April MacKinnon « oh my! handmade goodness

April MacKinnon

A New Community Experience

Saturday, April 28, 2012

{Image: Buy Local print by claudiagpearson}

A few weeks ago I heard about the concept of a cash mob: people gather as a group at a predetermined location, they are given the name of a business and they descend en masse to that business to share some buy local love. The first instance that I watched with a lot of interest was a Cash Mob organized in Halifax that targeted Love, Me Boutique, a shop that sells Canadian handcrafted items and supports the handmade community. The reaction from Chara Kingston, the owner of Love, Me Boutique was not only appreciative, but as a retailer, it is so easy to feel like you’re slogging away behind a counter while the rest of the world goes on with their lives. Only rarely do customers come in and say “you know, I’m SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE” and it is easy to lose sight of the enthusiasm you had when you were getting ready to open your shop doors.

Where I live, in Sackville, New Brunswick, a community of 5,500 people with a VERY strong and vibrant arts culture, we have only four or five independent boutiques and a fifty-percent vacancy rate in our commercial downtown core. Rent is higher than the neighbouring cities and towns and businesses struggle. Our town has one of the few remaining independent bookstores left in the region and has many entrepreneurs who WANT to open businesses but are scared of the high overhead and perceived lack of “buy local” support. I’m one of those entrepreneurs. So, in order to show the downtown that we love them and want their businesses to succeed, I decided to organize a cash mob for our little town. Given the small size of our town, I had hoped to gather ten people. Immediately the word began to spread through social media, friends invited friends, the local media became involved and on our Facebook Event Page over 50 people had committed to coming. I had phone calls from local Town Councillors congratulating me on the initiative, the Town of Sackville, celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, donated commemorative reusable shopping bags to participants, everywhere I went – from the veterinarians office to the school and the grocery store, people told me they were really excited to hear how it goes and to find out which business we would “mob”. The enthusiasm really WAS infectious.

{Gathering and Getting Ready to MOB!}

The weather was cool but sunny and it was a holiday weekend, we had about 30 people turn out. Many were not part of the initial Facebook event but had read about it in the newspaper and wanted to check it out. We gathered at the steps of Old Town Hall and moved as a group to our local independent bookseller who shares space with a gift and toy shop – we mobbed TWO businesses with one group. As our group chatted about the concept, neighbours became re-acquainted, introductions were made, and while we were a compact group, it was still exciting! The stores were comfortably full as we looked over the merchandise, some looking for toys for a relative, or a book, or trying on a new necklace or brooch.

We may get used to seeing established businesses in our communities and take for granted that they will always be there, or we see them so often we don’t see them at all. With the economy in a precarious situation, independent retailers need our support more than ever, and as handcrafters, we need THEIR support if WE are to succeed.

Speaking with a friend in Halifax who attended a second cash mob, we both observed that the people coming out to the cash mobs are not those who you might already expect or know shop local, it is as though people are looking for a new community experience. Over and over I heard people say they hadn’t visited this store in a while, that it was nice to get out and DO something like this, and that it was really quite fun.

I followed up with the business owners following the event, both were pleased at the influx of sales and the happy enthusiasm of the event. Ellen Pickle, owner of targeted business Tidewater Books noted, “in a world of big box stores, it felt good to know that what we are doing here as an independent store matters.”

I parted with the crowd, many of whom caught my sleeve to say “so we’re going to do it again next month?” Yes, I think we will…

Why Consignment May Be Bad for Business

Friday, March 2, 2012

Consignee: the maker of goods.
Consignor: The shop or owner of the shop where you are consigning your goods.

Many makers I know ache to have their product in retail stores. Most are looking for a small retail presence to compliment their direct sales rather than to become completely focused on wholesale. Often, those makers will turn to consignment opportunities to sell their product.

An OMHG reader sent me an email responding to an earlier article I had written about entering the wholesale market asking for direction with her business. This prompted me to spend a little more time thinking about wholesale vs. consignment and why consignment can be dangerous.

