Clare Bowes is a Newcastle based natural light photographer. With a successful lifestyle family photography business behind her, at the request of friends with small creative businesses she branched out into product photography at the start of 2017. With her degree in photography; career history producing shoots for magazines and being a Folksy seller herself, Clare has a unique perspective for fellow makers and small businesses. She now has a large client base from all over the UK from established designers to fledgling makers and everything in between. Her pictures are regularly chosen for Not On The High Street feeds and have been featured in both local and national magazines and newspapers.

 

In this workshop she will discuss types of product photography; the recipe for the perfect image and how to achieve this at home.  She’ll cover basic photography principles such as light; colour and composition. There’ll be lots of practical tips from where to source great props to how to get the best out of your phone or DSLR and Q+A's so don’t forget to bring your camera for this fun, interactive session!

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Find out more about Clare here

You’ve heard it before right? People buy from people. But as a maker, how do you stand out in a crowded marketplace? This is where branding comes in. Branding for a maker is so important but it’s more than just your visual identity.  That's just the tip of the iceberg. It starts with your story, mission and values, which then inform your tone of voice, messaging and visual identity. In this workshop we’re going to un-muddle our thoughts and do this important ‘behind the scenes’ work. We’ll be really getting into the head of your customer, so you can work out how to use your branding to communicate effectively with them to get seen and bring you more sales. 
 

Amanda helps small business owners to get clear on their vision, un-muddle ideas & communicate the message to their audience, helping them to claim ownership of their brand. She has a background in design, and 7 years experience of running a business. In 2017 she sold her stationery business and after a little un-muddling of her own, started to expand her freelance work to full-time strategy, branding and design work. She lives in London with her husband, two rather energetic children and several barely surviving plants. 

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Find out more about Amanda here

A professionally-trained graphic artist, Becka has been selling her illustrations since 2009. In 2011 she opened her Etsy shop, and was amazed by how quickly sales picked up. In March 2014 Becka gave up her day job and I'm now she's full time illustrator. Based in Liverpool City Centre, she's a top UK Etsy seller, with over 20,000 sales, and Captain of the Merseyside Etsy Team. She's worked as a seller mentor for Etsy working with new sellers, and was selected as an official Etsy Educator in October 2017.

Becka runs regular workshops from her studio, showing other sellers how to grow their Etsy businesses. She also offer a review service to Etsy sellers, and has written a number of instant download PDFs for people who are not local enough to attend workshops. She has no "insider knowledge"; just knows what has worked - and continues to work - for her and her business.

In March 2018 she separated her illustration business from her business mentoring activities, and Make & Flourish began. Join Becka to find out her top tips to rejuvenate your Etsy shop with her expert advice on simple ways to improve your storefront and increase sales.

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Find out more about Becka here

Kathryn trained in Fine Art & worked in design & publishing in London before running her own Art Holiday business in Tuscany for ten years. She has since trained as a social media manager & now helps small independent businesses, artists & creatives in the North East of England with their social media content marketing.

As well as running Instagram workshops, she is a one-stop shop for all your brilliant online creative copy & content, supporting small businesses with their social media content marketing & online presence. She also manages the hashtag #NorthEastCreatives & through this promotes the brilliant creatives of the North East. Based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Kathryn is available for one to one Instagram training & consultancy for small businesses throughout the North East. 

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Do you struggle with Instagram Stories? Are you scared to publish your first story or are you just not sure you're doing it right? Do you understand the potential that Instagram Stories has for your business?

 

Who is this workshop suitable for?

 

This workshop is aimed at small businesses who already use Instagram for business but really want to focus on perfecting their Instagram Stories. This workshop is a practical guide on how to use Instagram Stories well, showing you how to use all its features and how to maximise your Instagram Stories marketing strategy for your business.

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Find out more about Brilliantly Social here

Whether you've been Instagramming for a while and are ready to take your marketing to the next level, or you are a small business just getting started and want to make Instagram part of your marketing strategy. This whistlestop Instagram class is for you!

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We will cover; Instagram basics, Your Instagram aesthetic, brand & tone of voice, content planning, choosing the right hashtags for your brand & how to use them, publishing on Instagram - insights, engagement & Instagram etiquette, how to beat the algorithm, Instagram ads & Influencer marketing, brilliant apps to use.

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My Insta Brilliant workshops will teach you how to grow your business using Instagram & will leave you buzzing with ideas.

 

Whether you've been Instagramming for a while and are ready to take your marketing to the next level, or you are a small business just getting started and want to make Instagram part of your marketing strategy. This whistlestop Instagram class is for you!

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My Insta Brilliant workshops will teach you how to grow your business using Instagram & will leave you buzzing with ideas.

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Find out more about Brilliantly Social here

The Light up North story is the classic tale of a good idea, that developed around the dining room table and lit up. In 2016 after a long and expensive, still not finished renovation, I wanted a cool light, but without the not so cool price tags. We stumbled across El wire and as they say the rest is history.

Fortunately, with a lot of sleepless nights and determination of steel, Light up North has grown since 2017 to become the fledgling brand it is today. We run our own space, over three workshops. We now employ 6 staff, including myself. The future looks bright as we continue to try to create brilliant illuminated art right here in North Yorkshire.

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Now in our third year, the brand continues to push the limits of emerging technology and apply it in new, innovative ways. Our unique work has caught the eye of top interior designers and has featured in projects for BBC’s DIY SoS, George Clarke’s ugly house to lovely house and Grand designs live 2018. Light up north has been nominated for 100% forward 2018, a celebration of new design talent curated by Barbara chandler of the evening standard homes and property. We have graced the pages of the Sunday Times magazine, living etc and homes and gardens to mention a few. We are very lucky that we get to make special things for special people, our work means a lot to our customers and that is a real privilege.

 

I will be joining Maker Day as a guest speaker to talk about how I started Light up North, sharing the highs and lows we have experienced along the way and hopefully giving some helpful advice whatever stage your business is at.

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Find out more about Light up North here

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