Our latest blog interview is with our member artisan Amanda Siska of Bread and Badger.
Amanda believes that your home decor should compliment your personality, and designs on glassware are a perfect way to express that. Bread and Badger is her way of bringing fun, iconic imagery into everyone's homes. Recycled and reclaimed glass items are sandblasted or hand-engraved with her playful artwork, creating functional pieces for men and women alike. Which is your favorite design?
Visit Amanda's website at www.breadandbadger.com. You can also shop her online store at breadandbadger.etsy.com, or check out her blog, Badger Sandwich.
Mustache Pint Glasses
Q: If you are not a native of Portland - what drew you to this city?
A: I'm originally from Boston, but my husband and I specifically moved to Portland because of its "green" reputation and the camaraderie amongst its small business owners. The people and government here seem to be on the cutting edge of sustainability and we wanted to surround ourselves with those kinds of positive changes. People are upbeat and encouraging here, which goes a long way when you cherish a sense of community.
Q: Are you a full-time artist, or do you have other jobs as well?
A: I've been an artist full-time for 3 years now, and my husband has finally been able to join me! Running a business involves a lot more than just being an artist, so I can't really pigeon-hole myself like that. I do supplement my income by taking on occasional web design projects or small teaching jobs, but that's a very small percentage of my income. I've found that doing custom orders for many different sectors keeps me busy doing my art without having to look much further.
Q: How are you evolving your business practices to grow with the explosive trend of selling handmade items online? Do you sell online or are you planning to?
A: I sell online on my own website and on Etsy, which is where the bulk of my income comes from. It's amazing to see more and more people turning to online shopping across the globe, and all the marketing opportunities that go along with that. If it weren't for my two online shops, I wouldn't be doing this well, for sure. I'm actually having to move "backwards" a bit, learning how to sell wholesale to boutiques and more traditional shops, which seems very daunting to me.
Q: What are your business goals this year? What challenges do you face? Do you feel that you have the resources to meet those challenges?
A: My main goal is to successfully support both my husband and myself with the business all year, which is pretty hard during the slow seasons, and especially during a recession. Continuing to find new markets is a challenge, but it's what I've been doing all along, and it just takes ingenuity. I'm going to try to be more prepared for the busy season this year, by stocking up well in advance. I'm especially going to try to be less stressed out! :) I think I have a good peer network for advice and encouragement, so I expect things to go well!
Q: Please share any recent press or publicity you've received, or any success stories related to your art and/or your business.
A: Well, I feel like I'm actually being successful now that my husband is working for my business full-time! I got to a point last year when I was overwhelmed with orders and had to buy production equipment to help me make things more efficiently. I'm thrilled with the results, and it's kept me on top of things without having to raise prices or lose sales. All this because I had a funny new product that got a lot of press, and I had the resources to expand quickly.
The Mustache Pint Glasses have received lots of press, including a mention on Design*Sponge.
BussBuss, "The Online Shopping Bible," wrote a review of some glasses that I licensed my artwork to Urban Outfitters for.
I was also recently interviewed for Etsy's "Quit Your Day Job" series.
Q: How has Trillium helped to make a difference in your life?
A: Trillium has helped connect me to business professionals that I wouldn't have necessarily found on my own (like a trademark l awyer just when I needed one!) and taught me valuable things about marketing from artisan meetings. I've had the pleasure of meeting some fantastic artists, which have led to some teaching opportunities and sales recommendations. I really cherish the networking and skill-sharing activities the most.
Q: Please share one "green" tip - something that you do either in your business or personal life that is good for the environment.
A: I love reusing packaging materials! My glassware needs a lot of care when being shipped, and I absolutely hate buying new materials that are just "filler" for my boxes. I use only recycled packing peanuts, newsprint and bubble wrap now, which I'm very proud of. There's a fantastic resource here in Portland that collects used packaging to resell, so anyone can donate their non-recyclables like styrofoam and bubble wrap to them. That's really the biggest place for waste when it comes to my products, so I'm thrilled to be reusing everything I can.
Product photos by Lisa Gastelum of TQB Designs, http://tqbdesigns.etsy.com.
