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CraftSmarts are the OCC's year-round series of professional development workshops. Taking place both regionally throughout Ontario and in Toronto, CraftSmarts are programmed to address your needs. The focus is on developing skills required to be successful as a small business owner, as an exhibitor, and overall, as a maker that needs to 'make it' in the greater cultural community.
Current:
Past:
Click here to see our Cancellation Policy
2012 CraftSmarts:
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The Fundamentals of Money
for the Self Employed Maker
Date: Saturday, February 18, 2012
Location: 401 Richmond Street, Suite 408, Toronto
Time: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
OCC Members: $38 + HST
Non-Members: $45+ HST
It's that time of year again. The tax deadline is fast approaching. If you're like most of us, you're trying to ignore that shoebox full of receipts in the corner, but you can procrastinate no longer.
This workshop will answer the most common questions people have when they start their own business. It will also go over the tax implications of working for yourself and things you can do to be better prepared for tax time.
When people think of a craftsperson’s finances, the first word that comes up is "flake" or "flaky". When people ask me how I find working with them and their money, my first response is: "You can't be a flake with money and be a working craftsperson. The two are incompatible." Most craftspeople in Canada make so little money that the only way they can remain artists is to be extremely smart and careful with their money.
The primary message of this workshop is: money is not rocket science. Money is adding and subtracting; money is not math––it's Grade Two Arithmetic. Most craftspeople are required to be able to create proposals, budgets, cash-flow projections in order to get the backing to create their work. They need to feel that they are competent to understand what these documents reveal and why they are important.
In this workshop you will learn:
How to set up and handle the financial side of your business, from keeping your books to calculating HST remittances to organizing your business for income tax; finding your financial strengths; how to avoid the wake of debt; what non-financial assets are and how important they are to a craft practice; how to choose the proper business structure; how to evaluate a supplementary job; how budgeting and cash flow work.
Presentor Amanda Mills is a freelance accountant and financial advisor whose clientele includes many non-profits and local artists. Founder of Loose Change, Amanda has 30 years experience as a management consultant for small business and the arts. She is also is a Certified Financial Counsellor, a tax professional, and financial trouble-shooter.
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The From Makers to Making a Living course came at exactly the right time for me. I was so disheartened about my business, and couldn't conceive of actually making a living wage with it, even though that had been the main purpose of starting a business. Instead of giving up, Jacqueline helped me to find focus and redesign my concept. Now, a mere one month later, I can say that I am well on my way to a profitable and exciting year. This is in large part due to the tools Jacqueline provided. She taught me how to decide if a route is worth exploring, and if not, how to find a new path. She also taught me not to be afraid of asking what a product is truly worth, and to have confidence in my business, even in the face of small set-backs. Jacqueline's unique experiences and knowledge foundations made her a wonderfully understanding teacher. I felt immediately comfortable sharing the details and doubts of my own business, because she set up a very solid no-judgement atmosphere. Thank you so much for providing this class. It has become an essential business tool!
2011 participant Ginny Kaner
owner, Butterfly Tree
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From Maker to Making a Living
Three Day Intensive
Dates:
Friday, April 13, 2012 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Saturday, April 14, 2012 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday, April 15, 2012 10 am - 4 pm
Location: TBA, Toronto, ON
FEE: $300 + HST
Do you ever feel like your entrepreneurial skills are not up to par with your creative instinct? Do you wish there had been just one business class at art school? Are you facing more questions than answers related to your craft business?
From Maker to Making a Living is a workshop series designed to guide craftspeople through the process of understanding, designing and building their individual businesses. Led by maker and award winning business leader Jacqueline Sava, attendees will be guided through an eight-part series of lectures, exercises and activities focused on the development of their own craft-based business practices.
The knowledge and skills obtained in these workshops will allow makers to successfully balance their personal craft philosophies with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from their businesses. At the end of the workshop series, each craftsperson will have a custom plan to ensure a successful transition from where they are to where they want to be, and balance their personal craft philosophy with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from business.
Topics Covered
• Friday, April 13: Myth busting. Making money is okay.
• Friday, April 13: Options. Exploring without losing your soul.
