I've said this a million times, but I moved to DC from San Francisco for the creative community. It's not that it doesn't exist anywhere else. It's that it doesn't exist anywhere else like this, right now. DC is bursting at the seems with this … — I've said this a million times, but I moved to DC from San Francisco for the creative community.
It's not that it doesn't exist anywhere else. It's that it doesn't exist anywhere else like this, right now. DC is bursting at the seems with this GET SHIT DONE energy by creatives from all over with all kinds of backgrounds. It's a town that can seem transient, full of policy-nerds and lawyers, but really, it's not. And what do those policy nerds and lawyers do after they get burnt out, decide to commit to the city and focus on their other passion? They make really amazing things happen.
I love this city. And I am so thankful for every single person I have reached out to over my few short years that took time to get coffee, meet at an art show, or explore some new space with me. You make this community what it is and and I am so grateful that you have allowed me, and all other transplants (many of you are transplants yourselves) to be a part of it. You have inspired me, taught me, and shown me what a true creative community is all about. And many of you are badass business(wo)men making your dreams come true - in AWE.
Today's Made in DC Summit was amazing. It was the perfect reunion of friends, dose of inspiration from creators and influencers that believe in the movement to create, buy local and make the community you want to be a part of.
The Made in DC Program is a partnership between the Department of Small and Local Business Development and Think Local First DC. Today's summit included over 200 creators either running creative businesses or hobbies, plus about 20 panelists running successful creative businesses or part of bigger companies (Google, Etsy, Huge, Presence Marketing).
As Amina of Handmade Habitat so perfectly put it:

#madeindc recap, notes and gratitude

June 01, 2016

Today reaffirmed that the #MadeinDC movement is so strong & all about loving + supporting this creative community. 💖 https://t.co/iGF31oW9Tl
— Handmade Habitat (@handmadehabitat) June 1, 2016

Alright. And now for my rando notes from today:

Do's and Don'ts for approaching retailer (via Amanda McClements, owner, Salt & Sundry)

-line sheet, photos, contact info, pricing

-have strong social media presence where you actually show off product

-don't show up announced on a busy day, calling is tricky, email is the best way

-do send samples

-offer as much flexibility as possible, like offer consignment

Regulatory process of starting a business (via Joy Douglas of DCRA)

5 step business license

If you are generating revenue in DC, you are required to get a license

1-register your business with DCRA corporation department. Seek legal counsel and speak to an accountant

2-register with office of tax and revenue

3-if business is located in DC, must have brick and mortar or have a home-based business. Must check in lease agreement if you can't operate a business

4-clean hands. Self certified that you don't owe government over 100 dollars

5-business license. Maybe other agency that license goes through - call DCRA to find out what type of license do you need. Maintain and keep licenses current.

-can get free 1-1 counseling with DCRA at their Small business resource center at DCRA

FULL SCHEDULE AND SPEAKERS (reposted from thisismadeindc.com)

1:00PM
Attendee Arrival + Networking
W E L C O M E from Think Local First's Raj Aggarwal
and DSLBD Chief of Staff Eric Rogers

1:45PM
Branding Your Business in the District (and Beyond)
A panel discussion moderated by Joel Daly, Artemis Ward & Creative Mornings DC
featuring Virginia Arrisueño, founder, DeNada Design
Heidi Guerard, Creative Director + Brand Manager, &pizza
Sarah Gordon, co-founder, Gordy’s Pickle Jar
Kaleen Ogden, Brand Planning Lead, Huge Inc
and Gary Williams, Master Williams & Creative Theory

2:35PM
Licensing + Registration: The Need to Know for Starting + Maintaining Your Business
A presentation + q&a with Joy Douglas, DCRA

3:05PM
Julie Stitzel, US Federal Policy Manager for Etsy.com

~break~
Visit with Union Kitchen DC, Capital City Specialties, recharge with District Workshop, and more.