When a shop BUYS your product at a wholesale price, they are INVESTING in your product. They have a vested interest to display your product, talk to their customers about it, and get it moving. It has value and they want it to succeed as much as you do. If a product is placed on their shelves with no prior investment, it does not have as much of a perceived value in the eyes of the retailer and may simply be a “shelf filler”. Psychologically, they have no incentive to move it as it helps make their shelves look full and when it is sold, they OWE you money which to the retailer feels like just another month-end expense.

Questions also arise as to who is responsible for certain business aspects related to retailing. For example, when I send a wholesale order to a shop the retailer is responsible for the shipping cost. This is the industry accepted standard. The line becomes blurred with consignment: who pays for shipping? Generally it is the consignee.

How is inventory controlled? How often will the consignor pay for items sold? What happens to items that become damaged, shop worn or out of date? In all of these cases with wholesale accounts, there are generally clear channels for retailers to follow: items broken or damaged in the store are the responsibility of the retailer. Any customer service issues are handled via established warranty or product support policies. Where is the consignee left in these situations?

I have experienced both sides of the coin. In university I made beadwork jewelry. I was good at it and decided to sell via a local consignment shop. I even turned down direct sales in an effort to support the consignment shop owner, who insisted she paid her consignors every two weeks. I faithfully would check in every second Thursday to find “she hadn’t written the cheques yet”. This went on for about two months before one day I went in to find the door locked and the merchandise gone. I never did get paid for my product. The store owner practically vanished.

Last year, I sent an Anointment order to a shop with whom I had a prior business relationship with on consignment. This shop is NOT a consignment store but an upscale boutique and I really wanted to have my product marketed there. We agreed to consigning the first order to see how the existing customers would respond with the expectation that all re-orders would be placed via the regular wholesale methods. I am happy to say that the business relationship has worked out well.

As a consignee there are things you can do to help protect yourself. You can establish a consignment agreement between you and the shop you intend to consign with. Think critically about the type of product you are sending and limit the value of your initial shipment to protect yourself.

There are some fantastic, well-established consignment stores out there and sometimes consignment of a first order is a good way to test the waters of a particular market. BE AWARE that consigning is a bit like a lottery, unless you have an agreement in place and/or you know the shop is well established and has a good reputation, you are taking a risk with your product.

For those of you with consignment experience, I’d love to hear your experiences-please share them in the comments!

Valentine’s Day Crayons

Saturday, February 18, 2012

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I’ve been warned this post won’t be published until AFTER Valentine’s Day, so you may want to bookmark this craft for another year, or simply change the shape of the crayon to make great take-home gifts for a child’s birthday party, Halloween “treat”, or just a great way to recycle all the broken crayons that accumulate in a home with young children.

For the third year in a row we are striving to give “useful” items for our children to exchange on Valentine’s Day. It seems like such a waste to have mom or dad sign their child’s name to a card featuring a cartoon character and super hero. Last year we gave out felt book marks with hearts sewn on each one. The year before it was fabric heart ornaments made from scrap fabrics and wool.

We took our inspiration from this image on Pinterest:

Source: whipperberry.com via April on Pinterest

I love the antique and romantic look of these Valentine’s Day cards. My children are six and four (and 11 months) and I knew the tying and scalloping would be too detailed for them to accomplish. As our starting point, we did some shopping at our local craft store. Here are our supplies and steps to making our version of this colourful craft:

Source: April on Pinterest

1. 3 packages of 12 gift tags in a variety of prints and patterns. This will provide enough tags for each of my two pre-and-school aged children to make a Valentine for each of their classmates.

2. I purchased and peeled an entire box of 64 crayons. This is not for the faint of heart, or the manicured among us!

3. Wilton silicone heart-shaped baking cups similar to these. I found mine at a local bulk food retailer.

4. Using a double boiler or bain marie my daughter and I melted one crayon at a time, pouring the melted wax into the baking cup. Two melted crayons were used per heart. Once the wax had cooled, simply flex the silicone and the crayon shape will pop out!

Using glue dots, one crayon heart was attached to each card. Based on colour and personality, my daughter addressed each card to one of her classmates. Matching the crayon colours to the personality of each of her classmates was the most detailed and time consuming portion of the craft, but also gave the most satisfaction!

