Lark Books: CALL FOR ARTISTS

500 Found-Object Works Juror: Suzie Millions Editor: Suzanne Tourtillott Entry deadline: March 15, 2009 Lark Books seeks one-of-a-kind images of found-object art to publish in a juried collection representing the most creative examples in this exciting genre. While material options are endless (recycled/repurposed wood, paper, plastics, electronics and the like), we will accept only professional quality photography. Due to trademark considerations, very few works featuring recognizable brand names or logos will be accepted. This publication is scheduled for release in Fall 2010. There is no entry fee. Download an entry form here.

Weekly Giveaway on the Gift Guide!!

This week you can win this great necklace made by Visionquest. You can enter every week, so check out the gift guide for more information. http://www.handmadeincalifornia.net/

CCCOE Member Studio Tour: Featured Artist-MyFriendRoze

Tell us a little about yourself and how it all began.

You want me to tell you where babies come from? When a man and woman love each other.... I'm originally from Buffalo, NY but I went to Parsons School of Design in NYC for sculpture. While I was there I learned some jewelry making techniques from my Aunt Marge who lives in Philadelphia. After school somehow I got sucked into the music industry for several years and had no time for jewelry (well I made it as often as I could in my "spare" time). So about a year ago I quit and started traveling around the world and when I came back I began making jewelry in earnest. Wish me luck!

Where do you work? Show us your space please!

I work in a crowded bedroom.

What is your favorite tool?

Ball Peen hammer... I want a new smaller one though my dapping block is a close second and now disc cutter. oh wait that's three...

What time of the day are you the most productive/inspired? I work early in the morning/late at night (which sometimes overlap) but I think I might be the most PRODUCTIVE in the midafternoon.

What inspires you?

Everything... I can't focus, I see bubblewrap and I think I want to make pendants out of that, and then I see a tool I like and I want to try that, I look in a book and I want to try that, a friend comes over and tells me about something and I want to try THAT, I go to a store and I want to use the color I see on the wall, I buy a vintage magazine and I want to have a retro feel... blah blah blah,

How do you promote yourself and your shop?

Through CCCOE mostly- on other peoples blogs, on facebook and myspace, through my family and friends...now I started doing craft fair

How long have you been on Etsy?

Since April 29th, 2008

What else do you enjoy doing other than creating?

Wine tasting, and eating.

What would you like to see happen/change with CCCOE?

More meet ups

What is your favorite thing about CCCOE?

Meeting all the new people and making new friends

What is your favorite food?

Food in general

Favorite book or movie?

I love movies and books how can I pick a favorite?

I love the 1981 french film Diva and I am presently reading "when you are engulfed in flames" by David Sedaris

One thing you absolutely cannot live without?

Food and water, my dog, my credit card wait that's four...

Lastly what piece that you have created is your favorite and why?

I don't have an all time favorite- because everytime I make something that actually comes out right I love that one- right now I like one of the bubblewrap pendants. You can see more of MyFriendRoze's unique jewelry at her Etsy shop.

CCCOE Member Studio Tour: Featured Artist-The Chainmaille Lady

Tell us a little about yourself and how it all began.

I have been pretty crafty all my life. My mom was extremely crafty, she was always creating something, paper mache’, painting, throwing pots, and macramé. My mom and I each entered a collage in the local craft fair and I took home first prize and mom took home second! I think it had something to do with me being a kid : ). At our local park they were always giving free classes in knitting, crocheting, and various other crafts and mom made sure I attended all of them. So ultimately I have “many talents”. I knit, crochet, cross stitch, Swedish weave, bobbin lace, needlepoint, and hardanger. In 2003 I entered two items I had made, a Swedish weave blanket and a hardanger wall hanging into the L.A. County Fair. The blanket won third place and the hardanger won first!

Where do you work?

Well, I have a bedroom that has been converted into my "studio" which is very nice but I do most of my work in the living room on my swivel chair.

What is your favorite tool?

My Lindstrom pliers made in Sweden . What time of the day are you the most productive/inspired?

Usually right before I go to bed, I will think of something I could create and then I can't sleep! I have to stay up until I either get it down on paper or actually create it!!! What inspires you?

Everything. Sometimes I sit out on the back porch and just stare at the wonders of nature. Other times I'll be watching T.V. and I will see something that will trigger my creativity. My husband is great source of inspiration. He is very helpful when I am bouncing ideas off him, he usually will help me to name some of my pieces. How do you promote yourself and your shop?

