Find Your Niche

Large Alice in Wonderland Key Necklace by absolutemarket

Take the test below to see if this will help you find your niche?

Ask yourself a few questions:

What can I do for hours and be happy doing it?

What were you great at when you were young?

What are you great at that others find hard?

What have your friends asked you for advice about?

What would you do even if you didn’t get paid for it?

By answering these questions you may find your Niche.

Let’s take the first question?

“What can you do for hours and be happy doing it?”

Let’s say your answer is working with your hands, that’s fine! Now ask yourself what do I like making using my hands.

Let’s say you like making hats with your hands, now break this down again and ask what type of hats?

Now you got the type of hats.

What’s the hat made of?

Let’s try the second question now?

“What were you great at when you were young?”

This may be hard to think of because some may say: “I was not great at anything...”

If you think more you will see you were great at a lot of things, so make a list.

See if any on the list tie into your answer to the first question?

Let’s try the next question now? 

“What are you great at that others find hard?”

Again some people will say I am not great at anything. You are wrong again.

If you look once more, you will see there is a lot of things that come easy to you that other may or do find hard to do.

Again make a list and see if any on the list tie in with the answers to the first and second questions.

Let’s try the next question now?

“What have your friends asked you for advice about?”

This also looks hard to answer at first but as you think about it a few areas will become clear. Again make a list.

Now see if any on the list tie in with the answers to the first questions.

Let’s try the last question now?

“What would you do even if you didn’t get paid for it?”

This is really asking you what you love doing.

This should be easy answer as most people only have a few.

Again make a list and see if any tie in with the answers from before.

By now you should have picture of what you are great at, what you like making and what others know you are great at doing.

Now all you have to do is put your angle on that product and make it your own and this will be your niche.

by William Doherty

Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/absolutemarket

Wish List

'Flow' card by Mindful Productivity on Etsy

As some of you know, I am involved in politics, and with the General Election in the UK on 7 May, fairly busy. Yesterday, the Labour Party released a document on improving access for young people to the creative education they need and succeed. It also talked about the creative industries, and how important they are for the country.

“If you believe in social justice, if you believe in a more equal society, then access to the arts and culture is not an optional extra, it is essential - not simply because of the worlds it opens up, but because of the wider impact it has." *

It made me think about how I did not enjoy any arts and craft education in school, because the teachers mainly focused on the ones who they saw as very talented and gifted, and the rest fell by the wayside, left to muddle around unappreciated. The pure enjoyment of art, creativity and craft –if you weren’t on genius level – was not seen as important. It was always about this grand outcome, this exceptional piece – and exceptional is often in the eye of the beholder, here the teacher – never about 'worlds opening up' or the moment of ‘flow’ ie when you forget everything and are just involved in creating something, and sort of...well, float on a cloud of bliss!

I find that when running a creative business, it’s a bit like that, too. You try to produce, and anything handcrafted takes time, so you focus on getting things done, and the lovely feeling of flow falls by the wayside. I knit on the hoof, during meetings, watching TV, and while my computer is uploading something, but only when I am not at home, for instance, when travelling by train and in no rush to do anything else but knit and look out of the window and drink coffee, do I get my flow back.

So it is hard to just live in your happy craft flow when you are running a business and trying to make a living. You may feel like you are battling against the world or closed doors, rather than worlds opening up.

Coming back to the political, I wonder what you – the reader – would love to see done by a government – any government – to improve our playing field as a creative (often one person-) business? What would be the one - or more – thing/s, that you want a government done for small independent creative businesses? The thing that open doors?

Then maybe, we would get our flow back more often...

Tell us your wish list in the comments!

Purls

* http://press.labour.org.uk/post/111879508104/miliband-labour-will-move-arts-to-the-heart-of

Crafty News

Greetings from the Crafty News Desk and Happy Easter from me and these cutsie chicks......

Some snippets of news for you ....

New market starting up in Wexford next Sunday 24th April.  Enya has been in touch with loads of tempting details - takes place in the Sky and Ground pub, a very popular spot in Wexford, starts at 12.30 with stalls inside and outside in the Beer Garden followed by music.  Details and info re stalls contact Enya @ 0876403323 or enya.barron@gmail.com - Facebook info MARKET

Annual Easter Craft and Book Fair in the Boyne Valley Hotel in Drogheda on 24th and 25th April.  Tables €35.  Contact Scott on 085 2828 420 or email him at craftersireland@gmail.com

Weekly market in Claremorris on Friday mornings, 10 till 1.  Email christinemlynn@gmail.com for more details


‘Community/Family Day’ in Delgany on Easter Monday (25th April) - market will take place in a vacant shop/retail unit on the main street in Delgany - market will be open from 10am till 3pm -  €15  Contact: becky.loftus@gmail.com

Artwork with the theme of Music is sought for the Bloom Festival in June - details BLOOM

And dont forget to keep your eye on the Calendar of events posted on the YeaR of Craft website - details CALENDAR

Thats about it for this week. 
Crafty News will be off enjoying the Easter celebrations next week so see you all on Monday 2nd of May for a roundup of any interesting events coming up in May.  Then I am off on my hols for a few weeks so I am looking for some guest writers for the Crafty News for Monday 9th 16th and 23rd.  Please get in touch if you would like to try your hand at writing for the News Desk.

Bye for now.
Mo
HUGGLEKNITS

I'll Show You Mine...Nice Day Designs

Hi this is Ruth from Nice day Designs and Nice Day Supplies, and here is a peek into my studio. I was really lucky when we moved into this house last April, the recession was good to us in the fact that rent prices came down. So we were able to afford a second bedroom that I could use as a studio. Cheekily I took the large master bedroom, that uses up the whole top floor of our house. I really love the high ceilings and exposed beams, and all that great storage was already here when we moved in.
As you can see I have A LOT of stuff, I work in many different disciplines, so this means I need tonnes of supplies. I try to keep it somewhat tidy, but it's a contstant struggle to control the chaos. Since I've started selling supplies I now have loads of extra boxes in the space that I really haven't found a proper place for yet. But I'm hoping to take a trip to Ikea soon, and all my troubles will be over then.... hopefully!
I attempted to make the place look a bit tidier for the photos, but I realised I will never have one of those pristine spaces. It think this room looks a little like the inside of my head, lots of things/ideas going on, lots of colour, and a bit scatty, but with a strange kind of logic. Having said that it looks a lot better than during the start of January, which had the left over carnage from the Christmas madness. I also hung up a few extra drawings/paintings that I had lying around, left over from exhibitions. It's nice to have pretty things to look at, I must also get myself a notice board so I can make some cool collages....oh another thing for the list!!
I feel really lucky that I have loads of space to let the business grow, it's heaven working there all day. Most of the time I'm squirrelled behind my desk sewing and listening to my audiobook. I also have a second work desk set up, because over the past year I've had a few people come in and do work experince, which is nice to have a bit of extra company.
Hope you liked my little tour!
Nice Day Designs
Nice Day Supplies
Nice Day Blog