Source: April on Pinterest

I packaged each one in a small zip-top baggie for transport, knowing that several dozen cards in a backpack would not make it to school intact! We had a lot of fun working on these together, I’d love to see photos of your own versions of this craft!

Four Quick Last-Minute Gift Ideas

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Every year the deadline strikes and I’m scrambling to pull it all together. Every year I do manage to pull it all together, but sometimes the inspiration doesn’t come until the eleventh hour. In case the eleventh hour finds you in need of a little inspiration, here are some of tried-and-true quick ideas that the creative ladies in my life have come up with recently.

1. This ingenious table was created by my friend and graphic designer Janet Murphy. By combining an inexpensive side table and LEGO base pieces, her kids now have a great play surface for their interlocking block creations!

2. If, like me, you love wool but can’t seem to get the knack of knitting, try hooking! This star was created by Nova Scotia rug hooker Deanne Fitzpatrick, whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know this year. Using remnant wool and yarn, create colourful decorations for your tree. Apply white glue to the back of your finished piece, let dry overnight, and trim the edges of the burlap close to your outside hooked row.

3. Fellow farmer’s market vendor Lindsay “Uncanny” Murray has a gift for preserving the harvest. I’m inspired by her recipes and dedication to being a locavore. Her Prune Plum Preserve is perfect for the holidays and makes a great and tasty addition to the holiday table of any friend or family member!

4. I’ve long admired the work of Natalie Chanin and her design studio, Alabama Chanin. I am currently whipping up one of these bandanas for a friend. For me, nothing is more soothing than hand-stitching.

Before I head back to my own crafting, I think this recipe for Hot Buttered Rum Sauce is definitely in order. Mix with rum and hot water for an instant Hot Toddy. Perfect for cold winter nights!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!
April

Preparation for the Gift Giving Season – A Checklist

Friday, November 25, 2011

make my wishes come true clip board by decoylab

The busy craft and artisan Christmas shopping season is upon us – hopefully you’re all prepared for the onslaught of orders and have enlisted many elves to help you produce, display, pack and ship your wares…but in case you like to live dangerously down to the last minute (or real life gets in the way of business), I’ve complied a handy checklist to help you get organized.

Preparing Anointment for the Christmas season starts in August when we start producing our seasonal Holiday Soap and Soap bon bons in preparation for the gift giving season. Month by month, here is the prep list I use:

August

Begin preparing inventory for the holiday rush. Look at previous third quarter sales records and current growth (if applicable) to help determine current year demand.
Prepare holiday advertising and budget
Plan ahead for craft shows and fairs, set your booth budget and plan your displays

September

Continue preparing inventory
Start giving hints on social media sites and blog about what’s new and exciting for the holidays
Book your holiday advertising
Ensure your booth display for craft shows and fairs is complete
Start promoting direct sales via Etsy or your own website
Ensure you have enough business cards and samples available and printed

October

Enlist extra elves (staff, family) to help pack and ship orders or help with craft fairs
Ensure you have an adequate supply of boxes, envelopes, packaging materials on hand

November

Replenish any short inventory items or unanticipated best-sellers
Offer a shipping deal or customer appreciation incentive
Participate in Black Friday deals, if applicable
Replenish your coffee and tea supplies after late nights at craft fairs, packing, shipping and producing

December

Pack and ship
Attend any late and last minute craft fairs
Remind your customers via social media and blog that time is running out for gift giving, provide cutoff dates for holiday delivery

January

Breathe…

What are your strategies for preparing for the Holiday rush?

Sponsor Interview + Giveaway: Anointment

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Today I have a special treat for you all! Our sponsor and contributor April MacKinnon of Anointment Natural Skin Care is visiting to tell us about her business and give you a chance to win some of her incredible handmade goodness. More importantly, April shares a look at a day in the life of a busy mama of 3 who is juggling babies, business, success and her own creativity. I know so many of us can relate and I feel honoured to have this opportunity to share her journey with you.

Hi April! This is fun, I don’t think I have interviewed a contributor before. I already know a lot about your business but for new readers please share a bit about your story and how you came to be running Anoinment as a full time business.

