Event – The Goods

Videos from How To Make It: Pricing Your Designs

June 16, 2014

Last month we hosted another How To Make It design panel event at Brooklyn’s Union Hall where Seth Walter from our Purchasing Team and Jason Feinberg, the CEO & Creative Director of FCTRY, discussed the decisions you should make while pricing your designs for retail. We got a little off-topic as the guests in our audience had really great questions, but we think you might get some great advice from our answers. Check out clips from the event and the conversation it its entirety below!

How much should you pay yourself for a handmade design?

MAP (Minimum Advertised Price)

Should a wholesale price be fixed?

How to price a collection of designs.

Is scaling up always the best idea?

How does UncommonGoods find new artists?

Two common mistakes made in pricing handmade designs.

FULL VIDEO COMING SOON!

Maker Resources

How To Make It: Instagram and Your Creative Business Videos

April 9, 2014

On March 25 we invited Ronen Glimer of Artists & Fleas, Ronda J Smith of In the Seam, and local members of our design community to a panel discussion about using Instagram to market your designs and build a following. The event was hosted at Union Hall in Park Slope and guests stuck around afterwards to swap business cards, meet our marketing and buying teams, and make connections.

If you’re ever in the hood you should check out one of our events, but watching the highlights are always a great back-up plan.

Maker Resources

6 Videos That Will Help With Designing Your Website

October 11, 2013

We had the pleasure of hosting our latest How To Make It event at the Wix Lounge in Manhattan with the help of Wix.com staff. Since Wix is a website-building platform, we thought it would be very appropriate to dispense advice on setting up your company’s website with the help of jewelry designer Catilin McNamara, UncommonGoods Assoicate Art Director Rebecca Paull Marshall, and Wix Training and Support Manager Ariele Krantznow. To make the discussion even more specific, the panel critiqued the websites of three guests in attendance, sharing what they loved about the site and what areas needed more work.

Although we would love to get to meet you in person, we understand not everyone can make it out to our events so we thought we would share the key points from the panel discussion with you on the blog! Below are 6 clips that will help design your website.

When building a website, where should you start?

What are some ways to best tell your story on your website?

What should you expect from a hired graphic designer?

What are some tips for DIY product photography?

What are your best DIY smartphone photography tips?

What is a style guide?

Still want more? Watch the entire discussion below.

photos courtsey of Wix Lounge

Design

How To Make It: Designing Your Website | Design Panel + Happy Hour

September 17, 2013

Designing a webpage from scratch can be daunting! There are so many design decisions to be made to properly showcase your handmade designs. On Tuesday October 1, meet UncommonGoods Associate Art Director Rebecca Paull Marshall, jewelry designer Caitlin McNamara, and Wix.com Training and Support Manager Ariele Krantzow at our next event and get their advice on putting together a beautiful and effective website. Submit your website for a direct critique from our panel during the discussion.

Stick around after the talk for some drinks, snacks, and networking with the UG team and other local creatives.

Wix.com enables everyone to design, publish and host stunning HTML5 websites. No coding, no previous design skills, just log in to Wix and start creating with our easy drag-and-drop website builder! In that spirit of encouraging creativity and enabling entrepreneurship, in 2010 Wix founded the NYC Wix Lounge. The Wix Lounge is a completely free co-working, event and exhibit space for creative professionals. Grab your laptop, pop into the Lounge and enjoy a productive work day, great networking opportunities, and amazing events. The Wix Lounge provides free support to New Yorkers, giving them the tools and tips for successfully launching and managing their businesses’ online presence. To learn more about the Wix Lounge, please visit http://www.wixlounge.com.

To learn more about the panel and sign up, visit our Events page.

Maker Resources

8 Videos from How To Make It: Pitching Your Designs

August 15, 2013

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting another How To Make It event, this time, in the basement of Park Slope’s Union Hall. We love hearing from our artists and buyers on the panel, but especially love getting the chance to meet local designers.

