Hella Good Products

What do you create?
We create bath products that are richly scented while making the skin feel great.

How did you come up with your company name?
Tara, my business partner, born and raised in Northern CA, used to say "hella good" all the time. When we were trying out business names, we thought "Hella Good" would be perfect because it's young, fresh and defines the quality of our bath products.

When and why did you decide to start your business?
I've been making bath products for ten years now. I was hating my day job at the time, and really wanted something to call my own. HELLA GOOD became a creative outlet. We officially launched HELLA GOOD on Sept. 1, 2004.

Where do you get your inspiration for your projects?
Since nearly all of our bath products smell good enough to eat, our inspiration comes from desserts and candies.

What is your main goal for this year?
To come up with more new bath products!

What advice would you give to someone starting a creative business?
This may sound super boring, but write a business plan. It will save you a lot of money and heartache later, because it will help guide you. Your local SBA office can help you. There's even a Business Plans for Dummies book that is also really helpful.

And just out of curiosity, what’s your favorite tool of your trade?
My stick mixer!

Site:
Hella Good Products

Holland Cox

What do you create?
I make handbags. I like small, cute, feminine bags, but not so small that you can't actually carry anything in them. I like handbags that aren't a burden to schlep around but that can hold everything you need. That's what I'm thinking about whenever I design a new style. Everyone who owns one of my "flagship" designs is always surprised how much can fit inside!

How did you come up with your company name?
Holland Cox is my great great grandmother's name, and the first person on my father's side of my family to set foot in America, off a slaver's ship in North Carolina. I love the way her name sounds, and from the bits & pieces of stories I've heard from my grandmother and great aunts, she was quite a character. I thought about naming my company after myself, the way so many fashion designers do, but I think her name has a better ring.

When and why did you decide to start your business?
During the summer of 2003, I had just gotten back into sewing after a long hiatus (like, since high school!) without any crafty activity. Actually it started that January when I decided to pick up crocheting again and made blankets for 2 of my friends' birthdays. By the summer I had taken some sewing classes and was working on something or sketching something nearly every day after work. One day I took scraps from 2 skirts I had just made and a pair of pants that I had turned into shorts, and I made a little purse. I kept making things all year and made more of those purses for all of my girlfriends for Christmas that year. Somewhere along the way I figured out that I really just want to sew all day long, and that I needed to figure out a way to do that! So I thought I'd start a handbag business. There you have it. Much research and reading followed, and lots of sketching and testing patterns and teaching myself about digital photography and web design and blah blah blah...here we are! :) December 2005 marked my first anniversary in business.

Where do you get your inspiration for your projects?
My own needs. My evening bag came about when I had 3 weddings to go to last summer and nothing decent to carry my stuff in. My flight bag was born because I can never find the right carryon bag. I designed the wristlet with the curvy strap because I don't like the skinny straps you see on the store-bought wristlets, and the classic handbag is the very first bag I ever made, with the scraps from 2 skirts, because the shoulder bags I had at the time were either too big or too small.

What is your main goal for this year?
I would like to do more shows and fairs this year. I did the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn last year, and it was my first and still my only show. It was such a great experience, and my first time seeing customers in person who weren't my friends or family members! It's wonderful to get feedback that way, and to get a chance to see other designers that I admire!

What advice would you give to someone starting a creative business?
Take it slow, and be patient with yourself. Do all the reading and research you need to, and don't feel like there's any kind of deadline or a certain time that you "have" to do anything - after all, you're your own boss!

And just out of curiosity, what’s your favorite tool of your trade?
This is a hard question. Clearly, my sewing machine plays a key role. But I think I've got to say that without my seam ripper and embroidery scissors life would be much more unpleasant. :)

Site:
Holland Cox

Jessy's Dolls

What do you create?
Cloth dolls. They are unique in that they look a bit 1800s-ish but still quite fresh and modern at the same time (can dolls be fresh?). I make their outfits out of vintage linens that I find in my favorite antique shops. I love being able recycle beautiful old things, giving them a different purpose but still preserving their beauty.

