Are you a mid-career crafts-person struggling to leave your day job or a new-to-the biz creative with dollar signs in your eyes?
Join Triangle ArtWorks’ experienced instructors in an intensive business school-style experience aimed at you. From business structures to support systems, from credit cards to cash flow, this course will walk you through the process of creating a craft business that makes money. Each week you’ll work on activities and projects that lead you to a clear vision of your business and a business plan. You’ll leave the class with a binder full of worksheets, ideas, contacts and checklists and be energized to make your craft business succeed.
This course is based on the REAL Entrepreneurship courses program and is a hands-on, activity-based experience. If you've tried to understand business principles before and been bored or frustrated, this is for you. If you want tools to understand your own craft business better, this is for you. You will learn to become a better networker, how to set up a solid business structure, and about financial structures that can help you make better business decisions. Course topics will include cash flow, production, costs and pricing, inventory, local resources, sales and promotions and more. These arts-business-specific skills are not currently offered in most university fine craft and fine art programs, but are essential for artists to function as businesses.
All registrants will be invited to join a course-specific Facebook group where weekly live-video sessions will be available for participants to ask instructors questions outside of the meeting times. This group will be an integral part of the course so membership is encouraged.
Both beginners and more experienced artisans can benefit from this course.
Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all sessions.
This course will be held on Zoom. Course handouts will be delivered digitally.
This course meets on Wednesdays from 6:00-8:00 pm.
Additional course materials will be mailed to participant's addresses.
Instructors for the Autumn 2021 Session are Cynthia Deis and Tiffany Coley.
Cynthia Deis
Cynthia Deis, Triangle ArtWorks ArtSwell Education Director, is an artist and art educator with over 25 years of experience in designing and selling crafts and in running a retail crafts store and craft-focused pop-up markets around the Triangle.
Tiffany Coley
Tiffany Coley is a jeweler and silversmith with a background in business. She sells her work to galleries and stores around the US and works out of her studio in Durham, NC. Learn more about Tiffany Coley's work here.
About REAL Craft Entrepreneurship Courses
Developed in cooperation with folks at Penland School of Craft, Handmade in America, Haywood Community College, and The Sequoyah Fund, this deep curriculum takes basic business and entrepreneurship training further with activities and experiences designed for craftspeople. Our accredited REAL instructors are experienced, successful craft artists with strong ties to both the retail and wholesale markets. They will bring their own experience to the course to help you build your own successful craft business.
The cost to attend this event helps cover important programming expenses such as compensating our workshop leaders and the administrative work that allows us to present these events. While we always strive to keep our fees low, we understand that they might be a barrier to some. If you are experiencing financial hardship and can’t afford the cost of an event, please let us know by filling out a reduced fee request.