• Saturday, April 14: Personal branding. Understanding your purpose.
• Saturday, April 14: Business goals. Defining a vision.
• Saturday, April 14: Costing per product. Am I really making money?
• Sunday, April 15: Costing in general. All the other expenses.
• Sunday, April 15: Selling. Wholesale, retail, pricing, and all that jazz.
• Sunday, April 15: Charting the course. Deciding which way to go.
Jacqueline Sava has a passion for combining business and creativity to create profitable, market driven products. Her values of innovation, education, creativity and community drive both her business and her personal endeavors. When not working on her business, Sava teaches Design Strategy, lectures on business development and entrepreneurship and is a passionate crafter; knitting and creating quilts.
Her major accomplishments include a distinguished selection of awards such as VIRTU, Canada’s design award, OWIT Women Exporter of the Year, and TBDC Youth Entrepreneur of the Year. Sava holds an MBA in marketing and strategic management from Schulich School of Business at York University and a BFA in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design.
Sava has been an active member of OCC since 1996. To find out more about Jacqueline Sava’s current business, Soak Wash Inc., visit www.soakwash.com.
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2011 Past CraftSmarts:
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Grant Writing with the Ontario Arts Council
Date: Monday, September 19, 2011
Location: Metro Hall, room 310
55 John Street, Toronto
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Join Lisa Wohrle, Associate Visual Arts and Crafts Officer at the Ontario Arts Council to learn the ins and outs of writing a great grant. Bring your pressing questions and pick up some great tips. We've scheduled it in early September to give you lots of time to complete your grants for the Fall OAC Submission Deadline on October 17th, 2011.
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Photo Clinic with Dean Palmer
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011
Location: Ontario Crafts Council, 990 Queen Street W., Toronto
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
OCC Members: $58 + HST
Non-Members: $65+ HST
Learn how to professionally photograph your art to be used for portfolios, catalogs, websites and online applications!
Bring two pieces of your work to the workshop, and you will take home brand new images to revitalize your portfolio.
Dean Palmer will first introduce participants to the basics of how a professional photographer documents 2D and 3D objects. The group will examine issues such as lighting, composition, filters, texture, white cards and unwanted glare to allow the craftspeople to document their own work on a shoestring budget. Finally, each individual will have two pieces of their work professionally photographed onsite. Following the workshop, participants will be sent professional, high resolution digital images of their work for their own personal use.
Dean Palmer is a professional photographer living in Guelph, Ontario. Specializing in portraiture, commercial and editorial photography, Dean Palmer Photography boasts an impressive - and ever‐growing ‐ list of clients that include Fortune 500 companies, municipal governments, educational institutions, magazines, and other creative businesses. The studio works collaboratively with regional cultural organizations including art galleries and museums, and is favoured among area artists for accurate documentation of artwork. Dean founded his own studio, Dean Palmer Photography, in 1995. |
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Studio 408
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From Maker to Making a Living
Do you ever feel like your entrepreneurial skills are not up to par with your creative instinct? Do you wish there had been just one business class at art school? Are you facing more questions than answers related to your craft business?
From Maker to Making a Living is a workshop series designed to guide craftspeople through the process of understanding, designing and building their individual businesses. Led by maker and award winning business leader Jacqueline Sava, attendees will be guided through an eight-part series of lectures, exercises and activities focused on the development of their own craft-based business practices.
The knowledge and skills obtained in these workshops will allow makers to successfully balance their personal craft philosophies with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from their businesses. At the end of the workshop series, each craftsperson will have a custom plan to ensure a successful transition from where they are to where they want to be, and balance their personal craft philosophy with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from business.
WHEN: From Maker to Making a Living will take place as eight evening sessions between 6:30 - 8:30 pm on the following dates:
• Monday, October 3: Myth busting. Making money is okay.
• Tuesday, October 4: Options. Exploring without losing your soul.
• Tuesday, October 11: Personal branding. Understanding your purpose.
• Wednesday, October 12: Business goals. Defining a vision.
• Monday, October 17: Costing per product. Am I really making money?
• Tuesday, October-->
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