On Monday, June 17th, Inc.’s Bill Murray Jr. was joined by representatives from Twitter, Google+, W2O Group and Constant Contact to talk about the best ways for small businesses to get started on social media to gain exposure, build brand awareness and promote their work. Watch the video below to figure out how to get your business off the ground with social media.

Already using social media? Let us know your favorite channel & best tips in the comments section!

The post From National Small Business Week: Getting started on social media appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

Jennifer Rong Designs

Jennifer Rong Designs is a professional upcycler, turning reclaimed wood, vintage items and found objects into completely unique pieces of furniture and jewelry. An especially impressive work of art is her etched glass coffee table (above) that resembles a rooted tree.

Laser Creative

The name says it all as Laser Creative uses meticulous laser cutting skills to craft wooden coasters (above), invitations, wall hangings, jewelry and anything in between.  No project is too big, small or intricate for Laser Creative to tackle.

Janay Andrews

Using authentically organic and eco-friendly fabrics, Janay Andrews hand crafts gorgeous wedding gowns. Janay A is passionate about sustainable living which translates well into her fabric choices and the designs she creates.

Local Produce Design

High quality cotton fabrics are used in Local Produce Design’s throw pillows. The mother-daughter Maker duo from Local Produce love mixing and matching prints for daring designs.

Meagan’s Mark

Meagan’s Mark creates one-of-a-kind hand drawn and painted knick knacks. From serving bowls to gourds to mini notebooks, Maker Meagan Vincello crafts with a utilitarian outlook that pours into her work.

The post Maker round-up: 5 new Makers to keep your eye on appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

1. Update the walls. It’s worth a shot asking your landlord if he/she would be alright with you changing the color of the walls. More often than not they’ll tell you it’s fine as long as you change it back before new renters come in … not the end of the world. If you’d rather to avoid the hassle there are places that offer fantastic stick-on wallpaper solutions that really look great (gasp) and are seriously easy to apply and take off. When all else fails, unique wall decor can do wonders for a room.

CustomMade Maker Lady Harrington creates self-adhesive wallpaper in a variety of designs.

2. Add area rugs. While you might not be able to freshen the hardwoord floors, uproot the dated carpet or resurface tile floors, incorporating area rugs is a great alternative. Mix and match around the room or use one large trendy rug that covers serious space.

An eye-catching large area rug pulls in the overall black and white theme of the room.

3. Introduce bookcases and shelving. Versatile shelving can do a ton to bring out personal style while being easy on the budget. Whether it’s rustic and reclaimed or sleek and modern, shelves and bookcases distract from the walls they adorn and bring the focus to the furniture.

This contemporary bookcase is tall enough to take up decent real estate and funky enough to show some style.

4. Install new cabinet doors. Kitchens can be the hardest space to work with since their pretty well-equipped without much wall space. If you really want to go the redecorating distance, you could order custom cabinet doors to be hinged on in place of the old ones. Although new cabinets are a big undertaking, it’s totally worth it if you’re planning on staying for awhile.

Keep to the color scheme, but add in things like glass panes to make the cabinets uniquely you.

5. Swap out the hardware. If the thought of new cabinets scares you take it down a notch and simply swap out the handle and knob hardware. Regardless of the space, whether the kitchen or the bathroom, new hardware can go a long way in spicing up the look.

Going custom lets you decide on the look of your handles so you can tailor them to your personal preference.

The post 5 ways to revamp your rental appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

Defined by naturally distressed wood, rusted patina metal, and organic shapes and textures, quality rustic pieces add a softened earthy element to any room. The stripped down look goes hand-in-hand with reclaimed barn wood furniture accented with tarnished metal. 

Rustic versatility makes it an easy addition to a rural country home requiring a total package of natural charm, a suburban colonial needing a subtle diversion from bright and pastel colors, or a city apartment craving a toned-down equalizer of contemporary furniture.

No matter what kind of home you aspire to have, rustic furnishings should be a part of the equation. Scroll to the right for 10 ways to incorporate real quality rustic in your home. 

The post 10 ways to add Rustic to your home appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

CustomMade co-founders Seth Rosen (left) and Mike Salguero (right).

We’re thrilled to say we’ve received $18 million in funding support from another group of CustomMade believers. Our financing round was led by Atlas Venture and returning investor, Google Ventures, with participation from Schooner Capital, Next View Ventures, First Round Capital and Launch Capital.

So, you’re probably wondering what this means for you. It’s pretty simple actually: You want to enjoy high-quality custom goods that celebrate individuality, reduce waste and increase the business of local Makers, all at a good value. We want to help you, and even more people, do all of that in an even easier way.

Succeeding in that requires incredible people and talent so we can deliver a flawless experience to Buyers and Makers alike. A lot of complicated work goes into developing and maintaining a website so our senior vice president of engineering & operations, Jim Haughwout, is actively seeking out passionate engineers to build creative code that makes CustomMade look amazing and work great.  We’re building our product teams to help design a great online experience for both Makers and Buyers, and our marketing team to spread the word about buying custom.

We’re definitely keeping busy so stay tuned for a bunch of exciting updates in the coming months. We can’t thank you enough for your continued support and belief in a custom life.

- Mike & Seth, CustomMade co-founders

P.S. If you have any feedback or questions, please write them in the comments section below.

The post From the Founders: Big news at CustomMade appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

You go to a restaurant and order Diet Coke and the waitress asks if Diet Pepsi is alright. Appalled, you opt for water. Some may argue that’s taste preference, but fundamentally that’s solid brand loyalty.

Image via Someecards

Now, you may find it hard to compare yourself to the likes of long-standing brands like Yoplait and Coca-Cola, but that’s a standard you should imagine holding yourself to. As an independent employer or maybe even a small business owner, you should be making your mark on any place that promotes your work. Here are pro tips on building a brand.

