I had the honor of having Mike Pappas as one of my pottery instructors at Hinckley Pottery in Adams Morgan. As a teacher he was supportive and encouraging with a great sense of humor. As a potter his work is a combination of beauty and functionality. His organic shapes and forms are unlike anything I’ve seen before and I’m happy to have many Pappas pots in my collection!

When did you start your pottery career?
I enrolled in a beginner’s throwing class at Hinckley Pottery in December, 2001, after doing a web search for “raku”. I had always been drawn to ceramic art, but clay and I didn’t get together until somewhat later in life than most potters do. At any rate, it was a good match, and after a couple of years of apprenticing with Master Potter Jill Hinckley, I began teaching classes there.

You’re an organic farmer, how does that play into your craft. I know you incorporate nature and organic forms into your pottery. Can you talk about that?
I am constantly inspired by nature! As a farmer, I am often caught short during my daily routine by the fullness of a ripe melon, the mathematical beauty of sunflowers with their seeds arranged so that Fibonacci would squeal, buckwheat seeds of such exquisite shape that thrusting your hands into a bag of them is like diving into quiet pond at dawn. And bare stalks of coneflowers in winter, iridescent beetles, curled grubs, honey comb, rough bark, red, green, purple, brown, yellow, orange and striped tomatoes…all of this finds its way into my pots through form and glaze.

Can you describe your process? Do you start with an idea, a material, a task?
In many ways, I am still learning to be a potter now. When I sit down to throw, I typically throw a few tea bowls off the hump. This helps me facilitate the “brain shift” that allows me to better complete whatever task is at hand, be it a commission, a new form I am excited about or a shape that needs work.

Any favorite types of things to throw? (I’m partial to mugs since I’m a coffee addict!)
Tea bowls, or yunomi, are a current favorite. I often use them as wine cups during our farm lunches on volunteer days on the farm. I am also excited about wavy sided ikebana vase forms, and a lidded jar that was inspired by a shrub that grows on the farm called a Seed Box.

Do you prefer kick wheels or electric wheels, certain types of clay or glazes? Tell us your favorite tools and materials.
I most often use an electric wheel, but nothing beats the rhythm and flow you can achieve with a treadle wheel. This sort of wheel is completely powered by your leg, so you can’t go too fast. Pots made on electric wheels can look mechanical; not so on a treadle. It is a kind of waltz, pushing out on the treadle, pausing, and feeling the flywheel push the treadle back. A waltz, and a heartbeat.

I fondly remember many Sunday afternoons spent at your Raku Workshops. Nothing’s more fun than throwing a glowing hot pot into a trash can filled with combustibles! Can you talk more about Raku and what draws you to it?

Western Raku derives from a Japanese method of firing pots, and bears little resemblance to that ancient method. Special glazes are used to give bright, often metallic colors. Raku ware is not considered food safe, nor will it hold liquids without special treatment. The pots are removed red hot from the kiln and placed in the reduction chamber which contains combustible material such as newspaper, straw or leaves. After cooling in the chamber, the pots are removed and scrubbed up, revealing wonderful colors and patterns. Raku offers the excitement of handling red hot pots, plenty of flame and smoke, beautiful pots and instant gratification!

Tell us about Monday nights out on your farm.
I have three wheels on my farm and an electric kiln, as wheel as a raku kiln. I hold classes here on Monday nights, teaching throwing and hand building. Classes are small, so there is lots of individualized instruction!

Any potters who inspire you? Any major influences?
Jill Hinckley, my teacher for the last 10 years, has been the obvious major influence! After that, I will credit Kevin Crowe (www.kevincrowepottery.com) for his thoughtful guidance and inspiration. I am so grateful to be part of his crew, stoking his anagama twice a year, 24/7 for 5 days! There are many, many potters whose pots I admire and inspire me. And my students! The new potters who touch clay for the first time and are changed–it is possible that they inspire me, if not most, then more deeply.

You’re an instructor at Hinckley Pottery and the Greenbelt Community Center. Can you tell us about that and what you like about teaching pottery?
I guess I teach a lot! Well, maybe my previous answer was getting close to what I like most about clay. As much as I love throwing my own pots, and as much as I enjoy seeing my pots purchased (by complete strangers!) and go off to good homes, nothing at all compares to the ineffable profundity that emits when your student resolves the lip of the pot; trims a beautiful foot; achieves an amazing glaze result; or finally gets that wobbling lump of clay on center. I will never stop teaching.

How do you feel about the handmade movement? I am encouraged (and delighted!) by the passionate movement away from mass produced goods and toward hand made. I believe that the desire to create is inherent in people, and if that desire is not fulfilled, our lives can not be as full and rich as they could or should be. Speaking for myself, there is nothing more satisfying than sharing a meal of freshly harvested salad greens with friends who just helped pick them, served on dishes I threw, and sipping wine from wood fired cups.

Do you sell your work anywhere? I have a holiday show in December and I sell my work at Hinckley Pottery at a studio show each May. Additionally, I’ve started selling at the Columbia Heights Market on Saturday mornings in Washington, DC, and I am working on getting my Etsy site up and running. In the meantime, keep in touch via my Facebook pages:

Mike Pappas

There are the things familiar to just about everyone who’s ever shopped a handmade marketplace: soaps in heady scents, pendants in the shapes of birds and octopuses, totes and T-shirts decorated with bicycles, turntables, and cassettes. And then there are the things Juli Sherry and Dan Somen make. When the pair does craft fairs, some people mistake what they sell “for other items,” says Sherry, “most often hookah tubes or necklaces. I have pondered making a sign that says, ‘THESE ARE NOT HOOKAH TUBES,’ because we get that question so frequently.”

