Katie Hunt, Founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp and Host of Proof to Product shares three important business lessons that her daughter used to sell Girl Scout cookies — things we should all remember in our own businesses.
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TSBC alum Caroline Hull is the founder of Caroline Creates. A designer and owner, Caroline has a background in music and was actually a ballet dancer at the University of Oklahoma before finding her niche in design and podcasting. Caroline has a passion for helping other small business owners like herself through her podcast, Creative Biz Rebellion.
On today’s episode, we’re talking about switching gears in business, the benefit of taking a break to really reassess how you’re feeling about things and she also shares how past experiences shaped who she is and what she’s doing today.
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Heather Haynie and Dani Antol are the owners of Rock Paper Scissors, a custom invitation and paper goods shop in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rock Paper Scissors is the go-to destination for locals and visitors alike looking for laugh-out-loud greeting cards, journals, dec accessories, calendars, planners and modern gifts.
On today’s episode we talk about a wide range of topics including what it takes to run a retail storefront, how they divide responsibilities as business partners and what success looks like for each of them. We also got personal. Dani shares her story of battling cancer. We also discuss how Heather & Dani were able to unify their local community after the hateful rallies in Charlottesville.
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Renee Griffith, the founder of HeartSwell, designs and creates her products using her original hand lettering style, incorporating patterns, colors and textures inspired by her deep love of the ocean and lush landscape where she lives in South Florida. Renee is a TSBC alum who has attended our Paper Camp Conference twice, once when she was starting her business and a second time after she had revised her line and rebranded her company.
On today’s episode we’re talking about why she changed her business name, how she nurtures relationships with customers and the importance of finding your voice within your product and brand.
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Beth Penn is a professional organizer, speaker and life hacker. She is the founder of Bneato Bar, a professional organizing service whose clients range from corporations looking for big-picture management solutions to busy individuals simply flooded with email, paper or stuff in their home. Beth has been featured in Real Simple Magazine, Oh Joy!, DesignLoveFest, and more, and has collaborated on projects with Style by Emily Henderson and Apartment Therapy.
On today’s episode we’re talking about misconceptions people have around cluttering and organization, and how to get started with decluttering.
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TSBC alum, Melanie Karlins of Grey Moggie started letterpress printing in 2008 as a creative outlet while she was in law school, and later taught letterpress classes at a local art center. In 2011 she started selling her products at local craft fairs and picked up wholesale accounts through her Instagram feed. Today, Grey Moggie is Melanie’s full-time job and her greeting cards are sold in stationery and gift shops all over the United States, including Paper Source
On today’s episode, Melanie is sharing how retail craft markets shaped her business and product line, how she overcame creative blocks, and why her definition of success shifts with different seasons in her life.
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Rebekah Tennis is the founder of Wild Ink Press, a letterpress studio and retail storefront located in northern California. Rebekah started Wild Ink Press in 2009 and was part of our very first Tradeshow Bootcamp class in 2011. The Wild Ink Press brand offers witty and pretty greeting cards, stationery, and other paper goods that can be found in hundreds of retail shops nationwide including the Container Store, Papyrus, and Paper Source.
On today’s episode, Rebekah talks about the power of slow, organic growth and why it’s okay to not have all your ducks in a row when you’re starting out. She also shares her thoughts on responsiveness, reliability, and why she likes sending catalogs and samples to prospective wholesale buyers.
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Nicole Block is the owner of The Nic Studio a stationery, design and illustration studio. She’s also the founder of Tyles, which is a line of sophisticated, removable wall decor made from cut vinyl! Nic and I first met on Twitter back in 2009 and she’s been a part of the TSBC community since we started in 2011!
On today’s episode Nicole shares how her life inspires her work, the benefits of getting a workspace outside of her home and the logistical challenges she faced when creating a new product category — including how she was turned down by more than 75 manufacturers she approached to help make her Tyles!
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Erin Dollar, the owner of Cotton & Flax is an artist and textile designer, focused on creating home goods and bold surface pattern designs. Her background as a printmaker guides her work for Cotton & Flax, and the entire collection of Cotton & Flax home goods are designed, silkscreen printed, and sewn in California.
On today’s episode we’re talking about how Erin licensed her artwork for a line of fabrics manufactured by Robert Kaufman. She’ll share her story of how this licensing partnership came to be, considerations when partnering with other brands and things she learned along the way.
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Sarah Edmonds and Tammy Lawrence are the owners of Banquet Atelier & Workshop, a Vancouver-based design studio. All of Tammy and Sarah’s products are conceived, designed, printed and produced in Canada with a fine attention to affordability and environmental sustainability. They offer screen printed signed and dated prints, stationery, textiles as well as clothing and jewelry. They’ve also licensed work and collaborated with large brands such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Terrain, Anthropologie, Land of Nod and others to create exclusive products and designs.
