041 | Overcoming creative blocks with Melanie Karlins, Grey Moggie

Paper Camp alum, Melanie Karlins of Grey Moggie started letterpress printing in 2008 as a creative outlet while she was in law school, and later taught letterpress classes at a local art center. In 2011 she started selling her products at local craft fairs and picked up wholesale accounts through her Instagram feed. Today, Grey Moggie is Melanie’s full-time job and her greeting cards are sold in stationery and gift shops all over the United States, including Paper Source

On today’s episode, Melanie is sharing how retail craft markets shaped her business and product line, how she overcame creative blocks, and why her definition of success shifts with different seasons in her life.

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

Melanie’s motivation for starting Grey Moggie
How she began teaching letterpress classes
The types of products she creates and the motivation behind them
How craft shows shaped her business and how it shaped her product line
Merchandising tips for people considering retail shows
The benefits of selling her products at a weekly market
How she determines if a retail market is a good place for her to be
Managing her wholesale line and the retail line and how she does it on a day to day basis
How being a mom has impacted the way she runs her business and how she prioritized her time
Melanie’s definition of success in her business
The advice she would give to someone just starting out in a product based business
What’s next for Grey Moggie

Download These Quotables to Save and Share

KEY TAKE-AWAYS

“The day after exams my second year of law school, I took a letterpress class and I just couldn’t give it up.” – Melanie Karlins

“That was one big thing I learned from customer feedback, was that everyone’s looking for something new.” – Melanie Karlins

“You can kind of tell upfront before you even get to the show what kind of help you’re going to get onsite or what the scene is going to be like onsite.” – Melanie Karlins

“My biggest takeaway is through really trying to make my business a business and becoming a mom at the same time was just that everything has a season and you can’t necessarily plan ahead for it.” – Melanie Karlins

“Self-care is so important to the creative process and the decisions that we’re making within our business.” – Katie Hunt

“It’s important to revisit our definition of success and what we hope to achieve with our business and with our time and the effort that we’re putting into these things.” – Katie Hunt

CONNECT WITH MELANIE KARLINS

Website: Grey Moggie | Facebook: @greymoggie | Instagram: @greymoggie

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct