Featured Artist: Dasi Mason Designs

Hi Darla! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us a little bit about yourself!
My name is Darla Mason. I own Dasi Mason Designs and I live in Chenango Forks, New York with my husband and his parents, as well as his sister and her children.  We’ve decided that living as a family was the best solution for his aging parents as well as the rest of us.  We have several pets, and three beautiful sons.

How did you get started in your handmade business?
I got started with my handmade business when my career in Corporate America became too high stress for me.  I love being my own boss and in charge of my own future.  Handmade is so fulfilling.  I love envisioning products and seeing them come to fruition.

What are your hopes and aspirations for your store and where do you see yourself going from here?
My hopes and visions for my shop are that my creations go out into the world and bring people as much happiness as I have from the process of creating them.  I would love to have tons of sales, but for me, the majority of the pleasure is in the creation. 

Have you experienced any major accomplishments or recognition?
As yet, I have no major accomplishments or recognition related to my business.

What are three tools in your workspace that you could not live without?
The three tools in my work space that I couldn’t do without are my brushes, my polishes and my computer.

Have you ever experienced a craft disaster? What happened?
I’ve had one or two major “craft disasters” – relating to resin.  Fluid in nature before it’s cured, if it’s not perfectly leveled, it has a tendency to run.  It’s been a learning process for me, but each time I work with resin, I learn something new.

How much do you social network? Can you link us to your personal social media pages so we can follow you?
Social networking is my most important form of advertising.  My facebook link is: https://www.facebook.com/DasiMasonDesigns  My twitter link is:  https://twitter.com/dasimason  My Pinterest link is http://pinterest.com/dasimason  My blog link is https://DasiMasonDesigns.com

How important is marketing for your small business and what has been most effective for you?
Marketing is hugely important.  I recently rebranded all of my shops and social media sites for consistency.  The majority of my marketing is done through social media and word of mouth currently.  I’ve found that instead of posting a lot of items all at once, posting one or two a day brings much more traffic over a longer period.  I also include business cards with each sale and have labels with all of my product packaging.

What item in your shop is your top seller or is your favorite design?
My favorite items in my shop would have to be my Instant Acrylic Nail Sets.  They sell fairly well on all the venues I sell on.

Thanks for taking the time to join us today Darla. We appreciate you taking time out of our busy schedule so that we could interview you. Happy sales!