The And She Looked Up Podcast
Every other week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. This podcast is for Canadian artists, makers and creators who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love. Your host, Melissa Hartfiel, left a 20 year career in corporate retail and has been happily self-employed as a working creative since 2010. She's a graphic designer, illustrator, writer, community co-founder and has owned and operated a multi-six figure a year creative content business. She resides just outside of Vancouver, BC.
Episodes
Recording this week's episode felt like a moving target! I recorded it on Feb 8th and the news moves so fast that it was hard to keep up. I'm sure you'll notice a few things in here that have since changed.
Having said that, this week's episode was born out of the launch of a trade war Canadians didn't ask for. The threats of tariffs and, frankly, annexation, have made this a very scary time for all Canadia...
Winner of the 2024 Canadian Book Club Awards for fiction, Susan Wadds, author of "What the Living Do", shares her inspiring journey from aspiring poet to published novelist. But we also discuss the power of community and connection in the creative process. Susan fosters safe communities for other creatives through her workshops and retreats while also creating additional revenue streams for herself and she shares with us ...
As we close out 2024, Heather and Melissa reflect on the ups and downs of the past year and look ahead to what's coming in 2025. This episode highlights the core theme of finding joy amid challenges as we close out one year and being another.
Here's a quick recap of what we get into!
• Recap of 2024 and its unexpected challenges
• Importance of joy in art and creativity
• Personal growth throug...
Award winning poet and writer Kim Fahner joins the show this week to share her creative journey and discuss the importance of forming a community of our peers. Forging nurturing and supportive connections with other creatives in a country as vast, and empty, as Canada can feel like a huge challenge - particularly for those in smaller or rural communities. We also discuss the copyright implications of AI for creators and why it&apos...
With Black Friday coming up quickly and market season in full swing, should you discount your creative work? There's a time and a place for discounts. This week we go over the pros and cons of offering or granting discounts and why it is SO crucial to price your work properly in order to have more marketing flexibility in your business
This is a great episode for creatives who...
⭐️ don't know how to respond ...
If you need a good dose of hope and inspiration this week, then Episode 177 is for you. Canadian writer and author Beka Shane Denter joins the show to talk about her latest book, Bloom Across Canada - an inspirational collection of conversations with 50 diverse women and non-binary creatives entrepreneurs from all across Canada.
Beka shares how a pandemic, her nomadic life and a career as a features and content writer he...
In this week's regular season episode, Melissa and Heather explore the transformative power of intentional rituals in our creative practices. Rituals are different from habits. And, there's real science behind them and how they affect our brains. They can help shape our creative mindset, help us achieve a state of flow, quite our inner critic and much more!
Do you have a particular ritual or rituals you perform ...
For Week 13 of Prep for the Holidays we're talking about how to accept payments at your holiday events, markets and pop-ups. You're going to need a payment processor! And if you've already got one, you've probably had at least one freakout moment with your payment processor hardware or software.
So, let's talk about what you'll need and a quick checklist of what double (triple, quadruple) che...
In this week's regular season episode, classically trained fashion designer Rebecca Rowe joins the show to talk about how she pivoted her business (and how a disaster pushed her to embrace that pivot full force!) from a designer to a stylist who helps other women find confidence in their wardrobe. And then, she took on what, at first glance, appeared to be a surprising collaboration to expand her business even further. Take a ...
It's Week 12 of the Prep for the Holidays minisode series and it's time for us to prep all our online shop for the holiday rush. Whether you sell on Etsy, eBay, your own website or any other online platform, there a few things you'll want to make sure are in tip top shape before shoppers land!
We're going to talk about photography - especially for key products - SEO, titles and descriptions, telling the...
In this week's regular season episode we're covering the powerful impact that increasing Average Order Value (AOV) can have on your bottom line with 15 ideas for you to try in your creative business.
I share my own experiences as an illustrator who significantly increased my AOV and sales by learning to bundle items and offer bulk discounts - among other tactics . You’ll learn how this simple shift can transform ...
For Week 11 of the Prep for the Holidays minisode series, I'm focusing on market booths!
Now is the time to start planning this year's booth, buying or making any display items you might need, thinking through your signage, ordering business cards, deciding how to coax people to sign up for your email list so you can build a long term relationship with them and... figuring out strategies to encourage higher aver...
In Week 10 of our Prep for the Holidays series we're talking about planning and preparing your holiday promotions now, to reduce stress later! There's lots of actionable tips to plan all your holiday promotions - including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day - well in advance. I'll also share some tips on how to craft deals that not only capture attention but also ensure you remain profitable during the busies...
In the Season 6 opener of the podcast, Melissa and Heather jump into the deep end to talk about creating our creative process. When was the last time you questioned why you create the way you do? Have you mixed things up lately? Moved your desk? Painted outside? Tried to find a way to make a dreaded task more fun?
Sometimes, we get into a rut, or a comfortable groove that doesn't push us forward. Or we procrastinate ...
It's Week #9 in our Prep for the Holidays series! To make sure you're on top of all your key deadlines and dates this holiday season, start by working backwards from December 31st. I'll walk you through key dates to make note of and how to ensure you've got enough time for making, marketing, selling and shipping!
Whether you’re an artist, maker, or creative service provider, this episode is jam-packed w...
For Task #8 in our Prep for the Holidays checklist I'm putting the focus on getting your holiday market applications in - for makers, artists and creative service providers (yes, there's room for you, too!).
While it may be too late to apply to some of the bigger craft and maker markets in major urban centres, there's no shortage of opportunities in smaller, local markets. I'm sharing tips for finding ...
We're up to Task #7 in our Prep for the Holidays checklist for creatives. If you want to broaden your reach and get new eyes on your work this holiday season, it might be time to pitch yourself for holiday gift guides! Like a lot of holiday season prep, this is an early bird task - in fact, you might be too late for print magazines! But there's still lots of time for on-line publications and blogs, local newspapers and on...
We're up to Task #6 in our Prep For the Holidays checklist for creatives. This week, we're working on early marketing tasks with two powerful platforms that need time to reach their full potential. We're talking about blogging and Pinterest - and why starting these two tasks early is crucial for a successful holiday campaign.
Don't limit your potential this holiday season - build your community, increas...
Getting featured in print & digital gift guides, getting accepted into big holiday craft markets or selling your items in small boutiques for Christmas all require a lot of advance prep work - that happens way earlier than we think!
This is where prepping mockups and samples of whatever it is you create can help you get a jump on things! You might not be ready to go into full production mode yet but having a few thing...
You know what you're going to be making and selling for the holiday season - but do you know how you're going to package it up for selling and shipping?
In this week's Prep for the Holiday's episode, Melissa walks you through the process of figuring out your delivery systems. If you're a creative services provider or content creator, you still need to get your "product" into the hands or ...
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