Link and post your reputation with this badge

Ever wonder if your potential customers have any idea what a great seller you are? Do they bother to check your feedback? And what if they don't know all your selling sites? Well, go to Repatoo and link your accounts/sites together and post a verified badge on all your selling sites. Right now they don't include Artfire in the verification but I suspect that will arrive in the new future. You can add links to your Repatoo profile to show all your sites when someone clicks your badge. And it's FREE!

A Punkin Card Company - Texas Artfire Promotion

A Punkin Card Company is paper, stationery, and life.
Started in February 2007 by Amie Needham, a Houston area artist and designer, the collection emerged as simple card creations to enhance one's life. Soon the collection rocked into the modern realm of bold colors and fun, retro patterns. All the while taking Amie Needham's designs to the next level.
A Punkin Card Company creates stationery to change lives, evoke style and stir creativity.
*All of A Punkin Card Company's cards are handmade from recycled materials using a flat printing process.

Amie is originally from Louisiana, where she began as a historian with a focus English studies. After realizing her dream of design and art, she opened her own stationery company in February 2007 and hasn't looked back. Soon after life took another turn and moved her young company to Houston, Texas.

She is also the author of A Punkin Card Company Blog, a design and trend blog featuring artists from all over the Indie world.

www.apunkincardcompanyblog.com

Questions or comments: apunkincardcompany@gmail.com

A Blond and A Torch - Texas Artfire Promotion

This week's featured studio is A Blond and A Torch. Jenn creates simply beautiful jewelry and loves custom orders.

A Blond And A Torch offers artisan crafted metal jewelry that is simple and organic, yet elegant. Each piece is designed and hand crafted by Jen Nixon in her home studio in Texas with an eye towards wearability. Working primarily in solid sterling silver , A Blond And A Torch creates earrings, bangle bracelets and necklaces in a variety of sizes and styles and welcomes custom orders.

http://ablondandatorch.blogspot.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennixon/

www.trunkt.org/ablondandatorch

Jinx1764 rides the Artfire Crazy Train

Jinx1764

Lucky me! It's my turn on the Artfire Crazy Train Promotion! While I haven't made any sales yet my views have jumped dramatically! Here's the link if you're interested in following the AF thread about my shop. Thanks to everyone, especially Texas Artfire members that have been participating in my ride!

Facebook and Artfire

I finally took time to put the Artfire Kiosk on my Facebook page. It is really easy.

Sign into your Artfire shop and at the top of the page just right of the Artfire Logo is the Facebook application. Click on "Get This App!" and follow the instructions.

It is not hard, took me less than 5 minutes.

When people visit your Facebook page they can click on your picture and your Artfire Kiosk button shows up, then they can click and view the items in your shop.

I am very new to Facebook and any still trying to figure out all the things I can do with it.

If you know other ways to help promote our shops please jump in here and leave comments, suggestions or ideas.

3zArt Texas Artfire Promotion

Here's our next featured Texas Artire Artisan 3 zArt!

I was fortunate enough to win a set of custom switch plates from her blog giveaway earlier this year and she does beautiful work! The picture left is an example of the style I choose and am using in the master bedroom. They are well made and high quality and I highly recommend her shop.

In her own words:

At 3zArt you can find home decor and gift items for all types! I love anything bright and bold, as you have probably noticed from my selection of switch plates. I currently make light plate covers, mouse pads, lamp shades, and coasters that I sell online.

-ARTFIRE VERIFIED SELLERS-

All fellow Artfire Verified Sellers can receive 10% off your total purchase (before shipping). Just put AF Verified Seller or AFVS in the "Notes to seller" box and I will send you an invoice through Google Checkout or Paypal (whichever you prefer) OR if you would rather go ahead and pay immediately I will refund the 10% to you.

I've had a pretty interesting life for my short time here! I've been making and selling my creations for as long as I can remember, from Neighborhood Newspapers to Faberge Eggs. Lived in many wonderful places (and many not so wonderful). I am slowly making my way through college to hopefully make something of myself :) I love making home decor items and experimenting to make new products. I have lots of crazy ideas..some work wonderfully and others end in disaster(and usually burnt hands). I also love playing with polymer clay but that is just a hobby and I would probably never sell any of my work. I have not had a traditional life at all...it is very hard for me to fill out any kind of form about myself

Texas Artfire Needs Regional Co-Guild Masters!

To all Texas Artfire Members:
contact the Guild Master

Now that we've gotten our first TA craft show completed and I feel successfully completed at that; I wanted to contact you guys about the next idea I wanted to work towards.

Obviously, my local networking ideas can't easily work throughout Texas with one Guild Master hence I want to find TA members that are interested in being Regional Co Guild Masters. I would still be GM and would have all the members info and would provide the local TA members info as needed to each CGM. I would like to expand the ideas we've generated here and encourage other local TA members to brainstorm for ideas that would work in their areas. Some ideas that have already been generated here from last week.

- Start our own craft shows at local apt complexes where members live
- Jewelry repair/alteration at retirement/disabled/normal apt complexes
- Destash/trade parties at local TA members homes or neutral locations
- Continue to expand to Terrace locations (my original intent)
- Network with each other to find low cost established local craft shows
- Purchase needed supplies in large bulk orders and split the cost with local members to save

These are just a few ideas. As you can see a local CGM in each major city/region would be of a great assistance to all members. Since this is a volunteer position it is of course you would put as much or as little work into as you can and I certainly don't expect anyone to work excessively since we have all full time jobs/shops/etc. While I'm the GM I also don't expect anyone to "report" to me. I want to communicate with all CGM equally and share new, unique ideas that work in our areas so that we can all avoid reinventing the wheel. Since each region has different artists and needs each CGM would run their area as they saw fit to gain the maximum results.

So far I have it broken down into regions being:

Southeast - greater Houston area - myself as GM
North - greater Dallas/Ft Worth area - open
Central - greater San Antonio/Austin area - open
South - greater Corpus Christi and possibly deep south area - open
West - greater El Paso area - open
Panhandle - greater Amarillo/Lubbock area - open

These are just the basic regional suggestions, obvious we may need a CGM in a specific city/town as the guild grows and/or if a member volunteers to start a local chapter in their area which is more isolated from larger regions.

I would like this to be flexible so that we can adjust when and if the needs arises in the future. I hope to expand my original idea to other members' regions to assist in increasing their success through local networking.

If you are interested in volunteering as a CGM of your region/city please email as soon as possible so that I may send you the list of TA members in your region and we can begin communicating our ideas.

Thank you and I hope to see Texas Artfire become a great success in the future through the efforts of all of our members!

Heather Mewis
GM