Hosting my First Workshop
Last weekend I hosted my very first Lina Nou Studio workshop! Organised to be casual and for all ages, the workshop was for tote-bag painting, taking place on Chiswick High Road with Open Art Market.
I am now available to hire for tote bag painting workshops, so click here you're interested (more info at the end of the blog)!
What an interesting day it was. I have to say it was a big learning curve! While I only had one attendee for my 1.5 hour workshop session, that person made it all worthwhile. I worked on my own tote bag and was inspired by a lovely dinner I had the night before with a friend!
There were a few things working against the workshop on the day, mostly wind and rain. It was very cold and I didn't blame anyone for not wanting to stop and paint outdoors, despite being under cover. Lots of clips and pegs had to be used so as to keep everything down on the tables!
Chiswick was a lovely location for hosting my tote bag painting workshop, but I soon realised that while I had been focusing on organising something for uniqueness, passers-by wanted something more low maintenance such as greeting card making. The larger size of a tote bag made it a little intimidating, and I totally get it.
I was nervous going into the day, as this would be the first time I would have to gague how much people would need me to give advice or leave them to create their own design. Little did I know that I would have to get people to attend first before worrying about how well I would guide them throughout the process!
I've heard a great saying that "what you don't earn, you learn" and that day was the perfect example of that.
Lessons learnt:
- Have better weather (hard to control but it would change a lot)
- While there was shelter, the wind and cold temperature really made it unappealing for people to sit and paint
- Market the workshop more vigorously beforehand
- I had posted on instagram vigorously and shared it on my email newsletter, but going around in person and handing out flyers would do more to let people know and give them time to consider attending
- Even bigger signage
- I had a sign saying "Tote Bag Painting Workshop with Lina Nou Studio" but a larger sign with pricing and an explanation would be even better, as the more people can see without interacting with you the better
- Music & vibes
- Next time I will definitely bring my speaker because a casual environment is a more approachable environment!
- Have a script
- If people come up and ask about the workshop it would be best to know exactly what to say to let them know what it involves, to quell any worry that it's overpriced or too long or too messy.
Overall, the more experience the better! Now I have all these tote bags and fabric paint, there's no reason not to host another Tote Bag Painting Workshop again.
Because of that, I have created a workshop / experience listing on Bento, where you can book me to host the tote bag painting with you and your friends / family / colleagues!
I will bring along all the materials and tote bags, and will procide you with the instructions necessary to heat set and wash the tote bag in the future.
If you're interesting in hiring me for a workshop, click the link at the top of the blog or send me an email with questions.
