Creative Retail Talks with Clint O'Rear

Kathy Cano-Murillo, author, artist and founder of the award-winning brand Crafty Chica shares the magic formula of what inspires her creative journey.

• Kathy's love of creativity goes all the way back to fifth grade when she found that by sharing a story that she created with her class, she found a magic formula that connected with people. "That really became the foundation of everything that I do - just sharing my creativity with people to help them be creative. It's universal."
• Kathy initially struggled with feeling insecure about her creativity until she met her husband, who encouraged her to make stuff and sell it. She was manager of his band, and she would set up a craft table at their gigs. She would make more from her craft table than the whole band made for the night. That convinced her not to worry about what anyone thinks.
• Kathy received a big break that helped launch her writing career with a newspaper in her hometown. The editor had one of Kathy's flower pots on her desk in the interview and decided to give her a chance. Kathy went on to write a celebrity interview column that got syndicated, with interviews with people like Ewan McGregor, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Renee Zellweger.
• She realized from her experience at the newspaper that while some people go through the front door using a traditional path, it's always worth a shot to see if there's another way that is less conventional.
• Her editor then asked her to write a craft column that got picked up by Gannett News Service. This taught her to design for a broader market, while still keeping her unique style.
• Kathy got 2 book deals, which led her to speak at a major crafts trade show. She went with product samples she made, intending to get her own product line. And she did! She became the national spokesperson for Tacky Glue, and in 2007 that became a major turning point.
• Reflecting on this moment, Kathy said, "Even though I loved my job at the paper, I just felt like there was something else I was meant to do. I'm really glad that I listened to my gut instinct, and that I made that decision and took that risk. You just really have to listen to your gut instinct."
• She continued to struggle to believe she would be successful long term, but never stopped creating content and engaging with people online. "There's a lot of inside work and outside work that has to go on at the same time."
• Kathy said her priority has always been to "show up and share." She said, "We have one life. Let's do all the things we want to do and all the things we're curious about."
• On her books, "The novels that I write are about the situations and experiences that make us want to craft because usually when we craft there is an emotion behind it. I use the books and their characters to show why they turned to crafting - like what was the emotion that pushed them to where they needed to release that energy and feeling through creativity, and how it helps."
• The first time she noticed the power of crafting in easing tension was when 9/11 happened. People really turned to recognizing what is most important to them. Then, she saw the same thing happen during the recession in 2008, and again in the COVID pandemic in 2020.

SUGGESTED ACTIONS

• Kathy is a great example of someone who fought through insecurities to find her inner passion. When she decided to follow her heart and trust her gut instincts to pursue that passion, she found great success.
• • Follow your passion
  • Trust your gut
  • When the front door isn't an option, find another way in
• Take Kathy's advice - "You have one life — do all the things you what to do and all the things you're curious about."

To contact Kathy Cano-Murillo, you can reach her CraftyChica.com or find her on Instagram at @craftychica.

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, reach out to Clint O'Rear at [email protected].

Learn how Clint and his team at Creative Sales Consulting connect suppliers & retailers in the creative arts industries to build stronger relationships and strategic sales growth, in order to bring joy to consumers through artistic creative and decorative products.

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Music:

"Carpe Diem" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Consumer anthropologists, Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender, discuss generational diversity and the retail experience with Clint O'Rear.

• As a supplier or retailer, it is important to understand the changing needs of your consumer base.
• One of the biggest demographic trends in America is the aging of the population, and many retailers and suppliers fail to think about what changes are necessary to adapt to the needs of these aging consumers.
• Georganne - "You have to adapt to what each generation needs, when they need it - not when you think you're ready to do it."
• Rich - "You have to be a mind reader - by watching customer interaction in the stores, and by using the store as a live entity/organism that interacts with you."
• • Don't wait 10+ years to check the lumen density of lights
  • Watch how fixtures are set that might create shadows on layouts
• If you are in a business that interacts with customers in any way, you are in the retail business, but you may not think of yourself as a retailer. (Example: funeral home operators)
• There's never been a better time to study, learn, create, and impact retailing than in the current COVID environment. It will change the way we look at everything in retail.
• Retailers should give their team members in the stores both responsibility AND authority to present the store to the customer in the best way.

