So I have been a MAJOR blogger slacker since this Summer, and there are a few reasons why; however, there is one main reason why, and that is because I had an AHA moment late Summer 2010 that has occupied most of my free time since then. When driving to my cousin's, Aaron Anderson's, musical performance that he put together with members from the Olympia, WA stake, Nathan and I were talking and he was asking when I planned on starting a new artistic project. Normally this question turns me off to the whole subject :), but instead my brain went off onto another tangent. When I drew the Monson picture, the only way I could realistically market it was to you, my friends and family. I created a blog and there ya go, that was my way of marketing it, plus selling it in a local LDS bookstore. It sold better than I had anticipated, but there wasn't a great deal of growth opportunities.
I have also been amazed at looking up other artists' work online, whether they draw, paint, compose, sing, sculpt, photograph, etc.--- so many of you are so talented, and so many people in this nation are so talented! Often times it would discourage me because I think, wow, my talent really isn't that great compared to so many others around me (I know, Satan :) ), but that still didn't keep me in awe of the wonderful creations many of you do on a frequent basis.
Anyway, because of my experience in realizing how difficult it is to market one's artistic creations, along with coming across so many other talented creations done by others, I thought why not I solve this problem that so many other people are obviously encountering? I am one to normally wait and hope for someone else to make my life easier, at least when it comes to something big like this, but I couldn't let the idea and excitement be contained, and over the last several months I have, along with many others' help, put together www.InspiredHeartsandHands.com .
Inspired Hearts and Hands' tag-line is "Bringing Inspiration & Talent together to Beautify Life" . Many of you have great talents that have been given to you as gifts, that you have cultivated and utilize to beautify your own life as well as others around you. What this online site provides is another avenue for you to market your creations without fees, without annoying hassles, with a large exposure to customers, and to be surrounded by people and other artistic creations that are similar to yours. My goal is to provide you opportunities to be able to get paid for doing what you love, and to make your hobbies more worthwhile. Many of you are stay at home moms like me, and like to have excuses to put your talents to good use. I know that Nathan only loves his job so much, and yet has other talents that provide him more fulfillment and enjoyment that if he had an opportunity to make some money on the side utilizing those talents, he would put them to greater use.
I encourage each of you to think of what talents you have, your spouse has, your best friend, your parents, your siblings, your kids, your extended family, acquaintances etc., and pass this along. Right now I am trying to get the word out and tell people of this new opportunity. It is somewhat like etsy, however, there are no fees to selling (so no reason to hesitate), only 10% commission kept if your product(s) sell, and we will be catering more to art, music and literature rather than craft items. Plus the items need to be uplifting, nothing dark or depressing, or you know what I mean. Music, art, and literature can tend to be dark and not provide the best atmosphere in one's home, and this will not be the case with our store.
From now until June I am looking for anyone who would like to give us a shot and post their items for sale on our site. June is when we will open up to customers, and I hope to have a large selection of your great creations to offer to them. If you are curious about how it all works, please visit www.inspiredheartsandhands.com/Artist-Info-and-Login.html . You can also go and look at what the site looks like, and get an idea of its possibilities in showcasing what you have made, or think of others that you think this would be perfect for.
I really appreciate the support I have received from many of you already, and can't wait to hear from more of you. Sorry again for slacking on this blog, but I will most likely continue to since I know this endeavor will keep me busy. I will try to get on here occasionally, but feel free to also check out the Inspired Hearts & Hands blog at www.InspiredHeartsandHands.com/blog . There are only a few postings about why we are, and what we are looking for, but as the site starts to welcome customers this Summer, you can expect to have constant articles that will be fun to read, and neat things to learn about.
Thanks for your support and I look forward to being overwhelmed by all of your talented submissions! :)
