Thursday, August 30, 2007

Found it!




So I found my calendar and today's goals were to make some promos for our etsyrain group and and to give out when I am out and about.Promotion promotion! I will let you know if it works. I am giving out small cards with my etsy site and my blog address. It is a coupon kind of for a free card if they send me a convo or comment on my blog.Hmmm might work. I like the idea of a contest as well. I will have to pencil that in. Tip: Always pencil everything in, that way you are never committed to it and you can move it to another day. I also set a goal to read three blogs and leave a comment to help with more traffic to my site and to broaden my knowledge of who is selling out there. Maybe tonight. There are so many great artists! My other goal was to be in the forum in the am. I did do most of them and I still have some time but honestly I went to tea( 3 hours) with my mom. It was much more civil than working. Well so much for the calendar and now I seem to need a nap.




PS If anyone reads this please tell me how I link to your blogs! I am sure I can figure it out but it goes so much faster when I am told what to do at least in this venue:)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

OMG Summer is almost over!


Summer for me is winding down and now the new challenge begins. I go back to work( which I am looking forward to, I miss it ) and I have to figure out how to keep the momentum I have started going with creating and etsy. I have set up a calender which of course I have now missed place with the goals I have and the design ideas I have. I thought this would be a great way to keep on task. It works at my job. the problem is I keep miss placing it. I have put out a bulletin in my home for a reward if someone finds it. So much for organization. I have no plan B so I must find that calendar. I am off on the hunt.

Friday, August 24, 2007

So how many carrots are in your basket? Tell me your story!



I have been thinking a lot about where do I go from here? What is it I want from this experience? I read a thread in the forum about who should be selling and who might want to bail. What are people thinking when they post items that just are not going to sell and nobody wants to buy low end crafts. Art has always been a personal interpretation for the buyer as well for the seller. Etsy is advertised as a one of a kind handmade sight. Hmmm who says my story is not a good enough reason to be there. We each need to know what it is we want from our venture. I already have heard a few stories all interesting and unique. Each one of us with a dream and craft that gives us pleasure. My story? I get great enjoyment from my crafts, I am very sensory motivated and so it needs to feel good against my fingers. I loose interest easily and so I will have two to three projects going at the same time. I started my business when I found myself off for the summer and I needed to do something with my time and I thought I could make a little money to finance my crafting addiction. I also wanted to learn more about the Internet and what it had to offer. This year I made a goal to really focus on my etsy business and to learn how to blog and navigate with less difficulty on line. All the while I continue to craft. I have not sold a thing this summer from my etsy store. I do have my cards in a shop in Florida and one now in Seattle. It makes me smile. I also have met a group of very nice people. I have stepped outside my comfort zone and pushed myself. I have done a street fair and look forward to a group fair in the fall. Wow all this from a hobby. I think my summer as been a success but if you just visited my shop on etsy you may have thought differently. My shop is a cover to a book that is very complex and has many chapters.


Do you have a story? Of course you do! Tell it here.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

The Fair a Family afair!

I did it! I made it through the Fremont Fair and had a great time. I have done craft shows so it is not like it is new but I have never done it with a group of people I did not know. I at least paid for my space and made a few cents on top of it and met some great people. I so love my family who no matter what I make( or don't) support the fact that I like doing this. I do not think it was the intention of my husband to stay all day with our two daughters but that is what they did. There is a vibration, a feeling when you are there that you get no where else. When artist gather there is an energy. I think he liked the energy and the support that he was able to give me. In all it was a very nice day, sun and I got a little tan. I wasn't at home so I did not have to do house work or those other important(not) home life things we are suppose to do. Hmm maybe I am doing this to provide myself a good solid excuse to avoid those things I can not stand to do. Now I have another excuse besides lets go play. We haven;t played all week. The dishes will be there when we get back. Yes I may be on to something. Weekends fairs no housework. I am liking this. I what I did find amazing is how long it took all of us to get ready and the checking and rechecking that we did to make sure we were ready for our 2 x 2 space. Our booth looked good. Each of our own uniqueness represented in our small area. Each of us prideful of what we had to offer and of the work we had done. This is a group of very mixed and talented crafters. Not only in materials and whimsy but in age and experiences. I look forward in all I have to learn and in getting to know these artists as we journey through our experiences at etsy and beyond! The challenges I found was not knowing what to do. I found that I needed to be doing something, I did crochet for a while but I needed to mingle with the people. I handed out bags with goodies that gave me an excuse to talk to the crowds( Use that loosely). There was a huge crowd but it dwindled before it got down to us and the tree troll. In all a lot was learned, friends were being made and fun was had by all.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Getting ready for the fair


I am getting ready for a fair this weekend with some sellers I have not even met yet. I made a vow to push my comfort zone this summer and give my business my all and here I am doing it. I am also meeting 10 to 15 artist from Seattle for coffee. Yes I do not know a single soul. Way out of my comfort zone. I understand networking in the world is how small business works and so I will try my hand at it even though it makes my heart race. Back to the fair. I am so not organized and I have a hard time making a decision and keeping to it because there is always another way to do it or a prettier way to present it and the list goes on. I am second guessing my pricing and on and on and on. It is not like I have never done a craft show so you would think I would just let it flow. Oh no way! I am like a pilot at take off. Check and recheck and recheck and fret that I have missed something. It is my goodness only a Sunday market. I have a small space so then I have to decide what product I want to bring. Simple? Oh not for me. I think I will just bring everything I have. I do not have to decide and if I do not have enough space, it is limited, I will have to chose when I am there. I do not have a lot of product so it is not like packing the entire castle. It is two containers. And to think I am the CEO of my company. It is amazing I get anything done. Sadly my husband is inflicted with the same personality type. Goodness making decisions in our home is needless to say a lot of talk and very little action sometimes. There are lots of tips out there for fairs, make sure you have the basics, water, food(and in this order) snacks, very little cash to spend( you will not make a profit by spending it all at the fair, go with a budget) cash to make change, receipt book, great table set up and your product( oops maybe this should be after the food) and have a good time. It is a great opportunity if nothing else to get out of the house and meet some pretty darn nice people. Keep repeating step out of the box, step out of the box

Have a great day and keep crafting!