Making and creating things has always been natural for me. From a young age I started selling my fimo creations at craft fairs and spending most of my free time drawing, making jewellery and sewing bags from fabric that I found around the house. When I made thedecision to take the Textile Arts Certificate at Capilano College (North Vancouver) right after high school I knew that I had found the perfect medium to express myself.

Exploring all of the processes related to fibre was my starting point and I gravitated towards embellishment, wool, dying and began to develop my technique of felt applique that I have built Shibang Designs around. I began designing simple shapes for purses to showcase the bright and textured abstract floral motif and creating a line to sell in some local boutiques in Vancouver. Feeling the need to solidify my skills and training in the textiles field I moved across the country to Halifax where I transferred to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (NSCAD). It was there that I completed my BFA with a major in textiles, minor in jewellery and gained experience in fashion design and pattern drafting.

While a student I had the opportunity to participate in a couple of craft trade shows, both retail and wholesale, which has had an influence in the way that I currently run my business. In the past three years since graduating I have grown my business from part time job to a full time career. Etsy has been a great start to starting up and a wonderful tool to get out there. I am thankful for all of the leads, contacts and people I’ve met through this international online community. I also feel very lucky to be a craftsperson at this time when the internet and online shopping are so mainstream.

To sustain and promote my business I sell in three main ways; online through etsy and my own online shop, in boutiques across Canada and in the USA and by large trade shows that I travel to three times a year in Vancouver, Chicago and Toronto.

As much as I love working from home I enjoy meeting other artists in person and connecting with customers directly. What I find the most difficult is managing my time in all of the different roles that you must do when you run your own business – being the designer, maker, photographer, web designer, marketer etc. Some days I am busy doing other aspects of the business that I don’t even spend time sewing. It is a balance having to switching roles all of the time.

In the new year I plan to further develop my new line of art work as well as collaborate with other artists and designers.

Connect with Robyn by visiting her:

<<WEBSITE>> <<ETSY SHOP>> <<TWITTER>> <<FACEBOOK>>

In keeping with our theme this month, the chat topic was all about “Love”!  Celebrating everything that we love… family, friends, and guilty pleasures (dessert for me).

Until next week, “Love it up”, folks!

#OMHG Highlights:

My newest love – a bacon and chocolate bar <—hungry over here I guess @moxielisa

@ohmyhandmade I love things that cause a tangible (+) mood shift, eg. bright colors, patterns, 80s music, and OF COURSE coffee @zoe_rooney

I love afternoon milk tea, Spring thaws, wandering in a new-to-me city, the feeling of sand between my toes, a good book…   @Omiyage_ca

I love sunshine and chocolate :)  @embergrass

I love sewing, cups of tea, making puppets, afternoon walks & baby kisses!  @cupcakes4clara

I love feeding/making friends, being silly, making things alone late at night & together with many hands, I love leaping recklessly… @ohmyhandmade

I also love reading a good book. I’d stay up all night to read as many chapters as possible. @RocajoStudio

Oddly enough, I really love fixing things that seem completely broken…esp. around the house @traceyselingo

These days my 3 y-o do random dancing with me. Very fun & I just love how my mind feels fresh afterwards. Yoga? No need with that kid! @studioroseflash

Read the whole chat here.

Enjoy!

What is #omhg? We are a community of talented, creative and caring people who visit every Thursday on Twitter from 1-2EST with the hashtag #omhg to chat about our monthly theme on Oh My! Handmade + life, business & everything in between. Empowering, honest, supportive & full of ideas, our chats leave us all feeling ready to take on the world-come join us and make some new friends!

Our little household gets all confused when Valentine’s Day rolls around. While Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th in Canada, it works a little differently in Japan (where my husband and I met and married) as women give gifts to men on February 14th and the men reciprocate on White Day – March 14th. And in Brazil, where my husband is from, Dia dos Namarados (Lover’s Day) is sometime in June. So, we’ve never really worked out which Love day to celebrate. And, to be honest, I’m okay with that. I’m not really a wine-me-dine-me-buy-me-roses-or-else kind of girl. In fact, my ideal Valentine’s Day would probably include a mailbox full of handmade cards (feel free to send me one!) and a chocolate-covered marshmallow heart (or two). Oh, and a cupcake!

