The Studio Source helps you build an extraordinary business by focusing on approach—how you show your work, how you connect with your customers, and how you can make great marketing without selling your creative soul.
Stacey Cornelius
I'm a writer, jargon translator, idea junkie & creative entrepreneur with a Fine Art degree. I have years of professional experience in retail, theatre, fine craft and information technology. Read More
The perception of “cheap”
I posted the above tweet on March 1st. I followed it up with, “There’s a reason I don’t buy “bargain” art or craft. Cheap = poor quality. Pricing is part of your marketing and part of your brand.”
A thoughtful question followed: at what point does my perception of handmade being cheap change?
Image by gnuckx
You have an idea. A message you want to send to the world.
You think about what you want to say: the concept, the emotion, the impact on your audience.
You make a plan.
You select your tools, begin work.
Momentum soars, peaks, fades, then grows again.
There are setbacks.
You curse your lofty goals, wonder what the neighbours think.
The idea is good.
It won’t let go.
You hold your ground, plant your feet, dig in.
You learn things.
Things you were a little afraid of before.
You pick up your most trusted tools.
You experiment with the new ones.
You work.
The idea takes on a life of its own, doesn’t look like the idea you began with.
You let it have its way with you.
Which is the way it should be.
You finish.
Is it perfect?
No.
But it’s done.
And true.
This is art.
This is craft.
This is design.
This is music.
This is writing.
This is creativity.
For those who are willing to see the possibilities, this process also defines marketing: a smart, honest, carefully crafted mixed media message.
The first piece I wrote—the first article published here at the Studio Source—was about how cool marketing can be. I believed it before I began this venture, and 100 articles later, I still believe it. How about you—are you in?
Posted in: Tweak your thinking
Tags: manifesto of creativity
It’s a familiar refrain—New Year’s resolutions often fail within the first week or two. Every year the experts talk about how to make resolutions, and every year there are numerous theories about why they either succeed or fail.
How about this for a theory: it’s hard to keep a New Year’s resolution when there’s a big pile of Shoulds cluttering up your consciousness. Those nagging little thoughts are big distractions and if left untended, become disappointments and a false sense of failure. When that happens, it’s hard to concentrate on your bigger, more important goals.
It’s time to dump that pile.