Of course, the questioners are mostly nonmusicians. Those who play guitar or bass or keyboard don’t have as much trouble identifying Sherry and Somen’s products: instrument cables that have been carefully wrapped in yarn, in color combos that include Sweet Shoppe (aqua, pink, yellow, orange), Uptown (cream, brown, blue, red), and Rolling Hills (various greens). “Dan was becoming frustrated with the low quality of store-bought cables, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and make his own,” Sherry recalls. “We were also tired of seeing boring black music equipment littering our loft and practice space. Then one day I started brainstorming ways to make his carefully crafted items look as good as they sounded. So I got out my knitting yarn, started wrapping, and it went from there.”

The result is cables that both sound and look better than the cheap, mass-produced variety, and which the two Chicagoans sell under the name Cordinated. “Customers have told us how much they love the way our cables make their music sound.” Sherry says. “The clarity of each note and the tonal range provided by our cords is unparalleled.” Somen, 30, draws on his training as a mechanical engineer to construct and solder the cables from components he buys online. (“He’s amazing”, gushes Sherry, who happens to be his girlfriend. “He basically taught himself how to solder and piece them together through the Internet.”) Then Sherry, 29, wraps them in wool using a technique she picked up as an avid maker of childhood friendship bracelets. “He’s the mechanical side, while I handle all of the design. It’s a perfect fit.”

Their items can be found in the Cordinated Etsy shop, which Sherry and Somen opened in 2009, at craft fairs around Chicago, and in select retailers. But the most attention-grabbing outlet for their handiwork might be their band, Catch a Tiger, which proudly showcases the cables onstage at every show. Sherry uses one on her bass, while lead vocalist Somen connects one to his mic to make self-described “indie power rock layered in synthesizer and occasionally interrupted by French musette waltz.” “We love that our cables give us a unique look that people remember us by,” says Sherry.

They also love creating a product that improves the lives of other musicians – and not just in sound-quality department. “Wrapping the cable in yarn actually prevents them from tangling, and I have a friend who says that cats won’t eat fuzzy cables,” says Sherry. And she’s recently started to do a little for those hookah-tube-fixated nonmusicians, too, yarn-wrapping cables for headphones and iPods. “I hope that by selling headphones and iPod cables people will realize that our cords are for music,” she says, “not smoking.”

Over Etsy convos, Sherry chats about her partner’s soldering prowess, what kind of yarn best resists rock-club grime, and the satisfaction of knowing that one of her favorite bands uses her cables.

Dan handles the electrical side of the business, right?

It is funny because he went to Caltech for mechanical engineering, which is his full-time job, but his interest in music and playing guitar really sparked his new love for analog electrical engineering. He makes pedals and amps and does repair work for our musician friends. He’s taught me how to solder, too, but he’s definitely the expert.

Dan can bust out a classic cable every 15 minutes, and he prefers to do them in bulk. There are multiple steps involved, such as cutting the length, stripping the outer and inner covers, twisting the outside wires together, and a couple of more steps before the final soldering. He uses a soldering iron on all of the cables. Basically, we buy a 1,000-foot cable spool, which we cut pieces from to make the cables.

Why go through all that instead of buying cables in a store?

We like to think that our hand-soldered cables last longer than the machine-soldered store-bought versions. Hand-making them offers a level of detail that creates a truly high-quality product. … Also, it is difficult to confuse your cable with one that belongs to someone else if it is bright yellow and blue. They also last longer in that way because you won’t lose them as easily.

We make two grades of cables. One is extremely high-quality and comes with a double-braided shield to protect against the noise picked up by lesser-shielded cables. They are also low-capacitance. Basically, this means you can get a better sound from the high end of your guitar tones, although that can be dependent on the player. For our high-end Top Notch cables we also use a top-of-the-line connector, which has a plastic clutch on the inside that protects the solder joint from being pulled out. So if you pull the plug out of the jack by the cable – which you shouldn’t do anyways – this clutch will prevent the cable from breaking.

How do you decide which colors you want your cables to be?

The striped-colored cables are not hand-picked. The color changes happen on the yarn I use, so it’s kinda predetermined. When selecting yarn I choose colors that I think go with modern guitar colors and finishes. Unfortunately, some of my favorite colors were discontinued.

How long does it take to wrap a cord? How much yarn does it take?

It depends on the length of the cord I’m wrapping. The fastest I wrap is 8 feet in an hour, but that’s only if I am going full speed. Generally, I can do about 6 and a half feet per hour at a reasonable pace. Time is the thing I struggle with the most when figuring out my pricing. I envy paper-arts crafters who can make iterations so quickly! I have figured out exactly how much yarn it takes through some crazy formula that I always have to check before I begin a project. It doesn’t take that much yarn, really – definitely under a hank for my longest cables, which are 15 feet.

What kind of yarn do you use?

All of my yarn is 100 percent wool because it resists dirt the best.

What happens when you mess up a cord? Do you have to unravel all of your work?