The conversation was all about getting the word out about your designs to the media and retail buyers. UncommonGoods Senior Buyer Erin Fergusson, jewelry designer Emilie Shapiro, and myself chatted about the dos and don’ts of email pitches, trade shows, and pr reps.

Even if you were unable to make it, there was some great information shared that you can benefit from as a designer and business person. Here are 8 great clips from the panel.

How to submit your designs to a design challenge.

How to create an email pitch that won’t get lost in the mix.

Bloggers and editors need different information than a buyer. Here’s what to send when pitching to the media.

Trade shows can be expensive, but are they a wise investment?

Some advice on setting up your booth at a trade show.

Erin shares how the UncommonGoods buying team schedules and organizes themselves during a trade show.

What kind of information should a designer share about their company and designs at a trade show?

Emilie shares her tips for keeping track of contacts at trade shows and following up after meetings.

Want more? Check out the entire talk.

Maker Resources

How To Make It: Collaborating and Building Your Network | Videos

April 11, 2013

Earlier this month we hosted another design panel and happy hour for designers in Brooklyn. The topic of conversation was learning how to work well with other artist in a collaborative community, a business partnership and on the internet. Sitting on the panel was artist and founder of the AmDC Kiel Mead, Katy Maslow and Michelle Inciarrano of Twig Terrariums, and UncommonGoods Community Outreach Coordinator, Gaby Dolceamore (yeah, that’s me!).

Guests were invited to mingle with each other and the panel; enjoy some Brooklyn Brewery beer, Dark Horse Wine and Pelzer’s Pretzels; and vote on a community winner of the Woodworking Design Challenge. Check out Zsuzsanna’s winning design, the Floating Window Air Plant Wall Decoration.

We know not everyone can head over to Brooklyn on a Tuesday night to join our events, so we are happy to offer clips from the night’s discussion below!

Communication is key, especially when best friends become business partners!

Michelle and Katy of Twig Terrariums reveal how they split up the work in their business.

Kiel describes the dynamic of contributing to a group of artists in the AmDC.

The Twig ladies talk about how important it is for them to share their craft with the local community.

The group discusses the importance of telling your art’s story.

The panel weighs in on the belief that 80% of a group’s work is done by 20% of its members.

Kiel describes how he makes the most out of networking with other artists.

…or just watch the entire thing!

Design

Come to our next How To Make It panel & happy hour

March 12, 2013

Teaming up with others can improve your designs, help manage your time better and open up new business opportunities. Don’t believe us? Meet designer Kiel Mead of the American Design Club (AmDC) and Michelle Inciarrano and Katy Maslow of Twig Terrariums at our next panel discussion about the benefits of business partners and collaborating communities.

Join us on April 2 at powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn for a panel discussion. Stay after the talk for free beer from Brooklyn Brewery, grilled cheeses from the Morris Grilled Cheese truck and a chance to meet other creative professionals. Also, influence the future of UncommonGoods by helping us pick the community winner of our Woodworking Design Challenge!

To learn more and RSVP, visit our events page.

Maker Resources

How to Make Your Products Eco-Friendly and Spread the Word

February 18, 2013

This month we had the pleasure of hosting our fourth How To Make It design panel and networking happy hour in Brooklyn. We invited local designs (although some traveled from as far as Central Pennsylvania) who came to hear our panel discuss greenifying your designs and small business and how to get the word out about your eco-friendly creations. Everyone stuck around to swap business cards, meet our buyers and enjoy Brooklyn Brewery beer and Morris Grilled Cheeses.

Weren’t able to make it? Watch some clips of the conversation below.

Rebecca talks about the return on investments made in making your products more eco-friendly.

Rebecca shares some great marketing ideas for building a happy and healthy customer-base.

Tiffany shares some common mistakes made when marketing eco-friendly products.

Green products also means a more energy-efficient work environment. Rebecca shares some easy retrofits to make your home and office greener.

Yuka gives advice on pitching your products to the media.

You have a green product, now what about your packaging?

A lot of companies throw around the word “green” but there are some restrictions.

Want more? You can watch a video of the entire discussion below.

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