That being said, I can definitely appreciate the abundance of Bee Mine and I Choo-Choo-Choose you puns, and over-abundance of pink and red hearts on everything! It taps into my innate love for cute & lovely things.

Now, I can admit, I may have been guilty of being a Valentine’s Day grump in the past, (surely a result of giant bouquets of flowers and life-sized heart-wielding teddy bears flaunted around high school hallways every February 14th) but I have learnt that holidays like Valentine’s Day are only miserable if you let them be. (Kinda like how New Year’s Eve is always a let down?) So stop being a Valentine’s Day grinch! Instead use February 14th as an excuse to embrace over-the-top pink & red & hearts-all-over, to indulge in something decadent (preferably involving chocolate) and to treat yourself or someone you love to something special.

No special someone this Valentine’s Day? Breathe a sigh of relief (pressure to find that perfect gift/card is off) and eat that cupcake anyway, bake heart-shaped cookies to share with your workmates or craft up handmade cards to share with your single friends. I’ll bet they’ll love them!

Make Something Special

1. Valentine Popcorn Invitation – Eat Drink Chic  / 2. Love Garland – This Is Glamorous

3. Sweet Straws – A Field Journal / 4. Giant Paper Rose – Green Wedding Shoes

5. Felt Heart Barrettes – The Purl Bee / 6. Je T’aime Coffee Cup Wrappers – Eat Drink Chic

7. Valentine Cards – Alisa Burke /  8. Love Tea Time – Rosaline

Bake Something Decadent

1. Cupid’s Arrow Cupcakes – Bakerella / 2. Conversation Heart Cookies – Martha Stewart

3. Valentine’s Day S’mores – Bird’s Party / 4. Gift Box Cake – Bakerella

5. Raspberry-Hazelnut Linzer Hearts – Babble / 6. Red Velvet Whoopie Pies – Annie’s Eats

7. Origami Heart Cupcake Toppers – Omiyage / 8. Valentine’s Sugar Cookies – Sweetapolita

Buy Something Lovely

1. Je T’aime Card – Popolo Press / 2. LOVE Print – Helen Dardik

3. Valentine Paper Dolls – Jordan Grace Owens / 4. Herkimer Diamond Ring – lumafina

5. You Are So Loved – Katie Daisy / 6. HELLO Print – Mengsel

7. Tiny Heart Studs – Rachel Pfeffer Designs / 8. For Like Ever – Super Rural

As for us, this Valentine’s Day is sure to be a quiet one. But there will be cupcakes!

How about you – Are you a Valentine’s Day lover or could you do without this holiday? Will you be doing anything special to celebrate this year?

As an artist, I was a bit of a late bloomer.  I had never taken an art class, although I was an avid notebook margin doodler. In 2003, when I was 24, a good friend of mine who noticed my propensity for doodles gave me a sketchbook, some pencils and a book on drawing cartoon characters.  Although I was a bit shy at first, I blasted through that book in a short time and found that I was hooked on drawing.   And even though I started out studying dance in college and ended up graduating with a BA in history, I found my true passion in life as I filled up that first sketchbook.

Many sketchbooks have been filled up since that first one, a whole big stack of them.  I spent the three or four years following that first sketchbook reading art books, browsing through artists’ portfolios and searching for tutorials.  I learned as much as I could about techniques and mediums and I got in the habit of drawing every day, trying to find my personal style as an artist.

Eventually, I got brave and started selling some of my work, first on Ebay and then eventually on Etsy, and finally in 2008 I found myself so busy with illustration work that I was faced with the decision of either quitting my day job or possibly having an nervous breakdown.  Obviously, I ditched my day job.

Since then my little art business has been growing and stretching constantly.  I still haven’t taken an art class, but I’m always exploring and learning and I still draw every day.  Sometimes my success seems a bit surreal, but then I remember that I’ve worked really hard these past few years so it only makes sense that my career would be thriving.

These days, between running my shop and keeping up with my freelance illustration projects, I’m often busy to the point of feeling overwhelmed, but even so I’ve developed a passion for sharing my experiences with others who also have big creative dreams.

I’ve spent the last few years teaching Flourish, which was an e-course dedicated to helping others get started with their creative businesses. I was so inspired by my Flourish students that I decided to share the other side of my creative business as well: the actual creative part of it!  Enter Inspired Doodles.

