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hangonimevolving · 5 years ago

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My first real Cricut post

I've been looking forward to writing here about my brand new gizmo. I have fallen in LURVE. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the acquisition of my new Cricut Maker. What is a Cricut? A Cricut is basically a fancy die-cutting machine. What the heck is die-cutting? It's basically cutting out various shapes of different artsy craftsy materials, and assembling them into some sort of artsy craftsy thing.* (I have just completely made up that definition from my own brain, and have no idea if it is actually legit. This is my simple and unresearched understanding of it. And by the way, I am certainly not sponsored or compensated by the company that makes this machine (LOLOL I wish), nor do I mean to imply here that a Cricut is the only machine of this type out there (it's not, there are other brands too). But this is the one I got, so I'mma talk about it.

First of all, LOOK at it. It's beaaaauuutiful.

(too bad I look haggard in the mirror’s reflection. But who cares. The important thing is the MACHINE, man...)

So here is just a smattering of what I’ve done so far with this fabulous contraption!

I think I may have shared an early project already - this little collar bandana that I made for Pixel

I also made these cool 3D elephant puzzles for the kids, using a free template available on the Cricut app:

But then came time for me to test out my own design wings. I had a really steep learning curve, as I learned to design greeting cards and other projects using various colors, finishes, and weights of cardstock.

As my initial forays coincided with the Islamic festival of Eid, I designed a few cards for some (cat-loving) friends who observe the holiday, including one of my two college BFF’s, Y-Clef, who has a real feline-centric sense of humor:

The cards above are constructed of various precision cuts of cardstock, glued or layered with other cardstock. But in my next batch of cards, I experimented with cutting out vinyl embellishments, and adhering them to cardstock.

I then designed a card for my other college BFF, G-Funk, who happens to be the main reason I even bought the Cricut in the first place. She was the one who turned me on to a big sale online, and she purchased a Cricut at the same time - we’ve both been nerding out together as we’re learning new things, so I figured I had to pay homage to this journey in my card to her!

Then came time to begin designing a ton of cards for Father’s Day! Here is the card I’ve designed for Dr. Spouse, the official Apple/Mac Maniac. SHHH, its a big secret - he hasn’t seen it yet. It took me over 10 hours!!!!

I made this project for my dad for Father’s Day - alas, I committed some sort of boo-boo with this one, as I’d intended to leave a 1/2″ strip along the sides, so that I could make them like two-sided pages of a little booklet. But somehow, I didn’t cue the machine up properly to do that, and it trimmed each piece at exactly 5x7. So I had to adjust my plan - ended up punching a small hole in the top left corner, and binding them together with a piece of glittery card twine that I bought once at Target. I think it ended up coming out good despite my slight modification. These are, again, vinyl on cardstock, with the exception of the laddu card, which I made using the “cut/print” feature of Cricut and using both my household laser printer as well as the Cricut machine to cut the image.

I started getting somewhat decent at the vinyl thing at this point, so I fired off a couple of vinyl decals - one for my closet mirror, and a few for the kids’ closet doors....

The NASA one was for Dey’s closet door.

I got REEEAAAALLY ambitious really fast with vinyl. Probably too ambitious, and too fast. One of Vev’s old die-cast airplanes was divested of its original livery many moons ago - it used to be an American Airlines plane, but at some point when he was about 4, he decided to peel all the stickers off and color it completely with magenta markers to resemble a “Wizz Air” jet. If you’re unfamiliar, Wizz Air is a ultra-discount airline based out of the U.K., and no, we have never flown it before, or even seen a Wizz Air jet in person. He only knows of it through YouTube, and I think only fixated upon it because a) it is an airplane, and b) their colors are pink and purple, his longtime favorites. But anyway - at some point recently, he decided he really wished it were a KLM jet. So - cue me, scrubbing all the crayon off of this thing, and creating it a new KLM livery out of vinyl. This was A VERY DIFFICULT task and I definitely think I’m nuts to have attempted this so early on in my vinyl decal-ing career. But it was also fun!

I had some technical difficulties with those teeny tiny letters. some of them are supposed to have vinyl “contours,” or letter portions, but I couldn’t manage to pull them out properly and thus the letters got hollowed out. E.g., the capital letter D ought to have that inside portion of the D filled in, but here it is sort of hollow. Oh well, I did my best. Those letters are literally like millimeters tall, so I can’t even be too upset about it, b/c its just super hard.

In the weeks to follow, I made a series of greeting cards for teachers, an aunt recuperating from surgery, and I started to really enjoy the card-making process more once I got my hands on some new and interesting materials, like different colored cardstock, some new colors and widths of pens to load into my Cricut, and these little marvels called Glue Dots - tiny adhesive beads that you can use to glue little things onto card, and not have it warp or buckle slightly.

I feel like I still need to get a handle on the types of pens I should use for different fonts, and also the appropriate pen nib size to use for different sized fonts - sometimes the writing turns out way thicker and blurrier than I want it to. Will continue to work on this.

Anyway! Coming up next: I am hoping to dive deeper into the processes of using my Cricut for sewing projects, notably a quilted mural I’ve had in the works for over a year now, but that keeps getting shelved and pushed to the side when I have other projects going on. Additionally, I want to learn to use my Cricut to make some faux leather crafts, like earrings, cuff bracelets, and maybe even a simple wallet. I just bought a sampler pack of faux leathers from Amazon in cool, fashion-y colors like rose gold, pearlescent white, beige, etc. I’ve also had a special request from Ajima to cut her some craft foam forms that she can use as stamps - she has been pursuing her own little crafts projects during quarantine, including making stamped design tea towels for friends and family. So I plan to do this for her and make her a special care package.

