I’ve been thinking a lot about Stacie Bloomfield (Gingiber)’s Leverage Your Art course this week. I’m an affiliate, and there has been a lot of chatter on that team about selling seats. I knew this would be uncomfortable for me, but I got so much out of the course, and I’m not the typical student for it. As I was writing my post about AccuQuilt this morning, I realized this was another instance where I took advantage of what I had learned through Leverage to get the jobs I want. I have been leveraging my art is so many ways.
My AccuQuilt journey began when I was an Island Batik Ambassador. In 2019 each brand ambassador received an AccuQuilt Go! system to work with. I was thrilled – these are expensive toys, and I was intrigued. I made a few quilts, then reached out to someone who was designing quilts for AccuQuilt to find out how that worked. (Nothing beats having a good network of industry insiders). She hooked me up with her contact at AccuQuilt, and I sent a pitch email in 2020. I was politely declined, but referred to the Go Getter program, who did accept me.
I was a little disappointed, even though the Go Getter gig is pretty sweet. I kept working with AccuQuilt, and have developed an interesting approach to the dies. I like to squeeze every drop of value from my dies. I use my dies to make quilts that look really different from the ones on the package design. I combine dies in different ways, or use different colorways to make exciting projects using my AccuQuilt system. I’ve worked hard to develop my voice, which is something Stacie emphasizes in Leverage.
In 2021 I submitted a few ideas to the design team, and this time they accepted me. (Insert smug grin). I’m kind of mercenary with my AccuQuilt work. I like to squeeze every drop out of each pattern I do with them, (a concept straight out of Leverage.) I work up a design, pitch it to AccuQuilt. If they accept it, I pitch it to the Go Getter team, too. That way I get paid to make the quilt, write the pattern, and for a blog post. Since I am selling my pattern to AccuQuilt to distribute on their website, I am licensing my work.
I’ve heard from some of you about Leverage being too expensive right now, and believe me, I hear you. I agonized over purchasing it when I did. It was during the thick of COVID, when my longarm business was drying up, along with my ability to teach quilting in person. I’m pretty sure I got a loan from the Strauser Foundation for Keeping Your Wife Happy to take the course, which I really don’t like to do. I’ll also tell you, there wasn’t a straight line to profitability for me. The change in mindset has been my biggest takeaway. Stacie opened my eye to the potential in each of my quilt designs. Also, the price of Leverage increases every year, as it becomes more robust.
I’m still working on drawing and painting, and I do want to have a fabric line of my own someday, and license repeating patterns. But for now, I am leverage the art I do make, not fretting over the art I could make. It’s a huge reframing that has made me much, much happier.
If you haven’t gone through the Artist Side Hustle yet, do it. At the very least, log in and download the pdfs Stacie has shared on there. There is a lot of information and inspiration in there that is free, with no strings attached. The free mini course is only open until August 31, so get the info while you can.
As an affiliate I am allowed to offer a group coaching call as a sign-up bonus. All of the affiliates are offering the same bonus. I was thinking about making my call all about how to get started as a teacher, and I have a whole list of info to share. However, I am going to make it a more open-ended Q&A. I do more than just teaching, and I don’t mind sharing about anything you might feel curious about, or that can help you develop the business you want to have. Also, I can safely say that if I don’t have the answer, I probably know someone who does, and I love to bring people together. This call will happen at the end of September, and I will invite everyone who signs up for Leverage through my link.
Finally, if you sign up today, Stacie has a bonus of 23 Photoshop Mockup Templates. It comes with instructions, too! I haven’t used a mock-up template yet, although I’ve had a few lessons on how to use them, and they seem like they would be fun.