I taught two sessions of Inspired Doodles last year and both were a big hit and they were both big fun too.  This year’s session of Inspired Doodles will run from February 6 to March 2 and although it’s about *this* close to be full, I’ve opened up a few extra slots for Oh My! Handmade readers.  Through the Inspired Doodles online workshop, I’ll be sharing my experience as a self-taught artist and more specifically, I’ll be sharing insight about how I improved my skills and developed my own personal style as an artist.

Keep in mind, this isn’t a how-to-draw-like-me workshop; instead, it’s about learning to draw like you!

The course is presented in the form of 3-4 written lessons each week, along with short creative assignments and daily sketch prompts.  And as part of the course, you receive a lifetime membership to the Inspired Doodles Community Forum where you can ask questions, leave comments and interact with past and present Inspired Doodles students.

And did I mention that it’s a blast?

If you’d like to take part, you can read the details here and you can sign up here.   To save 10% off your registration fee, use the code INSPIRED10 during checkout.

I’m looking forward to working with you,

Steph Fizer Coleman

Connect with Steph by visiting her: 

<<WEBSITE>> <<PORTFOLIO>> <<TWITTER>> <<FACEBOOK>> 

February art by Golden Section/Yuliyart on Etsy

Whether Valentine’s Day makes your heart melt or the sappiness makes you feel queasy, there is no escaping Love Day in North America. Rather then avoiding it we are loving it up this month with our February theme! Not containing ourselves to romantic love, for the next 29 days we will explore all the things we adore, from lovely handmade, to checking stuff off our to-do lists, to leaps into the unknown. You might see sweetness, cupids and a healthy dose of pink + red this month but you will also be getting posts straight from the heart about what we love most.

Do you have a love story to share? What makes your heart pitter pat? Working on a lovely project for Love Day? Tell all in the comments & we’ll send our love rays out into the world this month together. Care Bear countdown anyone?

l-r: Arianne Foulks, Alyssa Yuhas, Christine Castro Hughes, Laurie Smithwick
image by Brooke Dennis on the Alt Summit 2012 Flickr stream

When the internet started buzzing about Altitude Summit (a conference primarily for design bloggers) last fall, I pricked my ears up and started thinking about it. Although I’d never attended an event like it before, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, and ended up convincing three of my Aeolidia teammates to pack up and share a luxurious room at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake City with me.

Chris, my business partner and husband, thought if I was going to invest in the conference for business purposes, I’d better make it worth my while, so he insisted I send an email to Alt offering to help out. Public speaking is not in my self-created job description, but I sent that email off, heart pounding. I ended up speaking on a panel with three very talented folks regarding Web Design: Dos and Don’ts.

I was pretty sure that attending Alt was going to be fun, but the cost of attending adds up. Would it be worth it for my business? We were going to Alt as service providers, not as their target audience. We hoped to meet, greet, and network, but were unsure what the return on our investment would be.

Less than a week after going to Alt, I’m confident that it was a good business decision, and here are some reasons why:

I finally got to meet my team!

I have nine full time designers and developers at Aeolidia, and aside from the pals in Seattle, I’ve never met them, and hadn’t even talked to them on the phone. Alt Summit gave us a time and place to meet up and get to know one another. Aside from just having a fun time chatting with Lauren, Meg, and Zoe, Shoshanna and I had some invigorating and useful business conversations with them as well. It has been great and pretty easy with us all working remotely, but I can see now that it would be nice to have everyone right there with me to bounce ideas off of. Meeting in person was valuable and I expect it to strengthen our team. If you have a chance to meet people you work with, definitely do it, do it, do it!

I am more firmly established as an expert in my field.

We have been pretty much keeping to ourselves, designing and building nice websites, nose to the grindstone. Before this, we didn’t have much to put on any kind of press or publicity page on our site, but now we have this bit of recognition to add to our testimonials and portfolio as a reason to trust us. Contributing to an event like this reflects well on your business.

I have a better understanding of what our clients are looking for.