One place is at the weekly Farmers Market & Craft Show where I have a booth. I love to talk about my jewelry and give demonstrations as to how it is made. People really appreciate the information. I wear my jewelry and always have business cards on hand to give out. I have a few The ChainMaille Lady T-shirts I wear. I use Flickr, Twitter, Blogspot, Kijiji, Craig's List and have also joined a couple of Etsy Teams.

How long have you been on Etsy?

Since May of 2008 What else do you enjoy doing other than creating?

Spending time with my husband and my little Chihuahua Miss Gizmo. Visiting with family. What would you like to see happen/change with CCCOE? What is your favorite thing about CCCOE?

The members and the weekly thread. The Yahoo Disgest is good to because I can keep up to date on the group.

What is your favorite food? Taquitos from Pepe’s Favorite book or movie? Grease One thing you absolutely cannot live without? Chocolate and milk. Lastly what piece that you have created is your favorite and why? My Hardanger Eyelet Chainmaille bracelet. It looks like a delicate piece of Norwegian Hardanger. To see more of Lauren's beautiful jewelry check out her Etsy store.

CCCOE November Happenings

November is here. I can't believe it.

CCCOE members will be very active this month around Cali. Get ready for the holidays this year by buying handmade at some of these great shows. If you are doing any events and want them on the blog please email me.

November 1st: Creative Play Center Holiday Boutique in Pleasant Hill 10-2 p.m. at 2323 Pleasant Hill Road October Photography will be at this event November 2nd: SoCal Handweavers Guild Show PrimaDonna Beads will be at this event http://www.schg.org/festival/index.html

November 8th: Holiday Craft Faire @ the Campbell Community Center 1 W. Campbell Ave 9-4pm in the Orchard City Banquet Hall Free Admission Over 35 Artisans with Handmade Gift Items TreasuresByTina will be at this event November 8th: Holiday Faire at the Irvine Fine Arts Center Fundraiser

14321 Yale Avenue (in Heritage Park) Irvine from 9am to 4pm

Over 150 Vendors $2 admission, Children 12 and Under FREE!

Genene's Jewelry and Yolanda's Clay will be selling there.

November 8th: Holiday Hotness Bazaare in LA @ the Gam Art Center 4975 West Pico Blvd. from 11-7pm $2.00 Admission, Kids under 7 and under are free Organized by SpringCartDesigns www.thahotness.com Knittergirl, MyFriendRoze, Annie K Designs, Amanda K Lockrow Jewelry, A S K Designs November 8th: LA Derby Dolls - Season Championships! in LA Starts at 6pm - ALL AGES! The Doll Factory 1910 W. Temple Street http://www.DerbyDolls.com Lucky Find Designs will be at this event November 8th: Zenia's Handcrafted Creations Bazaar in Oakdale @ Zenia's Yoga Boutique 205 North Second Avenue from 2-10pm AlliesAdornments and 2Dy4 will be at this event November 9th: Patchwork Fair in Santa Ana @ A Road Less Traveled Store 2202 N. Main, Santa Ana from 11-5

Red Bess Bonney Creations, AM PM Creations, Off the Hook Hats, Yolanda's Clay, Porterness, MyFriendRoze, Amanda K Lockrow Jewelry, ClayDame Free Event, Music, DJ's, Great Handmade Wares, and Kid-Friendly

November 9th: Traveling Boutique in Santa Paula @ Santa Paula Inn AnnieKDesigns will be selling her wonderful wares here from 11-5 November 9th: Babes and Babies Shopping Event in Mill Valley Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto from 10-2 Oishi Knits will be selling at this event. November 15th: Fammatre Elementary Holiday Boutique in San Jose 2800 New Jersey Ave from 10-3pm TreasuresByTina will be at this event November 15th: Sidewalk Sale in Santa Monica Ocean Park Blvd. between 17th and 18th St. 12 to 5pm Organized by Artful at 1726 Ocean Park Blvd Great variety of handmade crafts can be found here! ElenaMary and Palleiko Designs will be at this event November 16th: Felt Club in LA @ the Shrine Center 700 W 3rd St from 11-7 www.feltclub.com Porterness, MiriamDema, MyFriendRoze, Amanda K Lockrow Jewelry November 20th: Ventura Baptist Church Holiday Faire in Ventura AnnieKDesigns will be selling her wonderful wares here from 5 - 9 PM November 21st: Home for the Holidays Craft Faire @ Grace Harbor Church 12881 Newport Ave. from 3-8pm Yolanda's Clay and LuckyFindDesigns will be at this event November 22nd: Craft Fair at Olive Knolls Church in Bakersfield 8am - 2pm JamieSews will be at this event