I’m a Cricutting fiend!

#Cricut #cricut maker #crafts #cardmaking #hobbies

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guerrerosamantha · 4 years ago

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Can You Grow Taller After 20 Reddit Staggering Useful Ideas

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What Sports Help You Grow Taller

Cause #2: Sit Up Straight, Just Like Your Mama SaidFirst and foremost factor that can literally raise you high.Remember that you might want to look forward to increasing the flexibility as well as elevating your calcium intake by taking these supplements that you are getting hold of your natural growth hormones becomes the most effective is natural to all people in their full height potential.These natural practices will see an increase in your life.In order to get greater results more quickly.

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#Can You Grow Taller After 20 Reddit Staggering Useful Ideas #Dua To Increase My Height

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ynsespoir · 4 years ago

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Healthy Road Trip Snack Prep + Trail Mix Energy Balls

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hit the road this season with delicious healthy snack prep ideas that you can easily pack for long car rides or picnics along with my favorite recipe for NO BAKE trail mix energy balls!

Is it just me or has this summer been pretty non-existent? We have definitely tried to make the best of it, but given our current situation we really needed to get creative when making plans. Getting out of the house and enjoying the outdoors is really important to our family, especially after quarantining for so long, so one thing we tried to make time for this summer was road trips! Whether just a short drive to a pretty overlook for a nice picnic or a much longer drive to dip our toes in the ocean, planning ahead with healthy snacks and meals is key to enjoying the whole experience, especially during these uncertain times when we’re not able to go out to restaurants or easily grab food like we used to.

Not only are pre-planned meals and on-the-go snack options a much healthier alternative to grabbing food at a gas station or drive thru, but I promise you these snacks taste way better too and are really great for kids! I’ve included a whole assortment of delicious snacks and easy meal ideas that range from salty and sweet, to savory and filling, so that the whole family has something they can enjoy.

WHY I CHOOSE TO PREP MEALS AND SNACKS

This is a huge time saver! I like to prep everything the night before a trip so that it’s all packed and ready to go and I can feel good knowing my family has healthy stuff prepared for them. No need to stop anywhere on the way for snacks, which leads me to my next reason.

Saves money. Since we have a whole assortment of food to choose from, there is no need to stop for fast food or any other place to grab snacks that are overpriced at gas stations and convenient stores.

Keeps the kids happy. Not only is there something for everyone, but prepping snacks really teaches good, healthy habits even when going on a vacation. I promise you your kids will go crazy for these delicious trail mix balls below!

Great way to break up a long trip. We always bring a blanket and chairs on our road trips because a great way to break up a long trip is to have a picnic! Since we’re not really going to restaurants right now, enjoying meals outside in the fresh air is super enjoyable, allows you to stretch your legs and eat something healthy.

Helps make smart choices. Prepping snacks helps me avoid grabbing that bag of chips and eating the entire thing and is also just a great idea to do each week even when you’re not traveling. That way you always have healthy snacks ready to go at home that you can quickly grab instead of that bag of chips!

HEALTHY SNACK IDEAS

Here’s a complete breakdown of all my favorite go-to snacks that I like to pack on our road trips. Shopping at Safeway made it super easy and affordable to find everything I needed and their Open Nature® and Signature SELECT brands have such a wide variety of products to choose from!

Fresh Fruit

I ALWAYS pack fresh fruit on any trip we go on, it’s just so refreshing, healthy and really easy to snack on. Depending on the season, we love to pack strawberries, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, peaches or nectarines, apple slices, cantaloupe, kiwi and even dried fruit like raisins and cranberries. Just don’t forget the napkins!

Fresh Veggies and Dips

Along with fruit, I love having fresh sliced veggies that you can enjoy all on their own or for dipping. Some veggie options include carrots, cucumber slices, celery, bell pepper slices, etc. Hummus is our favorite for dipping, but you could also pack fresh salsa or Safeway currently offers a variety of cauliflower dips by Open Nature that really taste amazing! We loved the roasted red pepper cauliflower dip!

Nuts, Granola Bars and Trail Mix Balls

These are just so easy to snack on and grab on-the-go. Safeway’s Signature SELECT brand offers a wide variety of granola bars, different kinds of trail mixes, and even pre-packaged almond pouches that come in perfect little serving sizes. I also love making trail mix energy balls that are always a big hit with kids (and adults!) that require zero baking, can be made in about 5 minutes with ingredients already in your pantry and they taste delicious as a road trip snack! You can find the recipe for these easy trail mix balls below!

Salads in a Jar

Making salads in a jar is such a convenient way to pack a healthy, delicious lunch because there is zero mess and they just save so much space! The jars don’t take up much room in the cooler and you have everything you need for your meal right in one simple jar. The recipe for these jarred salads is essentially a variation of my Tomato, Cucumber and Chickpea Salad, but I also added some quinoa for extra protein and fiber along with fresh arugula for a more complete salad. You could also add shredded chicken or different veggies and dressing to make these all your own! Pro tip: just make sure to assemble the salads in the order I shared above so that the lettuce and veggies don’t get soggy from the dressing.

When you are ready to eat, just dump your salad out onto a plate/bowl OR you can simply shake it up and eat it straight from the jar! Trust me these jarred salads are total game changers and super easy to assemble.

Seltzer Waters

It’s important to stay hydrated during the summer, so another item I love that Safeway’s Signature SELECT brand offers is a wide variety of seltzer waters and there are so many delicious flavors! Bottled water is, of course, really good for you, but plain old water tends to get boring, especially on a long road trip, so I like to mix it up with fun flavors of sparkling water! You can choose from lemon, lime, grapefruit, mandarin orange, raspberry, mixed berry, black cherry, I mean the list goes on, AND they are super affordable!