I can hardly remember the last time I messed up. I have been doing this process for so long! But it is very easy to just undo a knot if it gets stuck in a weird place or doesn’t line up how I want it to.

What’s your favorite item to wrap?

That is hard to decide! I like making instrument cables because I’m most familiar with them. But they also take the longest, and sometimes I get discouraged. When I want to get a lot done I will work on iPod cables, because they are easy and can be made in under an hour. The headphones are pretty quick, as well, but they have more parts to wrap. They are also really thin, so it can be a little difficult to hold them while I am wrapping.

How do you keep all of your cords and yarn straight? I feel like there’s potential for major tangling!

Yes! Thankfully I am an organization nerd! I have a lot of cube shelving that holds all of my yarn. We buy cables on large spools, and they remain on them until the cords are made. Once Dan solders a bunch, I put them in labeled bins based on their length. There is a special way to wind up a cable without injuring or degrading their sound quality, so we store them like that in our bins. Basically, you just have to wind it following the natural coil the cable wants to make. You never want to force the winding or smash it into a ball because that can irreparably damage it.

When did you first become interested in music, and how big a role does it play in your noncrafting life?

I am a bass player, but I started playing clarinet in the school band when I was in third grade. Recently, I’ve started learning to sing, and to play the drums and electric piano. I also love the tambourine! Dan plays piano and guitar. … Our band, Catch a Tiger, is kinda in a strange situation right now. We were doing really well and had just played the Metro, a pretty famous 1,200-person venue in Chicago, when we lost our drummer. We hope to get going again soon, but for now we get together to practice and see each other every now and then. My bandmates are my best friends.

I have also started playing with my brother. He writes songs and plays guitar and the banjo. I started playing bass with him at the beginning of my musical career, so it’s nice to get back to that. We are called Ham Siobam, and we play folky/stripped-down indie music.

What’s the greatest compliment you’ve ever gotten about your cables?

I gave a cable to the band Maps & Atlases, who are a friend of a friend while I was selling at [the] Pitchfork [Music Festival] last year. Dave Davison, the lead singer and guitarist, has a girlfriend who saw us and remembered our cables. She said that Dave loved our cables so much because they made him sound great onstage. That was probably the best compliment I’ve received. I am a big fan of their music, and knowing that my work impacted their sound is a great connection for me.

Song/Craft is an irregular series on music and the handmade movement.

Most musicians can point to a song, album, or concert that changed their lives. Seja Vogel can point to a craft project. “I always loved making little felt presents when I was younger, but I never thought it was something special or different,” she recalls. “Then one year I overambitiously decided to make my friend’s entire recording studio out of felt.” The resulting ministudio included tiny versions of a Gibson Firebird guitar, a computer with Pro Tools open on the screen, and various synthesizers, all incredibly realistic and precisely detailed – right down to the numbers of keys and colors of wires. “When people saw them they were blown away and told me that I needed to sell them,” Vogel says. “I was totally surprised by their reactions!”

Since then, the 29-year-old veteran of the music scene of Brisbane, Australia, has sewn up felt versions of a Rogers drum kit, a Vox Mark VI teardrop bass, and a Roland RE-201 Space Echo delay unit, among many other sound-making things. Formerly a keyboardist in the electronic-rock bands Sekiden and Regurgitator, Vogel went solo in 2010, dropping her surname and composing and singing music she describes as an “analog-synth, girly-layered-vocal landscape.” At the same time, she became a brand ambassador for her craft business, creating felt stage decorations and felt capes for her entire tour crew. “I would describe myself as a musician … who happened to fall into the small-textile business,” she says.

Her first solo album, We Have Secrets but Nobody Cares, features a felt Farfisa SuperBravo on the cover and “loads of other felt synths in the inner artwork,” reflecting Vogel’s love of playing and collecting vintage tone generators, which she hunts down in secondhand shops and on eBay. “There’s an exciting unpredictability to their sound that contemporary synths don’t have,” she says. “You’re never sure what music they’re going to produce day to day.”

Vogel’s old-synth replicas remain her favorites among her felt instruments, which she’s sold in her Pul(sew)idth Etsy shop since early 2009. They’re typically only a few inches tall and wide and are stuffed with wool or foam for support. Some have brads or snaps for their little knobs and buttons; many are adorned with hand-stitched logos or model numbers. “All of my items are sewn by hand because they are too small for a machine,” she says. “The act of stitching has always come naturally to me, so it was very easy to develop a passion for it.”

The painstaking, solitary nature of Vogel’s sewing contrasts sharply with the freewheeling, collaborative process of writing music with her old bands – but it’s not so different from what she does as Seja the solo artist. “When I was in a band, I preferred bouncing ideas off bandmates and writing lyrics with a group,” she says. “It was definitely a learning curve when I started working as a solo artist. When you work alone, you don’t have anyone to validate your ideas and sounds. But now I really love working on my own in my little room – both musically and doing my craft. They both involve a similar process and a lot of patience, especially regarding detail. It’s the small melodic and vocal pieces of a song that make it special.”

Corresponding from the other side of the world via email, Vogel talks about how her early education shaped her love for sewing, her belief in the superiority of the Roland SH series of synthesizers, and the emotional attachment she sometimes develops to her miniature felt creations.

The idea of selling your felt instruments came to you after you re-created your friend’s studio. Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you realized you should be playing music?

