The And She Looked Up Podcast

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 Canadians. But with things in so much flux I decided to make this a more general episode. I share some s...

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 just how she does that!

This is a great episode for creatives who...

⭐️ want to learn more about the value of creating safe spaces for other creatives in their nich...

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Canadian small business owners - including artists and makers - are facing the uncertainty of potential US tariffs in 2025. So what can we do? 

While we have no say in whether or not another country decides to levy tariffs against us, we do have the ability to prepare ourselves to weather what could turn out to be a few clouds on an otherwise pleasant day or a full on tornado that rips up the landscape. The truth is right now, we just don't know. But don't stick your head in the sand and w...

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 through grief and creativity 
• Strategies for nurturing community and connection 
• Setting intentions for a vibrant 2025 
• Encouragement to embrace personal projects and small victories

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's so important to support Canadian creatives and the businesses that support them more than ever.

Kim is the author of multiple poetry books as...

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 when a customer or potential customer asks for a discount
⭐️ aren't sure if discounting devalues their work
⭐️ don't feel they have the roo...

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Thanks to Patreon supporter Sonia for this month's question. Sonia would like to get her cards and other products into local stores and was looking for some wholesale tips! 

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For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast

Each week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys a...

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 helped inform her decision to embark on bringing the "Bloom" series to life and, how this book in particular, is a love letter to Canada.

T...

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Getting it in under the wire this month! A little behind the scenes with my fluffy new studio intern and then getting into some words about making strategic investments in our creative businesses and how taking very calculated financial risks in our business can really pay off. Some things to think about over the next few months while you noodle around plans for 2025!

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For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She...

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 in your creative practice? Share it with us on our Instagram account or our YouTube channel!

This is a great episode for creatives who...
⭐️ struggle with sett...

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) check before each market so you can avoid those panic inducing moments of wonky tech and instead, focus on market customers!

This episode is brought to you by o...

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 listen and it will all make sense!

Rebecca shares her top tips for connecting and collaborating with other businesses and for having a successful...

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Sorry for the late episode but here I am! I've been thinking a lot about long-form video (think YouTube) the last six months or so. Mostly why I think it could be important for creatives in this age of AI, IP theft and the need to double down on showing the human behind the work. I know... I just heard you all groan collectively. But take a listen, and hear me out! 
NOTE: I accidentally said that Instagram was shutting down shops part way through the episode. I meant Etsy (I hadn't had my c...

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 story of your business and products, emphasizing the "handmade" aspect of your business, shipping info and most importantly, double checking and...

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 your business, no matter what you sell or what creative services you offer. It also happens to be kinda fun!

This is a great episode fo...

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 average order values!

A little advance planning and prep can make a huge difference come market day and help you build long term relationships with...

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 busiest time of the year. And why it's important to value your work - you don't HAVE to run promotions!

Whether you're selling products or...

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 over parts of bigger projects because the process is... well... gross. So here's your reminder that we, as creatives, get t...

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 with strategies to keep you organized and ahead of the game. Let’s make this holiday season not only manageable but also wildly successful for your creative busi...

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September is one of my favourite months of the year - it has always felt like the "real" new year to me! This is when my creative energy tends to come roaring back after the heat of summer and when I'm wanting to learn or try new things. It's also when I tend to re-engage with my business after a few months of taking things easy... so let's talk about some ways to take advantage of September energy in our businesses and filling our creative wells!

You can connect with the podcast on:<...

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 those smaller markets because there's a LOT of them and they're looking to fill their vendor rosters now!  Plus, these smaller, community markets can be a g...

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 online influencers - all of whom publish gift guides of must have holiday gifts!

Tune in to learn...

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, increase visibility, and drive traffic to your products by working ahead. Get ready to create a thriving online presence and make this holiday season your most successful yet!

Mentioned in...

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 things prepped and photographed means you have something to show your work when asked! Now you can apply for markets, investigate a...

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 in front of the eyeballs of your customer. If you're a maker or artist, you need to package your product for markets, wholesale platforms like Fair and...

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Have you struggled with creative burnout or creative block? What's the difference? I've been struggling with a big old case of creative block recently - but I'm not burnt out. In fact I've felt quite energized! But I just couldn't get my butt in the chair to draw - even though I really wanted to! Here's how I'm getting through it - with a little help from my friends!

You can connect with the podcast on:

For a list of all available...

Are you ready to streamline your holiday prep and crush the busiest selling season of the year?

In this week's Prep for the Holidays episode, Melissa helps you get your supply game on point so you can focus on what you do best—creating amazing products your customers will love!

Let's break down the essential steps for securing raw materials, supplies, and packaging, as well as securing your creative collaborators to ensure you’re not scrambling last minute. Now's the time to stock up on paint, paper, jewellery fastenings, yarn  - whatever it is you use t...

It's really hard to get a jump on the busy holiday season if you don't actually know what you're going to be making and selling! So in Episode 2 of our Prep for the Holiday series, Melissa walks you through figuring out what you're going to be putting your focus on - whether you're an artist, maker, creative services provider or a content creator. What will you make? What will you create? When will you sell it and who will you sell it to? Product development is where it all starts!

