Today a year ago, I opend my shop on Etsy. I'm sorry to say that it hasn't been a very profitable adventure so far, but I am working on starting over so-to-speak, with new pictures and new designs and new tags which are oh so important on Etsy, in order to be seen on a web site that already has over a million sellers.
When Etsy started all you needed to do was open your shop and tell your friends and family about it, and "they will come."
But in this day of massive social media and the fact that Esty has grown so large, you have to have a twitter "page" a facebook business page, a blog and you have to set your shop up with the appropriate pictures and the correct lables for your items. And you have to understand how to do all those things perfectly. To someone like me who is slightly computer illiterate, it's not the easiest thing.
Last weekend I had my items in a craft fair of sorts. I had put all my eggs into that basket hoping that my sale items would sell out and I could start adding items for the fall and Christmas season. Unfortunatly, all jelwelry sellers were grouped together at the sale and there were several sellers who were selling their cheaply made items for MUCH less than I was selling my homemade items. I sold only five things and those were all to people I knew. I am grateful to those two people, but I do wish I could have sold more things. Consequently I have taken several things out of my shop. I will take them apart and eventually use the beads in different designs. These items were in my shop since the beginning and have never been shown any interest.
I also have new designs with new beads in mind. Indeed I already have several made. In the meantime I am taking pictures over again and trying to give my shop a more cohesive look. Since the craft fair last weekend I feel like I have lost my creativity and am having a hard time taking photographs that I like and will work for my shop, but I'm not giving up and I will get there!
Meanwhile Happy First Anniversary to my Etsy shop today!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
ETSY- Teamhandmade
Being handmade is what Etsy was all about when it first started up. Crafters were required to make all their things in their home with their own hands and ship them from there too.
And then they started accepting collectives where several people work in one shop to make the products. Then they started accepting re-sellers. People who bought their things cheaply from China and resold them as handmade.
So, a group of sellers on Etsy who WERE making things by hand, started a team and call themselves TEAMHANDMADE. Our group now has over 650 members and we all sport the team handmade logo in our shops.
When you go onto Etsy to search for something, you simply need to put "Teamhandmade" (all one word) into your search and then whatever item you're looking for. For example, teamhandmade red bracelet. The items that come up in your search will be from members of our team and you'll be assured that they are indeed handmade and not resold items from elsewhere.
Please encourage everyone you know who shops on Etsy, to search for their items this way. This group of people is really wonderful. They support each other and are trying hard to keep the hand in Handmade!
And then they started accepting collectives where several people work in one shop to make the products. Then they started accepting re-sellers. People who bought their things cheaply from China and resold them as handmade.
So, a group of sellers on Etsy who WERE making things by hand, started a team and call themselves TEAMHANDMADE. Our group now has over 650 members and we all sport the team handmade logo in our shops.
When you go onto Etsy to search for something, you simply need to put "Teamhandmade" (all one word) into your search and then whatever item you're looking for. For example, teamhandmade red bracelet. The items that come up in your search will be from members of our team and you'll be assured that they are indeed handmade and not resold items from elsewhere.
Please encourage everyone you know who shops on Etsy, to search for their items this way. This group of people is really wonderful. They support each other and are trying hard to keep the hand in Handmade!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Creating vs My House
Those of you who know me, know that it is important for me to have a clean home. Those who don't understand this say to me, there are so many things more important than a clean house. To that I say, you can have a clean house and still have important things in your life.
But here's my problem. I keep telling myself that I will make time to be creative and create my jewelry with the designs I have in mind rather than focusing on how clean my house looks. BUT, it's not happening. I can't seem to let the house work go.
When I was working part time, three days a week, I had a woman who cleaned my house. That meant that on my two days off, I could do what I wanted. But that wasn't true either because I still had to change the bed sheets once per week, grocery shop once per week, run errands to fetch whatever we needed, get a hair cut, talk to my mom which is usually not less than 1.5 hours per week, and get together with my friends who don't work at all and don't have hobbies or other things that keep them busy. The weekends were kept for my husband because he and I love to do things together like go golfing or visiting his parents in upstate Pennsylvania. And anyone who goes grocery shopping on the weekend is just plain crazy anyway!!
