Pamela J. Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor &
Extension Entrepreneurship Specialist (Retired)
Texas Cooperative Extension
Texas A&M University System
Funded through a grant from the Southern Regional
Development Center, Mississippi State University
What You Will Learn
 Importance of utilizing technology and
Internet technology in the artisan business
 Essential technology skills
 How search engines work
 Importance of planning web page content
and photographs
 Why copyright and legal issues are
important artisan topics
Technology
• What types of technologies and
strategies do you use in your artisan
business?
Research – Small Business and E-Business
 Association of Enterprise Opportunity
& Research
 expands business
 increases confidence
 Artisans focused on craft rather than
business processes and technology
requiring time and resources
Benefits from Technology
• Complement Your creative skills with
technology-skilled resource people.
How Computer Technology Helps
 Inventory Management
 Production
 Sales
 Marketing Efforts
 Saves $$
 Connecting
 Resources
 Competition
Benefits of Internet Connectivity
 Saves money – e-mail photo of a craft vs.
mailing a photo
 Customer referrals to your site
 Reduces travel time or other costs to
display and sell handcrafts
 Tell your story online: how you got into
making your particular craft and how your
business started
 Create an online portfolio of your work
 Can tell more on your Web site than on a
hangtag on a vase or lamp
Benefits of Internet Connectivity
 Submit artistic work via online application for jury
review
 Connect to potential customers - trade shows,
fairs, festivals, and other venues
 Source of valuable reference tools and access to
current information, including online learning or
e-learning
 Communicate with artisans and suppliers – e-mail,
instant messaging, and online assistance in real
time
 The Internet levels the playing field with big
business competitors
ZAPPlication
• www.zapplication.org
• Designed for artists in submitting
work online for juried reviews.
• A juried review is the process of
selecting art/craft by a panel of
experts for the right to take part in a
show or exhibition.
Submitting Your Work
• Online portfolio
submission
• www.zapplication.
org
Web Sites
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Can reduce the risk of business failure by
Connecting you to the world,
Increasing potential customers,
Increasing sales,
Providing updated product choices, information.
• Check out Santa Fe Weavers updates product
information:
Discussion
• What barriers do you face in deciding
to have a Web site for your artisan
business?
Understanding the Essential Technology
 How to use a computer
 Know type of connectivity
 Development of Web site
 How to connect to consumers
via Internet
Know the Type of Web Site You Need
 Informational
 Transactional
 Affiliate
Informational Sites
• Using www.google.com search for e-commerce
terms that you have heard but may not
completely understand, such as brochure. Enter
“define: brochure” or the words that you are
looking for.
• What do you notice about the results?
• In the example of a brochure site – is information
is in a simple format?
Informational Site
• Web mall – www.arts-crafts.com
Transaction Site
 Site where sales or interactions can
occur between businesses (B2B),
businesses and consumers (B2C) or
consumers and consumers (C2).
1. Virtual stores:
www.joannfabrics.com
Transactional Site
Auctions: there are some devoted to
craft only, but the definition of craft
is very loose and you are not likely
to find ‘fine handcraft.’

www.ebay.com search for ‘handcrafts’
and ‘handicrafts’ and ‘crafts’
3. Virtual malls:
www.countryroadcrafts.com
www.rubylane.com
Affiliate Site
An affiliate is an individual advertiser
or website owner who has a business
relationship with a merchant to
promote the merchant's product or
service. The affiliate earns a small
commission from ‘clicks and/or sales’.
Example: www.amazon.com
Searching
• www.searchenginewatch.com
– Look for “search engines 101”
– Or Access Minnesota Main Street curriculum
Top three search engines:
• www.google.com
• www.yahoo.com
• www.AskJeeves.com
Source: www.searchenginewatch.com
Searching the Internet
 Comparing a library experience to
searching online
 Browsers
 Internet Explorer
 Mozilla Firefox
 Others:
Searching: Library vs. Internet
Librarian
Key Words
Search Engine
Key Words
Person looking through
files: paper, databases,
etc.
Computer spider looking
through millions of files
Time involved: hours or
days to complete
Time involved: seconds
Results: paper copy, many Results: PDF files, web
pages
sites, or abstracts
Searching: Library vs. Internet
Trade show:
Web mall: supplies
supplies from a print from a virtual
catalog
catalog
Communication:
visual, personal,
meetings, realtime
assistance
Resources: bulletin
boards, chat
rooms, etc.
www.craftster.org
Web Site Design
 Basic rule: keep it simple.
 Quick loading – 3 seconds
 Accessible by impaired
viewers
 Ease of viewing in multiple
browsers.
Simple message
Confusing
Activity: Evaluate for effectiveness as web site
• http://www.cowboybootsbygeorge.c
om
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Boot Maker
www.kencarpenterjewelry.com
Jewelry designer
www.wgw.com
Glass blower/designer
Guidelines for Web Site Photos
 Photography of your craft is critical for several
reasons:
• Juried exhibitions can now be submitted on
line via “zapplication” process
• Quality photos may be the only example of
work that online customers will see
• Different media require different styles of the
photo – always choose quality photos
• Find expert photographer
Web page photo examples
Photo tips
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Media
Light angles
Background
Props
Proportion
Word tags for pictures
Number per page
Size
Loading time
What could be improved?
Guidelines for Photos – Web Site
 These associations can be of help and a
fairly inexpensive source of assistance (in
Texas) to the artisan.
– Texas Photographic Society
• www.texasphoto.org
– American Association of Media Photographers
• www.asmp.org/ http://www.zapplication.org.
– American Craft Council
• www.zapplication.org.
Legal Issues – Copyright, Licensing, Patents
 Copyright - one of the most important legal issues
of artisans, because of the creative process - the
need to protect the creator of the product.
 For copyright information in the category of visual
arts and registering a visual art piece www.copyright.gov/register/visual.html
 The best source of information related to business
laws protecting consumers
www.ftc.gov/ftc/business.htm
Visual Art Works
• For copyright purposes, visual arts
are original pictorial, graphic, and
sculptural works, which include twodimensional and three-dimensional
works of fine, graphic, and applied
art.
Assistance with Visual Arts and Copyright
 In most states - there is a volunteer law
association devoted to arts
 These organizations assist on a pro bono basis to
artisans and their businesses
 In Texas this group is Texas Accountants and
Lawyers for the Arts (TALA) www.talarts.org
 The American Association of Law Schools created
the discipline of ARTLAW
 Reference - Law in Plain English for Crafts by
Leonard DuBoff.
Summary
• E-commerce requires a great deal of
planning.
• What viewers see makes a lasting
impression
• Plan content, product, image
• Copyright your work – online and
offline