CRAFT: Quarterly Newsletter; April 10, 2009

Janet Francoeur — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

CRAFT: Quarterly Newsletter; April 10, 2009

CRAFT Website Tutorial

Installment Four from Janet Francouer

This week: the Membership Directory (located under Membership Services)

Every member of our organization has a page, referred to as a profile, in the membership directory. The directory lists all the usual things you would expect: name, address, fax, website, email, etc. You should look at your entry to make sure the information is up to date. You can add your photo by clicking on "add a photo," click "browse," find the preferred image on your own computer, doubleclick on it, hit "submit," then "view this profile" which will take you back to your profile.

If you have other members of CRAFT that you correspond with regularly you can create your own contact list. To do this, call up their profile - on the left under the area where a photo can go you will see "add as contact." Click on this link for each of the people you want on your contact list. When you go back to your own profile you will note at the top of your profile page tabs named "profile," "contacts," then "favorites," "contributions" and "groups."

If you click on the "contacts" tab you will see your own list of contacts, all in one place. To view your contact's profile page, just click on their name, it will also show anything that your contact has posted on the website if you click on "view (contact name's) contributions."

The next tab, "favorites," is a place where you can make a list of websites, blogs or pages you visit regularly. Add a favorite by clicking on "add favorites," type in the name, the url, then hit "enter." You can return to your own profile page by using the back arrow at the top of your browser.

The next tab, "contributions," will list everything that you have posted on the CRAFT website.

The last tab is "groups." Groups are a subset of people that can be corresponded with as a group. This is an area that the adminstrators of the site generally use.

If you have questions don't hesitate to email me at janet@carolinacreations.com

Janet Francoeur, CRAFT Board member

Carolina Creations; New Bern, NC

www.carolinacreations.com

LINKS from the Recovering Craft Retailer, Don Gorenberg, CRAFT's Secretary for Communication:

Intuit seems to be offering its QuickBooks Cash Register Plus via download for free.

It can be ordered on line at www.qbcashregisterplus.com/GetCRPlus (cut and paste link in browser) or you can order via phone at 877-556-4345 ext 3749--mention special offer code 5374960548.

Their mailing says the offer expires April 30, 2009.

I am pretty sure this is a very basic POS system that is being offered in hopes of getting people to either upgrade to a different system or order credit card processing or hardware from Intuit. However this could be an easy and cheap way for stores, probably small stores, to get into a pos system. All members should be reminded to review the system carefully for themselves before committing to its use.

The Intuit free product will not run on 64 bit machines only on 32 bit machines.

I believe that CAM Commerce also offers a "free" introductory pos system in hopes of having people upgrade.

PLEASE SHARE: If you are already using either the Intuit or the CAM product, send in your thoughts on the pros and/or cons to Don at uscraft@aol.com

and, from WWD-Women's Wear Daily, Predicting the Retail Bounce-Back

Headed to ACRE? Members report reasonable rates near the Las Vegas Convention Center at the Best Western Mardi Gras

And while you're in Vegas . . .

Connect with CRAFT as a volunteer! Oprah says one of the keys to longevity is to participate in community. YOUR CRAFT COMMUNITY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT: check It's Friday messages each week for ways that you can help. First up, a request from CRAFT's Vice President of Education Projects Donna Milstein:

The Education Committee needs more volunteers for the Table Topics event happening at the ACRE show in Las Vegas on Sunday morning, June 1st. Anyone who is going to ACRE that is a CRAFT member and would like to volunteer, please contact me at either email address listed below. We could use TT facilitators and also greeters and meeters before 4 of our sponsored events. Please step forward now if you are willing to help. If you have never volunteered for CRAFT, this is an easy way to offer your services and get to network and meet new people.

Regards,

Donna

donnamilstein@hotmail.com

crafts@hansongalleries.com

Hanson Galleries; Houston ,TX

www.hansongalleries.com

CRAFT President Karen Hohler reports:

We've had a request to make the T3 at a better time for west coast members. So let's do it!! Even better, let's make it convenient for both coasts. Next T3 on Tuesday, April 21 will give you 2 opportunities to call in and chat. Join either call... or both if you want. 9 AM est or 9 AM pacific, or if you prefer... 6 AM pacific or 12 noon est. If we get enough participation we will continue both. Topic for the next T3...Surviving this Economy. Bring your ideas and questions.

T3 Third Tuesday Teleconference

Karen also shares this message from Commission Junction, an arm of Carbonite, a CRAFT Affinity Partner

March 19, 2009: As you may already know, there are proposed California bills that could require the collection of sales tax for online purchases similar to bills proposed in other states and that could resemble the law that recently passed in New York State. At this time, a hearing date for AB 178 has been set for April 13, 2009. As with all laws, if passed, these laws may or may not apply to you and your business.

Commission Junction is headquartered in California and impacted by the current California budget crisis. Nevertheless, we are opposed to the recently proposed legislation and are working with a lobbyist and other groups in hopes that we can influence the rejection of the bills' passage. Rest assured, we recognize that our industry and many of our clients may be impacted by these bills.

The application of the bills is dependent on particular business and factual circumstances, and Commission Junction is not in a position to provide legal and tax advice regarding the bills. However, we encourage you to perform the appropriate due diligence as it relates to your business. You may be contacted by advertisers in the Commission Junction network as they perform their due diligence.

Additionally , following are two sources of information on the proposed California bills that you may find helpful:

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a14/News_Room/Press/

20090202AD14PR01.aspx

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

If you feel that you need more counsel on the bills, we recommend you seek independent tax and legal advice.

Sincerely,

Commission Junction

CRAFT Buzz:

A Busman's Holiday:

Recently Art and Donna Milstein of Hanson Galleries in Houston hosted a visit from fellow CRAFT members Tom and Connie Quilter of Clarksville Pottery in Austin. They exchanged artist information and discussed business matters as well as attended the Bayou City Artshow. Some fun was had by all.

If you can't or don't attend wholesale shows, a visit like this proves very valuable to all concerned.

A good find on on-line selling:

http://www.fluentself.com/blog/biggification/for-artists-and-anyone-else-who-sells-stuff-online/

Ann Pifer, CRAFT Vice President

The Grand Hand Gallery; St. Paul, MN

www.thegrandhand.com

Click here to hear Robert Siegel on the economy and "The New Normal" at NPR.

Thanks to CRAFT Board Member Deb Kneale at Show of Hands, Denver for forwarding this link. Visit Deb's gallery at www.showofhandsdenver.com

Take a moment to peruse the Tip Forum - accessible on the home page of the website at craftonline.org. Catch up with the 3/50 Project, pick up some sales floor strategies and share your own suggestions!

Want to be featured in an upcoming It's Friday message? Contact Susan - susan@thegrandhand.com

Your login information is listed below. To log into the site, visit http://www.craftonline.org/en/ and enter your Username and Password.

Username: [username]
Password: [password]

If you have any questions please contact the Site Administrator.

CRAFT is a national organization of artists, retailers & show sponsors working to support American craft, save money, educate & network.

Submitted by Susan Clayton, susan@thegrandhand.com

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15-Apr-09 0:00 AM

CRAFT - Articles

CRAFT: Quarterly Newsletter; April 10, 2009