Celebrating Little Victories

I went to a local Art show last night (Henderson ArtsWalk) and had a lot of fun!  I met some really cool artists and got to show off my lovely creations.  This is my third month participating in the ArtsWalk and I'd never had as much fun as I did last night.

I also sold two of my hair bows!  It's so cool that total strangers came up and thought they were pretty or cute enough to take home with them!  I was a little discouraged because I didn't sell very much, but I talked about it with Devon and I've decided to be happy about it.  While I didn't make very much, I at least earned back what I paid for my spot and got to promote my store and items for 4 hours.  I can't wait for the bigger shows I'm doing this season!

What to do about Copycats?

With the opening of my new store KABowtique, I've had the chance to experiment with new designs and have had several come out very well!  I'm so excited to be able to present them.

With that, I started seeing other people copying one of my designs, the Lion Hair Barrette.  At first, I was more than a little concerned and angry, but then, after thinking about it, it's not a big deal.  I look at other people's designs for inspiration, too.  I talked about it with Devon, my husband, quite a bit last night.  He says that I should ask them to credit me, but I'm not sure.  It's really not a big deal to me, and I'm flattered that my design was good enough to copy. 

First Sale for KABowtique!

I just celebrated my first sale in my new store, KABowtique!  It's so exciting to be selling the things I make.  I hope to have many more sales.

Sales are slow, all around, but I'm working hard to promote my stores and I've got several craft shows that I'm attending in the next couple months.  Hopefully, that will serve to get my name out there and also to bring some more sales.  I'm really working hard on my stores and it's really hard work!  But I love making my items.  And I love seeing people enjoy them!

Item Fiction

I am (Devon) into fiction and the fantastic.  I love science fiction and, to a lesser degree, fantasy stories.  Awhile back, I was creating names for each piece of jewelry and a short story to go along with it, describing the supposed special powers that piece contained.  While it was fun and entertaining for me, it didn't seem to increase views, sales or any kind of reaction to the items.

So, my question, or my discussion topic, is this:  Do buyers appreciate those little bits added to the items?  Or is it merely a way to spend time amusing myself?  I'd really love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Etsy Showcase

The idea behind the Etsy Showcase is a wonderful one.  I really like it, I do.

Having said that, I don't know if it works!  Karla has purchased three Showcase slots and has generated exactly zero sales from it.  It's frustrating, knowing that you're spending money on advertising that's not working.  It could be because she hasn't gotten a slot on the Main Showcase.  We decided to try that one, next, but it's hard to get a slot.  They get snapped up so very fast!

Has any of our readers had any success on any Showcases that weren't the main one?  We'd really like to hear about your experience and how you maximized your Showcase slot.

We're having a Halloween giveaway contest!

We're having a Halloween giveaway contest:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=245227&id=127950039247

Minnie Mouse

Some of the greatest inventions of all time have come about when people mix two things that don't obviously go together.  I'll save exposing you to my ignorance by not making a list.  But the principle is true.

Karla did something interesting, something I've never seen before.  It turned out to be one of the cutest hair barrettes she's made up until now.  She combined quilling with ribbon, and created an awesome Minnie Mouse hair barrette!  I have got to say, it's very cool.

She's planning on using the same technique to make some more interesting and unique products in the future.  Stay tuned, and I'm sure you'll be amazed!

Part of a Team

Because it's been so long since I've maintained this blog, I forget that things have happened that the readers aren't aware of!  Like the fact that KelleyAccents is now a proud member of the Handmade in Vegas Etsy Team!

It's been an overall good experience for Karla.  The moment she joined she was a member of a wonderful community that has been very helpful.  It's also been the key to her attending the craft shows that she has/is attending this year.  It's been a great time and we're both looking forward to watching and helping the team grow.

If you're a Vegas local crafter and are looking for a good group, check us out!  If you're not local and still want a group to support you, check around.  There are tons of teams and I'm sure you could find at least one that would fit you.  If not, maybe you could start your own! 

Treasuries

Karla has been exploring Etsy and all the wonderful things it can do, and she's discovered Treasuries.  She's been making quite a few, and it's sparked some discussion between us.

If you're not familiar with Treasuries on Etsy, let me see if I can put it in a nutshell for you.  The Curator (organizer of the Treasury) chooses a list of several items from across Etsy that they like and fit whatever theme they've chosen.  Then, they give it a title and a quick little blurb to explain it, and post it for the world to see!  The interesting bit is that you can't include items from your own store.

Obviously, when you make a Treasury, you want it seen by other people.  You want people to comment on your selections.  And Karla's been asking me how to make a good Treasury for others to see.  Well, the Treasury doesn't do a whole lot to promote her store.  The way I see it, it's a way to share her mood and her artistic tastes in a way that promotes other sellers on Etsy.  Which is way cool, to be honest.  And, it does get her name out there some more.

But that's the only way I see it.  It's not something to strive to be the "best" at.  It's another way for you to express yourself, your mood and your tastes and share with the world.  That's it.

Thoughts?

Getting Serious

We've ramped up for big business, now!  Karla's busy working at her store, creating new items every day.  I try to get online and list something, at least one thing, on Etsy every day.  Karla has gone to a couple small craft shows locally and is prepping for a few larger ones as the Holiday season gets closer.

This is a crazy, crazy business!  Being a craft artist is hard work and takes a lot of dedication.  But, it's very satisfying when a piece sells.  Which, to be honest, sales have been sparse of late.  It's rough, putting your whole heart into a piece and then seeing it sit in your store month after month. 