November 23rd: Sonoma Artisan Faire in Sonoma At the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall 126 First St. West 12-5:30pm www.sonomaartisanfaire.com Organized by Tara of Combustion Glassworks DennisAnderson, AlliesAdornments, CombustionGlassworks, OhMay, QuirkyNBerkeley, LocalColorist, ShopWhimsy/Wrenay, MolecularMuse, Phydeaux Designs, MyFriendRoze, ButtercupBloom, Estudio Martita, ThisIsIt, Audelaine, OctoberPhotography, HeArtCollective, ArtToWearDiva, Amanda K Lockrow Jewelry will all be at this great event. November 23rd: Santa Margarita Craft Fair @ the Community Center Event is from 9 to 5pm There will be 25 vendors at this event. PegGradyArt and SarahWinklerArt will be at this event November 29th: Hand Born in Modesto Multiple locations, J. Street from 6-11pm http://www.handborn.com/ AlliesAdornments will be at this event

Studio Tour Interview Questionnaire's

Hi friends! Don't forget to turn in those questionnaire's for the CCCOE Studio Tour Features. We are very excited about this new feature but can't make it work without your help! We want to feature all our members so be sure to fill out the forms and send them back to Amanda or Heather.

CCCOE Holiday Gift Guide

Your fabulous PR committee has been slaving away at getting this fantastic project together.

The 2008 Handmade in California Holiday Gift Guide. Be sure to check out the great gift ideas for the upcoming holidays. Support Handmade! There are new items being added daily. With so many talented members you are sure to find what you are looking for, for everyone on your list this year! If you want to reserve your spot in the guide click here. Sections are already filling up so reserve your spot now.

LoriDelisle Presents a New LIFE Collection!

CCCOE member LoriDelisle has an all new collection available on Etsy.

All pieces are custom made, OOAK, available in men's and women's versions, Christian or Jewish(not listed yet but available now... listing soon). The options will be slowly expanding. Check out her shop to see more options. If you are a CCCOE member and have a new collection, event, or happening please send Heather or I the info!

CCCOE Member Studio Tour ~ Featured Artist: Wrenay Charlton

Tell us a little about yourself and how it all began. My name is Wrenay Gomez Charlton (my etsy friends and some close family members call me Wren). Currently, I run a graphic design studio from my home office. I started making crafts after the birth of my second daughter, Mia (now 2 years old). Crafting was my way to have a creative outlet, since I had to put my conceptual art pursuits on the back burner to tend to the newbie in the house. I started off making felt plushies as Christmas presents, but then started to get custom requests from friends and friends of friends. Where do you work? Show us your space please! What is your favorite tool? I love working with my vintage cameras. I shoot a lot of photos, not only as a means to create art, but also product shots for my 3 etsy shops. I also cannot live without my sandpaper block-almost everything I create-at some point will come into contact with sandpaper. What time of the day are you the most productive/inspired? Because I work from home, I can fit blocks of time for my shops and crafting between everything else. But, I am most productive between 10PM and 1AM (when everyone else is asleep) What inspires you? Music, poetry, my kid's laughter, rain, cloudy days, memories, art supplies, the blank page and the smell of playdough. How do you promote yourself and your shop? I promote my shops at craft fairs and on my blog. I'm also on Trunkt and some other related sites. I just recently started advertising online, but its too soon to tell if that is driving traffic to my shops. I plan to launch a website for all my crafty endeavours in 2009. How long have you been on Etsy? I've been on Etsy as a buyer since Jul 24, 2006. I opened my first shop, Whimsy in Jan 2008, my second shop, Wrenay Gomez Charlton Photography in March 2008 and my third shop, The Crafty Wren, Sept 2008. What else do you enjoy doing other than creating? I like going on drives, listening to music...I waste a lot of time on Facebook. I meet my friends at least once a week, for coffee, museum/gallery visits, etc. What would you like to see happen/change with CCCOE? There are so many talented members, it would be great to have our own version of Etsylabs-CCCOElabs! What is your favorite thing about CCCOE? I have met so many wonderful people since joining CCCOE. I love the support I have received from other teamsters. Whether it be a friendly dispatch on the weekly thread, an uplifting convo or a visit to my booth at various craft fairs. There are a core group of members at the heart of this team and I have grown very fond of them all. What is your favorite food? Pizza Favorite book or movie? There are too many great ones to pick a favorite...but I'll give it a go... Some recent great movies I have seen include...The Diving Bell and Butterfly, Stepbrothers, Cinema Paradisio (this one is a fav I return to often) Books: Where the Sidewalk Ends, Wicked, anything by Edward Gorey or Bret Easton Ellis. I also love craft books, my favorites are Remake, Restyle, Reuse and Lotta Prints One thing you absolutely cannot live without? There are so many things that I would not want to live without (besides the aforementioned sandpaper block). But, since having kids, I have learned that there are a great many things that I can live without, after all. Lastly what piece that you have created is your favorite and why? My current fav is a set of notecards I made, using my own silhouette (from when I was 10) as the artwork. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15926583 Much of my conceptual art is based on my childhood memories. My eldest daughter is often the model in those photos-a stand-in for me as a child. This is one time, I actually got to use my own image from childhood to make something.