I purchased everything at my local Safeway here in Warrenton, Virginia, but you can easily find all these products at ALL the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market and Tom Thumb. Safeway also offers convenient Grocery Delivery and DriveUp & Go. This has made it really easy for me to shop for everything I need without having to actually go in to the store, which has been super beneficial these past few months.

Now let’s talk about these trail mix energy balls.

NO BAKE TRAIL MIX ENERGY BALLS

You guys, these no bake trail mix energy balls are the most delicious road trip snack you never even knew you needed. As I said before, you can literally make these in just 5 minutes and use ingredients that are probably already sitting in your pantry. All the ingredients for these trail mix balls are products from Safeway’s Signature SELECT brand and are all great quality at really affordable prices.

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

Old fashioned oats – these oats with their delicious nutty texture are what make these balls so filling! You could also use quick cooking oats or gluten-free oats.

Peanut butter – this is what binds all the ingredients together and is a great source of protein. You could also use almond butter or any other nut butter.

Flaxseed meal – this is great for added nutrition, protein and fiber, but you could also use chia seeds or even hemp seeds.

Honey – I used honey as a natural sweetener for these balls, but you could also use maple syrup if you wanted to keep these vegan.

Trail mix – I used a delicious assortment of peanuts, almonds, raisins and M&M candies, the perfect sweet and salty combo. Bring any extra trail mix along with you on your road trip as an additional snack!

Chocolate chips – because who doesn’t like a little more chocolate?

Vanilla extract – this just adds another layer of sweetness!

Other add-ins include shredded coconut, dried fruit like raisins, cranberries and blueberries, or you could even try different types of trail mixes!

HOW TO MAKE TRAIL MIX BALLS

Simply add all your ingredients to a large bowl and mix well until all combined! Cover and chill the dough for at least 15 to 20 minutes which helps make the balls easier to form. To make the balls, I like to use a 1-inch cookie scoop to make sure they are all the same size and roll the balls using your hands. And that’s it! You can store these trail mix balls in a sealed airtight container in your fridge for up to 2 weeks or you can easily freeze these up to 3 months!

I like to make a batch of these to enjoy as a snack during the week and for road trips make sure you store them in your cooler so that the balls stay nice and stiff. No one likes a melty, gooey energy ball while riding in the car, trust me. These trail mix balls are the perfect serving size when you need a little something sweet and I just love the delicious salty/sweet combo! If you like these trail mix balls, then definitely check out my peanut butter quinoa energy balls that also make a great road trip snack!

Hope you find these snack prep tips and recipes helpful for your next road trip! With fall coming up, there is nothing like heading out and seeing all the beautiful foliage and enjoying the cooler weather so keep all these snacks in mind. Perhaps pumpkin spice energy balls are next?

What are some of your favorite snacks to bring on road trips? Let me know in the comments below!

RECIPE

Trail Mix Energy Balls

These NO BAKE Trail Mix Energy Balls are easily made in just minutes and are the perfect healthy snack to grab on-the-go!

Yield: 12 Servings

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cups trail mix (mixture of peanuts, almonds, raisins & M&M candies)

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, roll mixture into balls. Trail mix balls can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 ball

Calories: 193

Sugar: 9.4 g

Sodium: 71.2 mg

Fat: 10.6 g

Saturated Fat: 2.6 g

Carbohydrates: 22.3 g

Fiber: 1.9 g

Protein: 5.5 g

* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

If you make this recipe, share a photo on Instagram and tag it #EatYourselfSkinny . I love seeing what you made!

The post Healthy Road Trip Snack Prep + Trail Mix Energy Balls appeared first on Eat Yourself Skinny.

from Eat Yourself Skinny https://ift.tt/33knarr via IFTTT Healthy Road Trip Snack Prep + Trail Mix Energy Balls Eat Yourself Skinny, IFTTT from topofbestone https://ift.tt/2FnIyEr via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Blogger

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akilahsroots-blog · 5 years ago

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Digital Leadership Portfolio

The industry of event planning is growing at a rapid pace. This is one of the reasons I would like to include this with my future career plans. Planning events are becoming popular to promote products, bring awareness for companies, and hosting a atmosphere full of networking. Planning events takes a lot of preparation, capital, and time to plan successful events. I created my events planning company to have a atmosphere for individuals to network and have a party experience.

Planning events, as stated above is expected to grow by 44% by the year 2020, according to INC.com. I can really see this happening because of the use of social media and digital media. Social can spread the word about events at a fast right. If it is an interesting event, the event could go viral in minutes. If it is an event that doesn’t look so appealing, the news wouldn’t be a fast. When I hold events, social media plays an important part for me. Once I post on Facebook or Instagram, people immediately start to see the post, comment on the post, and share the post. I also use my teenage cousins to advertise for me to get the younger crowd when I hold events tailored to them. By 2020, many people will utilize social media which in turn will cause more viewers to see the events that are being planned.

