Save Money with Claire

Okay, folks,

It’s about time for a post. I’m experimenting with search engine optimization, so if I say something that just doesn’t sound like me, that’s why. It’s more important to me to get random people to stumble upon this site than it is for me to maintain an authentic editorial voice.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to me telling you how to save money.  As you may know, I’m an artist and I have a job to support my art habit. I’ve become pretty good at saving money, and I want to share my secrets with you.

1. Thrift Shop

About 75% of my clothing comes from the thrift store. My thrift store of choice is the Brown Elephant on Clark Street. If you have some patience, you can find some great pieces that are very gently used. As an added bonus, the Brown Elephant has a fitting room. Here are some of my latest and greatest finds:

• black Dansko clogs – $6
• new black and silver Tsubo tennis shoes – $6
• black motorcycle boots – $6
• a BCBG top – $6
• Eddie Bauer leather moccasins – $6
• Red Tsubo mary janes – $6

2.  Limit credit card use.

I almost never use my credit card. It is pretty much there just for emergencies. I try to only spend money I actually have.

3.  Be car free.

I have not owned a car since college. I use public transportation and a bicycle to get around. If I need to use a car, a rent an I-Go car for a couple hours.

4.  Find free things to do.

This weekend I went to an open studios event at the Cornelia Arts Building and it was completely free. I got to meet a bunch of different artists and eat lots of good food. Today I went and played ping-pong at Transistor, a new arty venue in Andersonville.

5.  Get a side job.

Besides my 9-5 job, I also have a dog-walking business. This side-job provides me with extra spending money and helps me not to dip into my savings.

6.  Clip coupons.

I can’t say that I clip lots of coupons. Today I did get a free eggnog latte by filling out an online Starbucks survey that came with my last drink receipt.

7.  Set a grocery budget.

Before I started my saving campaign, I would spend ridiculous amounts of money on impulse purchases at Trader Joe’s. Now I limit myself by only taking one bike bag there, which seems to always fit about $50 worth of groceries.

8.  Automatically save a set amount from each paycheck.

I set up an automatic transfer of a set amount from my paycheck to be deposited in a savings account. As an extra precaution, I put this money in a savings account to which I currently have no debit or credit card access. I will have to make an extra effort to take money out of this account.

9.  Find a low-cost, enjoyable hobby. You don’t have to buy fun!

Finally, I’m instituting a new blog-audience shout-outs feature.

SHOUTS OUT TO:

person in New York City who visits.  Are you a gallery that is too shy to approach me?

person from Dubai who visited for zero seconds.  You were wondering if Claire’s (Boutique?) uses e-commerce. I’m pretty sure they do.

person from Spain who visited two times. Yay! I have an international audience and your visits do not appear to be accidents. I hope you become a regular.

person from Minnesota. Keep coming back! I’ll try to do some special interest pieces that cater to the Minnesotan audience.

me. I make up a large portion of my blog traffic. I hope I can keep myself interested in my material.

Greenest Business Card Ever

Hiya, ArtFolk,

Whew! It’s been a busy, busy week. I’m now in freakout mode because the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival is NEXT WEEKEND! I found a fellow artist to share my booth.  This will allow me the luxury of taking bathroom breaks every once in a while. My booth mate, Rachel, is a textile artist. You can see her work here.

Ah, but I have even more news: I designed and printed a business card. Here it is:

I realize that it’s hard to see where my blog begins and my business card ends.  I mean, this blog is kind of a business card anyway. I erased my phone number and email address on the card above because I don’t want my crazed fans to get any ideas.

You know what the most exciting thing about getting this business card is? I used a green printer.  I went to Digital Hub, a local print shop.  These people are green in so many different ways that I think it’s better I send you to the ‘environment’ section of their  website.  There you can read about all of their super cool eco-initiatives. Today took a lovely walk on Chicago Ave and then up Halsted to visit Digital Hub and take a look at my proofs. I really like their building. It’s large, bright, and open. I talked to the guy who did my prints and found out about how Digital Hub became a green printer.  He said that Digital Hub used to be a typesetter and slowly transitioned into its present state when clients repeatedly sought a printer with the Forestry Stewardship Council certification. Many clients refused to do business with a printer unless it had that certification. So it was more as a matter of practicality that the Digital Hub first started greening.

I’m happy to support a local green business. Do you think I’ll run out of my 250 business cards at the art fair? I also have to use them the following weekend at the Lillstreet Member Show. I really need to get cracking on my preparations for that.  Tonight I hope to use a friend’s studio to finish my pieces for the Lillstreet show. Then I will get them framed on Sunday. I am already starting to feel exhausted, but that could be partly attributable to the humidity and heat today.

Gridwall Homecoming

Hey, Arty Folks,

UPDATE: Here is the much-buzzed-about emperor penguin. I’m going to try to let it stand as is without telling you what I think is wrong with it.

Yesterday, with the generous help of my friend Michelle, I picked up my 2′ x 6′ piece of gridwall from Double R Display. I highly recommend this store for anyone who needs a cheap retail display fixture. The prices are wholesale and even beat the list prices of online retailers. After we picked up the gridwall, we went to nearby Kuma’s Corner, but left when we found out there was an hour and forty minute wait for a table.

Today I plan to finish up a record I’ve been working on for a couple days. At first I found it quite frustrating, as I couldn’t fit my subject–an emperor penguin–onto the canvas. Once I decided to ignore the perfectionist buzzing in my ears and throw my worries about proportion and exact replication of the subject aside, the painting started to come together. Now it reminds me of an illustration in a children’s book.

Also on my to-do list are my two entries to the Lillstreet Member Sale. A piece (unimaginatively) titled “Standing Man”, has been kicking around my apartment for months, waiting to be finished. The man needs a background to stand against, but I have been ignoring him since May. If I can wrap that piece up today, I will most likely take it to Artists Frame Service for framing, since they offer a 15% discount to Chicago Artists’ Coalition members.

I’ll post the penguin record pictures later today.