Category: Field Year 2

THIS IS A LINK TO A COPY OF MY PRESENTATION AS A PDF.

field evaluation powerpoint

From these field projects I have been able to develop a wide variety of skills that I can adhere to my making. These projects where both a little out of my comfort zone, Behind the Barcode project, more so than figurative modeling. Both these projects have developed my ways of learning and thinking as well as writing and presenting. They have been an enjoyable way of moving Forward and considering different aspects of art that can influence my own practice. I have definitely enjoyed doing the business side of behind the barcode, this has been something that I have a always found daunting. Now that I have completed it I feel I now have knowledge on the basics of selling myself and my work. I can now adhere this learning to my own discipline. Figurative modeling has taught me some interesting alternatives to researching and this is something that I have continued to do. Learning from other artists and using galleries I have been able to become more inspired and knowledgeable especially considering these current times, I have been able to teach myself new skills from watching others at work.

From figurative modeling I have developed my sculpting techniques and have been taught the basics of modeling in the round whilst watching and drawing from still life, this has greatly improved my understanding of line tone and shape and has made me a more competent and accurate sculptor. Behind the barcode was primarily focused on the business. Although during this project I was attending the Wednesday workshops on book binding and paper making, as this was what I was currently learning I decided to focus my business research on this. I found it extremely beneficial having help form Tom in the print room as he was able to advise me on companies to look at for resource and materials.

It has been really interesting how the behind the barcode has informed my current work and I created a real interest in how books are made and how you can make your own paper. I have enjoyed being able to develop and practice a traditional craft and have used the ways of researching I developed form figurative modeling to inform my learning, by watching artists and exploring online galleries.

I have more awareness of how EDGE can inform the creative industry and my own practice and I am now more aware of the entrepreneurial aspect of being a maker that I will inevitably have to consider as I develop into level 6. I feel it is important for me to consider creatively the ethical, digital, global and entrepreneurial aspects of my own creative pathway and I need to continue to think how i can push these ideas in my own work.

simply do

During this project I explored the paper making and book binding processes alongside my business plan. for me this is a totally new experience learning business concepts and the behind the scenes working of businesses and everything that needs to be considered.

The thing I found most challenging was how to make a fairly basic hand made product appeal to a higher market demographic, working on the feedback during my pitch I have tried to tell a story of the product and the company so that people can gain better understanding and knowledge of the brand and the types of customer I want to appeal to. One way I explored this was designing a higher end packaging that when people purchase or receive the products they are well presented and look luxury, hand made and special. I want people to be happy to pay a higher price because of the service, quality and look of the product they are receiving.

I have struggled to decide on an appropriate age of customer for my product. I concluded that these products sit within an age range of between 30-45, although saying that I believe there is leverage with this depending on what and who the product is intended for.

Considering the pricing my products has been challenging as these are practical things… and they are only made from paper. so how much would people pay for a bit of paper realistically. Looking at my research into competitors i have found people tend to pay that little bit more for a bespoke service and the personalized, wedding books and photo books can range between anything from £15 – £130+. Considering the cost of the production, my time making the products, the packaging, the types of stores I want to sell to (boutiques, farm shops, garden centres and local independent high end shop) the price needs to be appropriate to the customer demographic and age. Therefore I feel an appropriate price range would be between £20 – £100+ obviously this includes bespoke services and is dependent on what the customer wants and how long it would take to make. (These are only rough estimates as I haven’t figured the precise costings but this is what I would feel comfortable charging people for a hand made special occasion product).

To make more sense of the customer needs and my needs for a business I wanted to apply the hierarchy of needs theory to my work. The triangle table read from the bottom up consists of physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, to explore the needs of a person/ business.

Physiological needs- a studio, food, money, salary, financial stability.
Safety needs- revenue, profits, good management of money, production and time keeping.
Belongingness and love need- good work social mix, work from home, successful product.
Esteem- product accomplishment, sales, profit and popularity, customer satisfaction.
self actualization- successful product, established brand, returning customer, luxury products, sustainable business and product

 

 

 

I want to push the luxury within the brand and the way I wanted to do that is to create a connection with the customer and push the hand made qualities of the product and the brand values so that people can understand and relate to the products and this is a more personal touch.

Our story

The Crafted Paper Co. creates unique handmade papers and bound books. These are created by maker Lara Hoad and formed from recycled and reclaimed paper and cotton from industry, pulped with dried flowers and natural materials then formed using a mould and deckle, dried and rolled to make a high-quality luxury paper.

