Trick of the Trade, a monthly professional development seminar
NORTH ADAMS – For the first time, Trick of the Trade, a monthly professional development seminar series for artists, artisans and creatives, will be held at venues throughout Berkshire County.Previously programmed and presented solely in North Adams by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ Berkshire Cultural Resource Center and Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, the series – in partnership with Berkshire Creative – will expand as a countywide initiative.
Seminar locations will include the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, IS183 Art School, Hancock Shaker Village, Storefront Artist Project, MCLA and MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center.
Now in its third year, Tricks of the Trade will give creative individuals an opportunity to further develop their businesses and creative ventures.
Beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 14, “The Business of Selling Part 1: Creating an International Marketplace with the creators of Etsy.com,” will be held in room 118 of MCLA’s Murdock Hall.
Etsy.com is a Brooklyn, N.Y. based online marketplace for all things handmade. Since Etsy's launch three years ago, it has gained more than 750,000 members and more than 100,000 sellers from around the world have opened up Etsy shops. On a given day, 15,000 items are sold and 20,000 new items are listed.
The company has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show, The Rachael Ray Show, Fox Business News, and in Adweek, among others. Each month through May 2009, a new aspect of doing business in the creative economy will be spotlighted through the series. Other topics of discussion include drafting a business plan, tackling taxes, documenting and archiving work, learning how to better present one’s work and marketing online.
To see the full list of this year’s seminars, go to www.mcla.edu/bcrc, www.berkshirecreative.org and/or www.nbcreativearts.org.
All Tricks of the Trade seminars are free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.
A variety of Berkshire non-profits, businesses and individuals are participating in bringing these talks to the artistic community, including: Creative Capital, Etsy.com, Ferrin Gallery, Garymatterhost.com, Hancock Shaker Village, IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network, Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development, Storefront Artist Project and Toastmasters.
Tricks of the Trade is made possible by the support of its sponsors: The Appelbaum-Kahn Foundation, Excelsior Printing, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and MCLA.
To pre-register, contact MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center program coordinator, Jessica Conzo, at 413-663-5253.