I started out as a civil engineer designing landfills and sewage treatment plants. I was pretty aware of what we collectively throw away and what happens when we’re done with what we buy and consume. When I was pregnant with my first child in 2005 I became increasingly educated about the ingredients and chemicals in our personal care products. Wanting more balance between work and family but with student loans and a mortgage to pay, I made the leap from my career as an engineer to become an entrepreneur. Initially this led me to start an online business called Nurtured, selling cloth diapers, baby carriers and other natural parenting products. Nurtured began to take off at exactly the same time my second child was born in 2007. For two years I worked from home juggling customers, babies, a toddler, and running a household. By 2008 the business had outgrown my home and I moved to a retail store which continued to grow and prosper. At the same time I was planning to open the retail store the founder of Anointment was looking to step down and focus on her own family. I had been selling her product and felt it would be a fantastic fit for my retail location. I bought Anointment one month after opening my retail store in 2009 and worked day and night to keep product freshly made and supplied to my own store and a few wholesale accounts.

In 2010 I was pregnant with my third child and realized I could not keep the pace that I had been working to sustain two businesses and raise my family. My family and I decided to sell the retail store and keep Anointment. We realized our dream of moving to the town where I grew up to have more family support and raise our children quietly in the country while maintaining and growing Anointment from a wholesale perspective. Today I run Anointment from home and make the products in a second kitchen specifically designated for producing my skin care products. I recently had an article written about me in my hometown newspaper, it explains things pretty well.

I know you are a busy lady with a growing business and three little ones, so many of us are in the same boat. I know many of us would love to know- how does a typical day unfold at your house?

My routine is so finely tuned that if I miss one step it can throw my entire week off!

6 am - I’m up and throw in laundry while changing the baby and waking the kids up for school.

6:30 am - We are all dressed and downstairs for breakfast.

7:30 am – My daughter is on the bus to school, I cook my own breakfast and feed the baby.

8:00 am – Drive my son to pre-school.

9 am – Arrive back home from pre-school. Check email, do a bit of accounting, pack orders. Baby naps in my arms while I type at the computer. If I’m lucky, he will sleep in a baby carrier so I can do “standing up” work – producing products.

11:30 am – Pick my son up from pre-school, chat with other moms about how there is no time to get anything done!

Noon – cook lunch, feed the baby, feed my son and myself.

1 pm - try to squeeze in a bit more work while my son plays, keeping the baby entertained with toys on the floor/napping in a carrier/nursing.

2:30 pm – bus arrives home with my daughter. Make after school snacks, hopefully baby is having another carrier nap by this point.

4:30 pm – drive the kids to swimming lessons. Chat with other moms, read a book on marketing, respond to emails on my blackberry, entertain the baby.

6 pm – We all sit down for supper.

7:30 pm – I try to work a bit more while my husband is home and he spends some time with the kids.

8 pm – Bedtime. Baby won’t sleep without me, so I’m in bed too! My husband will sometimes label and pack soap for me in the evening if required.

There are literally about two hours a day that I can possibly get work done, and pre-school is only three days a week. I tend to work in 15 minute increments while the baby is content to play on the floor or while I am nursing (at the computer). If it gets desperate, I will call in help from family members to help me either entertain the kids or help with the products themselves. This year is the most challenging with a baby and a lack of childcare, I am in a difficult position of trying to build a business with no room to grow myself, but I’m managing.

Our theme this month is Challenge Your Creativity-how do you challenge yourself creatively for business and for fun?

I have a gazillion ideas and nearly no time to work on them. I challenge my creativity by consuming creative books and magazines. I daydream by reading the instructions to complete a project and spend the next few days thinking about what I have in my stash that would work to make it my own. Sometimes I cut out bits of fabric or draw ideas in my notebook while I’m eating and feeding the baby. I carry a notebook with me at all times, knowing ideas will strike exactly when I don’t have time to explore them right away. I have a list of Anointment products I want to produce in that notebook. I’m experimenting with a few of them.

