Euphemeral Designs is leaving Poppy & Co. in a week to focus on expanding my custom business and grow other areas.
Leaving has has been in the works for a few weeks now but I haven't blogged much about the process. Mainly because I can't fully answer the "what's next" question except to say it is going to be really different.
So much depends on where I'm going next and where I land will greatly affect my business model (how much custom versus how much retail, etc.) So it's a period of hurry up and wait, a place of limbo, a time of brainstorming and evaluating. It's also a time of building and harnessing momentum so that when I am ready, I have the energy and stamina to build and grow my business.
But one of the things I am excited about is growing the following four areas of my business.
1. Custom work
2. Wedding & event rentals
3. Shows
4. Travel
I'll save 1-3 for another time, another post.
#4 is what I am working on developing this week. The premises is fairly simple: Have Brush, Will Travel. In other words, I will be able to go to different cities for a long weekend, or for a week and with multiple custom jobs lined up, work in places such as Denver, San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Washington D.C. and beyond. I will even go out of the country. This is super exciting and I can't wait to launch this.
If you are interested in me coming to your city, contact me for more details! I have a four job minimum requirement in order for me to make it financially viable to travel. But how amazing is it going to be to be able to bring Euphemeral Designs to other parts of the country?! So great!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Euphemeral Designs is a Deaf Owned Business
I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a Deaf-owned business and how that manifests in my business planning.
I think a lot of people (hearing) sometimes are... taken aback shall we say, by Deaf business owners.The audacity of it. And when I still get {daily} questions if I can drive, how I can be a parent, the idea of a deaf business owner blows people away. While they are, thankfully, not the majority they number quite high.
I think additionally, folks who are nonplussed by me being Deaf, still find themselves surprised that being Deaf makes a big difference in how I run my business.
I do things differently for sure. And intentionally so. Thank goodness too, because it makes my business all the better for it.
Some of it is simple. For example, I will never have a traditional phone line (a videophone perhaps) and I will always be accessible through email, and social media will be at the forefront of my marketing strategies.
Some of it is subtle: I arrange the spaces I work in according to light, shadows, sight lines. Having no to little visual obstructions is very important to me and something I do naturally, without thought, when I am arranging furniture. And when something impedes that, it grates at me and makes me irritated. Like whoa, cranky.
Some of it is a reflection of my Deaf community values: I am a huge believer in community, networking, sharing information, transparency, and working towards the greater good for the community as a whole.
Some of it is geared towards my personal comfort. I like a quiet environment. You won't find me playing/blasting music (very often anyways). The excess noise bothers me and makes it harder for me to concentrate when I'm working.
Some of it is about communication needs. I always maintain eye contact. I move closer to people to understand them. I tell people how to best communicate with me, ideally, in American Sign Language. I also value written information/emails/signage. I frequently repeat things back to people to make sure I understand what is going on, and I ask probing questions to understand how people are feeling/doing.
Some of it is about being visually observant: I often find myself watching people's body language and how they move, where their eyes go, what they touch. I learn a lot from shoppers that way, especially in a retail environment. I am extremely sensitive to where they linger, what they are drawn towards, and what makes them smile and pause. Shopper confusion is also one of those things that is always on my radar. So are those grimaces when they're looking at price tags (I know, they're just not my customer and that's okay).
Some of it is about clarity: I am very direct. While I am kind and nice the majority of the time, when called for, I do not mince words. I say exactly what I mean with the full emotional impact of what I mean. In other words, I have very little time, patience, tolerance for BS talk. You will always know where you stand and I will always be direct.
Some of it about being drawn to the visual arts: As in, I work with a very visual medium - painting furniture, staging, arranging, merchandising, crafting; creating these things with my eyes and my hands. Deaf folks are supremely visual. There is a very long, rich legacy of Deaf artists creating works of art and beauty throughout history. And being rooted and connected in this is an important part of my journey as a Deaf person. And drawing attention to other artists, especially local Deaf artists, is something that is very near and dear to me.
But some of it is political too. And yes I mean both the rah-rah Deaf Power political, but also the subtle mechanisms of community interconnectedness, the collaboration, the community building. And this part of it is going to be more visible and more prominent as I take Euphemeral Designs to its next level.
The world needs to see more Deaf {women} owned businesses in collaboration with other Deaf folks, other Deaf businesses, and Deaf community members. And I don't mean "Deaf folks are just like hearing folks" kind of assimilation, but that we're amazing, awesome, different, and really damn good at what we do in ways that our hearing peers can't. I'm excited about what this means for me and Euphemeral Designs.
