Helping you promote your businesses and websites on the Internet.
I succeed by helping you succeed.
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Do you want to sell your crafts on the web?This site has three main purposes: (1) To help me sell my Steel Roses and other products I make. (2) To help you sell your arts and crafts, not just show pictures of them to your visitors. (3) To earn enough income to pay for itself I started this site as a vehicle for selling my steel roses, and I've been pleased with the results of that initial test phase. I've met some very nice people from around the US who liked what they saw and ordered a steel rose. Later, as I talked to a variety of artists and crafters around the country, I decided I wanted to pay back all of you who have been so helpful to me. So, I've decided to expand this site to be a resource for all of us, in addition to selling my products. Over the last year, I found that I can't possibly keep up with all that's going on in the world of marketing arts and crafts. Did you know the CODA study found that crafts is a $14 billion per year business? I sure didn't. So, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm going to try to point to places that I've found that have been helpful to me, and I'm going to pass along that information in this website, and through various mailing lists, as I have time. I appreciate all the help and advice I've received and I'm hoping to pass along that help to others as I can. Thanks, everyone!
Be welcome, stay as long as you like, Feel free to wander around. Look into the nooks and crannies. Make yourself at home. If you know something you think I should know about, please email me with the information. I'd appreciate it. If you have a web site, newsletter, or other exchange of information that would be useful to artists, artisans and crafters -- especially for those of us who run our own small businesses from home -- please write to me and tell me about what you have and how to link to it. You're also invited to register in the Forum and talk with other artisans. I want to direct friends and fellow artisans to as many sources of useful information and products as I can. If you have an especially good or bad experience with someone or a company to whom I've referred you, please let me know. I've been working for months on this site, even though it may not look like it in places! I've tested and retested links, proofread pages until I can no longer read them, double- and triple-checked spellings, names, and everything else I can think of. Yet, despite all these efforts, I know there are things I've missed. I want to correct those as quickly as possible. Therefore, if you see something that isn't working, or a broken link, a misspelled word, or even a turn of phrase that feels awkward, I'd welcome your feedback and constructive criticism. I want this site to be the best it can be for all of us. If you're an artist, artisan or crafter and you'd like me to link to your site, please go to the bottom of this page and add a provisional link to your site. I'll be happy to look over your site and will probably add your link on an appropriate page of the site. If I don't I'll tell you why, not send you some bland form letter or ignore you. Don't be surprised if it takes a couple of weeks to get to it, though! I'll do it as soon as I can, and that's a promise. If you'd like to link to my site, I'd appreciate it. Which companies do you buy from? Where's the best place to purchase supplies and materials for the medium in which you work? Share those resources with us, and I'll do my best to spread the word. If you sell supplies, materials, tools, equipment, or anything else that you think would be appropriate for artists and crafters working in any medium, or for helping us run our home businesses better, please contact me. I can't put up links to everything out there, but I'll try to link to several of the best in each category -- and I'll put up a link to a quality company even if I don't get paid for it. If you think your site already should have been listed on one of my pages, accept my apologies and remember there are only so many hours in the day, and my memory isn't what it used to be. Please remind me. You can go to the bottom of the page and add a link request. Don't expect to see lots of links on this links page, however. I preapprove the ones that are acceptable and move them to the correct place on this web site. The ones you may see are preapproved, but I haven't had time to move them, yet. There may be quite a number for the next several months until I catch up to my workload. Please don't add a link unless you make quality, handmade crafts, or sell materials and supplies to folks who do. Thanks. At some point, you'll have to leave and do something else, but I want you to know you're always welcome to drop in for a visit anytime you want to. We're friendly 'round these parts! Take off your shoes, pour a beverage of your choice, settle down in that big ol' rockin' chair there, and let's share information, ideas and dreams. Working together, we'll expand each other's world just a little. Bookmark this site while you're thinking about it, refer it to your friends, and come back soon! Thanks for dropping by! -- John L. Dilbeck
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