I am now sitting prettily atop a shop that has filled ELEVEN ORDERS!
It has taken me two and a half years, but considering that I wasted the first year-pretty good.
Clearly, I am in no way way LIVING on these sales,but I know I have customers out there.I`m less inclined to dilly dally. I work daily like this is a JOB, I actually have FILLED my friends CIRCLES quota, so that I can admit no more.( hey! What`s that all about?)
I still have plenty of work to do improving my site. Better photos, Descriptions,etc. I`ve shipped enough to feel good about my shipping prices. I even shipped to TURKEY!
Plus ETSY is fond of changing and improving things, so you have to constantly be on your toes, alert to these changes, poised to leap into the next configuration, because it`s "good for your shop"!
I`m actually considering splitting off into more than one shop.
K is for kitty for Fleece and Feather items. KittyGirl for kid stuff and another shop for Bridal and Millinery. Am I crazy?
Of course all this is in addition to doing Custom Design Special Occasion Dresses and sometimes Costumes for my bread and butter.
(rather Lattes and Peanut Butter)
Oh the plans, the ambition, the little sketches strewn all over the house, like in the movie, A Beautiful Mind.
I shake a little in horror, thinking I might just be scribbling nonsense !
Anyway,"winter is coming", so back to sewing FLEECE.
YOUR JOB is to spread the word, send a bird, everybody needs Fleece! It`s warm and practical, cozy and nice! Don`t make me get a job at JoAnn`s Fabrics!!
Adieu and "HATS ON" to you!http://www.etsy.com/shop/kisforkitty?ref=si_shop Shop Here!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
It has been a LONG year.
Little did I know, when I wrote my first blog entry, that an ENTIRE YEAR would go by before I uttered another peep! Part of that was that I scared myself! I thought, "OMG!, who is gonna read this? What do I know? What did I say?" After awhile I realized NOBODY was going to read it ( sorry cousin Linda-you DID read it!) I probably know as much as anybody, and if nobody is reading this-then WHO CARES what I say?
The other reason is that I have been VERY BUSY working my ETSY SHOP. I`ve learned about CIRCLES, Shipping Costs, why good PHOTOS are important, spent hours clicking on my FAVORITES in hundreds of amazing shops, joining TEAMS, participating in Team Discussions, giving advice to Newbies that know even LESS than I do, and making a lot of great friends!
Oh, and DESIGNING and MAKING and LISTING my products! Yeah, that little thing.
So I started with my Fabulous FLEECE HATS ( a little late in February, but hey! it`s cold somewhere!)
Then I made some FELT Flower Corsages. Then felt Flowers on Headbands and Ponytail holders. Then I joined the MILLINERS of ETSY Team. I`ve actually made a lot of hats in my life, but hadn`t really been a Milliner. So I jumped right in, made some Felt Flower Fascinaters, sewn onto combs. I made a few actual HATS,(without the aid of any actual milliners supplies or tools. I used the wire hoop from a lamp shade for one hat and layers of felt, wired and covered with silk, for others.) I made a few BRIDAL Headpieces with lovely handmade ROSES ( oops, just noticed I`m still being emphatic. Oh good-fixed it)
Then BOOM! It was FALL again and I made new FLEECE HATS and re shot my PHOTOS, changed my Tags and Descriptions (trying to woo the GOOGLE monster) fussing and fretting over my shop.
So I LITERALLY have not caught my breath until NOW!!!
I have FINALLY made (here we go...) TWO WHOLE SALES!
So I have achieved a few of my goals of a year ago.
Now-do I continue on in the hopes of making MANY MORE SALES? Or do I change direction? Really, something has got to work soon. I personally LOVE my HATS and wear them lots. People who like them, LOVE them. I`ve chosen to believe that I haven`t sold much on ETSY because I just haven`t reached my audience yet.
Recently I`ve added a FB page to K is for kitty, gotten active on PINTEREST, and here I am BLOGGING!
The other reason is that I have been VERY BUSY working my ETSY SHOP. I`ve learned about CIRCLES, Shipping Costs, why good PHOTOS are important, spent hours clicking on my FAVORITES in hundreds of amazing shops, joining TEAMS, participating in Team Discussions, giving advice to Newbies that know even LESS than I do, and making a lot of great friends!
Oh, and DESIGNING and MAKING and LISTING my products! Yeah, that little thing.
So I started with my Fabulous FLEECE HATS ( a little late in February, but hey! it`s cold somewhere!)
Then I made some FELT Flower Corsages. Then felt Flowers on Headbands and Ponytail holders. Then I joined the MILLINERS of ETSY Team. I`ve actually made a lot of hats in my life, but hadn`t really been a Milliner. So I jumped right in, made some Felt Flower Fascinaters, sewn onto combs. I made a few actual HATS,(without the aid of any actual milliners supplies or tools. I used the wire hoop from a lamp shade for one hat and layers of felt, wired and covered with silk, for others.) I made a few BRIDAL Headpieces with lovely handmade ROSES ( oops, just noticed I`m still being emphatic. Oh good-fixed it)
Then BOOM! It was FALL again and I made new FLEECE HATS and re shot my PHOTOS, changed my Tags and Descriptions (trying to woo the GOOGLE monster) fussing and fretting over my shop.