The events I plan will create great exposure for my business and for the vendors and other companies I have participating in the event. Events bring a lot of brand exposure. According to Localist.com, “holding an event promotes your name and helps people connect with your brand.” I honestly can say I agree with this because my first event was a dance class hosted by a celebrity choreographer. The event not only put my company name in front of some reputable people, but it also showed the newcomers that I throw quality events. The event not only had a celebrity choreographer, but it allowed others to come and network while learning dance techniques. Some individuals that networked was other local dancers, photography professionals, fashion designers, and other business individuals. After that event. I started receiving calls from news station and local newspapers about my event. The event also allowed me to look at planning more events because it did benefit the community and other business individuals. A lot of people are creating event venues to hold events and make revenue from the host of the event. It’s like a ripple effect. If the event venue is clean, nice music, good lightning, good space then more people will be inclined to renting out the venue. In turn you will make more money. Things can also be bad if the venue isn’t up to par. More people will spread bad gossip about the venue, and no one will rent it out. According to Localist.com, “Planning your event brings people in the space and gets their minds working.” If I go into a venue and the lights are great, the space is a good size, it is clean, and in a great location it starts to create a vision for what I am doing in terms of my event.

One mistake when I first noticed when I started to throw events is that I wasn’t prepared for the expenses that came along with it. So, I ended up spending more money and not making profit at the beginning. I make sure I have a strict budget to stick to for each part of the event. According to Eventbrite.com, “the number one cost of event planning is marketing and promotion.” It cost a lot to market through multiple channels such as social media, digital marketing, google ads, newspaper print, radio slots, and television ads. According to Balancesmb.com, “a bulk of your cost for the event comes from the venue cost.” The venue can get expensive because if you are envisioning a large crowd then you will have to purchase a large venue space. Along with the venue includes things like the security deposit, rent, insurance, and parking. With events individuals must eat. Food cost, cooks cost, vendors cost, and bartenders cost if you are serving drinks at the event.

Even though events bring a lot of exposure to my company, events also take a lot of time to prepare a successful event. According to Culturepartnership.eu, “the most important step in organizing an event is planning and formatting an event.” To format an event takes some thought and a lot of effort. If my event has a theme, I must tailor my events to that theme. Formatting an event is like writing a paper. You must organize the main event in the story all the way to how the paper concludes. The same thing goes into planning an event. I literally plan my events to the Tee. I plan what time the vendors and everyone will set up, what time we must have set aside for each speaker, etc.

The event planning business will benefit my career and the community around me. I plan to have monthly community talks to the younger generation in poverty-stricken areas to help them understand the importance of events in the neighborhood. This will be a good idea because it shows them another option you can have when trying to choose a career once they are older. In my neighborhood they have some of the famous people come in and speak with the children. I would like to use that same concept and speak directly to the kids. I will also have guest speakers regarding owning you own business. Event planning is an awesome field because it is fun, takes up most of your time so you aren’t bored, and you can bring great things to the community. One of the events I brought to the community was regarding managing your money. I also brought guest speakers that spoke on home ownership, credit repair, and investing the money.

References

Hendricks, D. (2017, February 20). Three Trends Changing the Events Industry. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.inc.com/drew-hendricks/top-3-trends-driving-change-for-the-events-industry.html.

9 Ways Your Organization Can Benefit From Holding Events. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.localist.com/blog/9-ways-your-organization-can-benefit-from-holding/.

About author Katie Sawyer Katie Sawyer is a writer at Eventbrite, author, A., Katie Sawyer Katie Sawyer is a writer at Eventbrite, & Sawyer, K. (2019, July 23). 4 of The Most Costly Expenses For an Event and How to Offset Them. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/4-costly-event-expenses-ds00/.

Beers, G. (2019, September 24). Here Is a Basic Outline of the Event Planning Expenses You'll Incur. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/an-outline-of-event-planning-expenses-1223663.

Prokofieva, I. (2017, July 19). "It is conventionally assumed to feel sorry for people with disabilities but absolutely forbidden – an artist. They can only be admired!". Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.culturepartnership.eu/en/article/10-tips-for-successful-event.