October Monthly Challenge Theme...

The theme this month is giving thanks. Tag your entry CCCOE and octoberchallenge and go to Etsy and post the link in this thread. http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5834891

Vote for this Month's Monthly Challenge.

The theme was Fall Traditions and you can vote here till October 8th. You can view all the entries here in the CCCOE favorites.

CCCOE October Happenings

CCCOE is an active group. Check out some of what's happening in October. If you want to add your event this month or any other please email aklockrow@yahoo.com

October 4th: Kim of Visionquest is having an Art Opening called Fall Fusion from 6-9pm at Red Brick Gallery located in Ventura at 328 E Main St. A portion of the proceeds go to Rock the Cure. October 4th: Susan of RedBessBonney and RedBessBonneyToo will have her papercrafts at the Laguna Niguel Fall Crafts Faire at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel from 10-3.

http://www.ci.laguna-niguel.ca.us/DocumentView.asp?DID=1089 October 4th and 5th: Julee of HeArtCollective will be teaching workshops in the Bay area. Julee is having a reliquaries workshop here in the East Bay at the Stamper's Warehouse in Danville and a second day of reliquaries down in San Jose at Scrap Lovers at A Work of Heart! October 11th: Julee of HeArtCollective will be doing this class once more in the Bay Area at Luna's Memories in Half Moon Bay... (650) 726-1444 October 11th and 12th: Peg of PegGradyArt and Sarah of SarahWinkler will be doing the San Luis Obispo County Open Studios Art Tour on October 11 & 12. They will be showing their work at Sarah's studio which is in the Dove Creek Homes at 9182 Araujo Ct., Atascadero. Sarah's phone number is 805-466-1380 if you need directions. Web link for the event is www.artsobispo.org. October 18th and 19th: Kim of Visionquest will be selling her handcrafted jewelry at the Ventura Art Walk. October 25th: Jen of Porterness and Rose of MyFriendRoze will be selling their handmade jewelry, cards, and more at the Claremont Village Venture. Miriam of MiriamDema and Amanda of AmandaKLockrowJewelry will be selling their prints and jewelry there as well. October 25th and 26th: Peg of PegGradyArt and Sarah of SarahWinkler will be doing the San Luis Obispo County Open Studios Art Tour on October 25 & 26. They will be showing their work at Sarah's studio which is in the Dove Creek Homes at 9182 Araujo Ct., Atascadero. Sarah's phone number is 805-466-1380 if you need directions. Web link for the event is www.artsobispo.org. General Announcement: Sarah of SmallShinyObjects will be donating 25% of my total profit in October to the wonderful charity group, One Is Greater Than None - a group started by eight young girls from New York, who wanted to help liberate enslaved young children in Ghana, and give them education, shelter and a chance for a better life. For more information on this charity, or to donate directly, visit http://www.oneisgreaterthannone.org. November 1st and 2nd: Raven of MolecularMuse will be selling her handmade jewelry at

It's Wonderfest: the bay area festival of science. Nov 1 at Stanford and Nov 2 at UC Berkeley.

