Designers, Makers, ARTISTs

If you’re ready to build a brand that reflects the excellence of your craftsmanship…

Let’s get to work

do any of these sound familiar?

You’ve worked hard to learn and perfect your craft. Your skills are starting to put you up there with some of the best in hand craftsmanship, but you’d never know it because…

  • You’re too embarrassed to give out your website url
  • You are always being asked what exactly it is you do
  • Sales are inconsistent or non-existent
  • You’re attracting the wrong customers who keep saying your prices are too high
  • Or, you’re afraid to increase your prices, because you know your presentation doesn’t look the part
  • You are constantly being passed over for opportunities that could generate more income
  • You are battling comparison and peer envy
  • No one knows who you are
Saying yes to any of These are signs that Your brand is Not Living up to Its True Potential.

It’s time to change how the world sees you

The excellence of Your Artistry is balanced out by how you present it.

Branding is about presenting the best version of your true self and work. Chances are when you first started out you skipped the step of putting an actual branding strategy in place. Instead relying on a patchwork approach of adding things as and when you needed to, which may have worked in the early days of your craft business. But now that you are looking to position your work in the fine craft sector, patchwork is no longer going to cut it, because this sector is uncompromising and expects the best.

By creating a brand you take control of how the world sees your craft. And without a proper strategy, your brand has no anchor. This makes it susceptible to the changing forces in your market, to the trends that come and go, to the feelings of dissatisfaction, and constantly wanting to tweak it so that it looks like everyone else’s. But here’s the thing your brand is not like everyone else’s it is unique to you, reflecting what makes you and your work special.

Crafting a brand that stands for your work is about knowing who you are and communicating your particular creative genius to your audience in the simplest and most powerful way possible across every channel you use. And high-end brands are born from a considered blueprint, one that becomes the anchor of your vision, the guide for your decisions, and the beacon for your desired clientele to find you.

So, If you are serious about doing your work justice and Want to give it the presentation it deserves

let us introduce

Refine & Elevate

How to build a brand that reflects the excellence of your craftsmanship

A step-by-step Brand Blueprint tailored to Propel your work into the fine craft sector.

Refine & Elevate draws on proven principles rooted in more than 20+ years of expertise in branding for some of the world’s most prestigious brands in the luxury, lifestyle, hospitality, and blue-chip sectors, combined with an intimate knowledge of the fine craft sector. This carefully crafted course is your essential guide to leveraging what makes your craft unique turning it into a powerful, compelling mission, story, identity, and experience that emotionally connects you with your right customers.

Ready to create and nurture a brand your clients will love?
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IN THIS PROGRAMME YOU WILL LEARN…

The essential steps required to craft a compelling and considered high-end brand.

IMAGINE HOW IT WOULD FEEL IF…

YOU HAD A BRAND THAT

  • Reflected the exceptional quality and standard of your work
  • Attracted clients ready and willing to pay what you ask
  • Had selective galleries and retailers reaching out to represent you and carry your work
  • Received invitations to present your work at prestigious fairs and events that previously turned you down
  • Made you no longer look at someone else’s brand and think I wish mine look like that…

The course modules

01.

Preparation

A brand is based on the hopes and dreams you have for your business. This module will take you through defining the vision, values, and mission that form the foundation of your brand.

02.

Researching the Market You are Building Your Brand in

A successful brand is aligned with its sector. This module will guide you through understanding the fine craft sector and how to position your work within it.

03.

Creating Your Brand Personality – How does Your Brand Behave?

Your brand is a reflection of the heart and soul of your work. In this module, you learn how to infuse your brand with your unique personality.

04.

Creating Your Brand Identity: Visuals

The purpose of your brand is presented by how it looks. This module guides you through creating the visual elements of your brand including, the logo and imagery.

05.

Creating Your Brand Identity: Written, Verbal and non-Verbal Communication

The purpose of your brand is also presented by how it sounds and feels. This module guides you through developing your brand story to create copy and messaging that your audience will connect with.

06.

Implementing Your Brand – How Will Customers Find and Interact with Your Brand?

Your brand is there to connect you to your audience. This module will show you how to maximise your brand presence to reach and attract your right customers.

07.

Protecting Your Brand

Your brand is a valuable business asset. In this module, you will learn how to maintain consistency, and to nurture and protect it.

08.

Delivering Your Brand Experience

The brand experience is delivered through exceptional customer service, the hallmark of high-end brands. This module shows you how to take care of your customers and make them feel valued, which creates trust and loyalty.

09.

Staying Relevant in Rapidly Changing Times

As your work and your business grow your brand will evolve. In this module, you will learn how to keep your brand relevant.

KIND WORDS

“The information was extremely helpful and… served as a roadmap for our business and how we wanted to develop and grow.”

Isatu Funna
founder, Dar Leone

Refine & Elevate is currently closed for enrollment

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Beyond the Logo to a World-Class Brand

Your brand goes far beyond your logo.

Your brand is more than a logo and some pretty visuals. Beneath all that lies the beating heart of your craft business: your values, your mission, your why- the reason you do what you do.