• For Retailers:

• When you are merchandising a section that aging consumers might shop, think about how limitations such as arthritis, vision impairment, and limitations to lifting heavier items can impact shoppability.
• Use a store layout and shopping aids, like shopping carts and baskets, that will be easy for aging consumers to navigate and use.
• Check store lighting to see if it is adequate for aging consumers - it takes 3x's the amount of light to see as well in your mid 60's as it takes in your mid 20's.
• Make your store environment safe for aging consumers - if they feel safer in your store they will subconsciously want to visit your store more often without even fully knowing why.
• Rotate and change your floor in some way regularly so the customer isn't seeing the same thing. 50% of your store is never seen by customers because they shop on their desired path.

• For Suppliers:

• When you are developing packaging for products that older consumers might purchase, think about layout and font for customers who have impaired vision.
• Help retailers with creative new products, and creative new ways to display products.

• For Both Retailers and Suppliers:

• Use the current COVID retail environment to assess what you need to change to adapt to the new ways customers are buying and interacting with information.

To contact Rich and Georganne, you can reach them at [email protected]. Or find them on LinkedIn at Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender.

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, reach out to Clint O'Rear at [email protected].

Learn how Clint and his team at Creative Sales Consulting connect suppliers & retailers in the creative arts industries to build stronger relationships and strategic sales growth, in order to bring joy to consumers through artistic creative and decorative products.

______________________

Music:

"Carpe Diem" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Build your social media strategy around where your customers are, not where you think the cool place is to be. Clint O'Rear has a frank discussion with craft industry influencer Alexa Westerfield, Founder of Swell Creative Media, about using social media strategy to build your brand.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Brands previously told consumers what to do with their product, but now the consumer is telling the brand what they WANT to do with the product and what they ARE doing with the product.
• When finding creative people to collaborate with for social media marketing find those people that are already really good at using your products on social media.
• Where do you look:
  • #1 - Pinterest
  • #2 - Facebook groups related to your product category
  • Instagram #Hashtag
  • Emerging - TikTok
• When determining the best social media platform to focus on, look to see where people are the most engaged when you post something - don't go where you think it's cool to be, go where the analytics tell you people are engaging with you.
• Pinterest is where people go for creative ideas - it's not even social media anymore, it's a discovery tool. And it's where people are looking to purchase product.
• Idea - Implement links into your Pinterest strategy for people to go to your Amazon links or your website to purchase product.
• Older people are moving to TikTok. Locate people who are using your product on TikTok and engage them to be an influencer for you on TikTok. They might work with you just for free product.
  • Note - don't try to do your own TikTok videos. Use people that have back end TikTok knowledge and know how to curate the video to make it organic content.
• How to find an influencer for your product:
  • Know which type of crafter you're targeting - know your lane
  • Go find the crafters/makers that are already in your lane
  • Focus on Bloggers doing full step our projects
  • Also look for people active in Facebook groups for your category
• Facebook groups are replacing brand's customer service because someone can go in a room and ask questions to a bunch of experts that have used the product.
• Each brand needs a custom social media and influencer strategy - there's not a cookie cutter approach.

SUGGESTED ACTIONS

• Determine where people are engaging with you on social media to prioritize your target platforms.
• Find people on social media who are already using your products and commenting on your products and engage them as influencers to help you increase exposure to your brand.
• Start the process by looking for your brand or product category on Pinterest, in Facebook groups, and on Instagram using hashtag search.
• Find a Social Media Strategist to help guide you

You can reach Alexa Westerfield at swellcreativemedia.com or find her on Instagram at @swellcreative or LinkedIn at Alexa Westerfield.

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, reach out to Clint O'Rear at [email protected].

𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗫𝗔 𝗪𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 is a multi-faceted marketer, designer, and lifelong crafter. Professionally she's worked for over 15 years with craft companies like Tulip, Aleene's, Artbin, and DecoArt as a designer and marketing strategist guiding content campaigns, influencers, and retailer relationships. In addition, she's created viral crafted content for her blog theswelldesigner.com and has produced short form video and creative content for brands like Darby Smart, Association for Creative industries, and Alt Summit. Her work has been featured on The Rachael Ray Show, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and Today.com.

𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗢'𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗥, president and owner of Creative Sales Consulting (CreativeSales.biz), has worked in the Retail industry since 2000.

Learn how Clint and his team at Creative Sales Consulting connect suppliers & retailers in the creative arts industries to build stronger relationships and strategic sales growth, in order to bring joy to consumers through artistic creative and decorative products.

______________________

Music:

"Carpe Diem" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/