Music has always been in my blood, since I was a little girl. I started playing the violin and piano when I was 8.

You started crafting from an early age, too.

Because of my Steiner (or Waldorf) education I always loved making little felt presents for birthdays or Christmas. At my grammar school craft was a compulsory subject through grade eight. We made a lot of things like scarves and recorder bags. I also used to create projects with my mother and grandmother, who both love to sew.

How do you choose which instruments to re-create in felt form? Are they all things that you use and own?

Initially they were mostly my own instruments, synthesizers I dreamed of owning, or my friends’ instruments. Now I just create what people want me to make. I receive a lot of custom orders for Minimoogs. I do, however, have a bit of a snobby attitude about keyboards, and I’ll refuse to make some of the more digital modern kinds.

So which synths do you prefer? Do you have a favorite?

I think initially I was obsessed with the Roland SH series. My favorite live synth is a Roland SH-101 because it is small and able to produce incredibly versatile sounds. Any of those SH synths from the mid-’80s are pretty magical. These days people don’t make as many analog versions because digital gear produces a more reliable sound. But I like the risk you take with old synths. The fact that some days they might sound a little different than the day before is exciting! These days I am a little less proactive in trying to find them in pawn shops because eBay has created a whole new market for them. That’s where I find most of mine now.

Do you take measurements or draw sketches before making a full-sized real instrument into a tiny felt one?

To be honest, I don’t really know how I do it! I never measure anything. Sometimes I’ll draw sketches and plans, but not all the time. I just look at the instrument I want to create and imagine it in my mind. I decide what size the front panel should be, how big the knobs should be, count how many keys the instrument has, which colors I need, and if it has any scratches or unique details. Then I just start to cutting and sewing!

Your work seems like it takes a lot of patience. Do you enjoy that sort of intensely focused activity?

My work really relaxes me, especially when I’m in a quiet space listening to music or podcasts. I have tried working at shows, behind the merchandise desk at a venue, or backstage, but those kinds of environments are not really conducive to concentrating on tiny things. Also, in those settings I’m paranoid that someone will spill a drink on them.

I have a studio/sewing room where I’ll work on one project at a time. If there is a deadline that I have to meet for either a craft project or a music project, I will very quickly turn my sewing room into a studio or vice versa. But mainly I’ll focus on each type of work separately. Sometimes I’ll bring a little bag of felt and thread on tour because I quite often get orders while I’m on the road. This can be tricky if I don’t have the right colors or accessories with me. It’s also tricky to find time for my projects on tour!

How long, on average, does it take you to create one piece? Have you ever have to abandon a project because of some sewing slip-up?

Most of them take me an average of five to seven hours, unless it’s especially large or if I’ve never made it before. There are a few pieces that have taken me weeks, but mostly I try not to go too overboard.

I am pretty good at saving them once I’ve made a mistake! I quite often stitch something somewhere it shouldn’t be or cut pieces I shouldn’t have cut. I don’t think I’ve ever scrapped a piece that I’ve worked on for more than an hour.

After working on an item for a long time, do you ever feel reluctant to part with it?

Sometimes I do become extremely attached to them. I feel a bit sad when they go to their new homes, especially if the piece is an instrument that I’ve never made before or if I’ve devoted a lot of creative work or thought to its creation. Once I made a Roland Jupiter 8 [synthesizer] on felt and then stretched it across a blank skateboard for a skateboard exhibition. It’s the biggest piece I have ever worked on, and it took me weeks. I still have it at home.

I think my favorite creation is the Hammond organ with Leslie cab. I made a little stool for the organ, a little expression pedal. All the drawbars go in and out, and the Leslie has a little felt speaker and tubes in it. I spent more time on that piece than any other.

Have you ever brought one of your favorite felt instruments onstage during a performance?

I never bring them onstage, but I did make myself felt banners that have my name written on them. There’s a pony on one and a keyboard on the other. Maybe for my next tour!

Michael Rucci has spent the past three years designing small electronic devices that can be used to play a very large number of songs. But don’t think for a minute that he’s envious of the iPod. “Because everything’s been so miniaturized. … I’m not sure there’s much in [an iPod] that I could possibly use in anything that I make,” he says. “There’s definitely people out there who are doing it. But I think most of them have, like, PhDs. It’s a little bit over my head.”

What Rucci does use are old VCRs, discarded toys, blocks of wood, and other scavenged materials. And what he makes are synthesizers, synthesizers, and more synthesizers – all of which, unlike their brand-new, mass-produced counterparts, have an “extremely raw sound.” He’s made a glass-jar oscillator that stutters like a malfunctioning robot whenever light hits its photosensitive circuitry, and a toy-telephone sampler that half- and double-speed squawks, “It’s music time!” But Rucci’s specialty is creating noisemakers out of old video-game controllers: a Guitar Hero axe that now produces electronic burps and bleats, an Atari paddle whose wear “once caused annoying skips during your game” but “now gives you nice little distortions.”

“There’s no shortage of companies capitalizing on people’s nostalgia for electronics without actually reusing the physical things that people are talking about in the first place,” says the 28-year-old New Jersey-to-California transplant, pointing out the availability of brand-new “vintage” Atari T-shirts and apps that let you play ’80s video games on your smartphone. Rucci’s products, by contrast, take more into consideration than childhood memories. “When people build a game controller, it’s already ergonomic,” he says. “It just kinda lends itself to being a musical instrument in that way. It feels good in your hand when you’re holding an Atari paddle.”

Although Rucci is a musician with a background in studio recording, he rarely takes up the paddle himself: “[I’m like someone who] could build a piano … but not actually know how to play piano.” Instead, he sells his garbage-bin synths on Etsy, where they’ve been discovered by experimental musicians and raw-sound aficionados from around the world. On his own website, HandmadeElectronicInstruments.com, Rucci maintains a map showing where all of his Frankensteinian creations have ended up, from San Francisco to Saulces-Monclin, France. “There’s one on there, it was just in a small wood box, and it has 10 keys on it,” he says. “I almost wasn’t going to sell it, but in the end I was like, Oh, I’ll make something else. It ended up going to the UK, which is really cool.”

So far, none of Rucci’s rescued and reborn devices has made it to Shenzhen, China, where iPods come off the assembly line by the thousands. But that would be a nice little irony. “You have something, and it was mass-produced so many times that it doesn’t mean anything to anybody anymore, and no one’s going to save it,” he says. “Most people are quick to throw things away, and quick to buy new things. … I think I just like the idea of people caring about a possession more.”

Chatting by phone from Oakland, Rucci explains how both stepped-tone generators and 10-speed bicycles relate to “a broader philosophy on how we look at our possessions.”

How did you get the confidence to start working with electronics without much technical training?

I went to a tech school in New York called the Institute of Audio Research and I took a basic electronics course. So I was able to get over soldering and things like that. I think a lot of people don’t try doing this because of that one hurdle. But I was already used to soldering back then, just fixing guitar cables and things like that. I’m definitely not as technically savvy as some people making these devices. I’m not a technical engineer by far. I’d say everything I’ve made is an experiment to try something different. It’s a lot of trial and error and experimenting.

Have you tried anything that just doesn’t work out?

Circuit bending [manipulating an electronic device’s existing circuits] can be prone to failure. It can be very hard to finish, and when you are experimenting like that, you never know when something is one modification from blowing up. When I’m doing circuit bending, I’d say more than half the time I can’t stop myself from making adjustments to something until the point where the thing just breaks and it doesn’t work anymore.

What attracts you to reusing materials, as opposed to just buying what you need new?

Obviously, environmental reasons. … I don’t go to department stores and rebuy things. I think so far in my girlfriend’s apartment I’ve fixed her coffee maker and her paper shredder and something else – I think the blender. I think [that] stems from a strong resentment of a disposable culture. Of course, changing the fuse in something or figuring out what went wrong and fixing it might not be, or seem, as easy as tossing it in the Dumpster and heading out to the store for a new one. But you’ll feel much better about it in the end. And maybe you will appreciate it all the more that you know how it works and can say you fixed it or improved it. Or maybe you’ll end up surrounding yourself with objects you care about as opposed to a bunch of junk that is just waiting to break so you can replace it with more junk.

When you’re able to personally hand-build something, you’re making it more important to people. … I think people value objects for different reasons. Some things have a personal history. For example, over the summer of 2008 I biked coast to coast. The bike I rode on that trip was an inexpensive Schwinn 10-speed from … when they were still made in Chicago. My uncle’s father picked it up at a garage sale for next to nothing and gave it to me. Now, there is no chance I would trade that bike for anything else on wheels, not because it is such a sweet ride, but because of where it came from and all the memories I have riding it and fixing it. If any of my devices share this particular attribute, it would be those I’ve built from aged video-game controllers. When I find them I can’t help but think about all the hours someone spent mashing down on the buttons. These are not one-of-kind – they are exactly as someone may remember their own. I think people are nostalgic for that.

Are you a gamer? Do you have your own nostalgia about the controllers?

I’m not a huge gamer. I’m not really into it as much as other people are. There is something nice about repurposing someone else’s work, more than just the materials. Game controllers are particularly interesting with that because they’ve been designed over and over and over, and refined. It is nice to make use of the design as well as the actual material itself.

What’s the difference between one of your synthesizers and one you could buy at the store, aside from it’s being recycled and handmade?

Most synthesizers at a store are tuned to the traditional scale, notes that are used in Western music. But [my] oscillators generally are producing frequencies between notes. … In a way there’s more control, because everything has to have a knob that you can hold in your hand, as opposed to paging through menus on a fancy keyboard or something like that. They’re also cheaper. Even making them by hand, I usually sell them for 40 bucks or so. That’s actually cheaper than going out and buying a Casio or something like that.

Why are you so attracted to “raw” sounds?

A straight square wave might be seen as raw or lo-fi, but they can sound actually very pleasing, like an overdriven guitar.

You’re not really turning a profit on your Etsy sales, even though you get many of your materials from thrift stores and Dumpster diving.

I could go out to the electronics shop and buy a case to put [a synth] in and buy every single part that goes into it and mass-produce them. But that’s not really what I’m trying to do. I don’t think I could make them fast enough that it would be all that profitable. And if I did, I think that would take away from what they are. Just because every time I make more than one of the same thing, it loses its uniqueness for sure. It’s a boring, bad business plan. If it became profitable, it wouldn’t be cool, and it wouldn’t work.

What kind of feedback do you get from people who’ve bought your stuff?

One person told me that he spent 12 hours sampling [one synth], and then another 12 hours working it into a track he did. … [Another] guy sent me a YouTube video of him playing one. That’s almost the coolest feedback, seeing it actually being used by somebody. There’s a group in New Orleans that does a noise marching band that’s pretty cool. I think they’re called Noisician Coalition. It’s like improv noise. One guy showed me a rig he made with one of my things that he attached to a megaphone. … It was pretty crazy.

You’ve said you really like some of the instruments you’ve made. What pushes you to send them out into the world rather than keep them?

Sharing them with others has become almost as fulfilling to me as building them in the first place. It is true each one is special to me. They remind me when and how I found the original object, the idea I had for how it could work, the time it took putting it together and making it work. Being able to share them with people all over the place is amazing. Once I finish something, no matter how special it is to me, I know it could either sit here or go off to some place that I may never go and be enjoyed by someone who may use it to express themselves with the sounds it makes. This is probably the reason I make instruments and not something like kitchen appliances.

(vintage Kmart tag photo by Roadsidepictures)

“$22 for $35 worth of letterpress cards!” I get so mad when I encounter crafters selling their wares at ridiculous discounts. And recently a spate of handmade discounting schemes has popped up, making me fear the Walmartization of crafts has begun.

First up, Heartsy.me is like Groupon for handmade goods. Vendors apply to offer a deal—which must be at least 50 percent off—and the site’s members vote on which should be accepted. Selected sellers create gift certificates, which Heartsy buys off you and promotes on their site.

Quite Unique is more of a traditional wholesale situation. The site offers a daily deal poised to sell out fast—“one unique handpicked item per day at a great value.” It’s the “great value” part that smacks of big-box discounters to me. (Is craftsmanship not valuable at full price?)

And, of course, Etsy introduced coupon functionality on the site in November 2010. You pick the discount you want to offer and go hog wild.

Shoppers are primed to react to discounts. (If you’re into social history, I highly recommend Ellen Ruppel Shell’s book Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture.) But discounts are largely a phenomenon of the era of mass production—it pains me to see handmade items’ prices slashed like off-brand iPods. Will discounts boost your Etsy sales? Maybe. But I think they’ll do crafters much more harm than good in the long run, for these three reasons.

1. Discounts make you undervalue your time.
Crafters are already notorious at underselling themselves. Too often, we simply price our goods at what we consider the going rate, rather than taking into consideration the cost of materials plus the cost of your time and any overhead you have. I fully believe in making a living wage, and I believe every crafter should do the same. (If you think I sound ranty now, just read pages 27 through 30 of my book.) More than likely, you’re already selling your work for too little. If you discount it any further, you could even be losing money.

When there are dozens of people selling similar things on Etsy, you may think you have to lower your prices to compete. But I think a customer is more likely to save up to buy a pair of steampunk owl earrings that they really love for $55 than spend $5 on a pair that’s marked down from $10.

2. Discounts don’t draw the kind of customers you want to have an LTR with.
You might think a buck’s a buck, but fair-weather shoppers who only buy when it’s cheap aren’t the kind of customers you can count on. Discounts don’t create repeat customers—they only create customers who expect more sales.

If you consistently offer discounts on your handmade items, what incentive does a shopper have to ever pay full price? We need to focus on educating buyers of handmade items why our products are priced what they’re priced, and why they’re worth it. Creating personal connections with customers is what handmade is all about.

If you’re struggling to make sales, maybe you don’t have a solid idea of who your audience is yet. Are your products appealing more to college students or empty-nest moms? Spendthrift yuppies or up-and-coming country folks? When you know who your customers are, you can figure out how to best reach them, and what prices they’ll pay. Discounts won’t do that for you.

3. Discounts cheapen your brand.
Let’s face it: Most handmade goods are luxuries. They’re lovely nonessentials that people buy because they want to—whether driven by wanting to support a small business, to consume more ethically or simply to have beautiful things. When you’re a craftsperson, being the cheapest isn’t going to help your business. Making quality products—and pricing accordingly—will.

Think about it this way—do you want to be a discount store shampoo brand, selling economy-size bottles of shampoo for $3 with a 25-cent-off coupon? Strive to be Aveda: Making and selling high-quality, beautiful products that attract a clientele that doesn’t need a discount incentive to be convinced to buy from you.

I walked the floor with a specific aesthetic in mind. I know what good handmade and design look like and I ruthlessly sought it out. As a seller It is one area you won’t be able to control. Buyers know their market, the look and feel that they want, and you want them to. Just as you too should know your market and cater to them.

But aesthetic will only get you so far. Here’s what you can control: I was drawn in by seller’s stories. It is what set them apart from the hundreds of vendors at the Fair. I loved hearing about process and passion and the excitement seller’s had for their work.

Story is an important and powerful selling tool, especially in the handmade community. It is what sets this community apart from the mass produced goods found in big box stores. Your craft has history. It holds magic and that adds value. It isn’t just some piece of jewelry or a t-shirt. It’s why you create the jewelry. It is about who inspires you and how it manifests itself in your t-shirt designs. You just have to tell people about it.

