EDIT (2/22/10): Okay, we have to put a deadline out there now… it’s February 28 at midnight MST (just make sure you’re application is in my inbox when I wake up Monday morning, and no questions will be asked!). If you’re thinking about applying, please do! If you’re feeling intimidated, don’t – you have no idea what we’re looking for – it might surprise you what we consider important. We’re funky like that. 
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EDIT: While there is no official “deadline” for this call, we have gotten several top-notch applications in a short period of time. We will be assigning team member roles as we find good matches for them – don’t delay too long if you are planning to apply!
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Hi all – this is Amy, Grand Poobah of Gauche. Second in command only to Commander in Heat Chief, Heather Pearson.
Did the title of this post grab your attention? Yes, that’s an invitation you see up there. We have not yet put out an open call – just starting here with our nearest and dearest. I hope you’re totally jazzed.
An open call just for our blog readers!
Want to design with Gauche Alchemy supplies (vintage! found objects! whee!), apply your creative brainwaves to a wider array of possibilities, promote upcycling, meet new people, have fun, and work with a fabulous team of talented women from across the globe?
Gauche Alchemy is looking to expand the scope of our design team. We can give you a valid excuse to Twitter the day away, research all the fun Facebook applications and widgets, prowl challenge sites and bulletin boards, or finally make time to learn a thing or two about internet marketing. Have a strange and inexplicable attraction for repetitious tasks? We’ll dig up a few and reward you richly for your assistance.
Here’s the best part. We want your ideas. We are a small creative endeavor, set on world domination. Your contributions matter. Join us?
Each team member will have different responsibilities and be expected to contribute approximately 5 hours per week in exchange for a heaping helping of our fabulous unique finds. Curiosity a plus. Quirky brain a plus. Faulty wiring a big plus as long as it doesn’t distract you from the task at hand. Creative energy and snarky exuberance always appreciated.
Here’s how it works.
All members of our design team will receive generous monthly goody boxes. Your primary duties may not always involve specific designing assignments with deadlines. You are free to use your supplies in any way you choose. We ask only that you post about any projects in which you incorporated our products and credit with appropriate links. If you do not currently have a personal blog, be prepared to start one (it’s free – we will help if this makes you nervous). We strongly encourage participation in various communities and forums, challenge sites, and submission to magazines and other publications!
We occasionally hand-pick individual team members for special assignments. We plan for the flexibility necessary in those times when life throws tomatoes, cantaloupe, squash and bricks all at once. We endeavor to support your strengths and make best use of your gifts. We are a team of sisters.
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis. There are no deadlines for you or us – it’s not meant to torture you, we promise. We’re just going to let our intuition guide us.
We may choose several finalists based on the quality of your design work, your enthusiasm, your personality, your style, and/or your non-design interests (you DO NOT have to have experience in your area of interest, only desire and motivation to learn). If we like you, you get points. So don’t be “professional.” Let us see the real you.
Any finalists will be given a goody box and the opportunity to show us what they can do! Don’t worry – you’ll be guided and given any information you’ll need to complete assignments. Those who shine will be offered a 6-month gig with us, with possible renewal.
How to apply:
E-mail the following to us at gauchealchemy@cox.net. IMPORTANT: the subject line must say GA TEAM APPLICATION. If it doesn’t say that, it will be difficult to find your application later, and it may be overlooked.
Send:
1) Photos of 2 or 3 recent projects (created within past 3 months, no need to create them just for us unless you want to). Please attach the files even if you also provide links.
2) A photo of yourself.
3) Tell us about yourself – your favorite project type (cards, scrapbook layouts, mixed media, dimensional art, fabric/textile arts, home decor, fashion, toys, dolls, etc.), what styles appeal to you most, your favorite artists, what inspires you, music you listen to while playing, your favorite books and/or mags for inspiration… anything that will give us an idea of who you are as a creative being.
4) Tell us why you want to work with us. Be honest. Be snarky. Be yourself. This is not a formal interview. We are not the IRS. We’re not comparing your answers to a test key.
5) Attach an “artistic” resume or tell us about the design projects you’ve been involved in – any correspondence projects like circle journals or mail art? Have you been a design team member before? Are you currently designing for anyone? Have you been published? (None of these accomplishments are required… we just want to know about your experiences and current obligations!)
6) Do you have any special interests or skills that are not specifically based in art/design? Do you enjoy something that other people might call “boring?” (Some of us find repetitive tasks soothing; others are driven to the brink of despair!) Do you consider yourself a Google Goddess? Do you know html? Do you find you seem to magically stumble across amazing websites? Were you a graphic designer in a past life? Are you an old soul in CPA clothing? Are you a secret SEO ninja warrior? Are you good at writing/filming tutorials? Are you the purveyor of brilliant ideas? Do you ever catch yourself saying things like, “What do you mean you’ve never heard of Squidoo?” Can you rub your head and pat your tummy at the same time? Or…. do you just wish you could say any of these things about yourself?