3:40PM
Products/Shelves: Strategies for Working with Brands + Retailers
A panel discussion moderated by Morgan H. West, Made in DC + A Creative DC
featuring Aerica Banks, Google Diversity Markets Liason, DC
Sarah Mags Bayot, founder, Kicheko Goods
Robbie Kaplan, Buyer, Ace Hardware DC
Amanda McClements, owner, Salt & Sundry
Suann Song, founder, Appointed Co
Desirée Venn Frederic, founder + curator, Nomad Yard Collectiv

4:25PM
CBE Certification: A Primer
A presentation + q&a with Corey Beasley, DSLBD

4:50PM
Yuri Beckelman
Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Congressman Mark Takano
Established the bipartisan Congressional Maker Caucus,
Founder: the Capitol Hill Maker Faire

5:00PM
Rebecca Reinhardt Roy and Dan Cohan
Presence Marketing PMI/PDI

5:20PM
DSLBD Director Ana Harvey and Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6

Reception to follow.
Thank you to our reception sponsors + partners:
Union Market DC, DC Brau, Mess Hall, and Neighborhood Restaurant Group.

Creative Crush: Undone Chocolate

July 15, 2015 in INTERVIEWS

I've been meaning to post this for a while! Things have been busy with my new job and summer travel. Life.

This post is a Q+A with Adam Kavalier of Undone Chocolate. Adam and his wife Kristen create handcrafted small batch bean-to-bar chocolate right here in the District.

I discovered Undone last winter at a pop-up shop near Navy Yard. It was cold and this chocolate warmed me up! I all love their flavors (Nourish, Replenish, Arouse), but Arouse is my favorite. Undone chocolates make excellent locally-made gifts.

We make handcrafted small batch bean to bar chocolate from antioxidant rich organic cocoa beans sourced directly from small producers. - Adam Kavalier of Undone Chocolate

When did you first discover chocolate making and why did you decide to pursue it as a career?

I stumbled across cacao while pursuing a doctorate in plant biology. I was intrigued by the chemical makeup of cacao and the process by which it becomes chocolate. Over the next six years I developed my craft in a Manhattan studio apartment, building small machines or repurposing others to fit my small batch process (not many machines are made to produce at the small level that I began at). I continued to make small batch chocolate alongside my research and studied cocoa beans for their chemical makeup. I sought out beans that had a story and were particularly rich in antioxidants. I played with different ways of making chocolate, including a number of roasting and grinding profiles to make chocolate that was high in antioxidant levels while aiming to not sacrifice flavor. Over time I fell in love with the different flavors of cacao

How do you combine science and art to make delicious chocolate?

I began making chocolate from a very analytical angle. Measuring, timing, and calculating. I tried to make chocolate making fit into a box and over time realized that it doesn't fit into a confined space. I fell in love with the flavors of cacao and making chocolate became more intuitive than calculated. While I began very process oriented, as the chocolate making is very process oriented, I shifted to a more creative perspective allowing for parameters to change according the needs of the situation.

What do you do to overcome a creative block?

Switch tasks, sometimes meditation and yoga.

How do you define creativity?

Creativity is the ability to use feeling and intuition to drive your actions and decisions. It is inherently a product of one's unique perspective.

What's one thing you have to do everyday?

So many things! Manage operations, customer relations, sales, packaging, shipping, finance, accounting, most all of these happen every day.

What one piece of advice would you give to a chocolatier just starting out?

Double your financial budget and triple your projections on the amount of time you think things will take.

Adam and Kristen Kavalier — Adam and Kristen Kavalier

Any tips for working with a spouse on a creative business?

For us it has been magical, working on a creative business together has allowed us to explore unique parts of ourselves and each other and has expanded our relationship in a whole new way.

Find a market that sells Undone Chocolate nearest you (I go to Smucker Farms on 14th and W) or purchase some chocolate online now!

Special thanks to Adam for letting me do this Q+A! I learned a ton from this piece and am really excited to see Undone growing in the short time that I've known about them!

#acreativeDC IRL meetup at Maketto on H Street

what is a creative community?

June 29, 2015

Last week I went to a few events that made me think about what it means to be a part of a creative community.

First, I was at Google for work. I spent a few hours brainstorming with my team and their team in a room full of white boards with natural light and plants on the wall. Is that a creative community?

Then, I came back to DC for a Stella + Dot party I was hosting. I had a room full of smart, creative women from various backgrounds with a variety of talents sharing experiences and shopping. Is that a creative community?