Since this conference was geared toward an audience that we want to speak to, we could look at all of the panels, roundtables, and classes from the point of view of our potential clients, and learn more about what they’re interested in and concerned about. I took good notes on the panels and will be sharing those as blog posts, newsletters, and plans for our clients. It’s easy to think of everything from your own perspective, but extremely helpful to get into your clients or customers’ heads when making business plans.

I met colleagues.

It was so much fun talking with other web designers and people I’ve been planning and collaborating with. I also got to introduce myself to people I admire. Talking to the people I already know online helped me feel more connected with them and will likely make it easier to collaborate with them in the future. A cheery “hello” to people I don’t know makes it easier to approach them going forward. Don’t think of others in your business as competitors, but instead as colleagues who you can learn from and share connections with.

I made plans with clients.

A few of the business owners we’ve worked with over the years were at Alt, and we got to talk with them in person about how their sites are working now, how they want them to work, and what plans they have. It’s always more personable to chat with a client in the flesh than to send an email, but we don’t often get the chance to do that. Speaking personally to your clients or customers is a great opportunity to both review and plan.

I got to chat with potential clients.

I also talked to a few people who are planning to work with us in the future, and it was exciting to hear that we’re on at least one person’s 2012 goal list. Apparently, Shoshanna introduced herself in her watercolor class and found a fan! Again, back to that “nose to the grindstone” thing, I truthfully didn’t understand how far our reach is at the moment, and it feels very exciting to know we’re being noticed and to make plans for being seen even further. Having all your hard work validated can push you to do even better.

I was motivated.

This conference, in particular, was extremely motivating to me. In part because of the panels and keynotes, but it also felt great to be surrounded by creative people who were planning out their own lives and trying to make things that are the best and the most beautiful. If you’re like many creative people, you probably spend a lot of time surrounded by people grudgingly heading off to their 9 to 5 job, or family members who are worrying about your own financial security. It was inspiring and validating being around so many people who that was not the case for. The right people and atmosphere can energize you to dream big for your business!

I got out of the house!

Let me tell you, I spend a lot of time in my house. Which I love. Perhaps I love it a little too much. Knowing that there is a real world out there composed of all the people I’ve been emailing, chatting with on Twitter, and working on projects with is a breath of fresh air. Dabbling into that world for a moment makes all the tweets and blog comments and whatnot more real to me. Introverts! Fight your inclinations for a moment and stretch your wings a bit.

This all sounds pretty great, right? I would recommend finding places to meet with your community, or making places to meet. On the airplane back, I read an article in Uppercase magazine about various design camps that are worth looking into. There was talk at Alt about all kinds of group meetups, from people wanting Pinterest meetups to BurdaStyle’s global meetups, and other community projects. Of course keep an eye out for Jessika to bring the Oh My! community together. I hope to do more things like this in the future, so if you see me around, please do say hi!

It’s about this time of year, toward the end of January, when our 1st of the year “I’m gonna rock this life stuff!” motivation slowly starts to wane. We know we need to take better care of ourselves because last year left us feeling kind of exhausted, and we were so ready to dive head first into all the changes we want to make for our lives- but it’s easy to fall back into old routines and so hard to stick to new, healthy habits!

So, we’re here to say, “We know it’s hard, but don’t give up yet!” Small changes can make a big impact.

Here are some ways to increase your health and the health of your business:

1. Eat well and regularly. If you’re someone prone to skipping meals when you get busy, pre-make some meals or have simple, nutritious snacks on hand: nuts, trail mix, fruit, crackers, veggies, cheese. You’ll feel better and get more done if you give your mind and body the good food energy it needs. Fuel yourself to do your best work- you can’t run on empty!
2. Drink enough water. When you’re dehydrated you can feel weak, head-achy and hungry. The more you satiate your need for water the more easily you’ll be able to concentrate on your work. Try drinking water first thing upon waking to jump-start your nervous system and rehydrate yourself after sleep. Keep water by your side as you work and aim to drink at least 64oz a day.
3. Exercise regularly. Yeah, we don’t much like it either, but we all know we need exercise to keep our minds and bodies strong, and to help keep us energized enough to take on the day. Not only that, exercise can make you feel happier and less stressed. It’s a practice in focus, in pushing ourselves, in conquering fear- all of which are skills you can turn around and put right back into your business!
4. Downtime. It’s easy to fill up all the hours in the day with so much work and responsibility that there’s no time left for you. Schedule in downtime. Schedule a vacation. Find 10 minutes of quiet and take a breath. Make it happen for yourself. You’ll have so much more to give to your business and to your relationships, if you give to yourself often and regularly.
5. Routinize. The more ways you can find ways to routinize self-care into your day, the more time you’ll have to focus on your work and other daily responsibilities. Begin a morning routine to start everyday off on the right foot, or schedule breaks into your day specifically to eat, take a walk, take care of yourself. Incorporating healthy habits into your daily routine will help you feel calmer, clearer and more prepared to take-on whatever the day brings.

