each day.
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Day 1: Seattle Sundries
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Welcome to the first day of Meylah’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway! Starting today and for the next 12 days, a featured artist or crafter will be giving away a FREE GIFT to one of our lucky readers who has left a comment, so make sure you visit and comment each day.
Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas
by Jessica Howard / Timely Tidbits
This holiday season, many of us would rather do anything than trudge the megastores, stockpiling more stuff for people who already have it all.
Introducing the Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway!
by Jason Dirks / Timely Tidbits
Happy Thanksgiving! I know, probably not the first words you expected to read when the title reads the Twelve Days of Christmas, but we want to make sure we wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving with your families today. Okay, so on with the title…we know it’s a little early, but we are so excited we can’t wait to get the word out that Meylah is going to feature several talented local artists and crafters by hosting a Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway starting Monday, December 7th right here on our blog!
How to Make a Thanksgiving Turkey Without Cooking a Thing
by Jessica Howard / Timely Tidbits
With Thanksgiving around the corner, it's time to ask yourself if you really know how to make a turkey.
Do you start with yarn, or fabric or paper cups? Lots of crafters have come up with creative twists on turkeys – and their methods have nothing to do with butter, basting or baking. Let's take a turkey tour of the craft world!
What Are You Giving for Thanksgiving?
by Jessica Howard / Timely Tidbits
It's 14 days until Thanksgiving, when holiday season kicks into high gear.
Don't worry – we are not about to suggest that you jump on the bandwagon and whip up a line of turkey-inspired designs or go gaga for gourds. There are many ways you and your creative business can observe the harvest festival in good taste.
Save the Date! Holiday Marketing for Crafters
by Jessica Howard / Timely Tidbits
Have you noticed that the minute Halloween ends, it starts to look a lot like Christmas?
These days, retailers pack up the bat and skeleton decorations, and immediately replace them with garlands, bows and pyramids of chocolate. Maybe it's one less trip to the stock room? In any case, it's an important reminder for crafters and artisans to get organized for their most important sales season of the year.
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Halloween Crafts Part 2
by Fern Treacy / Timely Tidbits
With Halloween fast approaching it seems everyone is putting their thoughts to Halloween crafts, costumes and party decorations. Whether you're after a low key Halloween in front of a scary movie and feeding the mass of trick or treaters, or going all out with a gore themed party, check out some of my favourite craft and decorating ideas for this season.
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Halloween Crafts Part 1
by Fern Treacy / Timely Tidbits
With Halloween fast approaching it seems everyone is putting their thoughts to Halloween crafts, costumes and party decorations. Whether you're after a low key Halloween in front of a scary movie and feeding the mass of trick or treaters, or going all out with a gore themed party, check out some of my favourite craft and decorating ideas for this season.