Step 1: Define your brand

Think of your brand as a person who has his or her own personality, set of beliefs, way of talking, distinct style and friends they hang out with. That’s how you want to frame your brand. Make it something tangible that his a life of its own. Ask yourself questions like, how would I want people to describe my brand, what do I want my brand to be associated with, who or what do I want it to be compared to, what does this brand talk and look like? Then set out to build the foundations to answer those questions without a lengthy explanation required. If you’re not sold on the importance of definition, check out this Huffington Post article on why defining your brand matters.

Step 2: Discover and engage your ideal Buyer

You can’t be everything to everyone, so decide who you want to buy your goods and get inside their mind. Figure out where they hang out on social media and make a presence there by pushing content and engaging on influencers’ posts. Once you have a Buyer base stay within their landscape to build brand loyalty. Now more than ever, people are buzzing about personal brand experiences all over social media. Avoid a mishap and make sure customer satisfaction is in your ethos.

Step 3: Be consistent

Consistency is key when pushing messaging. Figure out the best way to describe your capabilities and products in a clear manner and run with it ensuring the message, sentiment and format are similar across goods and channels. Naming conventions, like deciding to include the main material  are also a good practice so your products stay organized. Communication is essential, but consistency trickles down to the photos you post. Taking quality photos should be a top priority to make your brand shine. Hubspot posted an interesting article on brands with consistent messaging to admire and aspire to mirror.

Maker Stephen Muscarella consistently takes quality photos in a variety of settings. He also makes it a point to include materials in product descriptions.

These tips will help you lay the foundations of a stand-out brand that delivers quality custom products. There’s plenty of more information on building brand awareness. Here are our top picks: Google and Your Business, New York Times’ You’re the Boss Blog, National Federation of Independent Businesses’ Marketing and Advertising materials, HuffPost Small Business, Twitter for smaller businesses

The post How to build your small business brand appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

They say that from small beginnings come great things. Nothing could be more true about my son and his CustomMade nursery. For most women, pregnancy brings a lot of changes – dietary restrictions, exhaustion and swollen ankles – but these daily discomforts are often offset by the excitement about an expanding family and, of course, designing a new nursery.

Following this norm, I attempted to distract myself from morning sickness by pouring over the pages of the Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn baby catalogs. In particular, the Restoration Hardware Millbrook Crib collection caught my eye for its timeless look, but I had a few key concerns.

First, the price. In my daydreams, price is no object for my future child’s nursery; in reality, the contents of my wallet (or lack thereof) dictated that I stick to a budget.

Second, the quality. There were no reviews for any of the Restoration Hardware pieces on its website, and there were some Pottery Barn reviews that made me pause before purchasing. Would these pieces withstand the test of time (and a toddler)?

There was another option, however. I could re-create the Millbrook nursery by using CustomMade to have some of the main pieces built to my specifications by a trusted Maker. Scroll to the right to see how I did it. 

*View any of the following Creations & their Makers by clicking on the photos. 

Start a project

The post A CustomMade nursery appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

Drink Local

Drink Local hand carves state shaped bottle opening plaques and wine racks for libation lovers. Hailing from Michigan, Maker Jeremy Kaley is passionate about local craft brews and translates that love into his completely customizable wall mounted openers. “Because let’s face it,” Drink Local’s motto goes, “good beer doesn’t come with a twist off top.”

Captive Glass

Captive Glass creates functional handblown glassware. Gorgeous lines and playful colors streak everything from ruffle bowls to lined bottles to interior fold vases. Custom colors and fun shapes can be crafted to suit your style.

Art Glamour

Art Glamour fixes multiple pieces of wood together to make one-of-a-kind wooden art sculptures, clocks with recycled parts and candle holding boxes. Most notably, the sculptures are smooth to the touch and are finished in a wax to give the piece a subtle shine.

Olive Manna

Olive Manna uses super soft luxurious yarn to knit adorable baby blankets. Maker Natalie Jost’s needle talents don’t stop there as she crochets doilies and coasters, jar and tin casings and large cozy blankets, too. For all of your cuddly needs Olive Manna is the answer.

Jeff Conley Designs

Jeff Conley Designs jams out functioning guitars like you’ve never seen before. Antique suitcases and other vintage parts are used by Maker Jeff Conley to craft ridiculously cool electric and acoustic guitars. The best part is, they have an awesome unique sound to them.

Start a project

The post Maker round-up: 5 new Makers to keep your eye on appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

Spending nearly every night cooking out around the picnic table or sipping a refreshing cocktail while relaxing in an Adirondack chair calls for some pretty thoughtful planning of patio decor. Summer nights mean impromptu parties and unexpected guests so it’s important to always be on your toes, ready with another seat and more space at the table. Of course, you don’t want to abandon the ambiance either – the stars are great, but they only do so much to add to decor. Luckily, any of your deck desires can be fulfilled by our Makers who build to make your dreams come true.

Scroll to the right for ideas to achieve the complete look for being summertime patio ready. 

Thought of something for your dream patio? Tell us in the comments section below! 

The post Deck out the patio appeared first on CustomMade Blog.

Summer is upon us and if you’re not on the beach, you definitely want to be. As a cottage dweller combing the beach every morning your space should be decked out in reflections of the outdoor ambiance. If you’re a city slicker or rural resider pining for a weekend getaway, simple beach-inspired additions to the home can have you smelling the salt in the air.

To get you dreaming about the breeze on your face and the sand on your toes, we’ve put together some decor ideas to infuse into your home. Scroll to the right to get in the beach mindset and bring the sun and sand indoors. 

Start a project

The post 10 decor ideas for laid back beach living appeared first on CustomMade Blog.