Your brand acts as a beacon for your business. A bright, shining light that cuts through the noise and distractions to guide your desired customers towards you and the goodness and value you have to offer them. The light that radiates is your purpose, your passion, your personality. Refine & Elevate helps you shine your light by showing you exactly how to leverage what makes your brand unique. Because when your brand is in tune with your purpose those who need what you have to offer are instinctively drawn to you.

It’s time to step out of the shadows and let your craft shine.

Who is this course for?

This is right for you if you…

  • Are a designer, maker, artisan business owner ready to take your craft to the next level with a brand that reflects the sophistication of your work but are not sure where to start and what to do to
  • Feel like your existing brand is tired, outdated, and doesn’t truly reflect the promise, passion, and purpose that inspires your work.
  • Want to position your business for revenue-generating success in a competitive marketplace by attracting serious buyers, collectors and retailers who really understand your offering and price points
  • Feel like your business is invisible in the fine craft sector
  • Are interested in getting gallery representation
  • Want to feel confident and excited about sharing your business with your world
  • Want the confidence to discuss your branding needs with designers and agencies you may work with now or in the future

This is not for you if you…

  • Prefer the challenge of doing and finding things out for yourself, no matter how long it takes you to do so
  • Are looking to build your business using shortcut solutions without putting in the work, time and effort needed to properly present your work
  • You are just starting out in business and are still figuring things out so are not ready for next level branding just yet
  • Already attract customers willing to pay the value your work deserves, and galleries willing to work with you
  • You already have a phenomenal attention-attracting brand
  • Would rather follow trends by creating a brand that is a copy of someone else’s rather than crafting one that truly represents your work and craftsmanship skills
  • Are content with having an invisible business and are content with watching your peers get all the opportunities

How it works

Refine & Elevate is an immediate access, self-study course that gives you the freedom to work through each step at your own pace. You will benefit from:

Immediate Start

The first lesson is available as soon as you purchase followed by a Module released every 5 days giving you the luxury of working through the carefully crafted content at your own time and pace, meaning the course can fit around your responsibilities.

Workbooks & Materials

Where relevant the lessons in each module come with downloadable workbooks, exercises, templates, and checklists so that you can turn your ideas and thoughts into action as you work your way through the course content.

1 Year Access

The course is open for limited periods throughout the year, however, once you’ve enrolled you will have one year’s access to the course content from the time of enrollment. This means you can return to the content whenever you need to during this period.

MEET Your Tutor

Hi there,

I am Tapiwa an author, curator and mentor to design & craft practitioners. Before stepping into entrepreneurship I spent 20+ years working as a graphic designer, nurturing some of the world’s most prestigious brands in the luxury, lifestyle, hospitality, blue-chip sectors.

I have learned what it takes to craft and maintain high-end brands, strategies that I used to create my own fine craft jewellery brand and the brands of independent designer-makers whom I have had the pleasure of working with. I am here to help you elevate your craft into the fine craft sector.

Tapiwa Matsinde author curator brand visibility specialist

frequently asked questions

Refine & Elevate is a mid-level course designed for those who have been in business for at least 6 months and want to elevate their craft into the premium, high-end or luxury craft & design sector by refining their brand positioning and presentation.

Contemporary fine craft is the practice of using high-quality materials to create exceptional functional craft objects that show excellence in creativity and craftsmanship. Practitioners of fine craft are known as artisans, designer-makers, or craftspeople dedicated to mastering their craft. The work produced tends to be high-end and collectible, available as unique one-off pieces or in limited-edition collections. Fine craft is often linked to, ancient traditions and cultural heritage, utilising and adapting the skills and techniques that have been passed down through the generations. Contemporary fine craft also benefits from innovation and the use of new materials to create modern traditions.

You will have immediate access to the course once purchased and, to give you time to focus and work through the individual modules, a Module is released every 7 days. You will receive an email to let you know when your next Module is ready. As such, it takes on average a minimum of 9 weeks to complete the course, but once all the Modules are released you will have up to 1 year to complete the course.

When the course opens for enrollment you will have access to all the course content and materials for 1 year from payment.

The workbooks are designed to be printed off and filled in by hand or can be filled in digitally using Acrobat Reader, which you can download here for free: https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/

As with anything you do the more focus and attention you put in and show up to do the work the more you will get out of it and increase your chances of success. There are no guarantees and it would be remiss of me to promise otherwise.

Refine & Elevate is presented as self-study, rather than through dedicated 1-to-1 guidance. The course is designed in such a way as to make the lessons self-explanatory giving you the confidence to put what you learn into practice straight away. Support comes in the form of blog posts, podcast episodes and the occasional Q&A Live, you will need to be signed up to the mailing list to receive notifications.

We occasionally offer a limited number of 1-to-1 mentoring sessions throughout the year. If you would like to find out more please refer to this page for further details.

Refine & Elevate comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Should you purchase the course and find that it is not right for you, you will need to contact me to work out a resolution. You will be required to present proof showing that you have made an effort to do the work and exercises. If you are unsure if the course is right for you or if have any questions please do contact us to discuss your needs before purchasing. .

I’M READY TO LEARN

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