Everything Else Chat - for when you can't find an existing thread

[#1]

I thought this might be useful.

I had an early birthday gift today - a trip to Market Deeping's Antique and Craft centre with 'DIY birthday present' rectangular paper with numbers on :)

It was like a Treasure-Maze! I found a good few things there that I'm often in need of. As much as I aim to make my items mainly from used and unwanted jewellery and remnants, there are times when a new finding or a few beads come in handy. This place http://www.riversidebeads.co.uk/ has a huge range of goodies. I was like a kid in a sweet shop!

Sometimes I'm in awe of the opportunities at my doorstep (or, well, just a few miles down the road). I'm close to Lincoln, venue for a huge Steampunk festival, The Asylum. I hope to share a stall with Arcane Armoury there in September. Also, the plethora of charity shops that provide many of my prize finds. Now I discover this great craft shop! I'm just feeling so grateful about the opportunities.

The other thing is that a local shop has agreed to stock some phone socks that I plan to make. I've got my work cut out for me now!

So what's happening for you right now that feels GOOD? Any other positve stuff to share?

[NomadicKnits]

YES!!! Purple hair, DO IT! I've always always wanted purple anime hair!!! I think you should quit your job just for this reason. :D

I worked as a waitress for many years, never a cocktail waitress though.... I hated waiting tables! But I am a very introverted person.... and I get annoyed with people very easily. :) I worked at corporate type restaurants with dress codes and really irritating uptight bosses, and I worked at independent, trendy places that were more laid back, but still with really irritating uptight bosses that would completely lose it when it got busy. UGH. Oh but the money..... that makes it all worth it. :) I miss that!

Sorry to hear about your husbands family....I hope that they make it through okay! That's very scary.

I have been very prolifically knitting and photographing.... of course now that no ones looking. :) And I've been getting bitten by mosquitoes.... yep, no matter what the season, I always have something to complain about! ; )

[Former_Member]

Kristina! There you are! We can finally see your lovely face :) Your shop is becoming really exciting - I love your woodland photography.

What is exciting me right now is a feeling of growing cohesion and support between the lovely people here! Georgina's idea of starting the Steampunk Share Page on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steampunk-Share-Page/165519823610919?ref=hl

We're all developing our Steampunk character personas and it is a fun way to promote ourselves and others! I think this has developed from the IHLIB crew idea and it would be good to consolidate the two.

Kristina, if you ever make anything you can happily call Steampunk or even just Neo Victorian, come and join us! Create a character idea and name and jump right in. We can make you admin so you can share your own and other's cool Steampunk stuff on the main page/timeline..thingumijig.

Chatting and/or Skyping with Cap'n G. , Emily Joy, Kim and Matt has provided The Navigatrix with such motivation, thankyou! I better go now as I have almost 30 pairs of earrings to get listed :)

Emily Joy - I hope that Joel's family and friends are OK. As for your new job - go for it! Yay for purple hair!

[NomadicKnits]

Thanks Sally-Ann! Yeah, I tried to avoid photographing my face for a long time. But with hats it just got too tricky, so I just decided OK, well here I am! :)

Thanks for the share on your steampunk page! It looks like a great place. I don't know if I'll ever be able to really call any of my knits "steampunk" but definitely neo-victorian. I've actually been feeling like I've been straying pretty far from this team's aesthetic and going into a more woodland pixie type territory.

BUT I just discovered "Mori Girl" style which was REALLY exciting because this style describes where I want my shop to go perfectly. It's a Japanese street fashion, Mori translates to forest, so forest girl.... or a girl that looks like she lives in the forest. Um, that's me! And knitted accessories are a big part of the style..... that's me! So I've added this to some of my tags, and have already seen a lot of views from it. Actually..... Georgina might want to add this to some of her tags too.... especially the flower crowns and antler head pieces!

Here's a good Tumblr blog with photos of the Mori Girls style if anyone's interested:

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/mori%20girl

Anyway, wow 30 pairs of earrings! You've been prolific too, I'd say! Good luck with the listing. It always feels so good to hit that publish button doesn't it?

I am going on a short trip to the city next weekend and I'll finally be able to get some new yarn! Oh, I can't wait, I've just been making do with what I have, I can't wait for new things to work with!

[Former_Member]

I love Japan :) The Mori Girl style is new to me, though...sweet! Isn't it great when you discover a word for tagging that you'd never thought of?

Have fun shopping for wool! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next...would you ever knit an entire little dress or pinafore? The woods are opening up for you :) I live quite near to woods...must get in them again.

[NomadicKnits]

Yes, it is exciting to find a new tag! I have found that "style" keywords like steam punk, victorian, mori girl etc. are really important to include in tags, because I think that people come to Etsy to search for styles that they can't find else where. So while I would like to say that I don't like to call my knits certain styles, it definitely helps to get found that way!

I would love to knit an entire dress! I think this will come sometime in the future when I'm feeling more confident. I get nervous about things fitting people.

You should definitely explore the woods! Hopefully the bugs aren't too bad for you over there though! They are terrible where I am. :( makes me sad. The best times of the year for exploring are spring and fall. :)

[Former_Member]

Somebody buy something! I'm running out of stockroom space!
I've reached the point where I've suddenly realised that I need more room, more business cards, more shiny bronze card to make more pillow boxes...and more budget.