So I LITERALLY have not caught my breath until NOW!!!
I have FINALLY made (here we go...) TWO WHOLE SALES!
So I have achieved a few of my goals of a year ago.
Now-do I continue on in the hopes of making MANY MORE SALES? Or do I change direction? Really, something has got to work soon. I personally LOVE my HATS and wear them lots. People who like them, LOVE them. I`ve chosen to believe that I haven`t sold much on ETSY because I just haven`t reached my audience yet.
Recently I`ve added a FB page to K is for kitty, gotten active on PINTEREST, and here I am BLOGGING!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Trying to bloom.
Hello! my brand new reader. Hope it`s not too lonely out there.
Here is my story:
One day, while in the grips of my Fabric Addiction, strolling the aisles of Jo-Ann`s Fabrics as if neither TIME nor MONEY had any meaning to me, I ran into an acquaintance who told me about this magical land of ETSY. ( shooting stars, bells ringing, warm glow..) So not long after that (we`re talking PROCRASTINATER`S time here, so...) I actually photographed some of my Handmade, original designs and listed them on ETSY. I also had to write a winning, charming description of these items, which happened to be Fleece Hats. You know, something to make a baby sit up in his stroller and cry,
"MOM! I`ve GOT TO HAVE THAT!"
Something that would cause his mother to stop in her Nike tracks and reach up to her bare head and scream,
"I NEED A HEAD WARMER! NOW!"
Well, that takes time. I also had to price these items. Well, that is SO tricky. I mean, really, what is time worth? (labor).Are we talking about the literal cutting out of the fabric and sewing it up? Or are we also including the time spent to find, buy, wash and press the fabric? The time spent thinking up brilliant designs and turning them into patterns? I buy a lot of probably never-to-be-found-again Fabric Remnants. Do I charge what the Fabric ORIGINALLY cost, on the off chance that someone might order a different size or color? Do I count the time it takes to design and make a label that conveys the TRUE ESSENCE of my product and put it on the item? Am I supposed to make a profit? Do I use my Wholesale price or my Retail price? THEN I had to come up with not only Shipping Prices, but shipping prices to different countries! AND my own Shipping Policies. Not to mention the Paper,boxes,packing labels, Fed-Ex accounts and making friends with the Post-person. I tell you, it was overbleepingwhelming.
Fortunately everyone involved with ETSY is some kind of angel-saint. They have MANY helpful Lists and Posts and people. Still, I just plopped those items onto my site and sat. La-de-da. Dum-de-dum. Dumb is right! There are something like 170,000 sellers or products or whatever, in countries all over the world on ETSY. If you don`t do anything to get noticed-YOU WON`T!
I`ll have to stop for today (much like Scheherezade) and continue my story anon. I`m getting parched.
Until next time, "Love the one you`re with."
Here is my story:
One day, while in the grips of my Fabric Addiction, strolling the aisles of Jo-Ann`s Fabrics as if neither TIME nor MONEY had any meaning to me, I ran into an acquaintance who told me about this magical land of ETSY. ( shooting stars, bells ringing, warm glow..) So not long after that (we`re talking PROCRASTINATER`S time here, so...) I actually photographed some of my Handmade, original designs and listed them on ETSY. I also had to write a winning, charming description of these items, which happened to be Fleece Hats. You know, something to make a baby sit up in his stroller and cry,
"MOM! I`ve GOT TO HAVE THAT!"
Something that would cause his mother to stop in her Nike tracks and reach up to her bare head and scream,
"I NEED A HEAD WARMER! NOW!"
Well, that takes time. I also had to price these items. Well, that is SO tricky. I mean, really, what is time worth? (labor).Are we talking about the literal cutting out of the fabric and sewing it up? Or are we also including the time spent to find, buy, wash and press the fabric? The time spent thinking up brilliant designs and turning them into patterns? I buy a lot of probably never-to-be-found-again Fabric Remnants. Do I charge what the Fabric ORIGINALLY cost, on the off chance that someone might order a different size or color? Do I count the time it takes to design and make a label that conveys the TRUE ESSENCE of my product and put it on the item? Am I supposed to make a profit? Do I use my Wholesale price or my Retail price? THEN I had to come up with not only Shipping Prices, but shipping prices to different countries! AND my own Shipping Policies. Not to mention the Paper,boxes,packing labels, Fed-Ex accounts and making friends with the Post-person. I tell you, it was overbleepingwhelming.
Fortunately everyone involved with ETSY is some kind of angel-saint. They have MANY helpful Lists and Posts and people. Still, I just plopped those items onto my site and sat. La-de-da. Dum-de-dum. Dumb is right! There are something like 170,000 sellers or products or whatever, in countries all over the world on ETSY. If you don`t do anything to get noticed-YOU WON`T!
I`ll have to stop for today (much like Scheherezade) and continue my story anon. I`m getting parched.
Until next time, "Love the one you`re with."
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