I loved hearing how Carrie of Lolli-Shop, gocco prints onto her jewelry to create her pieces and that Jenelle of First World Trash sometimes stuggles to find billboard cast offs for her upcycled bags. I spent at least 10 minutes geeking out over transit with the girls of Design Hype, who make subway map bracelets. Because of these interactions, I was able to remember their products and why I liked them, beyond the fact that they were aesthetically pleasing.

Do I recall other items from the ginormous show? Yes, but those are interactions that were less pleasant. They were sellers who answered my questions in only curt, one word answers or told me that their printing process was proprietary and couldn’t disclose the details. I was hugely put off by these sellers. The handmade community is just that, a community and when you shut yourself off from it I believe you only hurt yourself. I only want to buy items from people who can explain their process to me because the more I know about what you do, the more excited I am for it. And if you’re excited about it, then I’ll be even more excited about it. These stories help boost the community and I only want to purchase items from people who know and understand that.

So next time someone comes to your booth at a craft fair or wholesale market, be ready and know how to answer: What’s your story?

[Image by dennisyuen, used under a Creative Commons License]

So here is the Open Forum list, interpreted for crafter use:

1. I will stop complaining about the bad economy.
This country is still staggering out of the Great Recession. Face the fact that this is the “new normal”. However, in a $14 trillion U.S. economy, there are definitely more than a few new prospects that can help grow your business this year. While complaining doesn’t help find them, offering solutions to solve their problems does.

Was 2010 hard for crafters? You bet. Was it better than 2009? Oh yeah. Will 2011 be better, but still not be quite right? Yup. So yes stop complaining about your lost sales, and think of ways to position yourself and your business to increase them. Try out a different craft fair this year. Or really focus in on building your fan base.

2. I will only sell painkillers.
During better economic times, customers do buy “vitamins” (i.e. nice to haves). In tough times, find your customers’ pain by surveying them in January and asking where your business can help the most. Focus on selling what customers actually want, not what you think they need.

Take a hard look at your product line. While yes there is an argument to be had that all craft is utilitarian, buyers in a tight economy are looking for quality items that have a sound purpose. Do your products fit the bill? If not how can you improve one or the other?

3. I will fire the employees that do not increase profit.
Stop holding onto the people that are bad performers, poor fits, or just don’t add to the bottom line. If that employee went on a month long vacation, would the company suffer? Everyone one else knows that the answer is no. Get over the fear and fire them in January.

While many of you are a one person show, take this to mean all the things that have just become a drain on your productivity. Are craft fairs to time consuming and overwhelming? Fire them. Tired of fighting with your blog platform? Fire it. Never find what your looking for in your craft supply closet? Fire your organizing system. 2011 is the year to find new ways to work that will lead to profit.

4. I will only market to prospects that can actually pay for my product.
Businesses spend a lot of time trying to sell their products to people that do not have the money to buy. We waste a lot of time on these “Mr. Maybes” (prospects that show inconsistent interest). Separate out the “tire kickers” from the buyers by determining the customer’s budget, decision makers, and timeframe for their purchase.

How well do you know your customers? Do some research and find out which craft fairs they’ll be at so you can stop trying to sell your $150/piece jewelry at your farmer’s market.

5. I will not lower my price to substitute a real marketing strategy.
Have the confidence in what your company sells not to lower your price in an effort to win business. Focus on prospects that value the pain your company solves for them. Leave the price wars to your competitors.

This goes with number 4 above. The natural inclination is to modify your price point to try and sell to other buyers. Don’t do it. Again, have confidence in your work. Own your Awesome (Member’s only link) and learn to price your work at a living wage. If you don’t you not only hurt yourself but the entire handmade community.

6. I will meet with customers and vendors face to face.
Stop relying on email and the phone as an exclusive way to talk with customers. Even in a social media world, deep and long lasting business relationships are still built IRL (In Real Life).

Face to face feedback is invaluable. It can sometimes be hard to take, but important to hear. Get out there this year. Staff your booth at a craft fair, visit the stores you sell wholesale to, talk to people and help deepen those relationships.

7. I will attend at least one major industry event.
A big part of success in business is to never stop learning from others. Don’t cheat at this while actually attending the conference by spending the entire day working on issues that are happening back at the office.

Attend the Summit of Awesome, apply for a trade show, or take some classes.

8. I will invest in me and learn at least one new skill.
“Old dogs can learn new tricks.” We invest in training for many of our employees. This is the year to look at becoming proficient in an area where you are bad or very afraid.

How about an online class, or learn a new technique or even a new craft. Get out of your comfort zone.

9. I will take time off.
Professional and personal lives are merging. Take one vacation of seven days or longer this year without the work computer. Go at least one day this year without using the work cell phone. Yes, you can!

Do it. Reconnect with your family and friends.

10. I will understand my businesses financial statements each month.
Many business owners are too busy to check or don’t understand their financial statements. Make a commitment to learn what the profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statements mean to your business and use them as a guide for future action. Do not delegate that understanding to your bookkeeper, CFO or accounting professional.

Do you have a bookkeeper or accountant? Maybe, maybe not. Either way figure out where your money is going. It can help you evaluate if a new product is worth the trouble.

11. I will be proud to be a small business owner.
Celebrate the big achievement of creating a company, helping your customers and employees through it. You are the future of this country.

Don’t shy away from the question: “What do you do?” Some people don’t understand the craft world, but it is up to us small business owners to educate any potential buyer. Nine times out of ten you’ll get a positive reaction.

