Today we're having tea and a chat with Maeri, who runs the Make and Do Studio in Stockton Heath, Warrington. Here she is now - Hello Maeri! Good to see
you, the kettle’s just boiled – what would you like to drink?
Anyone that knows me knows I love, love black
freshly ground coffee. My chosen weapon
of choice is the Five Spice blend from the Algerian Coffee Shop in SoHo.
It was Starbucks before there was a Starbucks.
So, tell us a bit about yourself and your business.
I am a transplanted American who has been here
for almost 20 years and still wake up in a state of wonder as to how I am here!
I was in London recently and had a good
chin wag with the cabby about the fantastic talent that comes out of the
WestHam training grounds – and laughed at how much I have gotten acclimatised
to being British. I grew up in a very creative family on a farm in Vermont
(oddly enough, I was the least creative of the lot!) which I return to whenever
I can. It is my creative and spiritual home.
I started the Make and Do Studio
located in Cheshire in 2009 to fill a gap in the market for teaching
sewing workshops (there were none in our area). We have now added another six tutors
to our roster and have a total of 22 workshops on our books – from traditional
wetfelting to making roman blinds to creative wrapping and we have recently started
introducing food workshops with the introduction of our Canning and Preserving
workshop. It has been go ever since.
Maeri at the BBC, no less
What inspired you to start your creative business? How did
it all begin?
My inspiration came from being around creative
people most of my life but the experience that really drove everything home was
a few summers before I started Make and Do when I was back in my hometown in Vermont.
I signed up my two children to a pottery course at a local potters and when I
went in to drop them off, her pottery studio was like coming home to me. It was
warm, inviting, cluttered and I actually stood in the silence of Studio with
the summer sun streaming through the windows and I felt a small voice inside
say “I would eat baked beans for the rest of my life just to be this happy”.
And the rest they say, is history.
How has your business changed and developed since it
started?
My business was mainly aimed to help people
learn how to sew and was going to be a few workshops focused on this aim. But
we now have a so much more to offer and the people that teach are genuine
crafts people – not just enthusiasts – they work in their field of crafts.
Having these highly skilled people really complements every aspect of our
original sewing related workshops. Two of the workshops (Making Roman Blinds and Basic Quiltmaking)
are going to be highlighted in the July edition of Sewing World Magazine!
What are the main ways you promote your business? Which methods have been the most successful
for you?
I am a bit bi-polar about how I promote my
business. I love technology and how easy it can be to keep in contact with
people so I use things like Mailchimp, Facebook and Twitter (Wendy – you might
remember you were the reason I started on Twitter all those years ago!). But I also believe in the power of print and
spend as much time on my bi-annual schedule of workshops and new posters in
getting them designed as the non print items. I still send out the new schedules
by mail to those who have been to workshops before - they are even handwritten
on the outside as I think people love to get a piece of mail that says how
important they are to the Studio. I am still not sure which one works the best
– I need to get to grips with SEO and Google Analytics but each time I try, I
end up getting a glass of wine instead! But I do know that continually engaging
with all of the items mentioned does keep a steady stream of people coming into
the Studio.
What’s your workspace like?
My workspace is basically the Studio. If you really want to see what it looks like,
the BBC filmed the Studio a few months ago and
you can have a “real time” look at what the studio is about- however, I have to
admit it is much cleaner than it would normally be! You can look at it by
following
this link
and then press on number 11 – that is us!
What are the best and worst bits of running your business?
The best
bits are when you see people genuinely amazed that they have made something
when they walked in the door not really sure what to expect. The worst thing is
that I really am time deficient on all fronts as the more busy you get with the
Studio the more busy you get with paperwork, updates to the website etc.
I feel like I spend much of my time saying sorry for not
being able to do things when I had said I could have.
What other small (or not-so-small) creative businesses do
you admire?
I have loads of small businesses I really admire
(Wendy – you are one!) but would hesitate to name just one. Can I change the
question to what do I admire in small, successful businesses? The answer would
be the ability to work bloody hard, and even though we are small, we can be
professional in our approach and give the customer more than they expected at
every point of contact.
What tips can you give to others who run (or hope to run) a
small creative business?
Be prepared to work hard – harder than you ever
really imagined possible – if you really want to stand out from the crowd as a
business and not just a hobby. Be
genuine in your thanks, humble in your achievements and willing to help others
along the way. Oh and the really big one - you will make mistakes but you might
was well get over them instead of letting them get in your way.
What are your hopes, plans or ambitions for the future?
I have
two really fun things on the horizon that are a new experience to me – on 21
June I am hosting the Sunflower Craft Fest at Coffee au Clay in Stockton Heath,
from 6:00 – 9:30pm. My
experiences on craft fairs span two continents - last summer when I was back in
Vermont, I stumbled on them in almost
every village on any given weekend. They were relaxed, really diverse in terms
of what was being sold (selling locally made food as well as a woman selling
her alpaca wool - she, as it turns out, also had camels too....top that!) and
normally, had a socially responsible bend to it. I loved the relaxed, inclusive
feel that they created.
So I decided to create the Sunflower Craft Fest – tickets are reasonable at £5
- it is small, a bit quirky in what will be available, you get a glass of fizz
(or two!) served in vintage china cups to help you relax on the night and 10%
of all ticket sales will be split between Cancer Research as well as the
Alzheimers Society. And Wendy – you are going to be joining us on the evening
which I am really looking forward to seeing you!
My other new journey is that I am
going to be writing a two page feature piece for SewingWorld Magazine's
November issue on my travels back to Vermont
this summer and what the sewing scene has to offer. I am so excited to show
everyone a bit of this magical part of the world!
Finally, where are the places we can find you online if we
want to partake in a little friendly cyber stalking?
If you live locally,
you can always come by for a chat and a cup of coffee. Our website is themakeanddostudio.co.uk
( you can sign up for a newsletter at the website if you want), we are on
Facebook and Twitter (@MakeandDoStudio) and also on Pinterest. And if you would like to come along to the
Sunflower Craft Fest, information on how and where to purchase tickets can be
found at The Make and Do Studio
Our
most up to date workshop schedule can be found at
www.themakeanddostudio.co.uk or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Thanks so much for stopping by Maeri – it was so nice to be able
to take the time to chat with you! And you wouldn't believe how many people "blame" me for starting them off on blogging or tweeting!
Thanks Wendy – I thoroughly enjoyed my chance to say hello!