I think a lot of people (hearing) sometimes are... taken aback shall we say, by Deaf business owners.The audacity of it. And when I still get {daily} questions if I can drive, how I can be a parent, the idea of a deaf business owner blows people away. While they are, thankfully, not the majority they number quite high.
I think additionally, folks who are nonplussed by me being Deaf, still find themselves surprised that being Deaf makes a big difference in how I run my business.
I do things differently for sure. And intentionally so. Thank goodness too, because it makes my business all the better for it.
Some of it is simple. For example, I will never have a traditional phone line (a videophone perhaps) and I will always be accessible through email, and social media will be at the forefront of my marketing strategies.
Some of it is subtle: I arrange the spaces I work in according to light, shadows, sight lines. Having no to little visual obstructions is very important to me and something I do naturally, without thought, when I am arranging furniture. And when something impedes that, it grates at me and makes me irritated. Like whoa, cranky.
Some of it is a reflection of my Deaf community values: I am a huge believer in community, networking, sharing information, transparency, and working towards the greater good for the community as a whole.
Some of it is geared towards my personal comfort. I like a quiet environment. You won't find me playing/blasting music (very often anyways). The excess noise bothers me and makes it harder for me to concentrate when I'm working.
Some of it is about communication needs. I always maintain eye contact. I move closer to people to understand them. I tell people how to best communicate with me, ideally, in American Sign Language. I also value written information/emails/signage. I frequently repeat things back to people to make sure I understand what is going on, and I ask probing questions to understand how people are feeling/doing.
Some of it is about being visually observant: I often find myself watching people's body language and how they move, where their eyes go, what they touch. I learn a lot from shoppers that way, especially in a retail environment. I am extremely sensitive to where they linger, what they are drawn towards, and what makes them smile and pause. Shopper confusion is also one of those things that is always on my radar. So are those grimaces when they're looking at price tags (I know, they're just not my customer and that's okay).
Some of it is about clarity: I am very direct. While I am kind and nice the majority of the time, when called for, I do not mince words. I say exactly what I mean with the full emotional impact of what I mean. In other words, I have very little time, patience, tolerance for BS talk. You will always know where you stand and I will always be direct.
Some of it about being drawn to the visual arts: As in, I work with a very visual medium - painting furniture, staging, arranging, merchandising, crafting; creating these things with my eyes and my hands. Deaf folks are supremely visual. There is a very long, rich legacy of Deaf artists creating works of art and beauty throughout history. And being rooted and connected in this is an important part of my journey as a Deaf person. And drawing attention to other artists, especially local Deaf artists, is something that is very near and dear to me.
But some of it is political too. And yes I mean both the rah-rah Deaf Power political, but also the subtle mechanisms of community interconnectedness, the collaboration, the community building. And this part of it is going to be more visible and more prominent as I take Euphemeral Designs to its next level.
The world needs to see more Deaf {women} owned businesses in collaboration with other Deaf folks, other Deaf businesses, and Deaf community members. And I don't mean "Deaf folks are just like hearing folks" kind of assimilation, but that we're amazing, awesome, different, and really damn good at what we do in ways that our hearing peers can't. I'm excited about what this means for me and Euphemeral Designs.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Custom Chairs for Rae
This week I put the finishing touches on these custom chairs and added fabric.
Soon I will be doing almost exclusively custom work and opening up my own studio (with a small retail format/open studio hours/showroom).
Almost every week I do custom work, often two jobs at a time. I've been doing custom for a year and a half and it is honestly my favorite part about this journey. I have never had a "bad" custom job and instead have made wonderful new friends, had lots of word-of-mouth referrals, tons of repeat business, and get to work on the coolest pieces. I am so fortunate.
These chairs were a fun client project to work on and I am so proud of how they turned out. The client had such a great eye and vision for what she wanted and all I needed to do was bring that vision to life.
She wanted a set of chairs I already had painted a darker gray (charcoal), with four different fabrics on them. I am so glad I trusted her vision because they turned out amazing! I'm not sure if I can ever go back to matching chair fabrics now.
Have a great Sunday!
xo,
crys
UPS Flea Market Recap
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| photo credit: Alison of The Modern Cottage Co. and my booth-mate |
In general, I have a like/hate relationship with doing shows.
The ugh:
I hate the buildup to them, the stress, the "what should I bring/what will resonate with attendees/what price point should I be at/how much furniture versus how many smalls/do I do hand crafted stuff this time or not" . . . it is crazy-making.
Shows are pretty much a crapshoot because you never know what is going to work. You may make only your booth fee back, or you may make a killing, or somewhere in between.