http://www.wonderfest.org/wp/

Jewelry Show in Santa Cruz, CA ~ Sun. Sept. 21st

Hosted by 3COE member SmallShinyObjects

2008 Indie Collective Holiday Shopping Guide - Accepting Advertisers

We have some amazing talent here at the 3COE! Why not show it off at The Indie Collective? The Indie Collective - http://www.indiecollective.net - is now accepting advertisers for our 2008 Holiday Shopping Guide. With over 3000 independent designers and crafters listed in their shopping directory, the Indie Collective continues to be one of the leading online destinations for savvy shoppers in search of the latest offerings from innovative indie designers - like you! And their 2008 Holiday Shopping Guide is set to be the best yet! In this, their 5th year of providing a holiday shopping guide, the Indie Collective Shopping Directory will showcase your wares to shoppers who want something unique and creative to enhance their lives, and to make their holiday season a little brighter. Ready to show off your wares? Sign up today! Visit http://www.indiecollective.net/giftguide

Publication of Event Photos

One thing that helps us remain a cohesive team are the local meet-ups that are organized by our members throughout California. When these events occur people generally submit photos and a short review from and about these gatherings to share with the rest of our members who could not attend due to scheduling or living in another part of the state. Many of these photos are submitted to the blog for publication. Many of you have asked for photos to be published from these events, yet when we do publish them we are getting feedback about how someone is not happy with the photo and it has to be taken off the site. We are unable to accommodate the wishes of all our members when it comes to this particular subject. Amanda and I simply can not keep up with who is comfortable with their likeness being published and who is not, therefor making more work for us maintaining the blog. In the future, if you are attending a CCCOE gathering, please do not pose for any photographs that might be submitted for the blog. Thanks for your cooperation. Heather

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Article Submissions

We need your help! We would like to start featuring art/craft related articles on the blog that have been submitted by our members. We are looking for a variety of submissions that cover almost any topic in the arts and crafts fields. Reviews about art exhibits or concerts, "how-to" articles, medium specific discussions, product reviews that are useful to our members... just about anything. Please submit your articles to Heather or Amanda. We are really excited about these new changes that are taking place. However, we need everyone's cooperation to make them work. Quite a few of the new ideas being implemented have been requested by you our members. So, that means we would like YOU to help in making these new changes be something positive for our CCCOE family.

CCCOE Member Meet-Up

San Francisco Meet-up: This is who came out for a wonderful day out in SF: Wrenay/Whimsy, Carol/Quirky, Annie/Curbside, Kelly/Tresijas, Alyssa/AlliesAdornments, Wendy/Buttercupbloom, Nancy/Localcolorist, plus Nea and Onyx/TresLocas, a few friends, and a DH.

Wrenay, Kelly, Carol, Wendy and Alyssa went to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at SFMOMA http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/exhib_detail.asp?id=310 Then they met Localcolorist and CurbsideTreasures at Yerba Buena Gardens for a concert. Then Kelly, Carol, Alyssa, Annie, Nea and Onyx trooped down to the Ferry Building for a sandwich and coffee. Then we all BARTed back home. Thanks to Carol of QuirkyNBerkeley for the info and pictures.

September Monthly Challenge Theme

The change of seasons have special cultural significance worldwide. What are your traditions at this time of change? Show us your Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, Rosh Hashanah, Equinox, and any others that I may have forgotten, creations! CCCOE members, It's time to begin working on your entry for the September challenge -- "Fall Traditions". Items will need to be tagged 'CCCOE' and 'septemberchallenge' (one word) so that we can find them and add them to the buyer account favorites and voting thread. Deadline for entry is midnight (Pacific time) September 30. Voting will take place the first week of October. One entry per shop please. When you have your entry listed, please post its title, YOUR SHOP NAME and a link to the entry in this thread. Please copy those already listed and add yours to the bottom of the list. Most of us are offering a 10% or more discount to voters during the week of voting. If you wish to participate in offering a discount please convo VisionQuest with your shop name and amount that you would like to offer. Post your entry for the challenge HERE.

Promo Swap Call!!

To all members! The September Promo Swap is on! Promote yourself and promote others too. Participating on the promo swap gets your name out there, so those who haven't heard about you or seen your products have a chance to see what a great artist you are. You get promoted by your fellow team members and you get to promote them as well. Convo me with any questions and to direct you to know all about the fun swaps! http://yolandasclay.etsy.com/. Promos are due to me by Sept. 30th. Let me know you want to be in!

Vote for this Month's Monthly Challenge.

This month's challenge was Back to School. You can see all the entries together in the CCCOE Team Favorites HERE. Vote in this thread.

CCCOE September Happenings!