7) Do you have a blog? Facebook page? My Space page? Flickr account? Twitter account? Which bulletin boards do you frequent? What challenge sites are you most drawn to? Would you call yourself a junkie in reference to any of these? What kind of online fun and mischief do you most often seek? Do you have a lot of friends that you’ve never met IRL (i.e., cyber buddies)? Tell us where you met them!
(IF YOU ARE A MAN, please don’t be put off by the feminine descriptors above. We want you to apply!)
Your “job description”
Whatever your role, these are the major requirements: 1) you must be reliable, 2) you must be willing to learn, 3) you must play well with others, and 4) you must do it with PANACHE! If you’re the kind of person who enjoys skirting the edge of propriety, well, we could sure use your help!
Possible assignments!
Here’s a list of the kind of Gauche Alchemists we are looking to add. These are not set in stone – to some degree, each person will be given tasks best suited to their interests and/or skills. YOU DO NOT have to have experience in your area of interest, but please tell us about it if you do.
Titles subject to change. 
1) Tutorial disseminator (I said “semen” huh huhhh hhhuh….) – this involves increasing exposure to any tutorial we write or produce. We hope to be doing a LOT more video tutorials soon, and our written tutorials will also continue. There are a variety of spots to post and cross-post and promote these tutorials all over the cyberworld, so your job will be doing the legwork. (What was that I said about world domination? Oh, you thought I was kidding?) Don’t worry if you have no idea what I’m talking about. We will give you all the information you need to get started, and once you get the hang of it, I’m sure you’ll expand our knowledge and reach! It can actually be quite fun. You’ll be working with Lara, our DT Captain /slash/ Video Tutorial Producer.
2) Administrative Goddess (or God… never let it be said we aren’t gender neutral) – you will assist us with the tasks that help us keep on keepin’ on: newsletter and customer databases, twice weekly shipping lists (team members, orders, blog candy, promotions, etc.), verify order is paid before it ships, refund postage (until ArtFire improves their shipping databases – which should happen within the next few months they say), request copyright permissions for images we’d like to use – fun stuff like that.
3) Bloggonit! - help coordinate posting schedule and topics, blog roll clean-up and maintenance (customer blogs, artist blogs, challenge blogs, and any other linkees we think should be at the ready for our loyal readers), manage spam, perhaps help SEO team members with backlink research, etc..
This group of folks will work together – some of the positions may be combined or some may have more than one team member.
- Promo Prom Queen – our primary need right now is someone who is dedicated to investigate and coordinate the requests we get to sponsor various blogs and communities. We do love to be as involved in the online community as possible. You will be the person to coordinate all other promos – for the blog, Twitter, Facebook, newsletter, etc – working with other team members (see below). You compile information about people who’ve scored candy from us so we can get it in the mail to them. Whoo-hoo! You’ll be in charge of new ideas, keeping track of places to post pubcalls and contests, and interface with our partners. You track down opportunities to guest post, swap designers, sponsor challenges and community contests, and get us mentioned anywhere and everywhere you can. Okay, not everywhere. I think porkrinds.com doesn’t really need to know about us.
- Publications – coordinate and encourage submissions to print and e-zines, blog/post/participate in challenges, using Gauche Alchemy supplies whenever possible, research and recommend publications/topics to submit, shout-outs on the blog when readers get published. This may include researching advertising information for publications and/or preparing ad copy or design if this is where your interest and talents lie. I’ll point you to some exciting information about how to get cheap ads in national and international magazines – haven’t tried it yet… that will be your job!
- SM Guru – No, not THAT kind of SM! I’m talking about Social Marketing!
A huge reason I love having an online business is because it is so “mom-and-pop.” You get to know people. You get to LIKE people. You have true, human conversations with your customers. You become their customers! It’s ironic that our face-to-face interactions in the real world have become so impersonal, while business online seems like anything but business as usual. I never fancied myself an entrepreneur, but here I am. Seriously. Who knew it could be so much fun? Our Social Media Guru will coordinate the efforts of other team members (Promo Prom Queen, Face of Facebook, Twit, Flickette, etc.) and also move us into new areas. Squidoo, My Space, Pownce… and probably a whole bunch of shee-at you and I haven’t heard of (or thought of) yet.
