Get to Know Rock Star Reporter, Danielle Spurge

You wanna know more about the Rock Star Reporter who’s gonna give you all the dish about the membership site, ARTrepreneur? I thought so–that’s why I asked Danielle to answer a few questions for us. {FYI, click on any of the pictures below to see them in Danielle’s shop.}

1. What made you decide to start down the creative entrepreneur path instead of getting a more “traditional” job when you graduated from college?

Turning my artsy -craftsy tendencies into a business was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It was much too much to handle while also being a full time student so I just kept day dreaming about a time when I might be able to spend some serious time on such an endeavor. I spent a lot of time browsing Etsy, going to local craft shows and reading the “quit you day job” stories on the Etsy blog.

In my senior year of college, I decided to apply to graduate school to earn my MFA. I was excited about the concepts I was working with in my undergrad and wanted to keep exploring them. I was really happy when one of the schools I applied to gave me a call and offered me a scholarship that would cover the full cost of my tuition, plus some. But, after a long string of issues, a lot of hassle, confusion, misinformation, and frustration I was eventually informed that I was in fact, not actually a recipient of this award and that had been told to me in error.

It’s a long and arduous story, but basically, I decided not to enroll in the program. I felt my experience was already tainted. As this all happened approximately one minute before my College graduation – I felt a little lost as to what I was supposed to do next. The plans I had fell apart and everyone else seemed to know what they were going to do and suddenly I did not.

And that’s when I decided to dive into the things I had always wanted to try – selling on Etsy, doing local art markets and being an entrepreneur. And it turned out, I was actually much more excited by the prospect of exploring those things than I was about enrolling in graduate school.

2. What are your goals for your creative business?

I want The Merriweather Council brand to be associated with fun and unique quality products, authority, reliability and expertise. I want everyone to know about it! I want to have a loyal customer base! Of course one of my goals is to sell my product and sustain myself financially with my creative business, but I also want to influence others to explore their creativity and have actual human, personal connections with the people I meet through my business. It’s always been a dream of mine to have a brick and mortar store, and I’d love it if that place become a hub or hang out for local crafty folks. I just want to have fun and share it with people and invite others to come and have fun doing creative things as well.  I want people to trust me and love my product.

3. I absolutely love your embroidery. Your products seriously put a smile on my face. How did you get started with embroidery and when did you decide that you’d build a business around it?

Awh, thanks! My first experience with embroidery was in 7^th grade, I think. We learned basic embroidery in home economics. I liked it, but only did it every once in a while on my own. In my very last semester of college I felt very unmotivated. I wasn’t doing my studio work like I should’ve been. I was slacking big time! Finally, about four weeks into the semester, I told myself I needed to at least be doing something of creative value. That’s when I did my first wishbone stitch embroidery and I’ve been sort of addicted ever since. And then that whole thing with graduate school happened…

4. Where do you get your inspiration?

My inspiration comes mostly from working with colors. I get really excited about trying new color stories. Sometimes I look to my photographs or recall memories for inspiration.  All in all I am inspired by my own every day experiences and my travels.

5. Running a small business can definitely challenge a person’s time management skills, because you have to juggle so many things. How do you manage your time to get it all done?

I’m not sure I’m getting it all done!  Since I’m still pretty new to this whole thing, I’ve been learning what works for me and what doesn’t. I try to go with the flow; if I feel really creative one day, I’ll just make stuff, if I’m not feeling so into that, I’ll catch up on organizing or write on my blog or order supplies. I’ve encouraged myself to use this first year to try anything and everything and take advantage of any opportunities I can. This doesn’t really lend itself to “planning” because new things come up all the time, but I’ve been trying lots of things and adjusting as I go along. Does that make sense? Basically I believe that the more I do, the more I’ll learn and right now, it really doesn’t make sense for me to turn anything down, so it’s been exciting but I have no real “schedule.”

6. How do you currently market your creative business?

Hmm, this has been hard for me. I’ve tried some web based paid advertising and I’ve done a bunch of in person shows where I give out business cards all day, but other than that I’d say most of my advertising revolves around Etsy. I LOVE making treasuries and I feel I’ve been able to connect with other sellers that way and it has absolutely come back to me! I do Facebook, blogging and twitter too, which are all useful and fun and each good for different things. I am still struggling with how to expand my marketing offline. Maybe you can help with that, April!

7. What have been your biggest successes so far with your creative business?

I believe that my biggest success has been in branding. My shop has a cohesive look, my style is recognizable, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job making all my places (blog, Facebook, twitter…) and print materials (business cards, labels…) connect visually and carry my personality. Letting my personality shine through is important to me and I think I’ve been successful with that as well.

8. What struggles are you having with your creative business? What questions would you like answered inside the membership site?

I would definitely like to know more about marketing! Finance is not my strongest suit, I’d love some more info of keeping that all organized as well. I’d love to feel more knowledgeable about approaching boutiques and doing wholesale and retail.  I need help understanding legal things like filing taxes and registering a DBA and general government dealings. Honestly, all information is good information to me because I am so new!

Don’t you just love her and her colorful products? I know I’m a fan. Thanks for taking the time for this interview, Danielle!