DIY City Blog

Photo by Rini Boer in the Flickr group Ideas and Inspirations

Today’s post might not be so obviously about business, but for us creatives it is at the heart of what we do. It is important because it can help keep us focused and on track. It feeds our creative soul. It can show us where we have been and helps to map out where we are going. What I am talking about is our inspiration boards, books and walls. I couldn’t stop thinking about this since Deb and Wendy asked me for a picture of mine. I realized that I had completely neglected my boards and had covered them with my paper patterns. I was just so desperately trying to get the patterns out of the way. I hadn’t realized what was being destroyed in the process. I have since organized my patterns to expose the 5 boards that I hung with the specific purpose of expressing myself. Thank you Deb and Wendy for that.

My inspiration board
In the DIY City Community there is even a group you can belong to called Inspiration Board. Designers that join the group are encouraged to share pictures of their inspirations.

I also want to share a book with you. Maybe you have heard about it, Spilling Open…The Art of Becoming Yourself by Sabrina Ward Harrison. This was the first book she published at age 23. This book, along with 3 others, are published versions of her journals. All of them are full of pages of her inspirations. You can check out her website here.

Please leave a comment about what inspires you and how you express that inspiration. I would love to hear. I bet the rest of the community would too.

Trisha Ginter
Co-founder
www.smashingdarling.com
Leading an Indie Fashion Revolution

Events are such a great way to promote your business, and a fun way to connect with your customers. If you don’t own a brick and mortar location pair up with someone who compliments what you do and do it at their place. For instance another boutique, or a coffee shop, or a popular area restaurant.

Pick a date, send out a newsletter inviting all your fans. If you are doing the event with another business they will introduce all of their customers to you and vice versa.

We held a Dot Party at my store MerGirl. It was after hours, and everyone wore their Dot Shirt. A signature tee for MerGirl. It was a blast to see everyone wearing their version of Dot. People that didn’t already own one purchased one. Customers that had one bought the latest version.

The girls from Compai have events all the time. The last one I went to they had at a store in SOHO. They were demonstrating how to make some of the things from their book 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, and Deck Out your Denim.

Have fun with it. The possibilities are endless.
Trisha Ginter
Co-founder
www.smashingdarling.com
Leading an Indie Fashion Revolution

Are you collecting email addresses of all of your current and potential customers? If not you have to start NOW! Ask every single person who shows interest in your product if they want to sign up for your newsletter. What newsletter you say? The one you are also going to start right NOW! It is just like blogging, put a photo of your product and a little bit about what you have been up to, click send, and you are done. It is a simple as that to keep your army of fans in the know about what you are doing and what is coming up next.

If you would like to see how it’s done, indie designer Tracy Matthews has got it knocked.

Sign up for her newsletter so you can see how she does it! Here are 2 companies that make it very easy, Constant Contact and MyEmma. Remember, the squeaky wheel always gets the grease. There is a bonus to this as well, it is the green way to go. No trees have to be sacrificed to help you get the word out!

DIY with Smashing Darling
Trisha Ginter
Co-founder
www.smashingdarling.com
Leading an Indie Fashion Revolution

DIY with Smashing DarlingOne of the best  ways  to get your name out there as an indie designer is to START BLOGGING! It is the cheapest (if not freest) piece of marketing you have at your fingertips. Don’t get bogged down that you think you have nothing to say. Put a picture of your product in there, a small description and wah-la, you have a blog post. This is how you start to build your brand around your company and your product. There are many companies to choose from, Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress…just to name a few. So what are you waiting for, JUST DO IT! If you need a little inspiration check out Outsapop Trashion, the author of this blog has very cool stuff happening. Trisha Ginter is a new blogger here at DIY City Mag Blog. She is a Co-founder of Smashing Darling.

smashingdarling.com