- Gauche Twit – this person is going to control our Twitter feed. There are a lot of tools and techniques for using Twitter effectively – kind of ironic how much there is when it’s basically a way to communicate ideas in 140 characters or less! I Twitter personally but have not opened an official Gauche Alchemy Twitter account. We’d like to. I think most businesses do an abysmal job with their Twitter feeds… I know we can have a TON of fun with it! There has been value in watching and waiting to take this step. I will guide you in Twitter etiquette, how to do cool stuff with it, etc. Once you’ve got the basics, I’m sure you’ll run away with it and find so many more cool things to do!
- The Face of Facebook – Our FB fan page could be much more than it is. So, so, so much more. Facebook can be a way to fritter away all the hours of your life… or it can be loads of fun that feeds people fantastic content in a direct and personal way. We need someone with personality plus! to take charge… you’ll be researching the best applications for us to use, get our forum up and running, and make our fan page the place to be on Facebook.
- Flickette – Your job will be all things Flickr – organize, manage, comment, start discussions, encourage people to participate, etc. You’ll be responsible for putting up various design team and customer/fan projects if they haven’t made it to the Flickr stream yet.
- Ning Zinger – You’ll create and maintain our Ning bulletin board, keeping it fun and lively, integrating it with our other presences across the cybersphere. You’ll need to think of snarky discussion topics and keep things hopping, encourage people to upload their creations, and basically use the platform for everything it’s worth!
- Newsletter Ninny – Like to write newsletters? Like to find pretty pictures to include in newsletters? Like to find interesting artists to profile in newsletters? How about sending out 2-4 of them per month? We use Mad Mimi for our newsletters – you will enjoy working with this fresh startup – great customer service and easy interface. As always, a quirky mind and good writing style is essential.
- ArtFire Shop Girl (Guy?) – ArtFire is a most amazing artist community. Like Etsy, it’s all about handmade art and craftsmanship. Unlike Etsy, it’s constantly evolving. They care about the shoppers AND the sellers. They have SEO tools that Etsy wouldn’t even think of offering, and improving them constantly. They take suggestions from the peanut gallery and implement them with speed and accuracy. Frankly, it’s a bit of a task to keep up with all their wonderful and useful upgrades, let alone use the full power they’ve provided to grow, but they make it as easy as they can – they have a full section of learning guides and videos! They seem to truly GET what Etsy perhaps never will: THEIR business is to support OUR business. They are so freakin’ friendly to the small online business owner that it brings tears to my tender eyes. Their customer service rocks. So, who wants to jump into this brier patch? 
You will be responsible for keeping listings up to date, listing new items, tagging appropriately for promotions and other ArtFire events, researching postage costs, participating in the ArtFire forums and other ArtFire communities, perhaps getting our ArtFire blog going (importing from here and/or writing posts just for that blog), keeping up with the latest contests and promotional opportunities, sharing the latest and greatest ArtFire news with Heather and Amy, and generally figuring out how to take full advantage of the best darn shopfront solution out there.
- SEO/Internet Marketing Manager(s) – I have learned so many fascinating things about the online world and how to do business online. Anyone who thinks it’s easier than opening up a brick-and-mortor store might be surprised. It’s just a different KIND of work. I’m still quite the newbie, but it can be exciting to get involved in the world of page rank, keywords, search terms, hits, and relevant links. If it sounds boring (I probably would have thought so before beginning), just know that it can get truly absorbing. With my limited time and skills, this blog currently has a Google Page Rank of 3. You may not know what this means, but it’s something I am quite proud of. Imagine what could be done with a few key helpers!
This person will also assist with various listings in blog directories, ad boards, ranking sites, bookmarking sites, etc. If you find yourself thinking “Someday I’m going to start my own online business…” you want to JUMP at this opportunity. What you learn will make your head spin and your future launch might just be spectacular. This person (or team) will be asked to participate in different challenges and lessons – don’t worry, we’ll keep it fun. My favorite source of information so far is the Thirty-Day Challenge. I am very particular about ethics in online marketing. New as I am to the arena, I consider some of the things recommended by the “experts” to be ill-advised. We will not be spamming. We won’t be setting up fake accounts and pages to trick Google into upping our ranking. That crap drives me nuts. We will, however, be learning all about how the system works and how to position ourselves best. We will do it with integrity.
- Human Light Bulb – actually, all of our team members function in this capacity… but this person will specifically have the task of designing project kits, ideas and tutorials for specific kits, etc. You will also help us select product – you will do the “first pass” and bring the best stuff to our attention for a given theme. You will work closely with the Tutorial Desseminator and Video Tutorial Production Manager to come up with ideas for tutorials and then help create them. You will also help with researching ideas, products, and images for use in collage sheets. If we need copyright permissions, you’ll help us with that, too.
Filed under: design team, free stuff | Tagged: crafts, design team | 11 Comments »
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