Big Cartel Blog

We’re constantly looking for ways to make the Big Cartel experience better. Today, we’re excited to highlight a small but powerful usability update to the admin: full keyboard control.

Built with accessibility and power users in mind, the store admin can now be used almost entirely without a mouse. Form fields, buttons, help tips, and even the main navigation can be steered through just by using the tab key on your keyboard. It’s a pretty slick way to cruise through your admin, and it’s already live. Everything from adding products to updating settings are now never more than a few quick key taps away.

This Friday Big Cartel hits the Windy City for our first ever Creative unConference, and we’re unBelievably excited. We’ll be listening in on some amazing panels, and have even prepared a little something to present our thoughts on how Big Cartel got where we are. We’re very excited to share some of the awesome things we stumbled upon that have helped us help you. Feel free to stop by if that sounds interesting enough, the more the merrier.

What: Creative unConference
When: Friday, November 2
Where: Columbia College, Chicago

On October 19 The Mandate Press opened their doors for a special gallery event featuring curated works, all letterpressed in-house, from designers, illustrators, hand-letterers, print-makers and tattooers. Even our very own Dan Christofferson got in on the action! The opening was incredible, and luckily for those who couldn’t make it, prints are available in The Mandate Press shop.

Check out the show here: themandatepress.bigcartel.com

As our army of Big Cartel stores continues to grow, so does our small but mighty team. Out of Boulder, CO, by way of the great midwest, Blake Walters joins our ranks as Big Cartel’s first dedicated front-end developer.

Like any good child of the 80s, Blake wore out his VHS copy of The Empire Strikes Back, played in a crappy ska band, then a less crappy punk band, and started building websites as a pre-teen. He took his skills to school where he actually learned to program, and then got a job to learn how to put it all together. Boy are we lucky he did, because he’s quite the asset to our team. Welcome aboard, Blake!

Check out the full shop at: meganauman.bigcartel.com

BC: How did you get into jewelry making? How did it become a business for you?

MA: I actually discovered jewelry making while in high school. I wanted to be a painter, so I was part of an arts magnet program for high school seniors at the local community college. They did different workshops with us, and one of them was lost wax cast rings. I just remember thinking “You can go to college for this! Sign me up!”

I went on to get a BFA from Syracuse University in Metalsmithing and an MFA from Kent State in Metals & Jewelry. The whole time I was in school, I always wavered between becoming a college art professor and running my own business. My first year out of grad school I had a full time teaching position, and realized pretty quickly that while I love to teach, being a full time university professor wasn’t for me. I’ve been running my business ever since!

BC: What is it about jewelry that you are so passionate about?

MA: There are certain materials and process that I am just in love with. In college, we used to joke that I was the metalsmithing major who never worked in metal, I was always using these weird materials. But in grad school I started welding steel wire, and I was hooked. I love steel because it’s got a strength to it that so many other metals don’t have. It’s so durable and industrial, but it has the potential to be so beautiful. I recently started working a lot with bronze, and I love the combination of the bronze and the steel. They make such a beautiful contrast.

BC: Can you tell us how you develop and design a collection? What does a glimpse at your process look like?

MA: Most of the pieces in my line are about playing with the process of making chain. I love chain because it’s such a simple concept (it’s just link after link) but the variations are seemingly endless. So when I’m designing something new, I usually start by making lots and lots of links. I’ll vary the size and shape, or the type or thickness of metal, and then I’ll just play with all the variations. It’s amazing to me, because every time I think I’m done with my signature collection, I come up with another variation that I like even more.

BC: Do you love and obsess over jewelry? Or do you kind of keep it at arms length since it’s such a huge part of your life?

MA: I really do LOVE jewelry. Some of the most popular pieces in my line came about because I wanted to make something to wear for myself first. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry when I’m working in the studio, but I can’t leave the house without at least a few pieces. I also really love to look at other people’s jewelry. I’m a big museum girl, so it’s always fun to look at different collections when I travel. This year I went to Paris and London and saw some amazing pieces in the museums there. I also have so many friends that make incredible jewelry, and we’re always trading!

BC: What are some of the best moves you’ve made or tools you’ve used to help your business grow?