Right now I’m working on a creative exchange for two girlfriends with whom I took a handmade challenge back in January. One has knit me a lovely wool hat, so the pressure is on. I am planning to make a leather and fabric brooch for each of them based on a project I saw in the current issue of Stitch magazine . I am knitting a wool garland on a knitting spool while I’m a passenger in the car on long car rides (while the kids are otherwise restrained – I don’t waste a minute). I am planning to put up two Christmas trees this year and would love for one to be a children’s tree with handmade decorations. Also on my plate are two blinds for my son’s room and a quilted table runner I am working on.

I’m also producing every product Anointment offers for the Christmas craft fair season and for a February trade show I’m attending. Given my tight schedule, I need to be prepared well in advance.

What is in the works for Anointment this year, do you have any exciting changes or products planned?

Anointment has earned the PTPA Seal of Approval for our Baby Balm, which I’m extremely proud of. We’ve also just launched a new e-commerce website. I am also working on marketing materials and ways to support our retailers.

The big item for the new year is a natural bug repellent. It was field tested this year and will be released early in 2012. I have been experimenting with shampoo formulas for the past year, watch for that! I’m also hoping to release a new line of lip balm that includes lip shimmers for those of us who wish we had time for makeup! Watch for new packaging for some of our products and a re-imagined line of mineral bath salts including new scents, particularly Pink Grapefruit and our signature Om Shanti (cinnamon, patchouli, coffee and cocoa).

I’m also working to bring Anointment to more retailers and possibly to the US. Next year stands to be a big one and while some of the goals are dependent on my ability to commit a significant amount of time to them, the ideas are endless!

Stay in touch with April & Anointment: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Etsy Shop

April is offering you a chance to fall in love with her products for yourself-enter to win an Anointment soap bon bon (a set of an Om Shanti, Seaweed, Lemon Poppyseed, Lavender and Oatmeal & Honey soap wrapped up for gift giving-or using yourself!) plus a jar of Herbal Clay Cleanser. Retail value of $33CAD

This giveaway is open to residents of the US & Canada (sorry international folks!)

HOW TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY

Leave April a comment about our interview-we love hearing what you think and if you can relate!

Leave April a comment about her awesome brand; visit Anointment’s new online shop & let us know what your favourite goodies are.

Get Additional Entries if you

Like Anointment on Facebook
Follow Anointment on Twitter
Tweet or share this giveaway on your Facebook wall (be sure to let us know by including @ohmyhandmade in your tweet or tagging oh my! handmade goodness in your post)
Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post

This giveaway closes at midnight EST on Wednesday, October 26th with the winner announced at the bottom of this post on October, 27th (comments received after this time will not be published until the winner is announced). By entering this giveaway you agree to the oh my! handmade giveaway policies.

This giveaway is now closed! And the winner is…

Entering the Wholesale Market

Saturday, September 24, 2011

You have a fantastic product, even a loyal fan base and you’re ready to expand. How do you get your products into retail stores? It is an interesting challenge that Anointment is navigating right now. With a store having to choose between a myriad of products, how do you make YOUR product stand out from the bunch? This is the big question.

The answer is complicated, but here is a checklist of items to think about as you approach stores with your product.

1. Have a quality product, image and branding to go with it. I’ve seen it stated before, even right here on Oh My! Handmade but it bears repeating. Get it right before you take it to market. Your product is fantastic and retailers will want to research your website and promotional material – and will judge you and your business accordingly. Once a customer has tried your product, hopefully they will be hooked – but getting them to buy is key!

2. Social Media. Anointment is on Facebook, Twitter, a personal blog and Oh My! Handmade. I update Facebook frequently – usually on a daily basis and strive for blog posts at least three times a week. Of course, the blog posts are not always business related, but as always with me, life is business, and business is life. I like to think I’m a pretty well rounded person, so you’re going to get a little bit of everything. The great thing about social media is the connectivity and the customer feedback.

3. Farmer’s Markets and Craft Fairs. Anointment began at the historic Halifax, Nova Scotia Farmer’s Market in 2002. In 2011 my family and I moved from Halifax to Sackville, New Brunswick where we now participate in a much smaller but very well supported farmer’s market. We have met so many fantastic people in the four short months we’ve been doing it and have received press in a regional newspaper and opened a successful new wholesale account as a result – you never know who you might meet on Market Day.

