Branding Workshop Sneak Peak

This Saturday Stitching Stories will be hosting its first craft branding workshop. A handful of specially invited crafters will be treated to a morning of tea, treats and surprises, while at the same time getting equipped to take their brands and their businesses to the next level.

This little Russian doll is the symbol and inspiration of the morning, as the crafters will be learning that like a Russian doll, each one of their businesses is unique to its core, and that they need to look to their hearts and essence to build strong, original brands. 

The workshop will cover the following: 

• The findings from my research on branding craft businesses 
•  An introduction to branding
• How to build a strong craft brand, from brand identity to brand communications
• The importance of contact planning
• Craft business marketing tools

Each crafter will also get personal attention for their own specific brands.

As for myself, I am bursting with excitement and simply can't wait to shower the crafters with branding loving!

On Studying Crafting

Am am in the process of completing my Honours Degree in Brand Leadership at the Vega School of Brand Leadership in Durban. The year has not been without its challenges, but I have loved how through them I have grown and learnt so much, about branding and myself!

When I was told at the beginning of the year that I could choose any topic for my thesis, as long as I related it to branding, it didn't take long for me to settle on the topic of crafting. I wanted to look deeper into the reasons behind craft's comeback. Why are people choosing to buy handcrafted products over mass-produced goods? And what does this mean for craft business owners? Craft business are unique from other business in so many ways, surely this impacts on the ways they should be branded? So I decided to do an in-depth study of one crafter's business in order to discover what the best ways to brand craft businesses are.

My research project is titled "Handmade Branding: exploring how the nature of creating craft products informs the branding craft businesses" and the journey that it has taken me on has been one of revelation, contemplation and delight.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you the tastiest treats from my findings, from theories of craft, to why craft is making a comeback, to tips on how to effectively brand your craft business. Feel free to comment on these posts, I would love to hear what you have to say:)