So now, I don't work outside of my house. My goal is to work in the mornings on my house and then create in the afternoon. But that's not happening. And the worst part is, it's my fault. I have a hard time getting going in the mornings because I am always stiff and achy. So I take my time, have a cup or two of coffee, watch some morning shows and check out what's new overnight on my computer. That pretty much takes me to 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. Then I have to take a shower and start my house work, or whatever else needs to be done this week. I check in again on my email during the afternoon and cook lunch for my husband for the next day or clean a bathroom or do some laundry or get a haircut and then it's almost time for my husband to get home!
So, my plan as of next week is, no more dilly dallying. I will still start my day with a cup of coffee, and take a shower, but the first two days of the week will be for crafting. The next two will be for chores and maybe Friday I can get to creating again.
We'll see how that works. I'll keep you all updated. I figure if I share my dilemma and how I correct it with all of you, it will keep me honest. Keep your fingers crossed!
But here's my problem. I keep telling myself that I will make time to be creative and create my jewelry with the designs I have in mind rather than focusing on how clean my house looks. BUT, it's not happening. I can't seem to let the house work go.
When I was working part time, three days a week, I had a woman who cleaned my house. That meant that on my two days off, I could do what I wanted. But that wasn't true either because I still had to change the bed sheets once per week, grocery shop once per week, run errands to fetch whatever we needed, get a hair cut, talk to my mom which is usually not less than 1.5 hours per week, and get together with my friends who don't work at all and don't have hobbies or other things that keep them busy. The weekends were kept for my husband because he and I love to do things together like go golfing or visiting his parents in upstate Pennsylvania. And anyone who goes grocery shopping on the weekend is just plain crazy anyway!!
So now, I don't work outside of my house. My goal is to work in the mornings on my house and then create in the afternoon. But that's not happening. And the worst part is, it's my fault. I have a hard time getting going in the mornings because I am always stiff and achy. So I take my time, have a cup or two of coffee, watch some morning shows and check out what's new overnight on my computer. That pretty much takes me to 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. Then I have to take a shower and start my house work, or whatever else needs to be done this week. I check in again on my email during the afternoon and cook lunch for my husband for the next day or clean a bathroom or do some laundry or get a haircut and then it's almost time for my husband to get home!
So, my plan as of next week is, no more dilly dallying. I will still start my day with a cup of coffee, and take a shower, but the first two days of the week will be for crafting. The next two will be for chores and maybe Friday I can get to creating again.
We'll see how that works. I'll keep you all updated. I figure if I share my dilemma and how I correct it with all of you, it will keep me honest. Keep your fingers crossed!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
What is Handmade?
So much has been going on over at Etsy and people have suddenly been made aware of the fact that not all things on Etsy are handmade. You have to be careful when you shop there. I think that people who are regular shoppers know the difference between hand made and something made in a shop in China and then sold on Etsy.
People are "up in arms" about this as Etsy is so well known for being a seller of only handmade things. They (Etsy) have been quite mum about the whole thing, but they have stated that being a "collective" is different than being a reseller. Being a collective means that your items are handmade by your employees in your shop.
So I have been wondering, with buyers being sparse lately, if I should continue selling on Etsy. And to be honest, I do want to continue. I don't think Etsy is completely down and out and they will recover. They need to make their statement VERY clear so that you know that Etsy is comprised of single person handmade items as well as collectives. If people are aware of this they will come and buy from the people whom they are comfortable with.
It takes some research. There are over 400,000 active shops on Etsy. If you don't like what you see in one shop, you go to another shop to look around. Etsy is a GREAT shopping center that you can visit from your couch at 3 a.m. if you want to. Take advantage of it and it will be a great place!
People are "up in arms" about this as Etsy is so well known for being a seller of only handmade things. They (Etsy) have been quite mum about the whole thing, but they have stated that being a "collective" is different than being a reseller. Being a collective means that your items are handmade by your employees in your shop.
So I have been wondering, with buyers being sparse lately, if I should continue selling on Etsy. And to be honest, I do want to continue. I don't think Etsy is completely down and out and they will recover. They need to make their statement VERY clear so that you know that Etsy is comprised of single person handmade items as well as collectives. If people are aware of this they will come and buy from the people whom they are comfortable with.
It takes some research. There are over 400,000 active shops on Etsy. If you don't like what you see in one shop, you go to another shop to look around. Etsy is a GREAT shopping center that you can visit from your couch at 3 a.m. if you want to. Take advantage of it and it will be a great place!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Some jewelry just IS ugly...