4. Hire a Sales Representative. We have retained the services of a regional sales representative with contacts throughout the region in a variety of types of retail stores. A sales representative will have long-standing relationships with store owners and be armed with product knowledge, anecdotes about how the products are doing in other stores, catalogues, order forms and samples. Our rep has been working on opening new accounts in areas of the region where we are less able to reach individually. Be sure that the sales representative you hire will represent you in a way that is favourable – do your research, ask for references. When I owned a retail store I had one representative who came in with greasy samples, smeared business cards and body odour. I wish I was joking. Keep in mind that working with a sales representative means creating an agreement over their territory, commission and how you will manage any existing retail accounts within that territory. Be clear and put your agreement on paper. There are many variables.

5. Use your contacts. It’s all about who you know. If you’ve fostered relationships with retail store owners via social media, LinkedIn, a former job or other means – use it. Send a personal or personalized letter along with a catalogue and samples and follow up within two weeks with a phone call. If you have retailers that haven’t ordered for some time, send them one too, particularly if you have updated your branding, launched new products, received an award, etc.

6. Flexibility. I have set up a number of new accounts on consignment. It’s a gamble – some may work, some may not, but it is a means of reaching stores you admire or where you think your product will do well without an initial investment on the part of the store itself. Particularly in today’s economy, stores are typically working with less capital and having to compete harder with discounters.

7. Support your retailers. Don’t forget to support your retailers with regular newsletters keeping them in touch with what’s happening in your workshop, in-store promotional material, newsletters and clips they can forward to their clientele. Your relationship with your retailers is much like your relationship with your spouse – it takes time and effort to build and maintain it!

8. Have Patience. This is probably my biggest downfall. I want it all and I want it right now. You’ve got to put a a cap on that Veruca Salt Syndrome. Building relationships takes time and retailers will take a significant amount of time to try, evaluate, budget and eventually buy your product. The trick it to keep them up to date without overwhelming their inboxes and calling out of the blue. Tip: frequent calling is very tricky. Retailers are very busy and easily annoyed. It is a delicate balance.

You may find that once you reach a “critical mass” of stores they start coming to you to open accounts – fantastic! Don’t forget to keep fostering those relationships with the stores that took a gamble on you and be careful about territory. Wholesaling can become a very political game. Have your policies clearly laid out and abide by them (while still maintaining some flexibility – tricky, I know). Be patient and keep at it. Good luck!

Making Handmade Heritage in Rural Canada

Friday, August 12, 2011

Since 2009 I have been a maker of skin care products. Prior to that I was a maker of things.

I was born with a pencil in my hand so the legend goes. I painted and stitched my way through adolescence. By university I was selling hand-beaded items at a local consignment shop while studying engineering. This was my way of balancing my scientific curiosity with my creative need.

This year, through a series of life altering events, my family and I find ourselves living back in the town where I grew up. This is the same town through which my mother can trace her family roots back to the 1780s when settlers from Yorkshire, England arrived in search of a better life. What they found was an undeveloped land and the need to create a new life by hand – out of necessity. Their houses built of beams hewn by hand, the bark still left on. Clothing woven and knit from handspun yarn produced from their own sheep.

Early settler women rendered pig and beef fat into drippings suitable for soap making. Their caustic soda was extracted from water-soaked wood ash. The resulting soft brown soap was harsh and created holes in many a darned sock. Anointment soaps draw on the same process used by these women – olive oil is combined with palm and coconut oil and heated to a specific temperature. Lye is combined with pure water and cooled to the same temperature as the oils at which time they are slowly combined and mixed briskly. The soap solution will slowly change colour from translucent golden to opaque creamy white as the oils are transformed and saponified. The consistency will thicken and become more gelatinous as skin-softening glycerine is formed during the chemical reaction.

{Ontario women making soap via Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food R. R. Sallows Collection}

Commercially this process of soap making remained largely the same until the 1940s when, during World War II, the fats and oils traditionally used for soap making were diverted to manufacture explosives. New ingredients were needed to make cleaners and bars. At the time, petroleum oil was easily available and inexpensive so petroleum by-products were introduced to replace the natural oils and fats previously used to make soap. Long after the demand for explosives ceased the petroleum-based ingredients remained because of their economy.