You can start bringing healthier habits into your life and you can stick with ‘em too! Here’s how:

1. Have a strong why. Why do you want to develop this new habit? What benefits will it bring to your life? If you can connect your why to a reason you feel strongly about- if your habit will affect your health, relationships, business, life in general in a positive way- it will help keep you motivated, dedicated and give you the willpower juice you need to create some real change.
2. Tackle each habit one at a time. So, you want to start eating healthier and exercising more, drawing, meditating and going on date nights regularly- if you attempt to make all those changes all at once, you’re going to fizzle out- sho’nuf. Choose one new habit to start with and focus on that until it becomes a regular part of your day, and then tackle the next one.
3. Stick with it for 30 days. Once you stick to something for 30 days, you’ll realize, you can stick to something for 30 days! And that will help keep your motivation chugging right along. The 30-60 day range is the crucial time in which true habits are created, so stick. with. it. It can also take that much for the benefits of your new healthy ways to start sinking in, but once they do, you’ll want to stick with your new habit because you’ll want to keep feeling this darn good!
4. Share the experience. Habits like accountability- tell your family, tell your friends, shout about it on facebook, write a blog post about it- if you say you’re gonna do something for real like that, then you kinda want to actually do it. For real. Habits also like buddies. Find a friend to exercise with, try healthy recipes with your hubby, make green smoothies for your kids- the more people you get in on it, the better!
5. Stay positive. When you fail one day, do better the next day. When your mind says “I want to quit!” tell it to hush-up and focus on the benefits this new habit will bring to you. When you get frustrated, have patience with yourself, and patience with the process. Keep track of how you’re doing in your planner or on a computer calendar- it’s motivating to watch your progress and see how far you’ve come!

We know firsthand how hard it is to stay motivated with all our well-intentions, but we’ve also seen the amazing benefits that healthier habits bring to our bodies, minds, relationships and our businesses- those benefits are well worth all the hard days in the early stages, you’ll see.

Be patient and keep at it, and as your new changes start to become full fledged habits, you’ll find they start to feel like a natural part of your everyday- something you enjoy doing, look forward to and know you need to do to feel your best!

You are not too busy to take care of your own health and happiness- you can start creating better habits today! What’s one new healthy habit you want to bring into your own life? And when are you going to start? (the accountability part starts now, hah!)

Know those moments when you are so excited and everything is so fabulous that you could just burst into a million glittery pieces? It’s been one of those days. From the minute I sent out the first sneak peek to contributors & sponsors announcing our Guide to Businessy Goodness to the #omhg chat on it that just ended, its been non-stop tweets, emails and ads being snatched up! Obviously this is something our creative community wants and is ready to support. Thank you for all your help spreading the word and sharing your suggestions-we are going to make this un*%$^ingbelievable. Who knew I would love selling ad space? Not me!

Today’s #omhg chat was the biggest yet with 52 amazing people joining in to share their ideas and suggestions for our guide. You can get the whole transcript right here-it is packed with awesome!

<<I NEED YOUR HELP!>>

Remember this guide is for you and you know best what your business needs. Let us know who you want to see in the guide in the comments on this post and share what kinds information you think should not be overlooked. If you need it to grow your creative business then it should be in the guide.

Who do you look to for inspiration and support? What packaging suppliers & printers do you love? What are the best online marketplaces to sell handmade or creative goods? Which illustrators, designers, developers, books, products, accountants, coaches etc should every creative business owner check out?

Shout out our guide to them by clicking below and personalizing your tweet or forward them the link, post it on Facebook, blog your list of suggestions-bring it on! Use the #omhg hashtag to be sure I see your choices on Twitter. Let’s build and grow this guide together.

