Worth It's Weight In Gold

This morning, I needed to get out of the studio for awhile, so I made my way over to the local book store to see what was new. My bookstore has a very sad art/hobby section, but occasionally I do find something worth buying.

Today it was the Savvy Crafter's Guide to Success* by Sandra McCall. The cover price is $21.99 CDN and after thumbing through it and seeing the names of two friends (I love when that happens!) and fellow Artsmiths, Sarah Fishburn and Sylvia Luna between the pages, I had to have it.

I am about half way through and I can tell you whether you are considering going into art as a business or are already doing so, this book is jam packed with tons of helpful information and inspiration to help you make your dreams come true.

This book covers everything from choosing a name for your business, to setting up a workspace, to marketing tips, to teaching information, to branding, to doing shows as a vendor or exhibitor, to heading off burn out and so much more! Honestly, I wish this book had been around 7 years ago when I was first starting out. It's a well spring of information.

I want to take a moment to say don't let the word "crafter" in the title put you off. I know lots of people turn their noses up at the idea of being called a crafter, but in this book Sandra uses the words "crafter" and "artist" interchangeably and without judgement. I remember a conversation at Artfest one year about what we choose to call ourselves as makers of things. It was interesting to note that most people felt hesitant to be called an artist or a crafter for one reason or another. How funny and quirky we are!

Anyway, I am incredibly impressed with this book and if you are going to even *think* about starting an art based business, this is a definite must have. It will save you alot of the guess work and points out some of the simplest and often overlooked aspects of building a business. I am sure you will turn to it time and again as an indispensable reference tool. My copy is already covered in Post-it Notes and flagged pages and it's only been in my possession for all of 2 1/2 hours!

*I'm not sure why the covers are copletely different. The copy I bought looks like the one pictured here on my blog. It's the same book though, as far as I know.