The next day, I stopped by an IRL meetup for #acreativeDC at the new hot spot Maketto on H street. There were cool kids with their phones and their hashtags and their dreamy photos of DC. Everyone wanted to know what I 'did'. Is that a creative community?

Next, I met up with some friends at Goodwill DC's Summer Trunk Show. We sipped drinks and ate burritos while shopping the racks. We debated the pros and cons of moving to a new place, trying to do more than one creative thing (at one point in time) and getting paid for interesting work. Is that a creative community?

Afterward, I hopped in an Uber (which I can only afford because I have a job and am no longer freelancing), and met up with another friend at a folk concert in a gorgeous mansion in Pleasant Plains. There were a million twenty-somethings swaying to Southern storytelling. We drank a lot of the beer that we found in the fridge and sneaked in and out of the bedrooms because we were curious. Is that a creative community?

Later later, we crashed a nearby party and made friends. They wouldn't let us ask them what they 'did', but we all ate cake together and they gave us a tour of their house. Is that a creative community?

On Sunday, I sat in the park, bored, drinking with friends and friends of friends thinking about how I'd rather be reading. I could have made more of an effort, but I didn't have anything to add to the conversation that didn't feel too intense, too heavy for a lazy Sunday. No one heard me when I did speak up. Is that a creative community?

And then today, I went into the art space where I take weaving class and felt some solace threading my heddles to dress my loom. There were only two other people in the space--one working in the dark room and another painting. One asked if I would mind if she spray painted, that she would open the door for the fumes to go out. We worked in silence until I finished up what I needed to do and said goodbye. Is that a creative community?

We all want to be a part of something. If you're anything like me, you probably want to be a part of a creative community. I've found it and lost it, searched and traveled, moved and explored and sent strangers random emails to keep that search going. I've found, in the end, it's all for nothing if you aren't okay being alone--making decisions to do what makes you feel creative. Sometimes it's with other people. Sometimes it isn't. The beauty is finding a balance that keeps you from going in insane or getting depressed. I'm still working on it.

Each of these scenes made me feel like I was a part of something, but not all of them made me feel creative. I feel creative when I connect with another human being. And it doesn't matter if that's in a corporate setting or a consumer setting or a silent setting. In some spaces, with some people, you just part of a creative community. Maybe it's just something you have and some other people have and together you make it a reality.

Whatever it is I hope you find it. At the very least, find it inside of yourself. You'll be surprised who else shows up.

Folk concert at a house in Pleasant Plains

Life hacks for busy creatives

May 20, 2015 in STYLE

I have a busy lifestyle and while I can't really complain (I'm single and have no dependents, so it's really not that hard) I do try to maximize my free time so I can spend more time on what I love. Here's what I use:

Laundry

If you don't have a washer and dryer in your house you know that doing laundry is just that much more annoying. I just tried Washio for the first time and it worked out pretty well. I packed up my laundry and they came to pick it up during pre-selected hours. They asked my preferences and provided some sturdy bags for wash and fold and dry cleaning. I scheduled when I wanted them to return the clean laundry and voilá, laundry was done. Is it expensive? Yes. But if you factor in time gained and hassle lost, it may be worth it for you. Use this referral code (echeveste99453dy61) for $10 off your first order if you want to try it out!

Grocery Shopping

I'd love to try Blue Apron, but it's just not worth the cost for me. It would make sense if I knew my sister and I were going to eat all the meals, but our schedules are so full that sometimes neither of us are home for dinner for days. I wish there was a one meal option, but there's not!

Instead, I use Relay Foods, which allows me to schedule a pickup of the groceries I want. They even have meal plans with recipes that focus on fresh, local veggies. You can pick a recipe and add all the ingredients to your cart with one button. We've been doing this for weeks now and it is amazing. Try out Relay Foods for yourself!

Clothes Shopping

I tried Stitch Fix once and hated it. I know others have had better experiences, but it just wasn't for me. I signed up for Daily Look's Elite Box and LOVE it. I'll have to post about my next box to share what I get next. Until then, try it out for yourself: use this link for a two-month free trial of Elite Box!