{above: the old barn is being made new again}

Today’s small-scale soap manufacturers, such as Anointment, are preserving the heritage of a process adulterated by war. I take pride in measuring the oils, mixing vats of soap over a stove and cutting each bar by hand. As a maker of things turned soap maker we are now striving as a family to make handmade a way of life. We now live in a historic Victorian home, purchased with the intention of preserving its handmade heritage from a time when making do and subsistence farming was the predominant way of life. Lately, with three children at home, my husband can be found shingling the barn that will house our hens in the spring. We keep bees to pollinate the apple trees in our yard, produce honey for personal use and to use in the Anointment products that require it.

While today we have the luxury of choosing whether or not to live a life rich in handmade heritage, it is undeniable that it brings a sense of rhythm to family life and connection to the products we produce, use and consume. Producing skin care products by hand connects me to the ingredients, the process and the customer in a way that factory production simply can’t. Choosing this path for my family has meant a huge amount of risk in terms of financial stability and income, but the amount of happiness and life satisfaction we have gained is immeasurable.

Meeting the Makers: 3 Entrepreneurs Talk About Handmade Challenges & Success

Friday, June 10, 2011

by April MacKinnon of Anointment Natural Skin Care

Having gone from being a retailer in my previous business incarnation to a combination of wholesaler/retailer of my own skin care products, I’ve been closely watching the discussion of “the value of handmade”. I decided to examine my own company, and asked 2 ladies who also make and sell handmade items to join in the conversation with their experience.

Gillian Hyde is the creator of Pip Robins, a company dedicated to creating beautiful, sustainable cowl scarves for men and women. She is a retail manager by day and general all-around crafty mama by night! Rita van Tassel is a third-generation craftsperson, designer and teacher whose latest project is “Rita”, a signature line of leather and fabric jewelry.

How do you define success for your handmade company?

Each of us loves what we do. While Gillian and I were both aware of what was requited of our respective businesses to ensure profitability, Rita was quick to point out the realities of working in the handmade industry. “One does not get into the “business” of handmade for the financial freedom. Everyone I know who is pursuing even a part-time living from their creative skills does so because it’s a labour of love.” For each of us, success is defined as a combination of profitability to provide for our families and the satisfaction of producing goods that challenge us creatively.

All three of us felt that our business were being run on some variation of this principle I learned a long time ago from Jeremy Long, owner of Padraig Cottage, “run your business with your heart and the financial success will follow“. When you work with authenticity, it shines through!

Do you feel you can sell your product for a price that fully compensates you for the time required to make it?

Anointment product recipes are scalable to produce smaller or larger batches for most products. Some are limited to the size of my equipment, which makes them far more difficult to price as the batch sizes are very small and the time commitment is relatively large. Rita agrees that pricing competitively can be tricky. “The smaller pieces like my earrings are easier price fairly because I have a “system” of sorts down for when I put them together. Larger pieces like necklaces and especially one of a kind and/or specialty orders become more difficult. The actual number of hours it can take to design, prepare materials, assemble and package and market items can be huge.“ The difficulty then lies in the bigger picture if a small-scale producer looks to shops and boutiques to sell their product. “…If an item is being sold through a shop or gallery the artist may only get half the amount on the price tag.” Anointment products are priced such that I am compensated for the materials, even at wholesale prices, but not such that would allow me to have a dedicated production facility and staff to help me produce it.

Gillian admits to initially under pricing her product for the same reason many of us do, “…I didn’t know if other people would see the same thing that I did when I first started. I thought if it was cheap SOMEONE would certainly buy it.” When her Pip Robins cowls started selling so quickly she couldn’t keep up with demand, she increased the prices in an effort to stem the pace of the orders. She found that as the prices went up, sales continued to increase, while the time required to produce a cowl was decreasing as a result of experience. This year, her profits will allow her to expand her business and invest in newer, higher quality equipment.

