Dear Fellow Creatives,

After much deliberation, the directors of the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs have decided to put the conference on hiatus in 2012. Many more opportunities exist to help creative professionals with their businesses than when we began CCE in 2009, like Hello Etsy, Schoolhouse Craft, Blogher Creative Connection, WorkshopSF’s small business series, and many more. With that in mind, we are taking the year to re-assess how CCE can best serve the West Coast creative community and are considering new formats, and new ways to educate. If you would like to provide your suggestions, we welcome your feedback on our survey page.

We want to thank everyone who attended or worked on CCE during the last two years. Both events were more successful than we could have imagined, and we are eternally grateful for all of your support. We continue to delight in hearing about the projects and collaborations that began at CCE, from business partnerships, to pen pals, to book deals.

Please continue to stay in touch with us via Facebook, Twitter, and our web site. We will continue to provide information and resources throughout the year as we make way for an exciting 2013.

Wishing you all success and fulfillment in 2012,

Lauren, Jamie and Laura

As though we didn’t feel warm and fuzzy enough already, several of you sent the loveliest thank yous! We received nearly a dozen exciting thank yous for keynote speaker Jeff Rudell, including pillows, paper flower books, hand-sewn cards, and even an entire 3-D paper landscape, but we organizers didn’t fare too badly either! We received…

In case you weren’t able to make it out for last Thursday’s event, Stitch Labs co-founder Jake Gasaway has helpfully provided a linked list of all the business apps discussed by the panel.  Thanks for a super-educational night, Jake! Hi Everyone, On behalf of Bazaar Bizarre, Stitch Labs, Willo O’Brien, Josh Zerkel, and Justin Glaeser, [...]

CCE speakers Christine Schmidt and Evan Gross filled us in: Happy Fall Y’all!  Just wanted to drop you a line regarding some fun studio updates!  Join us for our first ever workshop- PRINTIN’ IN THE KITCHEN. On October 1 we are gonna be cooking up some fine prints to schnazz up your kitchen in our [...]

We are currently experiencing a rather disappointing dearth of shared CCE 2011 photos. I know I saw more than one camera snapping away during CCE (and more than one recap blog post , so pretty please send us your shots (any e-mail on our contact page will work) or post them to our Flickr group!  [...]

Head on over to TechShop this month for three great events put on by SFMade: SFMade Orientation, Sept 20th Come to an overview of SFMade’s programs and services and learn how we help manufacturing companies to succeed. When: September 20th, 6-7 pm Where: TechShop 926 Howard Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Sign up here: http://wwwsfmade.ticketleap.com/orientation-7/ [...]

While many of us are gearing back up for a busy season after a much-needed summer break, CCE’s 2011 speakers are already kicking ass and taking names. Here are just a few of the ways our accomplished speakers are greeting fall…

As if the conference itself weren’t enough excitement for one weekend, we wanted to tell you a little more about two really exciting evening events happening next weekend. Both are open to the public, but CCE attendees and speakers get in free!

The first event is a taco-and-beer party on Friday called Meet. Greet. & Eat.

If you’re not familiar with Meylah, you should know that in addition to offering an integrated online storefront and social marketing base, they also offer a TON of free small business resources, including several eBooks, about 4,783 “Byte-size Learnings,” and a whole series of eCourses, including this comprehensive one for Meylah beginners, which covers the following topics…

Did you know that all of the DIY Business instructors at WorkshopSF are also CCE speakers?  Yeah, we kind of have a monopoly on those guys. If you’re interested in pursuing your CCE education beyond the conference, check out these three upcoming workshops in the DIY Business series: Opening A Brick And Mortar Store with [...]

When I first started my toy business seven years ago, I was handcrafting everything myself. This had the advantage of being able to sell my toys on Etsy, but it also meant that I was making less than minimum wage on every product. Clearly, this was not sustainable, so I spent the next two years sourcing responsible manufacturing overseas and starting my own e-Commerce site. Had I started my business in 2011, none of this would have been an issue, because I could have…

Today it is my incredible honor and privilege to share a conversation with our distinguished keynote speaker, Mr. Jeffery Rudell. He is incomparably talented and generous, and I can promise you that his opening address will be one of the most creatively inspiring talks you have ever heard. Mr. Rudell’s writing is single-handedly responsible for the epiphany that got my career back on the right track and I couldn’t be more thrilled for you to meet him.

In the following interview, Mr. Rudell was kind enough to share his story and give us a glimpse into his keynote address.