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topicprinter · 6 years ago

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Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Kristi Soomer of Encircled, a brand that makes Ethically-made womenswear.Some stats:Product: Ethically-made womenswear.Revenue/mo: $200,000Started: November 2012Location: Toronto, CanadaFounders: 1Employees: 10Hello! Who are you and what are you working on?My name is Kristi, I’m the founder and CEO of Encircled. Encircled is on a mission to create versatile, high quality and responsibly-made clothing so that our customers can be truly proud of their wardrobes.Our direct to consumer eCommerce model and small-batch, local Canadian production allows us to offer sustainable clothing at competitive price points. From a design perspective, we focus on creating in two key categories - timeless basics and versatile must-haves.Our timeless basics are well-loved, classic silhouettes upgraded using superior fit, high-quality construction details and sustainable fabrics.Our versatile must-haves explore the idea of wardrobe transformation by literally changing in shape or style, converting from one silhouette to another, offering endless options for your wardrobe.Our customers are highly conscious consumers who are well-traveled, aware of world issues, and are thoughtful about what they purchase. They’re educated, curious and compassionate. I’m super biased, but we have amazing and inspiring customers!Encircled started in 2012 with one product, in two colours, on the floor of my 500 sq. foot condo. We’re now a team of 10, with over 35 products, in close to 2300 sq ft of office space and continue to expand. We’ve experienced over 300% growth alone in the past two years.What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?I started Encircled out of frustration with a lack of versatile and stylish travel clothing.While packing for a last-minute yoga retreat, my suitcase broke. I had to stuff everything into a much smaller bag, and it opened my eyes to the fact that I was one - bringing way too much stuff, and two- none of my pieces were versatile, and had potential to be I had a circle scarf packed, and I started to wonder...What if this was made out of better fabric?What if you could turn this into a cardigan AND a dress?What if it would stay in the ways to wear without pinning or tying?When I returned home from the yoga retreat, I felt inspired. I started drawing out product ideas on large pieces of paper and taping them to my condo doors and walls. I brainstormed company names and even bought a sewing machine off craigslist to sew my first sample. That sample, eventually became my first product, the Chrysalis Cardi. An 8-in-1 travel piece made from beautiful fabric, with hidden strategically placed snaps to help the garment transform into various looks effortlessly.I did start really small - making just the Chrysalis Cardi in one size, two colours and retailing it online, shipping from my apartment.At the time, I was employed full-time as a management consultant and making the best money of my career. However, I was never home - I traveled about 4-5 days a week every week. When I was home, I used my time efficiently to work in the business, do customer service, ship orders and write emails. I’d often take bags of orders with me to the airport, and drop them in the airport mailbox pre-flight!I ran the business part-time for almost 2 years before it started to grow too fast to keep working full-time. I had to decide if I’d stay safe in my career, or go for it. And so I lept, and quit my job.Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.The product development process has changed dramatically since I first started Encircled.I have no fashion background - I have a finance degree and an MBA, so at the beginning, I had no knowledge of how to make a garment. So, I took an illustration course, a sewing class, bought a few books, and visited a few fabric shows to educate myself on what goes into the fashion design process.In the beginning, everything was outsourced. I was referred to a technical designer who made our first sample, tech specs, and took my design illustrations into an actual product. I also worked with a pattern maker to translate the technical design to a real pattern for production, and a sample maker to sew that perfect final sample.After that, I sourced manufacturers in Toronto (everything we make is made within 30km of our office), through an industry association called the Toronto Fashion Incubator. They had a large list of resources, and I called and emailed them all. It took forever! Many wouldn’t take small run sizes, a lot were out of business, and many wouldn’t work with new businesses or my fabric, but eventually, I found one. We still work with them today.The manufacturer produced a pre-production sample using their team, I’d approve it, I’d order fabric, labels, snaps etc. for production and off they went making it. A few weeks later, the production run was ready.Now that we’re bigger, we have a team managing these steps, and we make big efforts to integrate our customers into the design process. One key thing is that we open up a waitlist pre-design launch and pre-promote our new designs to gain interest and get feedback on the design. As we focus on designing with the mantra that less is more in a woman’s closet, we want pieces to be extremely versatile, and easy to wear. This is actually a harder goal to achieve than one might think! A large amount of detail needs to go into testing samples and perfecting both the fit and function of a garment.A good example of this is our upcoming launch of a T-Shirt dress:It’s designed so you can wear it front to back, or back to front, offering two neckline options. We reached out to customers on Facebook and Instagram about what they love and loathe about t-shirt dresses and had hundreds of comments.Those comments were integrated into our design! We also learned that the majority of woman couldn’t find a t-shirt dress that was long enough, or not clingy. So, we selected a higher density of fabric to reduce cling, and lengthen the dress.We subsequently reached out again to our social media and email list get even more feedback. Many customers wanted pockets, so we tested that in our design. During that process, we realized that pockets aren’t super functional on a t-shirt dress, and actually add ‘bulk’ in an area that women don’t usually want to highlight, so we removed the pockets!This is how we iterate with our designs. Even AFTER a design launches, we go back and revise it based on feedback we get from customer love and reviews.Many of our designs are evergreen, which means they stay in our collection forever. We may swap them out seasonally, but we’re designing timeless pieces that we want to live forever in our customer's closets. So, it’s critically important that our products are well designed, with impeccable fit, and that requires continuous improvement.Describe the process of launching the business.Launching my business was a slower process as I was working full-time (and beyond that with all the travel).My original website started development on Shopify, and then my developer left the project mid-way. I hired a new developer, who convinced me to move to Magento, so I actually launched on that platform.After being held hostage by the developer threatening to take down my website unless I pre-paid six months in hosting fees (he was hosting), and not having freedom or ability to make changes on my own website, I moved my platform to Shopify, and we’ve hosted on their ever since. I actually built my first Shopify site myself, and we still, for the most part, maintain it internally without much development help.To fund the business, I used the proceeds from the sale of my car to fund the initial launch of the company. This was probably around $20k.Post-launch, I invested some of the funds from the sale of my condo, about $15-20k. The most expensive startup costs were the website, product development costs, and photos/videography.Our first product was fairly complex, so I wanted to have amazing photos and videos to story tell how you could get so much versatility out of one garment. A production-ready garment sample takes about $800-$1500 in development costs to create, and the remainder of the funding went to our first production run. Post-launch much of the costs included a PR agency that I retained, more product development, funding production, and influencer partnerships.When I launched in late November 2012, the initial month was pretty slow. I remember celebrating in late December when I finally had a sale from a name I didn’t know. From there, it took some time to get traction but early PR hits definitely helped. However, I found retaining a PR agency to be super taxing financially, and we also parted ways in February. A particular low point I remember was in March 2013, when I sold ONE piece. In that month, we made $138 total.It was at that point that I realized I couldn’t rely on just PR alone, and started to build a more formal marketing plan. This truly transformed my business. In our first full year of business, I did about $40,000 in sales. Now, we’re on track to do several million.The biggest lessons I learned from launching are actually quite simple:Don’t give up control of your website.In the initial stages, when money is tight, and updating your website is key, being able to do that yourself is so important. When you’re an online-only retailer, your website is essentially your window to the world and a key part of establishing your brand.I wish I’d never let that developer talk me out of launching with Shopify because it really is an excellent DIY platform for ecommerce startups. It’s easy to use and has so much functionality like inventory tracking, built in shipping labels, and other apps to help you run your business smoothly.Have a marketing plan.This one is a little embarrassing for someone who worked in brand management for years, but it’s so important to make a plan.I started Encircled and became reliant on our PR agency for generating interest and traffic. That was a huge mistake! Not only is PR not as effective as it used to be, but it’s also expensive, and sometimes takes a long time to come to fruition.Root your marketing plan in numbers. Setting, and having clear, realistic goals combined with a focused marketing plan is what helped propel my business growth exponentially.Don’t quit your day job (yet).The stress created by having limited financial resources, and starting a business is REAL.Having a full-time, stable income while I started Encircled helped minimize that stress. I was able to save for when I was ready to quit my job, and also, I didn’t have to worry as much about money or take on early investors or debt unnecessarily.Yes, it was hard to manage both, and I gave up a lot of fun time on evenings and weekends for years, but it was worth it for me. Though I’ve had some tough financial moments since then, at least initially having that job security was such a blessing.Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?Early in my career, I worked for a home security provider, and I remember the CEO once saying that it costs 10-20x less to retain a customer than to get a new one. That has always stuck with me.Initially, my focus for Encircled was dead set on PR. However, after that low point in March 2013, I created a true content marketing plan with a keen focus on growing my email list, creating engaging content on social and our blog, and working with influencers/bloggers.This was how we allocated our time and efforts for the first 3.5-4 years of the business. It wasn’t until the past year that we started investing in SEO, Facebook and other paid advertising.Facebook ads have been good, and bad. We hired an agency to manage them initially, and though we saw some success, the fee structure and return on ad spend was not there to justify it. Our cash flow suffered greatly, and it hurt our profitability. Since then, we brought Facebook ads in-house, and though we cut our spend, and our revenue from that channel has decreased, we’re seeing a more profitable return on investment.We also hired out our SEO to mixed success. Though our organic traffic has increased slightly, it is hard to find someone qualified in this space that knows SEO inside out and how to execute it to today’s standards and the keywords we want to rank for our brand.Still, we see the highest ROI on owned channels like email. Our conversion rates are the highest, and we put immense effort into creating content on our blog, The Journal that is both engaging and value-added for our customers.I started the blog before I even launched our product. It initially was a journal of my experience developing our original product, and the lessons I learned along the way. In 2013, after taking an online marketing program, I started to plan out the content more seriously, and focused on updating it monthly, honing in primarily on travel-related blog posts. Today, we generally update it weekly or bi-weekly, and regularly invite guest bloggers to contribute.Our most popular blog content is related to styling, how to wear items, and curating a minimalist wardrobe. Not many brands write blog posts with the goal of educating. Many do it is a way to subtly promote their products. Our genuine authenticity with our dedicating to writing great posts sets us apart. If you’re looking to add a blog to your eCommerce store, I suggest spending time on your Ideal Customer - who are they? What types of content is engaging/interesting to them that makes sense for your brand to create? Where and how can you promote this content?Half the battle is writing the content, the other is promoting it so that people can actually discover it!We’re not always selling in our newsletter, but we’re always delivering value. A key way we’ve been able to grow our list is through offering an opt-in bonus for subscribing to our newsletter. Initially, I gave away a printable carry-on only packing list. Since then, we’ve updated it to our Minimalist Wardrobe Workbook which is a beautiful, 18-page workbook that helps customers truly transform their wardrobes. For free.How are you doing today and what does the future look like?Encircled sells 100% direct to consumer. Initially, I did some wholesale but after some major fails there, we decided keeping things online was best for our agile production model. It also works better for our margins.Encircled designs, and sews all of our clothing in Toronto, Canada using fairly paid labour. We also use super-premium, sustainable materials, so our cost base is much higher than traditional retailers. Going direct to consumer allows us to keep our products at an accessible price point while staying true to our values as a brand.We also do some pop-up shops and host in-person events in our studio. Our Shopify store processes 100% of our sales - we don’t do any dropshipping, nor do we sell on other marketplaces or channels like Amazon or Etsy.Our most engaged and profitable social channels are Facebook and Instagram. We invest a lot of time into creating inspiring, and educational content for both of these channels, and truly love connecting with our customers and followers.Today, we have a team of 10 including myself. The team is split into production/design, marketing, and customer love. All fulfillment is done from our studio in Toronto, and we pride ourselves on great customer experience, so we have 2 people working in that area of the business. The remaining team members are split between production/design and marketing.Our business is split roughly 55% Canadian sales, and 40% US, then 5% outside of US/Canada. Our plans are to expand our US sales with more focus on that market.Additionally, I hope to open up my own production factory in Toronto within the next year. This is a move to help improve our agility, reduce out of stocks, and truly bring things full circle. Lastly, I’d like to bring on more senior hires to our team next year allowing me more time to focus on strategic aspects of the business, and also personally, to take a few weekends off!Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?Being an entrepreneur, and running my own business is one of the biggest challenges of my career by far.In addition to being always resource-strapped (never enough time, money, people), you’re constantly riding the emotional highs and lows of a growing business. We’ll literally have days where our sales are $20,000, and days where it’s $2,000. It’s that variable!I’ve learned that to whether the storm of entrepreneurship in eCommerce you need a few things:A support system - a network of like-minded bosses that get you, and are going through what you are that you can rely on to lend an ear when you need it, and vice-versa.A mentor - someone experienced to push you and guide you when things get tough and to celebrate the wins with you. Every new level in your business creates new opportunities, and new challenges. I have an amazing mentor, Julie Cole. She’s always challenging me, and helping me get through those times when you feel like you’re totally alone.Great time management - In addition to being insanely protective of your schedule, you need to use your time effectively. This means, using your time to focus on income producing activities, but it also means sometimes taking time to yourself to not work.Resiliency - failure in entrepreneurship is all part of the journey. The ability to pick yourself up again, brush it off and keep going is so critical.Consistency - showing up every day, and being consistent with your actions is so key. The most successful businesses are ones that honed in on what worked best and showed up to do it day in, and day out.What platform/tools do you use for your business?We host both of our websites, our US/Global and Canadian on ShopifyOur essential shopify apps:Stitch for syncing and managing inventory across multiple channelsMailChimp for email marketingJudge.me for reviews automationShipstation for shipping orders and managing returnsHelpscout for managing customer love inquiriesOur must-have team collaboration apps:Slack for enabling team communicationGoogle Drive + all appsAsana for project managementWhat have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I’m a podcast junkie, so this is a tough question to answer, but here are a few of my favs:Being Boss - Hosts Kathleen and Emily, help you feel ‘not alone’ in feeling all of those crazy thoughts you get as an entrepreneur. Advice runs the gamut from getting paid, hiring a team to managing mindset.Online Marketing Made Easy - Amy Porterfield started as a Facebook specialist but now covers off a broad area of digital marketing tactics, and productivity for online businesses.How I Built This - A podcast featuring interviews with some of the most prominent CEOs/founders who started their businesses from the ground up. One of my fav episodes is with the ethical fashion icon, Eileen Fisher. It helps give you the perspective that everyone starts from somewhere, and everyone makes mistakes along the way.Books I love:Blue Ocean Strategy - primer on how to position your business in a way that stands apart from your competitionThe Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein - a book essential for reminding you to have faith in your journey, and the universe.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Start small. Launch your business with your ‘minimum viable’ product assortment, and see what works before producing a lot of inventory of your products.You can even leverage pre-orders to test the market for a product to gauge interest. Building a business from scratch requires a ‘test and learn’ mindset. This applies not only to product development but marketing as well. Not all investments in marketing will pay off, but you will always learn something. Start to uncover what is actually moving the needle on revenue, and double down on those activities.Hire slow, but hire sooner than you think. I waited a long time to hire my first employee, mainly out of fear of being able to handle their wages financially.As soon as I hired someone, I realized how many non-income producing activities I was doing on a daily basis. Just having a person to manage shipping and customer love (our version of customer service), freed up so much of my time to actually grow the business. It’s important to balance this advice with taking your time to find the right person. I’ve made many hiring mistakes in my journey, and it’s usually because I rushed the process. Take your time, clearly define the role and the ideal characteristics of the person you’d like in the role, and don’t be afraid to keep searching if you don’t find the right person on the first try.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?As of the publishing date, we’re looking for a passionate, new grad to join our team in the role of Marketing Assistant. That said, we’re always hiring - if someone’s a fit, we’ll make a role for them. In particular, I’d love to improve our paid ads channel, and copywriting.Where can we go to learn more?Website: encircled.coInstagram: @encircled_Facebook: @getencircledLiked this interview? Check out more founders that shared their story on StarterStory.com.

