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Life & Work with Phoebe Sherman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Phoebe Sherman.

Hi Phoebe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was making really terrible jewelry and waitressing and teaching yoga. I started to dabble in the craft fair world. Around the 2016 election when Trump called Hillary a “Nasty Woman” I created a relief print with. a uterus that said “Nasty Woman.” That uterus then became a screenprint which I printed onto patches that I sewed onto vintage jackets, I made pouches, and then it became our uterus enamel pin which still exists today. During that time, I started in the craft fair world. Craft fairs are exclusive and expensive to participate in. Some craft fairs in the Bay Area are about $800 for artists for the weekend, and I wasn’t always getting in. I wanted to create a space for beginning artists to sell their work for an affordable price and have fun while doing it, so I gathered 15 makers I knew and threw the first Girl Gang Craft in my friend’s cafe (Lucky duck Bicycle Cafe). It was a magical event, so I did it again and again.

Eventually, our Oakland craft fairs had 120 participating vendors, we expanded to LA and had plans to expand to Sacramento in 2020. Obviously, everything halted in 2020. I ran an events business, how on earth were we going to continue onwards. Some of my peers kept moving events, counting on them to return. I did not want to do the back and forth thing. So I decided in spring of 2020 that we were going to count on events NOT happening in 2020. We brought everything online. I had been hosting classes in person on branding. We brought these online through zoom. We tried several formats but eventually landed on evergreen courses on emailing marketing, content creation, and brand partnerships hosted on Teachable and a six weeks live creative cohort called Level Up Academy. Community is important, we wanted creatives to connect with each other while learning to expand their biz. We offer scholarships to Black creatives. During the holidays, we created our first GGC Holiday Directory, a digital guide to 150 small businesses from California and beyond. Not only was this financially successful for us, but gave an opportunity for vendors to step into their power as advertisers (a foreign experience for many makers who rely on the craft fair model and making their booth fee back immediately).

We also provided a tool for the community to find cool gifts for the holidays and support small businesses. This year in 2021, we launched the Clique Membership. A membership for creatives to connect and explore scaling their businesses. We offer guest teachers and inhouse workshops on things like Learning TikToks + Reels, Scheduling + Productivity and Tech Demos from our partners. In May of 2021, we are bringing back our #smallbiz summit online. Four days of panels from small business owners. And we are continuing our work of offering smallbiz directories online year round. Hopefully, we can have in-person events sometime this year. What’s next for GGC? Continuing our mission of helping creatives make money online. And hopefully some events in California and nationally. We currently have a small but mighty part-time team of four.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely the pandemic was a challenge. This past year I had no idea how GGC was going to continue as an events biz. But each day running a small business is a challenge. How am I making enough money to pay my team? It’s a wild ride with so much trusting in the process.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your art. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My personal work has gone through many stages. I studied Printmaking + Feminist studies in college. So those two subjects were often pretty collaborative. Currently, my art practice is mostly designing work for our line. In the past, I have created a series called The “Tittie Committee” Where I painted portraits of women’s breasts as empowerment. Lately honestly my art practice has dwindled. I have painted every room in my house during quarantine. I’ve painted some planters. And I do many of the graphics for our biz. I do like to think of my whole business as a creative project. Next up, I really want to dive into ceramics.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve learned to trust the process. I mean I was absolutely terrified at the beginning of this and was collecting unemployment, we received some PPP, etc. But we made it work. I think being flexible is the most important thing I’ve learned. There are ways to do new things. If you have an established audience, tap into what THEY want.

Contact Info:

GGC’s #smallbiz summit is happening May 6, 8, 13 + 15. Grab tickets here to learn about branding, wellness, marketing, and more for creative entrepreneurs (link: girlgangcraft.com/smallbizsummit)


Image Credits:

All images in house, except the pink model. https://champagnevictoria.com/ model and photographer

Suggest a Story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

 

What to check out next:
Aleasha Bahr is a sales & marketing strategist known for showing introverts and ambiverts the Secret Art of Subtle Selling.  She personally sold millions in revenue while discovering introverts are usually top sales people – as soon as they stop trying to act like extroverts.  We’ve partnered with her to produce Introverted Entrepreneur Success Stories. Check out episode 1 below:

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