MA: One of the best moves I made for my business was deciding to wholesale and show at the New York International Gift Fair. It was a great way to grow the business, and I’ve met and connected with so many great people, not just stores. The same holds true for other shows and conferences. Connecting with people has been a big part of growing my business.

BC: How has your experience been using Big Cartel to power your online shop?

MA: I love using Big Cartel. I really like how customizable the site is. I was able to create a shop that seamlessly integrates with my website, and keep my branding consistent throughout. Having a Big Cartel shop has made my business look so much more professional.

7 years old! Wow. A lot has changed since the early days with just our two founders bouncing ideas back and forth in a small room in Salt Lake City. We’ve grown to a team of 17 located all around the US, making Big Cartel run from day to day. Our servers have a new home, AND we’re now home to over 250,000 stores.

But what hasn’t changed, is what we do, and why we do it. We haven’t lost sight of helping artists make money doing what they love, and that ain’t half bad for 7 years in.

Our special gift to ourselves is a nod to all of the much-admired detail work that has gone into the products and stores and brands of the last 7 years. We put together this little video birthday present to commemorate it all, and next time we’ll remember the cake, we promise.

Working remotely absolutely has its perks, and we’ve enjoyed those for the better part of the last 7 years. A couple times a year, however, we get together in Salt Lake City at an undisclosed warehouse to brainstorm new ideas, talk ones and zeros, and shoulder hawk our way out of design problems. These bi-yearly indiefests or, Big Cartel-nivals, really kept our engines running, and made us realize how important it is to our product, and to our culture, to be together more often.

This last summer, we put the finishing touches on a small headquarters in the heart of the gallery district in Salt Lake City. It’s perfect for gathering the team to work through new ideas, or just providing a space to work when you really need a buddy to bounce ideas off of. We’ve already thrown our grand opening party, and hope to have plenty more events in the years to come.

2012 is shaping up to be a year of moves for Big Cartel. As you may have heard, we recently moved into a beautiful new office. With that under our belt, we thought we’d let you in on another big move we’ve been working on for the better part of this year.

Starting out

When we started building Big Cartel, we knew we needed help with some of the behind the scenes nerdery that makes a website run. For the last 7 years, and 250,000 stores, we’ve relied on the fine folks at Rails Machine to provide the servers, bandwidth, and core infrastructure that we could build on. Without their help in those early days, it’s likely we never would have reached these milestones.

Growing pains

As the site grew, so did the demands on our servers. Every new store brought more and more traffic. Some of you even started selling amazing limited edition items that had people lining up in droves. It was like beanie baby mania all over again. You may not have known about the cut-throat panicked refreshing going on at the shop next door, but you probably noticed there were times your shop was a bit slow or a customer got an unexpected error page.

As more and more artists began depending on Big Cartel for their livelihoods, it became clear that we needed more control over the infrastructure that powers the site.

Shaping up

Late last year, we started looking for some awesome folks to join the team and help make our server infrastructure fitter, fleeter, and more stable than ever. With their help, we’ve set up our own networks and servers in an undisclosed desert location. We’ve spent months installing monitoring systems, tweaking configuration files, and tuning minute details till we were satisfied. All of this will allow us nearly complete control of every aspect of the delivery of our stores. True artisans, whatever their field, have an intimate knowledge of their tools, ingredients, or materials, and now we can say the same.

Shipping out

This coming Sunday night (midnight Eastern to be exact) Big Cartel will move into its new digital home. We’ve done everything we can to make the transition smooth, but you may notice a few bumps. A cross-country move isn’t easy after all. Our internal billing system and Pulley have already made the jump and assure us the water is fine. With any luck you won’t even notice the brief outage we’ll take to make the transition but will notice a faster, more reliable Big Cartel.

Moving forward

To show we’re serious about continually improving our server speed and uptime, we’re rolling out a new status page that’s automatically updated any time there’s an issue with the site. We’ll also continue to be transparent about any problems that arise, and we’ll work around the clock to make sure your products are always online and selling.

We love helping you make a living from your art – and we thank you for trusting us with your store. Here’s to everyone’s continued growth.