On today’s episode we’re talking about taking risks with new products and why it took them over 4 years to bring their textiles to market. We also discuss why you need to follow your passions when making business decisions and why this Canadian company chooses to exhibit at US wholesale shows.
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Cara Underwood is the owner of Underwood Letterpress which is a lifestyle brand offering custom work and stationery & gift products to the wholesale and retail markets. Cara attended Paper Camp in 2014 when she was undergoing a transition in her business – shifting from custom work and deciding whether wholesale was something she wanted to go into. Since then, Underwood Letterpress’ greeting cards, paper goods and gift items can be found in stores nationwide. Cara and her products have been featured in major design publications including Domino Magazine, Design Love Fest, Apartment Therapy and Martha Stewart Weddings.
On today’s episode we’re talking about outsourcing manufacturing, building relationships and living life with no regrets.
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Gia Graham is the founder of Betsywhite Stationery. Gia started her first stationery business in 2005 and has been undergone major transitions over the last 12 years. She’s renamed and rebranded her business, shifted from custom work to ready-made products, ramped up wholesale to the point she was working with big box stores and multiple reps and most recently she’s scaling back and slowing down.
On today’s episode we’re talking about how Pinterest helped her business, the importance of faking it until you make it, and why she chose to discontinue her wholesale line.
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Adam Smith is the founder of Life is Funny Press, a letterpress greeting card company based in Los Angeles. Adam worked a pressman for Sugar Paper before branching out on his own to start Life is Funny Press. Adam’s passion for printing, his family and making products with purpose really shines through in this episode.
Adam came to Paper Camp in 2014 before jumping into trade shows. He currently sells his products via wholesale, retail and custom channels.
On today’s episode we’re talking about leaving a full time job to pursue entrepreneurship, a dad’s perspective on juggling family & business, plus why it’s important to not force yourself into creative work that doesn’t feel right.
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Since 2010, Samantha Barsky, the founder of Note•ify has combined her love of travel, photography, and entrepreneurship into making paper and textile goods. She has had success growing her business through a wide range of sales channels including Etsy, craft shows, her own website, as well as licensing and collaborations.
On today’s episode, Samantha talks about sourcing new partners for manufacturing and how tough it is, leveraging passive income streams, and the importance of starting small when branching into new products.
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TSBC alum, Jeanette Champion-Fanning is the founder of Sweet Perversion a quick witted line of stationery and gift products. Jeanette got her start on Etsy in 2006 and has had over 20,000 sales there. She attend Paper Camp twice, once was to refine her wholesale program, and the second time was to figure out whether wholesales shows like the National Stationery Show were right for her.
She’s had a lot of growth over the last few years and on today’s episode we’re talking about gaining momentum in business, running a debt-free company and owning our mistakes in business.
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Katie Hunt, founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp on why she chose to share her business experiences and resources with her ‘competitors’ and the importance of community over competition.
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Heather Lins is the founder of Heather Lins Home, a textile and home goods business. Heather comes from a design background and has a fascinating story of starting her business before she even had products to sell.
On today’s episode we’re talking about licensing opportunities, simple strategies for pitching the press and why hard work and being busy doesn’t always equate to being productive.
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Kyle Durrie is the founder of Power and Light Press, a ship-shape letterpress print shop built to handle all of life’s messy emotions. On today’s episode we covered a lot of ground including the pros & cons of different trade shows, how Kyle has grown her team and why she makes travel and downtime an important part of her life. We also talked about how Kyle has donated over $80,000 to Planned Parenthood through the selling of her Stand with Planned Parenthood Tote bags – how she did it, her motivations for giving back and how she dealt with public backlash.
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Sean McCabe is the author of Overlap: Start a Business While Working a Full-Time Job. He has helped tens of thousands of students with his courses on copywriting, client work, pricing, and marketing. On a daily basis, he runs seanwes.com: a learning community for entrepreneurs looking to do fulfilling and meaningful work.
On today’s episode we’re talking about getting unstuck in your business, overlapping a day job and a side hustle and the power of masterminds.
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Mary Beth Storjohann of Workable Wealth is an author, financial planner and accountability coach working to help clients in their 20s-40s make smart, educated decisions with their money. I met Mary Beth at a conference last year and was so impressed how she spoke about money from a place of confidence and power. We were honored to have her speak at our Paper Camp+ conference and I’m excited for you to listen to this episode.
Today we’re talking about money misconceptions and fears, common reasons people seek out a financial planner and why it’s important for you to know your numbers.
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