Friday, December 17, 2010

Holiday Hustle


I feel like I've been slacking off on my blog updates. I always try to blog at least once a week but it has been hard with the Christmas rush. I still have cards to mail out and more presents to buy. We just barely put up our tree!

Tomorrow is the 2nd Christmas craft show with the local Etsy team. I have decided not to participate in this one. I think I am going to wait until February to participate in another craft fair.

I've been getting inquiries in my shop for Christmas related purchases. Customers requesting to change a stone color or alter an item. It has been fun working with them to create an item they are happy with. It makes me want to start doing more custom orders. I really enjoy the customer interaction.

One more week until Christmas, can you believe it?!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Birthday Time!


Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Meeeeee, Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeeeee! That's all I wanted to say today! I had a great day, one of my better birthdays:)

Friday, December 3, 2010

My First Craft Show Experience and Other Stuff


It's been a couple of weeks since I blogged, things have been so hectic with the holiday season. Last Saturday I participated in my first craft show with the local Etsy team. It was a great experience! I only made 1 sale but not very many people sold that day. Most of the people that showed up were more interested in seeing the antique train display upstairs and of course Santa. I learn A LOT and asked so many questions. When I first arrived I immediately noticed how professional other seller's tables look. I kind of wanted to bolt out the door with my little crappy looking card table, plastic green tablecloth, and trays of jewelry. But I made do and everyone there was so nice and the customers were very friendly and had nice compliments:D I lost out on a couple of sales because I didn't accept credit card but I did give them my business card. That is one thing I am looking into is a credit card reader. I read on the Etsy forums of a slick new card reader that you plug into your cell phone called SQUARE UP. Here is the website: https://squareup.com/ Right now it only runs on iPhone and Droid phones.

Overall I had a great time at the craft fair and would definitely do it again in the near future. There is another Christmas show coming up on the 18th which I am thinking about doing but not sure yet. I am more prepared now, I made my own necklace stand and bought a cheap ring display. I have attached a pic of the necklace display. I used an old canvas painting and painted it over with acrylic paint and then I added eyehooks on top to hold the necklaces.

Things are starting to pick up again in my Etsy shop. I had a great October but then things started to slow down for a couple of weeks as my attention focused more on the craft show. One thing that helps keep me motivated is using all the money I earn in my shop to buy goodies off Etsy. I get to buy stuff for myself and my family that I wouldn't have considered buying before I started selling. Also, I want to keep the energy flowing to support the handmade community. I am going to start reviewing some of my favorite items in future posts. Until next time!:D