Stephanie

December 5, 2013October 27, 2014

Stop DIY Guilt!

Here we are: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Or is it the Most Complicated Time of the Year? Most hectic? Most filled-with-impossibly-high-expectations? All of the above?

This year, our family decided to focus on simplicity. There’s a lot we’re not doing this year. And part of me wants to feel guilty about that.

As we’ve worked to scale back, I’ve realized that simple is relative.

What you just whip up might be a challenge for me (and vice versa). What was no problem last year might be hard to work in this year.

As much as I believe in homemade goodness and love sharing ways to be creative and add a personal touch (there’s a reason I started a craft blog – even if it’s a travel blog too), it’s okay to not make something from scratch. It makes me sad how much we beat ourselves up when we don’t go the 100% DIY route. And judge others when they do.

Here’s the thing: make the cake yourself or use the cake mix or buy the cake or skip the cake. This is not a moral issue. Go with what works for you. Make what makes you smile. Try not to stress and not to judge.

Still feeling guilty? I’ll write you a permission slip. Just write your name in the blank.

You’re welcome. Have a simply wonderful holiday season!

November 29, 2013November 29, 2013

How to shop Arizona

Looking to get some holiday shopping done and support independent businesses? There are some fabulous local vendors and products here in Arizona. Here’s how to hunt them down.

Mega List (Start Here): A great place to begin is Local First Arizona’s Business Directory. Local businesses are listed by category and geographical area. There is also a subcategory of retailers with online stores for shoppers who are out of state or just want to shop from their living rooms. During Buy Local Month (November 29-December 24), they’re posting daily deals.

Top 12: If Local First’s directory seems a bit overwhelming, check out the Arizona Holiday Gift Guide by The Wilderness Girls. Their 12 local picks include succulent gardens, jewelry, food and wine.

Phoenix newbies: For someone who has recently relocated to the Valley of the Sun, check out my Gifts for Phoenix Newcomers board, inspired by a Pinterest challenge. Several of the items are locally made, and they are all sold by Arizona-based businesses/organizations. They’re all also available online.

Foodie Heaven: The Queen Creek Olive Mill has both an online store and a really nice marketplace on their grounds. (They’ve also opened a new location at the Biltmore.) In addition to olive oil, they sell other gourmet food items, pet treats, and bath products. We’ve purchased client gifts, as well as hospitality gifts there – and tried lots of delicious samples in the process – and everything has been tasty and really good quality.

Artisan Products: Practical Art exclusively sells drool-worthy items handcrafted in Arizona, such as houseware and accessories, online and in their Central Phoenix location.

Artist Marless Fellows painting in Cave Creek, AZ. — Artist Marless Fellows painting “Saddle Up” during the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour. Photo taken with permission.

Open Artist Studios: You can tour artist studios and purchase art (and prints) this weekend (November 29-December 1) at the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour in the Cave Creek/North Scottsdale area. You can browse participating artists via the HITH directory or search by medium on their site.

Local-to-you Clothing and Decor: Scott’s Marketplace is an online portal for local businesses across the country, including several Arizona retailers selling apparel, accessories, home decor, and other gift items.

How do you find fabulous local products where you are?

Local First Arizona logo, Queen Creek Extra Virgin Olive Oil photo, and Queen Creek Olive Mill logo images via their respective websites. Landscape photo of Queen Creek Olive Mill from our visit there. This is not a sponsored post. I just wanted to write something in support of local businesses, so I did.

November 12, 2013May 23, 2023

Why startup teams need craft time

They stood around the edges of the room, unsure what to expect. They were developers or visionaries or businesspeople. They all wanted to be part of launching a successful startup. They would have only about 2 days to make that dream come true.

But first, I had something important to share with them: instructions for a craft project.

During Startup Weekend, participants create a business within just 54 hours (forming teams, honing a business model, pitching their idea to judges). Chandler’s Startup Weekend 2012 included a pre-event mixer that the organizers had asked me to put together. They wanted a craft project that would also serve as an ice breaker to help potential teammates get to know each other. I didn’t know of any activity like that, so I invented one.

Stephanie Liebold, BoldAvenue.com, leads Chandler Startup Weekend participants in a creative mashup pre-event mixer. — Photo by Gangplank HQ.

The participants who showed up to the optional mixer had no idea it would involve pipe cleaners, scrapbook paper, glue and scissors. But I tasked them with creating several pieces of “wearable art” (left up to their interpretation) within a time limit (of course) and then trading their creations with the other aspiring-entrepreneurs-turned-crafters in the room.

I encouraged them to be creative and make awesome stuff – both during the crafting mixer and throughout their startup-building weekend. It was interesting to see how different people approached their task: waffling or diving in, chatting or isolating themselves, overthinking their first piece or remembering the big picture, panicking about the deadline or taking it all in stride.

I was impressed with their creativity. They created pipe cleaner eyeglasses, paper necklaces, ties, tiaras, aprons, bracelets, rings.

It was an unorthodox way to break the ice, but it got people making things and talking to each other. It also revealed how they approach the creative process, time pressure, instruction, and collaboration.

Are you thinking about launching a startup?

You should definitely do a craft project with your potential team first.

You also might like to consider taking part in a Startup Weekend where you are. The next Startup Weekend Chandler is this weekend (11/15-17), and there is still time to register. Just sayin’.

Update: I totally forgot I had a discount for you guys! Use promo code BURN for 25% off when you register for Startup Weekend Chandler 2013 .

November 7, 2013November 7, 2013

Mission Street Art: Clarion Alley

Clarion Alley San Francisco street art: woman

One of the things San Francisco’s Mission District is famous for is street art.

There are portraits painted on shop entryways, sketches on sidewalks, and whole alleyways covered in giant murals, like public open-air museums. Some murals have social messages, some are funny, some are abstract. They’re all fascinating.

I visited the mural-covered Balmy Alley in 2012, during the San Francisco portion of our Epic California Road Trip (that I keep alluding to and still hope to write all about one of these days). More recently, on my BlogHer Pro trip in October, I got to wander through Clarion Alley with two of my cousins. They got deep into a discussion, while I snapped the photos I’m sharing with you in this post.

Art in Clarion Alley and throughout the Mission is raw and colorful. It speaks a different language than art that hangs in air-conditioned buildings and says “Hey! I am in a frame, so adore me!” Instead of being enshrined, it must be discovered in the wild, searched out in the nooks and crannies of the city.

You have to keep your eyes open in the Mission. You might step on a statement or pass by a masterpiece.

Art is everywhere.

1. neilochka (Neil Kramer)

2. whyilovewhereilive (Why I Love Where I Live)

3. girlontheband (Emily Lewin)