This episode is brought to you by...

Episode 1 in our new minisode series - Prep For the Holidays - is all about email. It's time to work on growing and warming up your email newsletter list before the holiday selling season! Kickstart your holiday sales strategy with actionable email marketing tips and suggestions to get you going.

Don't have an email list? We tell you how to get started - you don't even need a website! We'll also talk about re-engaging a cold list and practical steps to maintain and grow an established email list.

This episode is brought to you by...

What if you could seamlessly prepare for the holiday rush without the stress? That's where our special "Prep for the Holidays" mini-sode series comes in! Melissa is here to provide you with a straightforward, actionable game plan so that come November & December you put all your focus on selling, shipping, and customer service. Whether you're an artist gearing up for markets, a photographer offering family portraits, or a content creator maximizing Q4 traffic, this series is your ultimate checklist!

Each episode, ranging from 5 to 10 minutes, is designed to align with your holiday preparation timeline, ensuring you tackle...

Subscriber-only episode

The main podcast is on hiatus for the summer but I'll be launching a minisode series in July to help everyone prep for the holidays! In the meantime, here's what I love to listen to and watch to keep my creative juices and entrepreneurial/marketing brain feeling inspired through the summer months (plus a few things that are purely for entertainment!

I'll be emailing Buzzsprout supporters a list of all the podcast and YT channels I mention in this episode!

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With the Season 5 finale, Melissa and Heather talk about rest and why it's so critical for self-employed creatives.  What does rest look like (no it's not sleep - but that's critical too!)? It's not a "one size fits all" concept. It may be a two week vacation but what if a "leave the house" vacation isn't possible? 

We dig deep into ways we can ensure rest is part of our creative cycle - whether you're an introvert, extrovert, parent, caregiver, managing multiple roles, financially strapped or somebody who needs movement or somebody who needs stillness. And we ta...

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Nothing fancy here this month - just the three biggest, solid anti-procrastination strategies that work for me. The key there being "for me". They might not be new to you, they may not work for everyone, but, I'm hoping that one of these strategies might be something you can adapt and use for yourself!

You can connect with the podcast on:

For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast

Each week <...

Canadian photographer, recipe developer and blogger Heidi Richter joins me to talk about her work as both a commercial and editorial food and nature photographer. 

We discuss her early steps as a self-taught photographer who wanted to take better photos of her first child all the way through to earning a coveted spot on Nikon's annual creator team - as well as the challenges of being a small, creative business owner, juggling multiple roles, mom guilt, creative burnout and why we need to be both assertive, human and adaptable in an age of technological change a...

No this is not a real estate episode! Today we're talking about the dangers of building your business on the backs of other businesses - namely social media platforms and marketplaces - like Etsy.  These are platforms where the customers and users are not yours, where you can be removed at any time and where algorithms are created to support the platform's goals - not yours.

So what can you do to build your business on solid footing. It's time to take ownership of your business and build assets that are yours.  Here's how!

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Play is an important part of a creative practice and creating for a living. It's also hard work (that doesn't sound right, does it? But it is!). Collaboration can be a form of play for creatives and has it's own set of benefits aside from play. Collaboration and play (together or separately) can have a huge influence on keeping our creative well filled and burn out at bay. And that's what I'm talking about this month!

Episodes mentioned in this episode:
The Creative Penn: The Hard Joy of Writing
EP 65: The...

Alexandra Newbould is an artist whose work you know. As a Toronto based freelance courtroom sketch artist and fashion and architecture illustrator, her work has appeared all across North America on newscasts, in newspapers and print, online and in brand marketing campaigns. She joins the show this week to talk about the challenges and rewards of being a freelance illustrator, tattoo artist and, her newest venture,  working as an event artist who captures special moments in people's lives.  

We talk about about the pressure of working in the courtroom and its impact on her work, how she ha...

You’re an artist or a creative or a maker.  You’ve made or created the thing, you’re selling the creative services. You’ve put it on social media and your website or Etsy. 

But nobody has bought it. 

So how the heck are you supposed to find your customers?? 

Melissa and Heather do a deep dive into how to find your people - and how to sell to them without it being weird or uncomfortable - even if you’re an introvert or shy (or both)!  This is an episode full of...

I'm going back into the archives this week because it's been a bit of madness around here this month (in a good way!). This is a replay of EP 128 from last year where Heather and I asked past guests and audience member to share some words of wisdom that they've learned through being working creatives and/or running their own businesses. And they did not disappoint! It's an inspiriing episode with some fabulous nuggets from some exceptional women. One of my favourite quotes that I remind myself of over and over again came directly out of this episode!
<...

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I have a great podcast recommendation for you this week that also tied into three big things I've had on my "to talk about" list: marketing goals, the line between positivity and negativity and gatekeeping creativity. Hope you all enjoy!

You can connect with the podcast on:

For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast

Each week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women...