September 1st: Prairie Primitives is participating in The Antiques & Art Fair in Danville, CA. Hours are from 9am till ?? (mid-afternoon, I suppose). Admission is FREE. The show is at 125 Railroad Avenue in Danville, and is easily accessible from the 680. September 5th-October 20th: Nina of PrettyCheap Jewelry is part of Fragile Sands Hobo Jungle at Bell Arts Factory. Opening reception September 5th from 5pm-10pm. Bell Arts is located at 432 N. Ventura Avenue Studio 101 in Ventura, CA 93001 September 5th-October 10th:Elena of ElenaMary has an exhibition of her Art ART OF THE BOOK 9-5 to 10-12-2008 Opening reception 9-6 from 6:30 to 9pm San Buenaventura Artist Union Gallery 330 South California St. Plaza Ventura, CA. 90031 805-643-3012 September 20th:Tina of TreasuresbyTina and Anita of Jewlz076 are sharing a booth at Taste of Saratoga. September 20th: MyFriendRoze jewelry and Amanda K Lockrow Jewelry will both have tables at the Glasshouse Swapmeet in Pomona. Event is free and goes from 10am-3pm. Located at the Glasshouse, 200 W. 2nd St in Pomona. There is a handmade district and also companies like Kid Robot, Obey, Paul Frank selling at this event. October 5th: Prairie Primitives is participating in the Lodi Street Faire in Lodi, CA. This Faire is downtown on School and Church Streets. Our booth will be on School Street. This show runs from 8am to 4pm. This is a FREE event. The booths on School Street is mostly antiques and "old stuff" and the booths on Church Street are mostly crafts. Lodi is easily accessible from both the 5 and 99. Are you a member of CCCOE and have upcoming events? Email aklockrow@yahoo.com to get your events added to the team blog.

Enter this Month's Monthly Challenge.

Add your entry for this months challenge. CCCOE members, It's time to begin working on your entry for the August challenge -- Back to School. Items will need to be tagged 'CCCOE' and 'augustchallenge' (one word) so that we can find them and make a list of them. Deadline for entry is midnight (Pacific time) August 31. Voting will take place the first week of September! Check out the monthly bulletin board thread for more concise thread with CCCOE team info. Stop by CCCOE Flickr and weigh in on the weekly business discussions.

Off Etsy Tools and Information for Your Shop

I have been exploring ways to find out more info on Etsy without being able to access html on a site. Here are some things I've found. If you know others please add them! Let's Ets: Tools for Etsy Sellers- (click on link to go there)

The goal of LetsEts is to provide a suite of free tools to make the lives of Etsy sellers easier. In addition to the Google Base formatter, some of the features we're working on include:

1. Statistics to help you analyze your sales and listings
2. Dashboard and Yahoo widgets to monitor new sales.
3. A bulk lister

Unofficial Etsy News- just what it says-but lots of info that is easy to navigate. Heart-O-Tron: See your items with number of hearts Etsy Bitch: A blog pointing out the mishaps and blunders of Etsy. They do it so Etsy will improve for all its users.

SoCal Bench Project Wrap Up!!!

The SoCal Bench Project Nails It! The SoCal Bench Project Artisan Fair is met with outstanding support from it's local community. August 10, 2008 On Saturday, August 9th, 2008 the small grassroots organization TheSoCal Bench Project held it's first annual SoCal Bench Project Artisan Fair in Culver City, CA, west of Los Angeles. Over 25 artists fromacross California gathered together selling their artwork to help raise awareness and funds for New Directions Inc., a local non-profit organization that provides a variety of services for our homeless military veterans community. Supporters from the Los Angeles community shopped for fine art, photography, lithographs, clothing, contemporary craft, jewelry and a variety of other gift items from candles and soap products, to stuffed animals with crazy personalities and beautiful art dolls. Incredible items from local businesses and artists were raffled off to an excited crowd. ABC, Benefit Cosmetics, Kreation Cafe, The Factory and Color Me Mine were among local businesses that supported this years raffle held to benefit New Directions. Participating vendors as well as numerous members of the group California Crafters Club of Etsy (CCCOE) also provided artwork as well as monetary donations. Sandy Collins, Amanda Lockrow and Heather Palleiko, (founders of The SoCal Bench Project), met through the website Etsy.com in early 2008 where the three are members of CCCOE, the largest street team on the indie craft site Etsy.com with over two hundred - fifty members. What originally started as an idea to have a small home show quickly grew into an annual event of California artisans coming together to create positive change in our local community. This year The SoCal Bench Project and it's supporters raised close to $2,000 for New Directions Inc. If you are interested in more information about The SoCal Bench Project and it's founders or vendors please email info@socalbenchproject.com. For information on New Directions Inc. and it's programs please go to www.ndvets.org. http://www.socalbenchproject.com http://sandysimone.etsy.com http://www.aklockrow.com http://www.palleikodesigns.com

West Coast Wednesday Sale brought to you by CCCOE!!!

QuirkynBerkeley, Tresijas, and DennisAnderson put together a fabulous new promotion called West Coast Wednesdays (WCW).

It will start every Tuesday night at 9pm pst because that's Midnight on the east coast. And it will end at Midnight on Wednesday. This makes it a 27 hour sale! Anyone on Etsy can come to the promotion thread and promote their sale. We are hoping it can grow like SNS! There will be a promo thread as well as a chat thread started each week. This week DennisAnderson started us off. Check out the promo thread here. And the Chat thread here.

You can also wander over to yahoo to get your WCW avatar that Wrenay made up for you!

CCCOE July Happenings

CCCOE is a very active and diverse group. Here is some of what is going on for this
vibrant and fabulous group for the month of July.

*CCCOE July Challenge: Christmas in July. Entries need to be posted on the thread
(which will start July 1) no later than midnight July 18, since voting will begin
on July 19 and run through the 26th.

*Lauren of The ChainMaille Lady sells her gorgeously intricate designs weekly
at the Covina Craft Fair & Farmers Market, every Friday night from 5-9pm at
Civic Center Park 400 N. Citrus Ave www.covinafarmersmarket.com

*July 12-13: Wrenay of Shopwhimsy and Wrenphoto will be selling at the fabulous
RenegadeCraft Fair in San Francisco.

*July 12: Handmade Brigade in Cerritos, CA at TallMouse. Jen of Porterness
Miriam of MiriamDema and Amanda of AmandaKLockrowJewels will be there with 20 vendors
selling their wares.

*July 19:Elena of ElenaMary is participating in the GLOW Festival in Santa Monica
from 7pm to 7am. Visit the website:http://www.smgov.net/smarts/glow/

Dave Quick and Elena have created 7 assemblage structures mounted
on backpacks with huge glowing koi fish floating from each assemblage. They
will have a parade from Palisades Park to the end of Santa Monica Pier at
10:30 and at 11pm there will be a concert by Arthur Nakane a one man
band, who they have hired to perform for our project which is called SOLAR
KOI. Hope to see some of you there!

*July 19 & 20: Nina of PrettyCheap Jewelry will be at Pirate Days at the Ventura Harbor on behalf of the Buenaventura Art Assoc

for more info on BAA go to http://buenaventuragallery.org for more info on the Harbor and events go to http://www.venturaharborvillage.com/html/About.html

*July 26: Nine of PrettyCheap Jewelry will be at theVentura Mini Fair (next to the Farmer's Market) http://www.mainstreetminifair.com/

3 Winning Tips - How To Boost Sales on the Internet

Part 3 of 3

by Nina Danza, http://www.prettycheapjewelry.com

How’s your shop promotions going? If you’’re having fun it will show. If you want to key down a little and get serious, this is last tip is for you.

Subscriber Mailing Lists- I once read on a guerilla marketing article (yes, you can call me a frugal, money saving subversive now) that the 2 main reasons people use the internet are for (a) email; (b) news. If you get into a person’s email box you have it made! Why do you think there are so many spam programs out there?

So you need a mailing list for potential customers. How? Well, I do it without spending much of course.

Start your mailing list in person. Put out a sign up sheet at every craft fair you vend and get names by giving out small goody bags ('Free Goody Bag for Joining!') filled with samples of your work, candy, or whatever you ingeniously think up! Tell them what it’s for, “A once a month, or if I’m not too busy, twice a month email”. Most people will agree to that. Our team does a promo swap every few months, contact http://yolandasclay.etsy.com for the promo swap schedule. These items are really nice for goody bags.

Sale to Mailing List Subscriber

Collect subscribers on-line. Put an incentive in your Etsy shop announcement for folks to join your mailing list! (Free gift w/purchase for joining for example?). And every time you make an on-line sale, ask the customer if they want to be added to your mailing list. You can possibly post announcements to your new internet groups but only if they allow low key soliciting.