What other business or craft related resolutions are you planning for this year?

I wanted to offer some concrete examples of what I was talking about. Here are some creations already applying the 2011 “high designer” trends in various down-to-earth ways. Note the 70s looks, geometric patterns, fall colors recycled for spring, and eclectic pattern mixing — all in handmade action!

Rosette Tan Plaid Shoe … Brydferth $30.00	Lulu Dress miablaz $73.00	Gray Wristlet Upcycled … groundsel $50.00
Fall Bonita Bottoms BrunoPolo $30.00	magic number spinthread $65.00	Florence Broadhurst Pri… AlfalfaBunch $14.00
Zackengebuesch // Spiky… karamelo $9.00	Pink Fire Hoodie / by R… replicca $75.00	Small neon orange trian… essimar $14.00
doily coasters uncommon $	Beaded woven barrette u… ThunderBoltBea… $55.00	Romantic Wrap Top With … Lirola $75.00
Chocolate Stripes with … FA2u $32.90	NEW The Love Fox limite… inaluxe $33.00	Eclectic rustic gold fi… tinahdee $

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Top: Image from 21 Assorted Muffin Recipes e-book by Etsy seller Ezebooks; Unusual Squared pie dish by Etsy seller Kadarit

From l to r: Ceramic measuring cups by Etsy seller In A Glaze; Vintage handmade rolling pin by Etsy seller Callooh Callay; Nesting bowls by Etsy seller Loris Hippy

Porcelain teapot #7 by Australian artist Samantha Robinson; Honey dipper by Etsy seller WoodElements; Tingle tangle spoons by Etsy seller AtelierOKER

Forest Friends Cookie Cutter Acorn by Etsy seller WeeWaldorf; Crow Kitchen Towel by Etsy seller Ooladesigns; Winter mugs by Etsy seller Marywibis;

Blue Kitchen Conversion by Etsy seller SweetFineDay; Apron SS0929 by Stanley & Sons Apron and Bag Co.

Image by Flickr user odreiuqzide

In my mind, small business owners are like decathlon athletes. Running your own company requires an impressive cocktail of skills: creativity, resourcefulness, organization, and diligence, executed tirelessly and all at once. This is especially true for the brilliant and talented creators who hand make their own products. I’m awe struck and exhausted just thinking about it.

As the economy fell in the past few years, no one was sucker punched as hard as small businesses. And with their crucial place in the economic food chain, it’s not surprising that everyone suffered. Small businesses employ nearly 50% of all workers and are responsible for more than half of job growth in the past 20 years.

I hope to start my own business one day. When I was two years old, my babysitter told my parents that I had the attitude of a businesswoman and would become one when I grew up. Although she was probably referring to my stubbornness against sharing toys, she was right.  I’m a huge advocate for the entrepreneurial spirit and an avid supporter of unique boutique companies. As such, I was interested to hear that President Obama signed his Small Business and Credit Act into law last Monday, and eager to investigate it’s possible implications for the handmade market.

Generally speaking, the law will offer struggling entrepreneurs and small business owners a well-earned break by providing $42 billion in tax cuts and lending. The aid package includes a $30 billion Lending Fund, administered by the Treasury Department, to encourage pre-approved community banks to grant loans to small businesses. Upon the law’s enactment, thousands of small business owners who have long been awaiting loan approvals in this tough economy are expected to have money in their pockets immediately.

It will also provide $12 billion in tax relief, increase the amount of money small business owners can take out on loans, and create changes in government programs. The ultimate goal of the law is to promote hiring and growth, with a projected creation of 500,000 new jobs. And in the big, national and global picture, possibly (knock on wood) jump start re-hiring and economic recovery.

But what can this mean, specifically, for hand made entrepreneurs and their ability to maintain, grow, and experience a greater quality of life while running their own businesses? This is a breakdown of some details from the bill that could have a direct impact on the D.I.Y. economy:

•  Bigger loans: Larger lending limits permitted under the new law encourage entrepreneurs to start their new businesses now. So if you’re gearing up to launch your start-up, there’s no time like the present! The aid package expands lending limits on express loans from the US Small Business Association, which are used to process new orders, and for purchasing supplies and inventory. (In crafty language, you can take out more money to binge purchase yarn.) There are also loan limit increases for start up capital micro-loans and manufacturing related loans.

•  Tax cuts and exemptions:  The sewing machine you’ve been lusting after is now tax deductable!  Small Business owners will be able write off equipment purchases and the first $10,000 in start up capital.

•  Health Insurance : The self-employed can now deduct health insurance costs for themselves and their families as business expenses on their 2010 tax returns. According to the National Association for the Self-Employed, this could save each owner $459- $968 in tax dollars next year.

If you’d like more information, please visit some online resources I’ve listed below.

Time will tell if Obama’s new package has the swift and positive affect that is optimistically anticipated by The White House. What are your predictions or opinions? Do you think this law will impact you and your business, and if so, how?

I hope to hear from you, and see you all at Crafty Bastards this weekend!

Links:

National Association for the Self-Employed offers information on qualifying for deductable health insurance costs, as well as other resources and aid for the self-employed. www.Nase.org

U.S. Small Business Administration provides statistics, counsel, and support for Small Businesses. www.sba.gov

Click here for a very in-depth summary of the new law written by govtrack.us, an online research and tracking service for congressional news.