Whenever I need advise, support, or a joke, I just click my heels 3 times and repeat "there's no place like HandmadeArtists, there's no place like HandmadeArtists".
The man behind the curtain at Handmade Artist Forum is Andrew Kitchen of Chainmaille by MBOI fame, and for this story, the role of Glenda the Good witch is his wife Kimberly of Making The Best Of It. They are a talented duo dedicated to the shameless promotion of handmade and struggling artists everywhere. Which is wonderful for us struggling artists trying to share our creations in the overwhelming world of on-line retail. That's why they started the forum, to promote handmade. Joining the forum is easy and free, and the benefits are numerous. First there is the promotion...a blog ring, a twitter ring, a facebook ring, pinterest, if there is a social site where they can promote handmade, the Kitchens have set up a presence there. You can sell your items anywhere, and share them on the forum, and there other artists will lovingly critique it, and help to promote it. There are tips and links and support galore. My favorite discussion thread is "What are you doing today". It's great to hook up with people who are struggling to juggle all the balls (just like me) but still enjoy helping each other, not just with our shops, but with life in general. Now I have to say this...I have a shop on HandmadeArtists.com and one on Etsy, so I check out the forums for both, and on HAF I have NEVER seen a mean, rude, or sarcastic response for any question from any person. Which is more than I can say for the Etsy forum...and another thing I like better on HAF is you don't have to join teams to get together with other artists for help. You just find a discussion thread to join, or start one yourself. If you are an artist trying to sell your creations on line...consider joining the Handmadeartist.com shopping section. For a really low fee of only $5.00 per month, you can list as many items as you want, and there are no other fees once you sell an item. In fact, they don't care where you sell, as long as you're making a sale, so you can have the same listing on other sites. (I do.) And like I said before, they promote like crazy. Not only do the Kitchens own Handmadeartist.com, they recently purchased It'sBetterHandmade.com AND they cross-promote with OnFireForHandmade and Handmadeology. So they've got it all covered.Now click on the links above, grab a cup of your favorite brew, and join us on the forums. And if you're free tonight, we have a live chat every Thursday at 8pm est. See you then!
Be blessed,
Debbi
15 comments:
Great post, Debbi! Shared.
Wow, you covered it all!
Great post from the other Debbie and John pair on Handmade Artists. Of course we are on opposite sides of the country.
This sounds like a great place to go! Thanks!
Lovely post!
Thanks for the love! We love our artists and could not do it without the support of our shop vendors and forum members...you guys really do make the days fun.
why thank you everyone...it's easy to talk about such a great place!
Debbi
-yankeeburrowcreations
You nailed it. It's a family at Handmade Artist Forum and Shop!
Every time you mention HandmadeArtists, I always make a mental note to go and check it out. And again, here I am making that mental note. It sounds like such a great place to be! I don't know why I keep lagging on going to see what I'm missing!
I really like those sunflowers glasses.
~Kim
2justByou.blogspot.com
$5/month is a amazing deal. It have been a while since I have logged into Handmade Artists and still have to revisit the site. I love how supportive the crafting community is!
Wonderful post. I do like the forum and the support is terrific.
Loved your post
Thanks for the love Deb you are truly a sweetheart!
Nice post!
Lo we have the Great Oz, the wonderful Glenda, and I guess we have the Munchkins too!
Great post Debbie!
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