Communication In this episode, I want to challenge you to have conversations. Go out of your way to communicate with others. Make a difference in your day and in the day of others. You may change your life while you are at it. Support the show

Critiquing Your Work Do you work on a project, and you get that feeling that something isn’t quite right about it, and you aren’t sure how to fix it? There are a lot of factors that can affect how you edit your project so it feels right. What is it that is making you feel like something needs to be edited or adjusted? o Is it the right fit for your home? o Is it something your customers will want? o Are you concerned about what others will think? o Is it a go...

Balance · In this episode, I want to not only discuss balance, but I find it important to talk about goals or purpose. · This is one of the top topics that affect all of us. · Where in the world do we find time to do furniture life · We all would say we are already busy · I find the most likely reason we have this topic crosses our minds is that we are looking to do more. ·&n...

Studio Space How’s your studio space looking? Are you ready to get one set up? With any creative space, they typically take on the needs of your creative style. The number one goal of any space is efficiency. If you can’t access what you need quickly, you are making extra work and then there is less time to be creative and do your craft. I have been painting furniture for almost 6 years at this point and I am happy to share more about my space. My studio is a converted, enclosed porch w...

· White, Cream, Gray—that’s what sells—right? · If you are making a living and killing it, and you love that, then you are good to go  · Is that what you want to do? · Are you just going through the motions? · Consider diversifying your portfolio. There’s can be a balance of making money, selling furniture the public wants, and then also painting what inspires you. Find that balance of keeps y...

When you agree to purchase furniture on your favorite sale site like Marketplace. It’s time to go get the piece. Maybe you are even at a garage sale or estate sale. Are you ready to take a piece home? Here are some items to have ready · We have a tool bag. It is also what we take when we go fluff or work in our booth. · In the bag o tape measure o flathead (antique screws) o Phillip's head o Screwdriver with the ability to change bi...

Branding · So, you are ready to get serious with your craft. · You want to start social media platforms, get some business cards, maybe even a booth space. What is your style, character, business focus? · I recommend you write 3 words that describe your business · Ex. Fun, Quirky, Exciting Casual, Cozy, Country Classy, Refined, Sharp · Consider maki...

Thrift store shopping · Advantages o Safe o Regular hours o Get to know the Manager—make a deal. Not long ago, I bought 5 pieces. o No Pressure o They Help Load · Inspect o Low quality—be prepared for extra work o Watch for damage o Missing hardware—be creative with other items that might match o I don’t like that they often store the pieces on their ends and use hand carts to move them arou...

Passion Why are you a furniture artist? Or let me ask, why are you still a furniture artist? o Have you found what you really enjoy doing? Are you still searching? o I was listening to a voice coach on YouTube the other day describing a musician's voice and song selection. He mentioned that a musician needs to be at one with the selection. Needed to feel the music and his passion come through the music. o Does that apply to us, furniture artists? o Do y...

In this episode, I'll be interviewing and continuing my recent topic of Community. We'll talk about taking the next step, how community affects your next step, and how to view negativity. Be sure to follow Kari and check out her website https://thrivecompanyfl.com/ & @thriveco.shop Topics traits of an entrepreneur Successful avenuesGetting startedBusiness OwnerBalancing timePassion for your careerBuilding your own businessNegativityStaying positiveCommunity Supp...

Community · What is community? COMMON UNITY · Common interest · Common enjoyment Things that should exist in a community · Positivity · Encouragement · Honesty · Collaboration · Culture · Helpful · Motivation · Kick in the pants · Energy · ...

Sept, 2020—Experience—Grant, David Lee, Eric & Tiffany · I came across a listing on Marketplace for an antique buffet. It looked in rough shape. · For the price, it was listed at, it was worth checking out. · My wife and I jumped in the Bow Tie Treasure chariot and headed over there · The house was an old run-down simple house. Weeds, no up keeping here at all. · The buffet I came to ...

Pricing · This is not an easy subject because pricing can run the full spectrum. · There’s a lot of emotions that can go with pricing your work as well. · Let me offer some reminders and suggestions to keep in mind and just express how I feel about pricing my furniture. · I am especially going to come from this as a furniture artist that sells most of my work in local shops or booths or from my r...

· Do you find there are times you get silence, or nothing comes when you need that creativity to really kick in? · In the furniture artist life, are you expected to keep cranking out great ideas, imaginative work, or creative solutions? · Have you lost your passion? Passion is doing what you love. What is it that you love to do? Have you pulled away from that target and item that you loved? H...

Are you ready to get a booth or shop in a local store? In this episode, I'll cover a lot of topics and suggestions for you to ask yourself or to consider before you get started in your booth life journey. Topics like: Where · Visit as many local shops as possible. · Visit at different times—are they usually busy? · How far away are they? · How often can you go “fluff your booth”? · &n...

I'll discuss one of the first moments of buying furniture from an estate and how I learned so much from that experience. Things I would never do now, and am still shocked I did then. I wound up buying 4 pieces that day, one I still have. They all needed work but in the end, I did learn a lot from that experience. I'll share a great tip on how to look over a piece without things getting too awkward. Support the show

Have you posted an item like one of your latest furniture painted creations and someone asked if you would take half? You just want to scream, right?!! In this episode, let’s get into accepting or rejecting offers on your creations and artistic projects. We'll discuss common negotiating statements and offers you can expect to receive from those on posting sites like Marketplace or even Craigslist. It's a great place to sell your projects but it's important to be a professional and be pr...

Let's start the journey and talk about how Aaron got into the Furniture Artist Life. We'll talk about the basic path he was taken the past few years. We'll also introduce future topics as well. Aaron made some projects and kept going all the way to having multiple local booths that featured his furniture projects and home decor. Community and others' encouragement was critical to get into this journey. Stay with us as we create more episodes and cover practical topics that are rel...