One could argue that one of a kind custom work may suffer in this type of structure where systematic production is required to make a handmade product profitable. This may raise larger issues around craft and artistry. If there is a “cookie cutter” formula for a product, does that diminish the allure? Rita feels the biggest challenge faced by handmade businesses such as hers is educating the public about the value of handmade. “Fortunately for us there is an ever-growing population of people who are re-valuing quality handmade goods as well as supporting local economy. We are, however, still living in a culture based on the convenience of disposable products. It’s very important to establishing a customer base to be able to teach your clients about everything that not only makes your product attractive aesthetically, but also ethically.” While Gillian and I both agree with Rita on this point, as mothers of one child and three children, respectively, we both chime in that our biggest challenge is time – there is never enough of it!

Do you have a formal business plan or are you winging it?

Gillian’s response said it best: “I am 100% winging it. It feels like I have less to lose this way, and it also feels more organic.” Rita’s situation is similar, “My line is currently more like a big project for me. It’s just been within the past six months that I’ve really spent time refining my brand identity.” For small businesses that specialize in handmade goods, you may have the luxury of turning your hobby into a job, or not needing specialized equipment that may require financing and a business plan. It is critically important you set your pricing in a way that compensates you for your product if you intend to make your business sustainable and define your ideal customer and target audience, but how you compile this information is up to you. Now that Anointment is my full-time job, I will be formulating a much more comprehensive plan to make it as successful as I need it to be to support my family while avoiding some of the financial mistakes I made with my first business.

Pricing and value aside, the resounding advice for new business from the three of us is:

Create a quality product. Do it because you love it. Be thankful for every sale you make. Be kind to your customers. Never stop having fun.

Like Rita said when I asked her to share what she’d learned that may help others in building their own business:

“Do it because you love it. If you love what you make, then the inevitable times when you aren’t making any sales and you’ve convinced yourself that the world hates your work will be much easier to get past.

Chin up! If you know that you’re doing something for the right reasons, let that confidence come through in all aspects of your product and marketing. Keep putting your awesome product out there!”

April MacKinnon is the owner of Anointment Natural Skin Care now based in Sackville, New Brunswick (Canada). Visit April’s blog at www.loosegravel.ca. Find Anointment on Facebook and Twitter.

{Tutorial} DIY Luxury Solid Perfumes

Friday, May 13, 2011

by April MacKinnon of Anointment Natural Skin Care

Seeing the green of spring crop up all around me is putting a new bounce in my step. I’m looking forward to shedding layers of winter clothes and sprucing up my wardrobe and look! Inspired by the aromas of freshly mowed grass and lilacs in bloom, here is a tutorial for a little do-it-yourself luxury – solid perfume. Solid perfumes can be customized to any taste using essential oil blends or fragrance oils. My personal preference is to use high quality essential oils.

To make your own solid perfumes you will need:

Coconut oil (available in health food stores) or another carrier oil such as extra virgin olive oil or sweet almond oil.
Beeswax
Measuring spoons
A small pot
Essential oils or fragrance oils of your choice
A small bowl for mixing essential oils
Small jars or tins for your completed product (you can re-use a lip balm tin, cosmetic jar, or purchase new ones.
Medicine dropper

{Essential oils above from New Directions Aromatics: lavender, vanilla & ylang ylang}

1. If you are using a combination of essential oils, mix these in a small bowl. I used:

10 drops vanilla
10 drops lavender
5 drops sweet orange
5 drops ylang ylang

This made a floral, slightly earthy scent

2. In a small pot over medium heat combine 1 teaspoon each beeswax and coconut oil. Stir until melted.

3. Add 10-15 drops of your essential oils and mix gently.

4. Pour into small jars, allow to set.

This recipe makes about 6 g of final product. Apply a small amount to inner wrists or at the nape of the neck.

Caution: citrus oils (orange, mandarin, tangerine, petitgrain, bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, lime) will cause your skin to burn faster in the sun. Please be aware of this when mixing and applying your solid perfume.

Bonus tip:
Create a combination of lavender and peppermint and apply to temples to help relieve headache pain.

What scents will you choose for your own perfume? Share in the comments below!