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jeremystrele · 7 years ago

Text

Going Global · Georgia Perry

Small Business

Fiona Killackey

Georgia Perry RULES at getting product noticed globally! Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Inside Georgia Perry’s bricks-and-mortar store, KIOSK. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Studio details. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

‘The hardest thing has always been accepting that I can’t do everything… taking on too much and burning yourself out is not good for anyone,’ says Georgia. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Product notes and sketches by Georgia. ‘I really liked the idea of creating something just because I felt like it – not because I’d been commissioned by a client,’ she tells. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Georgia at KIOSK, which opened on Smith Street, Collingwood, earlier this year. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

‘I never planned to turn this into a business in its own right,’ starts Georgia Perry from her Smith St KIOSK store, ‘but things progressed quickly, which meant I had to “level-up” and learn things fast so I could make the most of the opportunity.’ That business is Georgia Perry, a colourful and bold accessories and design brand, that’s become one of Melbourne’s go-to for unique gifts (often to one’s self!).

Originally trained as a graphic designer, Georgia began experimenting with small product runs in 2014. ‘It was just before Christmas when I first had the idea to supplement my studio practice with some small products’ the designer explains. ‘I’d been working as a graphic designer/illustrator for about seven years and I really liked the idea of creating something just because I felt like it – not because I’d been commissioned by a client’. It was only after sharing her product creations with her friends via social media, that Georgia realised the potential that existed. ‘Miraculously things started to sell! I was shocked, excited and a little under-prepared!’

Grasping the opportunity, Georgia set about teaching herself everything she could with regard to retail, profit margins and marketing. ‘I’ve taught myself literally everything from calculating profit margins and navigating import taxes to using accounting software and creating line sheets, purely by Googling stuff! It’s often the quickest way’. It was at this time Georgia also launched her online store, enabling items to be seen and purchased by people across the globe.

‘At first I did everything myself. Designing the products and packaging, researching, manufacturers and prototyping, shooting and editing product photos, listing products online and maintaining the website then hand-writing (!) address labels and taking everything to the post office!’ Georgia admits. While handling orders online was stressful at times, especially during the peak Christmas season, it was when stockists began approaching Georgia, that she realised she needed help. ‘The hardest thing has always been accepting that I can’t do everything… taking on too much and burning yourself out is not good for anyone.’

Six months after launching, Georgia enlisted her good friend Zoe to help out. ‘At first, it was just for a few hours and then gradually it became more and more. Now, nearly three years later we have a team of five and Zoe is still working with me as my Wholesale/Studio Manager’.