I've been doing a lot of tweeking in my Etsy shop and came across a post by a man who dyes his own wool for the projects that he makes. He wrote that he had intended this particular skein of wool to be a mix of two different colors, but the wool came out in a mix of some very ugly shades. He wrote that his wife told him she absolutely thought he should not use that skein of wool and he was asking for other opinions of this.
That made me think about some of my jewelry. I don't partuicularly care for the style of every piece of jelwelry I create. Some of it is not as "pretty" as I like my jewelry to be, but the things that are not necessarily my style, sell just as well as the other things. In fact, sometimes the the pieces that I think are lovely, take longer to sell!
By now I have so many beads and so many different colors and styles accumulated, that I have an unlimited amount of designs I could come up with. I know that not all of my pieces will be my favorites, but that doesn't mean that someone else won't be entranced by the piece. And now, I'm off to create some new pieces!
That made me think about some of my jewelry. I don't partuicularly care for the style of every piece of jelwelry I create. Some of it is not as "pretty" as I like my jewelry to be, but the things that are not necessarily my style, sell just as well as the other things. In fact, sometimes the the pieces that I think are lovely, take longer to sell!
By now I have so many beads and so many different colors and styles accumulated, that I have an unlimited amount of designs I could come up with. I know that not all of my pieces will be my favorites, but that doesn't mean that someone else won't be entranced by the piece. And now, I'm off to create some new pieces!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Life is good
When I got up this morning, the sun was shining, the coffee was brewing since my husband got up before me, and I felt safe and loved and I knew that life is good. My husband made breakfast for me and I knew that today I would start designing some new pieces for my Etsy shop.
Last evening, I was looking at the shops of fellow Etsy sellers and it suddenly occured to me that the styles of beads available for projects, is totally endless. I am completely in awe of the people who actually create the beads. On Etsy you can find people who make beads from clay, glass, silver or gold and even paper. Now that's talent! I so appreciate those people because other than from clay, I could not produce any beads, and I need those beads to create my jewelry.
Yes, life is good, and as long there are beads to be bought, I will create jewlery with them and make all my customers happy as well as myself.
Last evening, I was looking at the shops of fellow Etsy sellers and it suddenly occured to me that the styles of beads available for projects, is totally endless. I am completely in awe of the people who actually create the beads. On Etsy you can find people who make beads from clay, glass, silver or gold and even paper. Now that's talent! I so appreciate those people because other than from clay, I could not produce any beads, and I need those beads to create my jewelry.
Yes, life is good, and as long there are beads to be bought, I will create jewlery with them and make all my customers happy as well as myself.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Winter Creating
My New Year's resolution this year, was to spend more time on my Etsy shop and the things that I like to do. I have two days off per week and they both always seemed to be used up by household chores. So, now I get at least 3/4 of those chores done on one day and I can spend 3/4 of the other off day, creating more jewelry for my shop or fixing my shop to make it look like I want it to. I've also been exploring ways to advertise my shop more. That seems to be working pretty well so far because I'm on the first page of Google when I look up the name of my shop! :)
In November for my birthday, my sister gave me a $100 gift card to buy beads or anything else I needed for my shop. Just recently I used the last of that card for creating more things to add to my shop. I read on the forums at Etsy, that it is important to have several pages of things for sale because that way people will linger longer in your shop and are more likely to come back. I'm proud to say that with my sister's $100 gift, I have been able to increase my number of items to 65!! I also have the ability to make at least 20 or 30 more items!
I'm very excited for this year. I hope it will be the best possible year for my Etsy shop, and I'm positive it will be!
Happy New Year to everyone!!
In November for my birthday, my sister gave me a $100 gift card to buy beads or anything else I needed for my shop. Just recently I used the last of that card for creating more things to add to my shop. I read on the forums at Etsy, that it is important to have several pages of things for sale because that way people will linger longer in your shop and are more likely to come back. I'm proud to say that with my sister's $100 gift, I have been able to increase my number of items to 65!! I also have the ability to make at least 20 or 30 more items!
I'm very excited for this year. I hope it will be the best possible year for my Etsy shop, and I'm positive it will be!
Happy New Year to everyone!!
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