Can you describe what a typical day might be like for you in your work as a creative professional (if there is such a thing as a “typical” day)?

One of the great joys (and great dangers) of being self employed as a creative professional is that I don’t have many “typical” days, per se. I might be decoupaging a life-sized giraffe, constructing a violin out of paper, or creating a room-sized snowstorm using…

The buzz in the creative community this week is all about work-life balance. Earlier this week I read a series of interesting posts on Poppytalk about having “Too Much Success.” The three posts were written by CCE speaker Rena Tom and featured interviews with other CCE speakers Lisa Congdon and Christine Schmidt of Yellow Owl Workshop. Also this week, CCE speaker Willo O’Brien launched a new video series about “Creative Sustainability in Life and Business.”

It all got me thinking, how do we define success, what’s the right speed to grow your business, and how do you take more time for yourself after you’ve “put in your dues” without setting yourself back?….

There are still two CCA scholarships to CCE remaining! If that $50 will help you out, don’t be shy to claim one! Just enter code CCEScholar when you register. It will only work for two more people, so don’t wait to get that free money!

Through the hard work of the CCE organizers and the generosity of our sponsors, CCE is able to give our attendees an unbelievable value. A three-day pass provides you with a deeply useful education and the opportunity to network with world-class speakers and peers (not to mention breakfast and lunch), all for about 10 bucks [...]

Venturing out beyond the online world to sell your wares at art and craft shows can be quite intimidating for many folks. It takes planning, money, time, confidence, and much more. In Meylah’s new eBook, Preparing For Art & Craft Show Success, several topics are covered related to vending at art and craft shows, for example what you should consider when you’re submitting applications, deciding on the items you need to pack and how to set up your booth that customers can’t resist. If you apply these tips to your art and craft show strategy, you will definitely be on your way to succeeding at your next show. The best part? You can download the whole eBook for free!

Can’t wait for CCE to start honing your entrepreneurial skills? Ever wanted to publish a book without the stress of contracts and editorial deadlines? Why not try your hand at publishing an eBook? “Sister” Diane Gilleland, editor-in-chief of Craftzine and CCE speaker, is running her next eBook publishing class beginning next Monday, June 6th. It’s all held online, so you can take it from anywhere in the world! See here for more info.

I’ve worked with creative entrepreneurs for over 20 years and almost all come to me with a case of what I call mission creep.

Mission creep happens when you have a dream idea in mind for your career, but instead of truly focusing on the idea, you choose work around it and as a result make just enough money to survive. I recently had a client who told me her dream was to be a portrait artist. She said, “But being an artist doesn’t work for me. I have to make a living.” She then told me she designs graphics for websites, teaches art at night and paints in her spare time….

CCE speakers Oliver Wise and Eleanor Hanson Wise are putting out a call for curators and artists through their projects, Art Micro-Patronage and The Present Group. If you’d like to learn more about alternative venues for artists, make sure to join the Sunday panel, “Off the Wall: Fine Artists’ Alternatives to the Gallery” with Kelly Jones of Little Paper Planes.

This week’s East Bay Express newspaper, covering the eastern cities along San Francisco Bay, interviews CCE founder Lauren Venell for their feature, “The Recession-Era Entrepreneur.” The article, written by editor Kathleen Richards, explores the trend of Bay Area residents becoming entrepreneurs by necessity. According to Richards:

Due to the economy, slim job prospects, and skyrocketing education costs, more and more young people are finding their fairy-tale careers beyond reach, or simply not on the horizon. As a result, many are supplementing their incomes — or banking entirely on the do-it-yourself route — by starting their own businesses, many within niche or specialized fields.

Why did you decide to start a creative business? Was it a lifelong dream, an economic necessity, or a combination of both? Share your story in the comments.

This Friday, March 18th, come celebrate the launch of A Collection A Day with author, artist, CCE speaker, and all-around wonderful lady, Lisa Congdon. You can get your copy hot off the press and have it signed by Lisa herself, before examining some of the featured collections as part of the accompanying exhibition. Some of Lisa’s highly-coveted original works…

Registration is now open for CCE 2011!  For the deepest experience (and the best value), we recommend the full 3-Day pass, which gets you into every conference session we offer, as well as lunch and a light breakfast on all three days.  Spending the full weekend at CCE really gives you the chance to connect [...]

In order to continue to serve their local community, the Seattle-based organizers of CCE have opted to stay close to home with a dynamic new conference called Schoolhouse Craft. This event will take place in September 2011 in Seattle, and will serve artists, crafters and designers by “schooling you in the business of craft.”