All our books are bound using waxed linen thread and can be personalised to your preference. Choose from a range of colour combinations, finishes and flower papers and personal touches like an embossed name or quote to make a special bespoke book to treasure or to use for a special occasion.

We provide book collections each unique and slightly different ranging from photobooks, wedding guest books, journals and sketchbook.

Lara is passionate about providing a bespoke service with the best quality hand made products and materials and provides services and kits so you can learn a new craft skill and take away a newfound love for papermaking and bookbinding.

For Any queries contact Lara Hoad: 07488339543Lara@thecraftedpaperco.com

Another way I want to push the luxury side of the product is through the packaging, this is the first thing people will see if they purchase the products offline and the last impression people will have as they leave a store that sells the products.

The packaging is to be made from recyclable cardboard and will have the logo printed along with a wax stamp. The product will be wrapped in tissue paper and tied with raffia before being placed in the box.

In store the products will be displayed with a packaging sleeve with the brand story (above) wrapped in tissue paper and raffia and me stamped with the wax stamp.

This is to make the product appeal to the high end demographic, makes the customer feel special and fits the aesthetic of the product as well as protecting it when being transported.

 

As a result of my pitch my focus for the next week is to adjust my age demographic and target market to a more focused age group of 30-45.

Making more of a focus on the story and the processes that make the paper special and desirable for the customer, pushing the luxurious elements within the products making amendments to the products and ranges to exaggerate the hand made bespoke elements to attract a demographic.

I need to consider where these products would sell and what occasions I need identify to make these sell and what would make people purchase these products.

I have identified the customer demographic for my products being between the ages of 25-50, These people typically spend their time in coffee shops, shopping in high streets enjoys plants and gardening and regularly visit garden centres and boutique shops. They enjoy the finer things in life are plentiful with their expenditure. They enjoy branded high end items such as Barbour. They want a luxury product they can use and enjoy that has durability and uniqueness.

I wanted a logo that represents the products, I have decided to call the brand “The Crafted Paper Company.”

I experimented with fonts to identify a font that fits the luxury of my products and compliments the quality of the paper and the ingredients within it.

During the marketing workshop we explored ways in which we would promote our brands and products considering the customer type, who they are, where they would be and the best way to capture the ideal customers attention. I feel the interest behind my product is due to the eco hand made qualities, this would be a good aspect for a marketing scheme to make people aware of how the product is made and how it is more friendly for the environment, I am hoping this would increase interest, and encourage people to purchase because of the background story (this is a unique selling point). For marketing purposes I would make business cards and a poster to promote my brand.

Now that I have my book binding and paper making business idea, my focus has been on researching.

After the lectures my key business values to consider include:
innovation, evolving with the time, physical or online, what will it look like in 2 years time, demand, gaps in the market, individuality, small scale equipment cost.

My business involves producing hand made and rolled paper and creating products that are bound by hand:
flower pressed paper, sketchbooks, notebooks, wedding/ phonebooks, gift tags, wrap, prints, cards stationary, paper making kits.

Eventually building up a clientele business where customers can come to me and I can customise a product to suit there needs, such as wedding invitations etc. Branching into embossing and letter pressing.

These will each be unique and can be personalised and bespoke, I believe these products will be desirable on the market as they are a quality, luxury item that is eco conscious that can be for personal use as well as gifts.

 

 

This week introduced me to the fundamentals of business. Motivations, skills and business needs knowledge are important factors to consider as well as how your selling for example online, selling to shops and on market stalls.

My motivations: political, artistic, working from home, small scale, one off pieces, quality  products, craft and middle to low price.

while forming my identity and concepts it is important to consider:
customer, brand identity, competition, prices, marketing.

Our first task was to form a scotch tape product that relates ‘the jester’ brand identity, this product was to be used for a night out… our first thoughts were to create a funny product that would useful for a niche market. The product, a tape to tuck junk up. aimed at drag queens and an alternative market. I found our brand poster task helped the ideas fall in place as the comical advertising helped to explain the product. this task was helpful for this reason and the fast paced research and team based activity helped think more creatively during the day.

My Concept
My ideas accumulate existing and developing skills of mine, using paper making and book binding to create unique hand made sketchbooks that are eco friendly.

At this point I am undecided whether this would be a workshop based product where I would be providing a service or a product based business, there is flexibility to consider both options within the same business and run them both side by side.