Would love to see_____in the @ohmyhandmade Guide to Businessy Goodness bc___________! Get the details: http://bit.ly/zxhdAy #omhg click here to tweet it

And in other breaking news-it looks like OMHG and I are going to start seriously working towards building a conference/summit for Canadian creatives and our international friends. Like the graphic says, today businessy goodness, tomorrow the world!

Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted, we are in this together after all.

For almost 2 years I’ve had at least one email a day from creative businesses asking me everything from how to choose a designer  to where they can find help with marketing + all things in-between. You want to know the ins and outs of hiring help and I love replying and referring to various resources and services or finding someone with the answer to write for us. The best part is watching these collaborations lead to amazing things or transformations!

In my decade of community work I loved being the girl with the answers. When a youth was suddenly homeless I knew where to go. If a small non-profit wanted to expand I told them how to find funding. I could connect a new mother struggling with breastfeeding or postpartum with the help she needed.When a young girl told me she was being abused or wanted to change her life, I knew who to call and what to say. I loved this part of my work the most!  I always kept a binder stuffed full of numbers and contacts so that I could easily find the right info. Over the years I made a number of different resource guides for youth, families, and communities.

So when I was brainstorming ideas for how I could bring my all skills to Oh My! Handmade and our own community I had a major eureka moment. Why not create a resource guide specifically to help creatives navigate growing their businesses and find the help they need? One that would reassure as much as it informed and inspired…the Oh My! Handmade Guide to Businessy Goodness was born.

Inspired by your questions, emails and tweets, our guide is going to put the information and contacts you need into one easy to search place. When you are ready to grow and expand or if you are already in the process our guide will be there to help. Of course it will also be beautiful, creative and engaging, just like Oh My is. I got playful and created a guide that I think is the love child of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and the Yellow Pages (but not in a copyright infringing sort of way). No boring list for us, this baby will be fun AND functional! The place to come when you need to know where to turn.

<<download the promo kit>>

Available here April of 2012 the guide will be offered by donation with a suggested price of $2. Our Shopping Guide is also getting a makeover and will become an online extension of the guide. Exciting times!

<<check out the online guide>>

Do you offer a service, supply or resource for creative entrepreneurs that needs to be showcased in our guide? Join us now! Ad space is available to fit all budgets starting today but spaces are very limited and must be reserved by March 1st.

<<buy your ad here>>

I am making a home for all my skills here on Oh My! and have created services + supports for creative businesses-I have my wand and am ready to sprinkle magic stardust on your business!

<<visit services & supports>>

Let’s get excited about April and make sure all the right services and supplies are listed in our pages. Does the idea make you shout hallelujah, this is just what I need? Thinking of someone or something that a creative biz owner HAS to know about? A question you need to see answered? Tell us in the comments or shout it out on Twitter. Let everyone know that this is something our community has been needing!

<<Tweet it out!>>

PSA: Stay calm. Please don’t panic: the @ohmyhandmade Guide to Businessy Goodness arrives April http://bit.ly/zxhdAy #omhg click to tweet 

The love child of the Hitchhikers Guide & yellow pages the @ohmyhandmade Guide to Businessy Goodness is due April http://bit.ly/zxhdAy #omhg click to tweet

Psst! You should be in the @ohmyhandmade Guide to Businessy Goodness because… http://bit.ly/zxhdAy #omhg click to tweet

I don’t know.

Those three words, said in unison and uttered without thought, whispered, spoken, screamed or umphed will slowly, but surely, do no good. It really doesn’t matter if you work independently or dependently. I don’t know is at the top of the toxic-communication chart.

Think about it.

“Does this come in blue?” I don’t know.

“Can you fix this for me?” I don’t know.

“Will you deliver that product by next week?” I don’t know.

Fail. Fail. Fail.

When a question is asked an answer is needed and wanted and hoped for and expected. I don’t know dismisses all of that with the shrug of a shoulder and the bat of an eye.

In the rush of daily business and life it’s important to remember that answers don’t need to be delivered immediately. Really. It’s okay to replace I don’t know with I’ll find out or let me get back to you. At least then you will show that you’re actively trying to help someone by answering their question.

As if that’s not reward enough, you might actually be surprised by what you learn when you start hunting for an answer.