How to Make It: 25 Makers Share the Secrets to Building a Creative Business (Art Books, Graphic Design Books, Books About Artists) by Erin Austen Abbott

How to Make It: 25 Makers Share the Secrets to Building a Creative Business (Art Books, Graphic Design Books, Books About Artists) Reviews

• 
  The Bookish Unicorn

  This book was a tad disappointing. I would have more accurately described it as an "artist interview book" rather than a "artist sharing business secrets" book. The artists all gave some tips but they never went into the specifics; they would say to keep organized they would use "apps" and "websites" but never saying which ones!
  All the artists featured in this book were really cool and it was neat learning about them and what they do. I do love that the author featured artists from many different fields, showing you can make a business out of the thing you love.
  But sadly this book lacks the information I was expecting from it.
• 
  Cassandra

  It was nice, but really didn't live up to its title. It's a fairly enjoyable collections of brief interviews, but not much guidance or instruction on actually running a creative business. Many of the artists' answers were essentially just "I just sort of make it up as I go along and learn from my mistakes," or "I just trust my instinct," which is not very informative. The DIY projects were also very underwhelming. One project consisted of literally taking a pair of jeans and a measuring tape and measuring the jeans. Wow... It's worth browsing if you happen to find it in a library but I wouldn't waste my money buying this book. The best part about it was gleaning a list of better books suggested by different artists to check out instead, and some cool playlists to listen to.
• 
  Kc

  The pictures were beautiful! The short stories about each business were concise and easy to read. I started following some of the artisans on Facebok and Instagram which is great as I would not have found them without this book. However, it does not live up to its title and description. When I put this on hold at my library, I expected more detail on really how to make an artisan business work instead of short explanations of working artisans.
• 
  Felissa King

  Loved the photography and blurbs from the lives of various kinds of makers, many of whom found their way into their media or specific niche in surprising ways but then really have powered through with drive and dedication for their brand. My wish was that it was more in-depth: more on HOW they have built the business they have, the nitty gritty challenges, etc. I’d have preferred fewer artist highlights and more time spent in depth.
• 
  lauren

  Why are there so many of these books? And why do I keep checking them out? The formula is here are people making cool stuff, a bunch of pictures of their cool stuff, five or six of the same questions asked to each person about how they got to be so cool, maybe a day in the life snapshot. I think I need to declare myself done with this sort of book, but probably I'll be tempted (and then annoyed) yet again.
• 
  Bridgette Guerzon Mills

  Enjoyed reading this book that is filled with beautiful photos of the makers with peeks into their workspace and creative lives. Enjoyed reading their music lists too! I didn't feel like the hands-on tutorials were necessary though. Would rather have had more question and answers or more in depth business insight than a step by step instruction in making a card or scarf.
• 
  Courtney

  LOVED! One of my personal favorites. Each creative business that was selected for this book has their own spin on how they do things but yet they have come to understand their business and their audience making them leaders in the creative business world. I've gotten so many tips and tricks from this book.
• 
  Jenn

  This book was boring. I thought it was going to include practical advice for how to build a successful business, but it was actually bios of a number of artists. I don't think the bios were very good and if the author had asked the artists better questions this book could have been a lot better. At least it was short because I wouldn't have been able to finish it otherwise.
• 
  Robert

  This was a very interesting read. I'm not a nosey person, but I love being able to see a glimpse of the maker's daily lives, not just at their business, but also at home. I'm inspired to get started on my own creative (woodworking) business.
• 
  Misbah

  Very inspirational reading about people who turned their passions and talents into businesses.
  This book interviews 25 purple in the handmade business about their journey. How they tackle the business affects and how they stay motivated and true to their craft.
  
  Will read this again.
• 
  Meredith

  It won me over, darn it. It seems to have some solid advice. It's very pretty.
• 
  Rae

  Good photographs, solid advice and a good variety of examples/types of creative businesses.
• 
  Sumiko

  A series of interviews with artists and arts and who are making a Go of it with art/ crafts bases businesses.
  
  Each chapter includes a project devised by the featured artist.
• 
  Susan

  Interviews of small business owners. Printed in the tiniest print I've ever seen in a modern book -- don't know who thought that was a good idea.
• 
  Carly

  I love hearing makers' stories, advice, and commentary about their work and process. This book gives you that, along with a DIY and playlist per-interivew.
• 
  Julie Akeman

  Awesome book. It makes you feel better knowing in many cases the artist had no idea what is going to happen when they started.
• 
  Susan Black

  Interesting quick review of 25 creative businesses, each gives instructions for a hand made project, a mixtape play list and my favourite a day in their life description.
• 
  Jodi Geever

  This book is encouraging for people who aspire to make a living through their creativity. I read it in the hopes of becoming an artsy type...
• 
  pea.

  the title is absolutely deceiving.
  
  photos are lovingly composed but reveal lite of the art made but the subjects.
  
  curious on what they are making now... time to google.
• 
  Heidi

  Loved this book - interesting and inspiring. Perfect way to spend a sat morning reading this. Sat afternoon is going to be spent listening to all the recommended music listed in each interview can't wait to find some new gems
• 
  Gillian

  This book is worth flipping through once, but definitely don’t buy it. There are no “secrets to building a creative business” here. It’s a lot of makers repeating the same information about their work and daily schedule. The interviews largely fall flat, whether because the makers aren’t great at describing themselves or because the author isn’t a good interviewer. The photos don’t give you a good sense of each maker’s work or studio space. You can learn more about all of them by visiting their own social media.
  
  It also has a craft project and playlist for each maker - why? I wasn’t expecting this from the cover and don’t feel that it added anything but filler. The crafts often weren’t related to what each artist actually makes, and they weren’t well explained. They seemed to be either too easy/barely a project (measuring jeans, painting on an old yearbook photo) or way too difficult for a brief project inserted into this book (make your own watercolor paints - you’ll need a respirator).
  
  Overall may be inspiring to folks who aren’t already makers, but any artist or maker won’t glean helpful info or business tips. There’s not enough imagery or juicy interview detail to be inspiring. The title makes it seem targeted at artists, so I don’t know who the intended audience actually is.
• 
  Deborah

  This book was an interesting peek into the lives of makers and creatives. Unfortunately, for me there was not enough details about their businesses to be of much use. The websites of the creatives were not even listed which was surprising. I did like the section called "A Day in the Life" for each creative. Photographs were gorgeous!
• 
  Ambur Taft

  Awesome stories about some awesome makers producing some pretty fantastic goods....great motivation to get crafting and also a great resource for products to purchase that you won't make.
• 
  Nancy

  Interviews with small businesses on what they find inspiring and what a typical day is like being self starters. Each one giving one small crafty tutorial.