One of the most asked questions that designers and makers ask me when I run workshops about selling or trade shows, or The Design Trust Get Clients Now! coaching programme is: How do I approach a craft gallery or design shop successfully? I always want to give practical and honest advice, whatever it is about. [...] Read more »
Exclusive Design Trust Dialogue: Dan Goode of online boutique Seek & Adore about how to sell successfully online
The Design Trust partner Seek & Adore brings together the work of designer makers with consumers looking to discover and buy unique and original pieces – from homewares, jewellery and fashion accessories to fresh and affordable handmade gift ideas. Seek & Adore is really keen that everything they sell is made by a real artist, [...] Read more »
Free The Design Trust Online Masterclass: Intro to Linked In for creatives, with Justyna Sowa of Decorum, Thursday 20 June at 1pm (UK time)
Linked In is one of the most popular online networking and recruitment sites, but not many creatives are using it. It looks a bit corporate, and if you don’t have ‘a proper job title’ you might struggle with getting your personal profile started. In this one hour online masterclass The Design Trust partner and social [...] Read more »
Free The Design Trust online masterclass: E-newsletter tips & tricks: how to build relationships, create fans & sell!, with Tamsin Fox-Davies, Tuesday 25 June at 1pm (UK time)
Email is THE most effective marketing tool for small businesses today! It’s a great way to stay in touch with your clients, and to boost your database. If you are not already sending a regular email newsletter to your audience then you are missing out on a huge opportunity to create real relationships with your [...] Read more »
Free The Design Trust Online Masterclass: How to grow your small creative business with email & social media, with Tamsin Fox-Davies, Thursday 30 May at 1pm (UK time)
DUE TO A TECHNICAL ISSUE WE HAVE HAD TO POSTPONE THIS WEBINAR FROM 22 MAY TO THURSDAY 30 MAY. Do you want to use social media for your creative business, but don’t know where to start? Do you know how important emails can be to promote your business? Do you want to learn how to [...] Read more »
The Design Doctor: How do I negotiate an exclusivity contract?
Dear Design Doctor I’ve been contacted by a web-based company overseas who wish to stock my products, but they have also asked if they can have exclusivity of a specific collection for the whole of the country (Australia). Whilst I am very flattered, I am also very hesitant. Can you give me any advice [...] Read more »
10 real life tips to succeed with your Kickstarter campaign by Kate Pickering of Vanilla Ink
In the last couple of years a lot of creatives have become very interested in a new alternative way of financing their creative projects or businesses: crowd funding. So, what is crowd funding? Crowd funding is a way to raise funding, often online or via the internet, by raising many small amounts of money from [...] Read more »
3 simple steps to start selling your crafts online to Europe – a guest post by DaWanda
Azra Ahmed is the English Community Manager at DaWanda, the most popular online marketplace for makers in Europe. She is English and has worked with many designers from the UK who sell well domestically in the UK, but are completely daunted by the idea of selling overseas. She really enjoy showing them just how easy [...] Read more »
Online course review: ‘Twitter Brilliance’ by Alicia Cowan
Are you wasting your time on Twitter? (Be honest!) Want to spend less time, and get better results? How does ‘doing a daily 10-minute Twitter workout’ sound to you, especially if it gets results? Do you want to network and connect with the right people on Twitter? Raise your profile dramatically? Drive traffic to your [...] Read more »
The Design Doctor: What are the best online sites to sell craft & design?
Dear Design Doctor There are so many online retailers and market places out there, how can I choose the right one? And how do I know if they give me honest answers?’ This real client question is answered by Patricia van den Akker, Director of The Design Trust: ‘Indeed there is a big boom [...] Read more »