Weekend Blurble- [abi]

I was betwixt and between making this a Sports Aside post, talking about the Olympics, which I've been watching rather rabidly. But I figured if you don't know that Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals already, well...you must not care about it. :)

Did a little bit more time traveling, reading old posts, seeing old Flickr pics (I bought a pro account.) I'm amazed at how far I've come. Those things, both of them snapshots, are proof that I'm not the person I was. It's cool.

I'm thinking I'll have two big collections a year, color-based. They'll be worked on and released throughout the year. The large collections will have subsets- bracelets, earrings, necklaces. And I'll have smaller sets throughout the year, like the Dots have been. Collection items would be more limited and the sets would become more staple type items. That's just a jewelry thought. I'm not sure how to work out everything else.

Post Picture: The Abi bracelet.

Now 8.14

I've made the change in the shop to made to order. With the advent of shows/markets, I don't think I can stand the pressure of keeping one of everything in stock all the time and make new things. I've added a lot of new things over the last month and reshot some of the older pieces. Those will be 'stock' images now. Aside from wristlets, some of which are OOAK, a purchase may take up to a week to ship. I've added this info to my profile on Etsy and put in my shop announcement. I'm happy about this.

The market went well, today. Sold five items- two photographs, two pairs of earrings and a set of magnets. Some will be remade because my show stock is decreasing. Others won't be for the time being. The search for balance continues.

I also realize, though I guess I always knew it, that I can't run after every promotional gig I see/read/hear about. There is no one way to getting sales. It's sort of an anomaly, both in real life and online. I also think that my target audience is older than I thought. heh...Rock on, right?

Post Picture: The second set of Dots all lined up, Elle, Leaflet, Ria and Taris.

Time Travel

Something happened that changed my perspective. A question was posed on Etsy forums: If you didn't sell would you stop creating? Well, you may know of my business trials, but I haven't let that stop me. I've pushed myself and come up with new things. And I realized:

I'm thankful that I didn't sell like a house afire right from the get-go on Etsy. Looking back, a lot of those first things I listed and have since expired were not 'good'. They were well-made. But if I had stayed there, reproducing those as they sold, oh the things I'd have never discovered.

I made the switch to mostly macrame because I saw even then, back in 2006, that beaded jewelry was extremely popular. At that time Etsy only had about 25000 jewelry items. I wanted to stand out. I came up with the technique using wire. I started using colored threads. I played around with shapes, angles and lines.

I added wristlets on a whim, finding a piece of a jacket that I never finished. I tweaked that piece, making it bigger, wider. I cut up an old shirt of my mom's to line it, made up the pattern as I went along. I ended up keeping that 'first draft'. The ones listed now are much better.

The magnets were started when I found a doodle I'd drawn in my Bible. That 'first draft' as well, I kept. And the whole woodburning thing has spiraled into what could be an artform for me. Line art, handdrawn. It's me.

Would I have done this if I had sold like crazy right from the get-go? I don't think so. I wouldn't have had time. Instead, I've gone through the slumps and the funks, finding my style, creating a brand that reflects me: a person who loves lines, angles, shapes, colors and words, (courtesy of Sesame Street) reworking tradition, not going with the crowd.

There are ideas, yet, that I have to bring into reality. Some of them are burning a hole in my head, I think about them a lot, but haven't figured out all the logistics. Some of them are newer and exciting.

elpy has grown with me. How fitting that as I'm trying in non-business ways to get out on my own to a degree, I'm also looking to move elpy on to places beyond Etsy. I know it says that I started in 2006 and I've told people that. But it really feels like it was reborn this year, this summer. I'm thankful.

Post Picture: First item I sold on Etsy way back in March of '06.

Vampin'

I finished my custom request...well, one of them. Two sets of magnets. I'm pleased with how they came out. I hope my buyer is as well.

Stayed up to the point of seeing Olympic reruns. Yeah. Expect a Sports Aside post soon. I don't know why, but the O's have me glue to the TV/computer, watching sports I wouldn't give $.02 about any other time...even if the US isn't playing.

I'm on a bit of burning tear again. When I do that, get locked in to one skill set, I feel like I'm neglecting everything else. I do need to make a few more earrings because of the sales from last week. But I have ideas for burning, so that's what I do. *sigh*

Post Picture: A peek at my custom order pic. I don't want to give it all away.
Now to package and ship.

Weekend Blurble- O.O.O.O.O

Spent waaay too much time this weekend looking at the Olympics, reading about the Olympics...writing about the Olympics. It's interesting how they captivate the world, how unifying athletics can be.

I'm gonna have to push myself to get anything done. I finished my custom request in terms of burning and drawing. Now I must seal and magnetize. I'm excited about it. I hope she likes them.

Mom finished the invites she was making for the woman who placed that in-flux commission with me. They looked really nice. I'll have to see if I can get a pic of one of the proofs. I get a cut since I edited the picture, retook the picture, edited that picture. We ended up using a blend of two photos. Yeah, Photoshop!

She also thinks, my dear mother, that I should do two markets on Thursday. I think that's a little bit much, especially since, now, our tent is broken. Dad and Bro1 returned it...but now I don't have one. I miss it. I want to take the week off...but I shouldn't. I shouldn't.

Post Picture: An old pic of a little something I'm gonna try again. I want new things to launch in September. That may be one of them. Maybe.