Monthly Meeting! (November 2012)

Monday was our Monthly Meeting for November!

Here is Casey (PeachesProducts) modeling one of the hats made by one of our newest members, Mary-Anne of The TaylorShop.

This was Mary-Anne's first meeting with us! And she got to do the honors of picking the "Featured Member" for November. 

(we also used one of her handmade hats to place the slips in!) 

Jina (MoyaLazyFacory) was the winner this month!  So her shop gets to be featured in the nifty little CraftCult widget at the top of the blog sidebar!

At the end of the meeting, we did some "secret critiques" on some items...including this big plaid barn owl made by Kira of KiraArts (which she had brought in for John of JackBear Stamps as a trade for one of his hand-carved stamps)

They way we do the "secret critiques" is, the artist asks a question about their item, then everyone at the meeting writes their answer on a piece of paper anonymously, and puts it in a hat.  Then all the slips are given to the person whose item is being critiqued.  And they can either keep the results to themselves or share them with the group (which is more fun!).

We also did a critique of this lovely 3-color, letterpress-printed bicycle poster by Chris of FlyRabbitPress.
Usually the question is about the price of the item..."What would you pay for this?" or "What would you expect it to cost?".  It is hard for an artist to price their work.  It's a constant battle for an artist between what the work is really worth and what people will pay for it.  These critiques are a way we gain some insight into how much people are willing to pay for an item...which is sometimes more than we realize!  

Of course, our group has a unique appreciation for the amount of work it takes to produce handmade items!  But one of our goals is to spread that appreciation and knowledge to others!

Pics from October's Meeting

Here are some pictures from our October meeting!

Choosing a name out of the hat for this month's "featured member".

Cara from SewIndieShop is our winner this month!

After we finished some official business, John (Jackbear Stamps) wanted to test out some new "temporary tattoo" ink he had just bought.

A beer mug temporary tattoo using one of John's stamps.

Show off those guns, John!

Then more people had "Tattoos" done!

This was the other stamp design John had with him...a zombie! (fitting for October!)

A rare picture of Kira, who takes most of the photos at the meeting.

New "Featured Artist" Spot! (and Highlights From August's Meeting)

While brainstorming about how to encourage more members (particularly new members) to attend the monthly meetings, there was a suggestion for having a monthly "raffle" drawing at the meetings.  Whoever attends the meeting gets their name put into the hat, and whoever's name is pulled out of the hat gets to have a widget for their Etsy shop on the top of the sidebar of the blog as a "featured artist" for the month! 

 John (Jackbear) lent his hat and Casey (PeachesProducts) did the honors...

 And this months winner is... John of Jackbear Stamps!
You can see a new widget for the "Featured Artist" at the top of the sidebar of the blog!

 We also had some fun with a "creepy"mask Marie (MFcrafts) had made as an experiment in preparation for a commissioned project (we're not hatin'...she called it "creepy" first!).  Tiffany (FrecklesAndFrizz) decided to try it on!

 Yes...this is just some of the fun we have at the monthly meetings!  See?  Don't you wish you were there?

Toward the end of the meeting, we did an anonymous critique of some products Kira (KiraArts) brought in for advice on pricing.  The monster Casey is holding is "Hal".  Kira has just started using him in a series of photos she calls "The Adventures of Hal The Sweater Monster"

Other members in attendance this month were Amanda (BeadworkByAmanda), Catherine (BigTwigDesign), Kim (PandaWear), Jen (OldFamiliarWay), Sarah (PapersaurusCreative), Cara (SewIndieShop), Kelley (KelleysBeading), and Kim (ManicMetals).

Looking forward to next month's meeting!  

Make-it Mondays: Makin' it to a Year!

Tonight's meeting marks a year since our street team began meeting face to face. Look back at the second meeting here. A lot of familiar faces are there along with the many fantastic new members who have joined along the way. Let's take a step back to see just how far we've made it.

1. Membership has doubled, since 2009.
   
2. We had our first RNEST Holiday show.
3. Our blog went from 3 followers to 260 (as of today) and has four weekly writers.
   
4. Two of our members created an indie art market and have already scheduled a fall market to augment the first successful one in May.
5. We've gotten articles in the business section of the Democrat and Chronicle and the Rochester Examiner.
   
6. We've become a recognizable force to market organizers who give us early FYI's and discounts to shows.
7. Tips from meetings and Ning/blog threads have increased individual members sales.

Be proud to be an RNESTer! There will be more good things to come with everyone's input and enthusiasm...

Make- it Mondays: Our Biggest Team Meeting Yet

Where's the party at? Spot Coffee's RNEST Meetings.

We had a blast at tonight's meeting! To date we have never had so many team members make it to one meeting. Attending were: founders Just Ice Jewelry & Lauren's Lovelies, Jack Bear Stamps, Happy Olive, The Quilted House, Duncan Creative, Gocks Frocks, MF Crafts, Peaches Products, Beadwork by Amanda, Sarah's Amiables and me, Buenahelena. We were also honored to have extra guest Emily Shearing, who is a reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper. Publicity, yes!

Our awesome ATC's

We took the chance to test some new team projects including an ATC (artist trading card) swap and a long term, team craft project. Our ATC's showed off the many styles and talents growing within our group. Sarah of Sarah's Amiables called it "twitter for art". At the January meeting we decided that it would be fun to create a Rochester themed item for a blog giveaway crafted by many of our members. Our item is....drum roll please.....a Garbage Plate! The plate was made by Michelle of The Quilted House this month and the meat will be created the next month by Karen of Duncan Creative.

Pile up some craft meat on this plate!

Good things are happening. Tidbits are passed. Opportunities are shared and made. With an article in the D&C there may be even more to come!