Make-it Mondays: Get A Critique

This is a great idea! Critiques allow us access to another individual's perspective of our work, revealing the strengths and weaknesses we might not otherwise see. They wake us up to possibilities and make us reconsider why and how we create. If you are in a slump, find someone to critique you today or go and critique a shop that you really love.

How do you critique an Etsian?

• Similar to Feldman's model for Art, but with selling in mind.

1. Describe what you see. Your initial feelings about an item. Your overall sense of a shop front. The overarching theme of a blog.
2. Analyze how an item, shop or blog is put together. What materials are used most? What is the photo quality of the seller's items? How does the seller get traffic to their shop, blog or fanpage?
   
3. Interpret what you see. What message is the seller sending? Does the shop cater to a particular audience? Do the items align with their price point? Would you shop there?
   
4. Evaluate. What needs to change? What should the seller keep up or enhance? What products are strongest? What can the seller do to make his or her shop more cohesive, attractive and successful?
   

Where can you get critiques online?

• Our RNEST Ning site critique thread
  
• On the Etsy forums under 'critiques'
  
• At CRITIQUE MY BLOG

Tips?

• If you are the critic, be helpful, not hurtful. If you receive a critique, realize that the comments are about things not you.
• Go on your initial responses. If you have to spend time explaining your items, shop or blog your message probably needs clarity.
• You don't always have to listen to a critique. If a person thinks you should go in a direction you don't feel comfortable about, DON'T. Find critics you trust.