Etsy is a wonderful platform, but we haven't gotten very much exposure there.  I'm scouring the 'net, searching for ideas and ways to promote.  If you have a method that's worked for you, let me know!

New Ideas

I've been experimenting with a couple things this past week.  Or couple weeks.  I took a picture of the three bracelets I've done.  On my left arm is a hemp and wooden bead bracelet.  There is also a square knot bracelet made from strips of an old t-shirt.  On my right arm, is an anodized steel bracelet.  I once again discovered my joy of working with metal!

I love how the dark steel wire looks, but I'll need to figure out how to treat it.  Since it's anodized, it can be dirty.  I wore it while doing some service at church and my sweat pulled the oxidation off it and got my wrist dirty.  Hmm...  time for some more research and experimentation!

Let me know what you think about these.

Walmart Photo Printing Kiosk

Wow, Karla has fallen in LOVE with those things! 

If you're not familiar with them, it's and instant gratification item that's absolutely AWESOME and very well put together!  You can load your media onto the kiosk via just about any data card, CD or even scan them in.  You can even transfer them from your phone via bluetooth, or hook your camera up to it with the USB cable!  Once your pics are on the machine, you can print individual photos, add borders, create collages...  *sigh*

Needless to say, we've spent quite a bit of money there and have several new photo collages around the house.  It's a very, very cool toy and the results are just gorgeous.  Once you pick what you want, it prints your claim ticket and all you have to do is go to the photo printer and scan your claim ticket in 3-4 minutes and there are your pictures!  And the price is extremely reasonable for what you get.  $0.28 for a single 4x6 print.  You pay that even if you add a border. 

This is not to trump up Walmart.  Personally, I avoid shopping there if I can.  But this is a deal that we just can't pass up.

Photo Management

I received in our email an article from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads.  The article is here and is titled, "Pixel Perfect".

It has a lot of advice on how to maintain and manage your photo files of your jewelry pieces.  Or of any photos you take with the plan of using them in different media.  I intend to implement this today, if I have time to take some photos.  (I really need to!)

In our case, we may be small and unknown now, but someday we'll have a design worthy of appearing in a magazine or such, and we'll need to have high quality images for printing.  Or, we'll want to make our own printed newsletter.  In that case, we'll need high quality images for the printed version and lower ones for an online version. 

Up until now, I've only been keeping the photos that we use to put on Etsy.  And they are only a 1000px square; Sadly inadequate for any kind of physical printed format.

I hope someone finds this article useful, as I did. 

Dark Shimmers

"A flash in the Dark.  A glimmer of color in the gray night.  A bright glimpse of light, flashes... then disappears.  Dark Shimmers.  Appearing on a throat near you!"

There's my movie trailer for this latest piece that I've called "Dark Shimmers".  The stone is really dark, but has beautiful shimmers of green and blue with maybe a hint of red streaks.  The pearls brighten it up, but don't overpower the beauty of the pendant.

This one was a true collaboration.  We both contributed to the design and the work to get it done.  It's very satisfying to complete a piece like this, especially when it's so loved by the person who commissioned it.  Here's a photos of the completed piece:

Spices

My spaghetti is one of our favorite meals.  I learned how to make the sauce from my mother and Karla really liked it, especially after I made some little changes to it, to fit the flavor I wanted it to have.

But, today, it was not to be.  The stars aligned against me; the gods weren't smiling down.  Apparently, they were sneezing.

I went to throw some cumin into the sauce, but instead, grabbed the pumpkin pie spice.  I was rushing, as I got a late start and wanted to have it done before our little boy woke up from his nap, so when I popped the lid and started to shake it in, I thought, "Wow, that cumin is really brown."  But I paid my conscience no attention.  Then, after I added the basil and started to stir a bit more, I started to realize that it smelled funny.  I started wafting the steam to my face and trying to figure out what the matter was.  Then, I got a hint of cinnamon.  Cinnamon!  From my sauce! 

Immediately, I knew something was wrong and grabbed the spice containers from the bar behind me.  Sure enough, the one I thought was cumin wasn't.  I thought I could cover it up with extra cumin and basil and garlic powder, but after shaking some more in and letting it cook for a couple minutes, I realized that there was no help for it.  Let me tell you, a mix of basil, cumin and garlic with pumpkin pie spice is not appetizing.  At all.

I already had put the pasta in the water, so I saved lunch by whipping up a white sauce and grilling some chicken.  So, we still had pasta.  It was just white, instead of red.

2010 - The Best Year Yet!

Here's to 2010!  The best year you'll have yet!  Don't believe me? Go out there and make it the best year you'll ever have!  We sincerely hope that you'll set goals and bust your butt working towards those goals.  We hope that you make changes for the better.  We hope that you make it a point to smile every day.  We hope that you search for truth and joy.  We wish you all these things and more.

And, we hope you wish them back to us!

What's our goal?  We're setting a goal to have 1 online sale a week!  Thinking reasonably, I realize that we probably won't get that, but as long as it averages out to 1 per week at the end of the year, and we bust our butts every week working for that sale, we'll have accomplished a great thing. 

Karla and I started our New Year with laughs!  After our little one went to sleep and we did all the things we normally do to get the house cleaned and ready to start the next day, we decided to rent and watch a movie.  I ran across the street in pj's and flipflops (man was it cold!) and we rented "The Proposal".  Oh my goodness, the movie is extremely funny!  It has lots of humor and a nice, romantic story.  I'd give it 8 stars at least (out of 10) and I imagine Karla would give it more.  It was quite a nice way to bring in the New Year.

So, Happy New Year, to your family from ours!  May this year be the Best Ever!