They're not really a good fit for my lifestyle- I have to always figure out childcare and/or work around the fella's schedule and it always ends up being more complicated than I care for. More often than not we are loading/unloading with a four year old "helping" and a 15 month old hanging off one of us. And more likely than not, we're all sick the week of the show. That's always fun.
It is really, really, really tough to do shows when you have a store. You either have to pull from the store, leaving it bare (and reducing your store inventory prices for shows and losing profit that you would have easily made at the store), or working your tushy off painting for a show and not doing squat for the store (again, not good), or you are trying to stock for both the store and the show and you have basically stopped sleeping. And did I mention you are probably sick too?
The yay:
I always make good money at shows. Hundreds of dollars if not more, depending on the size of the show and the size of my booth.
It is an amazing networking/marketing opportunity. I meet the coolest people, both vendors and customers alike.
It drives future revenue because customers come back to find me later and shop from me at the store.
It is fun to meet people who follow you on the blog or on Facebook.
It is fun to meet people who follow you on the blog or on Facebook.
I love making the booth look pretty with merchandising and cute arrangements. I think the booth content is half the job, good displays are just as important.
Why this one rocked:
The organizers did a really great job with everything from recruiting fantastic vendors, to organizing the event, to making us feel so very well taken care of.
There were so many local Tacoma retailers and good friends who were vendors and that was fun.
Sharing a booth with a friend and Poppy & Co. partner was beyond awesome. While it is true that more hands make light work, it's also just more enjoyable to hang out with your friend all day and make money.
We sold 2/3 of our booth which meant less to haul back, yay!
It was SO crazy busy, especially the first three hours. At one time we had thirty people waiting in line to get into our booth. Crazy.
I'd totally do it again. See you next year!
Sharing a booth with a friend and Poppy & Co. partner was beyond awesome. While it is true that more hands make light work, it's also just more enjoyable to hang out with your friend all day and make money.
We sold 2/3 of our booth which meant less to haul back, yay!
It was SO crazy busy, especially the first three hours. At one time we had thirty people waiting in line to get into our booth. Crazy.
I'd totally do it again. See you next year!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Aqua Buffet Revealed
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| Ha, and -NOW- I notice I forgot to put the door knobs back on. |
LOOOOVE this pretty lady. My gaw. Talk about a transformation. I don't have any Before Photos, but let me tell you she was ugly. So ugly I almost passed on her.
And now after some color and love and my dad's willingness to plane the doors and drawers so they would fit again... I am so smitten. It's times like this where I ask myself what in the world am I doing selling these pieces?! I should be KEEPING them. Alas, off to the shop she goes tomorrow night. And I might shed a tear.
Let me stop telling and get back to showing...
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| Mmm, those handles! |
A little cubby for displaying your lovelies, or a basket for organizing your media & remotes under your flat screen. She'd rock it as an over-sized changing table in a nursery too.
What would you put in there?
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| Two of my favorite books of all time . . . two sweet little birds, and of course, aqua glass. |
Linking Up:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Feathered Nest Fridays
Furniture Feature Fridays
Sneak Peek!
I don't know about you, but I sort of hate the art deco waterfall style of furniture. Until now. Now I want to get my hands on ten of them and paint them in all kinds of fun, bright colors.
I think this shade of aqua is pretty retro anyways and goes well with this piece.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Tuxedo Eastlake
Here she is!
I've been wanting to do a tuxedo treatment on furniture for about three months now. But none of the furniture I have been working with has been quite right. Until now.
This three-drawer eastlake dresser that I've had in my garage FOREVER has been painted with General Finishes Milk Paint {lamp black} and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint {Pure White}
I decided to seal it with a few coats of water-based satin poly. It still has a definite shine but isn't crazy shiny. And that's exactly what I was going for.
I loved how it turned out! I left the knobs matte and did not seal it with polycrylic. I like the contrast between the higher sheen black of the dresser and the matte knobs. General Finishes Milk Paint is an exterior grade paint and does not need to be sealed.
Also, this specific brand of milk paint is not a genuine milk paint because it does have chemical binders and comes pre-mixed, but it has many of the qualities of milk paint that I love, minus the chippy goodness. This is my favorite black by the way.
More tuxedo treatment coming your way too! I have a small dresser with clean mid-century lines that will be getting a horizontal black and white stripe treatment. The measuring and taping just might make my head explode, but it's going to be darling and totally worth it.
My {future dresser} inspiration photo, you can find the image on my Painted Furniture Inspiration Board on Pinterest. I think I might make my stripes chunkier though. We shall see.
Linking up:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
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