Now use that list! Send out specials to subscribers at least monthly, including coupons, Sneak Previews, where you are going to be for the next show and more. I do a simple, no cost email mailing without an attachment (many spam filters will see an attachment and into the junk pile you go). There are also fee programs that manage mailing lists.

Now go get ‘em and see you on Etsy!

Say hello to your new secretary, LaveMeSoap!

Our wonderful secretary Nina of PrettyCheap Jewelry for the past year has passed the torch along to Angela of LaveMe Soap and I just wanted to take moment to welcome her to this position.

Angela makes every bar in small batches in a home that uses natural cleaners and recycles everything possible.


She is originally from Ohio and moved out to CA in fall of '06. She moved here to fulfill her dream of living in this gorgeous place...and when she accomplished that, she had to create another. She is a dreamer at heart.


To keep up on what's new and fabulous in her soap world you can always visit her blog.

The SoCal Bench Project - August 9th

The SoCal Bench Project (Created by CCCOE Los Angeles members) Benefiting New Directions Inc. Saturday, August 9, 2008 9:30am-3:00pm (these are NEW TIMES PLEASE TAKE NOTE!) The Veterans' Memorial Complex Garden Room 4117 Overland Avenue Culver City, CA 90230 Contemporary Craft Fine Art Gifts Home & Garden Jewelry Photography Fund Raiser: Raffle (would love if each vendor participating would donate ONE item - if other non-participating CCCOE members want to donate an item that is fine too) Vendors reserve the right to donate 10% of sales to the non-profit if desired If you are not a participating California CCCOE vendor but are interested in providing promotional items please contact one of our event co-chairs. 2008 VENDORS

A

Abyssal Gems

Amanda K Lockrow Jewels*

AnnieKDesigns

AskDesigns

B

Birdie Designs

Birds Soy Candles

C

Chocolate & Steel

CombustionGlassworks

D

Deirdre Ryan Photography

E

F

FlakyFriends

G

Glass Action Studios

H

H. Palleiko Designs*

HauteBebe: By The House of Lux

HeartsandLaserBeams

I

IggyJingles

J

Jacqueline Myers-Cho

K

kelsodoesntdance

KnitterGirl

L

LaveMeSoap

luckyfinddesigns

M

Michelle Caplan

Miriam Dema

mrsm

MuchaMuchacha

N

O

P Porterness

PreciousCreations

Q

R

RainaLee

RaghouseInternational

S

SandySimone*

SheilaSatin

T

TakeitEasy

Tresijas

U

V

VisionQuest

W

WeeBeaks

X

Y

Z

* denotes event co-chair

If you have any further questions feel freel to contact us: Heather http://palleikodesigns. etsy. com Sandy http://sandysimone. etsy. com Amanda http://amandaklockrowjewels. etsy. com

3 Winning Tips - How To Boost Sales on the Internet

Part 2 of 3

by Nina Danza, http://www.prettycheapjewelry.com

You’ve joined some internet groups, post on other sites of your target market, and get google alerts of where folks are finding you, right? Good! Now attract them to your shop.

What’s in a Game. You saw the 'Name that Tune' and ‘Which Doesn’t Belong’ treasuries I ran. Etsy registration is still expanding exponentially and treasuries are a really easy tool to get folks to come to you with minimal effort on your part. I gave a virtual gift certificate to the person(s) who answered correctly and got a sale.

Sale from Game Promotion

But don’t forget your new non-Etsy visitors. They don’t know a treasury from an ‘X’ on the ground. Hide a puzzle in your item titles, item descriptions, item pictures or anywhere else you want the visitor to go. Make it fun and easy! Tell visitors to favorite your shop for future games if they don’t win.

NOW YOU’RE COOKING: Be sure to remove any aspect of chance in your game (with or even without purchase required) due to Etsy site rules. Give EVERYONE who gets the answer right a prize. Give the game deadline and any other fine print, such as ‘one prize per address’. This article has some good advice http://www.fredlaw.com/articles/marketing/mark_0310_srb.html on the legal stuff.

Use a theme.

Themes really help folks remember the reason they are playing!

--Mother’s Day? Find the 6 famous Mother’s in my photos!

--Summer Vacation? Discover the 12 California Landmarks in my item descriptions!

--July 4? Tell me which items contain the words of the first line of the Declaration of Independence!

What other games can you think of? Do you like word scrambles? Trivia? Humor is a huge sales technique just ask http://peggradyart.etsy.com (but that’s the subject of a whole nother article!).

Now go notify your new groups about your game!