Within those three years, Georgia Perry has grown from a small product run for friends to a successful global business with her 130 stockists of the brand ranging from Colette and Le Bon Marché in France, through to Nordstrom and Kin Los Angeles in the US. ‘Initially I never even planned to wholesale at all, but after a few accessories began to get some press I started getting approached by stores.’ Admitting she knew ‘literally nothing’ about wholesaling, Georgia was forced to up-skill for a second time.

‘At first, I would spend many long nights on the couch with my laptop, compiling spreadsheets of cool stores I wanted to stock with. It was very time consuming (scouring the internet, finding buyers emails etc.) but I realised the value that wholesale would bring – both financially and in terms of getting my product in front of a wider audience, so it became very important to me early on.’

Educating herself via her own networks as well as online forums and articles, Georgia was able to create her own wholesale terms — ‘just a single A4 page with things like payment terms, how we would ship orders, what happens if something goes missing etc.’ – as well as a wholesale price list (using Google Sheets). She used ‘online margin calculators to try and work out a sweet spot where we’d still make enough from wholesale for it to be viable’ and drew upon her graphic design experience when creating ‘well designed selling tools — clear photos of the products, an easy-to-follow price list and a PDF lookbook’.

Given the popularity today of Georgia Perry, the brand regularly receives invitations to stock in places across the globe. So, how does she decide which ones are the right fit? ‘Before we agree to stock with anyone (both in Australia and internationally) we have a quick form that the store needs to complete which includes things like social media handles, which other brands they stock etc. This definitely helps us get a better picture of who they are and whether it’s a good fit… Above all, it’s ensuring the stores we work with have values that align with ours, and we trust them to represent us well.’

For those looking to get stocked overseas, what advice would Georgia give? ‘Firstly, buyers are always on the hunt for cool new products to fill their shops with. You could be doing them a massive favour by reaching out and showing them something they haven’t seen before. If you can get them to open an email, you’re halfway there.

Secondly, buyers are insanely busy people so you want to do everything you can to make it easy for them – eliminate barriers like long boring biographies, low-res product photos or not including a wholesale price list.’ Next, says Georgia, is to ‘make your selling tools clear, concise and easy on the eye. If you can’t do it yourself, enlist a friend who can take some product photos or help design a lookbook for you… We only started investing in photo shoots last year, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.’

Most of all, says Georgia, just don’t be afraid. ‘The absolute worst thing that can happen is they say no. That’s it! Don’t die wondering!’

Deep into the gifting season, celebrating their new physical store and and a recent third birthday, Georgia Perry is one busy lady. So, what’s next? ‘We opened our own retail store, KIOSK in August so we’re really looking forward to our first Christmas with a physical space. Other than that, we have lots of new products and ideas in development for next year – the dreaming and scheming never ends!’

Shop Georgia Perry and KIOSK online or drop into the Kiosk store at 77 Smith Street, Fitzroy, VIC.

Georgia Perry and her vibrant inspiration board. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

TIPS FOR GETTING STOCKED OVERSEAS

1. Know Your Audience

When you know your audience completely, you’re able to understand what sort of retail experience they want – regardless of where in the world they find themselves. Is your target audience more likely to spend time in the main shopping areas of a city or are they the type to venture out to lesser known, smaller boutiques or galleries? Will they want to find you in major department stores or will they think negatively of your brand if that happens? Which publications (online and print) will they be devouring and which shops are regularly featured in those publications? Who’s following the stores you’d like to be stocked in and could they become new audiences for your brand to be exposed to?

2. Do Your Research

Once you have a solid understanding of your audience it’s so much easier to begin your research into the most suitable stockists for your items. When looking at a potential stockist, review the about us pages, understand what drives their business, the team and the values behind it. Follow and engage with them on social media and look at the way they represent their existing brands. Digest media about the business and, if applicable, set up Google Alerts so you’re up to date with any news about their store/s before you go in with a pitch.

3. Embrace The Boring Bits

As Georgia states, it’s the boring bits that can trip you up when stocking internationally, so it’s crucial to embrace these elements from the start. From getting legal contracts in order, through to understanding the best freight carrier for your products and organising bar codes, it’s the “boring bits” that will save you the most heartache (and time!) later on. If need be, look at getting legal or financial assistance before making any long-term agreements. Local government sites, as well as global payment companies like Paypal can be a place to start accessing further information about selling globally.

4. Make An Impression

In my very first job, as Editor of Fashion Journal, I had a guy drop by the office wanting us to push his t-shirts in a shoot. It was 2004 and he was making them from home in Melbourne, but had them stocked in Colette in Paris. When I asked how he had managed to get Colette he said he had packed up the t-shirts with a huge amount of “Aussie” chocolates (Freddo Frogs, violet crumbles etc.) then spray painted the whole delivery box to Collette bright pink with glitter. Now, compare this to a stock standard brown box that gets delivered. Which one would cause more intrigue in the Colette buyer’s office? If you’re going to bother to send samples, think outside the box to ensure it’s a memorable (IG-worthy) experience for the recipient. If you’re contacting them via email in the first instance use tools like Headline Analyzer and Google Alerts to aid in open rates and relevancy, and consider the best time (in their zone) to send it.

5. Support Your Stockists

One of the best ways to ensure stockists remain fans is to show them you care. This could be as small as sending the buyer a card for their birthday or creating a how-to video guide for selling/merchandising your products. You may also want to invest in professional photography they can use on their own social media or write articles they can use on their blog. You should invest the same amount of time, if not more, retaining stockists as you do chasing them in the first place.

Fiona Killackey is a business consultant and the founder of My Daily Business Coach, providing information and education for starting and growing a creative small business. Need help with your Marketing? Fiona is running a full-day workshop on Marketing for Your Small Business Saturday 16th December at General Assembly, Melbourne.

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