When and why did you decide to start your business?
I started the doll thing about a year after I was married, so about 6 years ago. It took me about a year to come up with a design I liked and then probably another year to learn how to build a website. I've always been obsessed with crafting and making dolls made sense because I've loved them since birth! My first word as a child was "doll" so I think that carved my future.

Where do you get your inspiration for your projects?
I get a lot of my inspiration from other crafters. There are many creative gals out there that are soooo inspiring. Whenever I'm not feeling creative I take a look at what someone with way more talent is working on and that totally inspires me to get to work! Just looking at creative things gets my gears turning.

Getting feedback from customers is also very inspiring. I had someone send me a picture of her daughter holding a bunny I had made, it was so precious and made me really happy to be doing what I'm doing.

What is your main goal for this year?
I currently work as a graphic artist for a local newspaper. My goal is always to be successful enough at my doll business to quit my job and make dolls full time. Maybe this year will be the year!

What advice would you give to someone starting a creative business?
Don't get discouraged. One day I told my friends that I was thinking of giving up the "doll thing" because they just weren't selling. The next day I got 3 orders!

And just out of curiosity, what‚s your favorite tool of your trade?
Hmmmm. Let me see. I guess my sewing machine, I know, that's not very original, but that thing sure is handy!

Site:
Jessy's Dolls

Fern House Studio

What do you create?
I'm an artist & designer. Primarily I create whimsical watercolor paintings of animals, hand and fingerpuppets and I have a line of cards and prints based upon my artwork. But I don't limit my work and like to make lots of things and try new media all the time.

How did you come up with your company name?
My name came from an episode of Ira Glass' fabulous show "This American Life" on National Public radio. He was doing an interview with a sociologist who studied where children went during the day when they were alone back in the 1970's. That was back in the days when kids hung out alone and didn't have a million activities booked for them all the time (my childhood!). Anyway, what he discovered was that children all had secret places... kind of clubhouses, but they didn't have to be houses. They were places kids could go and be alone or with a group of friends and get away from the pressures of everyday life, be imaginative and creative and just play. One group of children had a special place in the woods they called "The Fern House". He described it as very beautiful... just sort of an outline of twigs and branches that created the agreed upon walls and windows, and then these beds of ferns that the children would create fresh every day with new ferns. So this idea intrigued me very much. I want my studio to always be a place where I can go, create, escape the pressures of everyday life and be inventive and play, so I adopted the name Fern House for my studio. Also, there are a lot of ferns around my studio as well.

When and why did you decide to start your business?
In the year 2000 my dad died and I wanted to make some changes and do more of what I wanted with my life. So one of the things I decided to do was put my artwork out there to sell and share with people. My boyfriend, who I started seeing in 2001 has also been important and encouraging of my art business, as he is a full time artist himself (his website is www.Philipfrey.com). In February of 2005 I started the website end of my business, which has been fun & I've learned so much!

Where do you get your inspiration for your projects?
Everywhere! I teach art 4 days a week to students in grades K-5 and they are always inspiring me. Also I love Paul Klee's work, and love vintage things from the 60's & 70's. Different & new media really inspire me as well-- fabric, felting and many colors of paint!

What is your main goal for this year?
To enjoy my work more and push less.

What advice would you give to someone starting a creative business?
Don't burn yourself out doing things that bring you nothing as far as marketing and the like. Pick a few venues and strategies and see how they go. Keep the ones that work and let go of those that don't . If you don't enjoy it, skip it! Remember, you have limited time and life is precious... enjoy it!

And just out of curiosity, what’s your favorite tool of your trade?
Gosh! Tough one. Lately I've been really into wet-felting. No, even more lately I've had a blast picking out fabric for the new puppets I'm creating for the spring 2006 season.

Site:
Fern House Studio