Creations by Robert - a short bio

I have always enjoyed crafting and thankfully my mother encourage it. She recognized early on that I have a creative streak in me as she is much the same. If you give me little bits & pieces of most anything I will make something cute and fun. I like to create my own original pieces or make my version of something I have seen; often improving on what someone else has done or finding a quicker, simpler way of doing it. That is how I learned. My mother would show me something and then I would try to copy it. As I did that more and more I found ways of doing it that worked best for me and creating it how I wanted to. I have been doing this since I learned my basic fine motor skills.

One of the things I really like doing is taking something that has been made by another and figuring out how they did it. If I can do that then I will make my own. In the process I will make several versions of it that I like. I said before that I will improve upon the original, but that is my way of saying that I have made it better for me.

In my creativity I can be quite spontaneous. Sometimes I just get ideas and I have to play around with it to see if what is in my head works. If not then I have to figure out if it can be worked a different way to satisfy my need or do I just discard it as something I cannot do. As good as I feel I am at many things I do realized I cannot do it all. Sometimes that is hard to accept.

Over the years I have done many crafts. I had the option of trying out multiple kinds of crafts and to be creative in school, after school programs, volunteer programs where I worked with kids in daycare and youth centres, summer camps and at home. I always put myself forward as the one willing to do the crafts and it worked out well. I would make friends that way because I would offer to do what they didn't want to do and because I could make neat and pretty things. Overall my life provided me with many opportunities to express myself in that manner.

In more recent years I experimented and flirted with the idea of making things I could sell. I have always attended craft sales when I was able and knew that I could probably do something that would be worth selling. A few of the early trials didn't go too far as I lost interest and often didn't have the time. With this attempt I am making the time and putting forth more effort.

Back in the Summer of 2012 I started up again with bead craft. I made a few things for some lady friends and received strong encouragement to make more. I started with bracelets and worked my way into necklaces, earrings and then pendants. To improve my technique and to learn more I took some classes at a local bead shop and that sparked even more interest. It showed me how much more I could accomplish. One of my favorite things to do is to work with wire. Wire wrapping offers so many options and it allows for a large amount of creativity. I really like it.

Along the way I realized that I could sell my creations and make enough at least to pay for the continuation of my craft. A fun hobby that would pay for itself. I came up with a simple name for my little crafting business (Creations by Robert) and decided if I was going to show what I was making to a larger crowd I would need a larger platform and that is how the creation of my Facebook page came about. Facebook offers a lot of 'free' options and for someone starting a little hobby business, anything 'free' is a good option.

I routinely post pictures of what I have made and shared the posts with my friends who have in turn shared it with their friends. I even have a couple regular customers that promote me everywhere they go, especially when they wear what I created for them. They wear their creations a lot.

A cheap business card making site was suggested to me as well. I played around with it a bit and came up with a simple yet elegant business card design that I can and do pass out to interested people. The same site has even given me the option of creating other merchandise that matches my cards and can be useful in the future to further promote myself. It is a great site. I recommend checking it out if that is what you are looking for as well.

So with my Facebook page, my business cards to show off & promote myself and my creations I figure I am off to a decent start.

As of June 2013 I have not attend/taken part in any craft sales as I have not felt comfortable or ready. I have limited myself to sales through word of mouth and my page. That changes in July.

Here where I live we have our Gay Pride celebrations during the first week of July. This year I signed up for and am preparing myself to take part in the Pride Festival Market as a vendor selling my creations. I have purchased a tent to protect me from the sun and/or rain and used the business card site to create a banner that I can put up to show the people who I am.  Am totally nervous and I worry that I will not be ready. I am creating more and more stuff to sell, much of it "Gay Pride" based. In the next couple weeks I will be doing mock set ups of my tent/table/display to see how it will work out. I will take an inventory of my creations to see if I have enough and then I will pray to the Universe and Powers that Be for the success I need. I want so much more but am aware that I can handle only so much at a time.

My tent and banner in the back yard.

It will be exciting and stressfull all at the same time. I know I can handle it, I just need to stay upbeat & positive and remind myself a few hundred times that I can do it!

Wish me "Good Fortune".

LINKS

Creations by Robert - my facebook page

Vistaprint - business cards