I've got loads of materials to make the stock I need for Asylum (the BIG Steampunk event in September)...though I could use more pairs of gloves to alter.

I'm working really hard and I am gradually seeing those views, favourites and even Treasury features creep up. I can feel that my shop is getting ready to burst with prosperity...it's just... help me, crew. You're my only hope. Keep me going!

[NomadicKnits]

Oh Sally-Ann, just keep at it! You've been working so hard. It's frustrating when you just want to take off and fly but, you're still just not where you want to be..... I know the feeling.

I'm held back by not having nearly enough funds and to keep up with my vision. I can clearly see where I want to go, but then I look at my bank account and.... bleh, that's it?

AND then to top it off, the other day I was asked to be a vendor at the Minnesota Renaissance festival and.... I cried..... that would be a dream come true.... but I realized that I just can't pull it off. Don't have the funds, don't have nearly enough stock or materials to make it. :( boo hoo. So maybe next year ..... I do expect to have a really busy fall and winter. But that just seems so far away! :)

So have fun at the asylum Sally-Ann! That sounds like an amazing event, wish I could come! :) And I'm sure that will be really great exposure for you, and you'll have a busy fall and winter too. :D

[Former_Member]

Sally-Ann, do you only look at thrift stores to find your upcycled items or do you also look online?

I feel like we're all hurting from our lack of funds. I'd love to expand into furniture or commission nicer boxes, but there is no way I can do that currently. Or I'd like to reduce my hours at work, but no way right now. I'm actually going to be applying to jobs starting today. Hopefully I can make a bit more money, or at least find a job that respects the fact that I only want 35 hours max.

I'm sorry you can't go be a vendor at the Minnesota Renn Fest, Kristina. That's sad. But the good thing is you know that they want you and you can work toward ensuring you have enough stock next year! You could even make a monthly plan of how many you need and just tick away at it!

[Former_Member]

I've got some gloves I bought for AGC cosplay that I could send you but I really don't think they'd fit the bill. I've got some blue gloves that might be useful, do you want me to send you a picture.

Could you maybe store things somewhere else for now, maybe at Matt's house? If suddenly you had more space you might feel a lot better.

I know exactly the feeling of having no money, no space, it seems like the only thing that will make you put your foot infront of the next one is a sale. Let me think of some things, would it help to have some new promo pics? I could do a big set in full costume at steve's mum's house which looks very grand, red wallpaper, big antique dark wood furniture. What else... as for the boxes if I were to be a customer at asylum and I were only buying something small I'd feel very happy for you to wrap it up in tissue paper, seal it with a sticker and give it to me, perhaps not everything needs to be in a box? Personally if I'm buying something very small and it comes in a box it feels a little over kill. If you can get your hands on some pretty paper bags that'd be lots of nice bags for customers, that paired with the nice tissue paper and stickers I think would be more than enough. I could see if there's anything I could buy you from Hobbycraft which would help, you wouldn't need to pay me, I'd just be happy to help out. What else... you could do a destash at asylum? That'd be more money and very easy way of getting rid of some bits that you don't need?

Just get in touch if you need anything at all, you know I'm always here. xxxx

[Former_Member]

Mentioning budgets. How do you guys use the money made from your shop? I've sold a little outside of etsy but so far everything I've made has gone back into growing my shop. I'm curious how successful shops split up the earnings. Do you pay your self a certain amount and put the rest towards supplies? How do you decide on a method?

[NomadicKnits]

Oof.... I don't have a method. ; ) Money comes in, money goes out! I've probably been putting ehhh.... maybe 30% of my earnings back into my shop, which is definitely not as much as I'd like. I just get so hungry. Heh... I'm poor.

I think that when you are just starting out it is a good idea to put more of your earnings back into you shop. That way you build yourself up in anticipation of future sales. When you have more listings, you have better chances of being found. :)

[Former_Member]

That makes sence Kristina. You keep your self going to even have a shop. I just have money coming in and going out a few different places. I try to keep track of what I'm spending and making. It might just be me an my over technical self.

[Former_Member]

Georgina, you are a star! The promo pics sound like a fantastic idea! This month is crazy, what with the village fair and then my LRP weekend, on top of the Etsy promo (Christmas in July - CIJUK10 ;) maybe we can sort something out in August/September? As for packaging...I'm OK for the fairs as I use little black gift bags and tissue paper. For posting,I could get by printing the pillowboxes on cream card which I have loads of.

Kristina and Karl - I know what you mean about funds. I'm right there with you. However, I remain optimistic!

There are certain things I keep in mind. A phrase, an affirmation if you like:

"I do what I can with what I've got". A year ago, it was a few small plastic ice cream tubs of bits. Now, I have big crates, proper plastic stackable storage boxes with compartments and various other containers of materials.

I've heard that it takes three years to set up a business so I've not really buckled down to consistently paying myself a wage yet. It mostly gets ploughed back in to my business. However, I do have a formula that came from a Pricing workshop on the Online Labs (check Etsy's resources often, they're full of treasures!):

Revenue: 1/2 = Salary, 1/4 = Working Capital , 1/4 = 'Just in Case' fund (business savings)

Of the Working Capital, 1/2 = Operating expenses (your Etsy bill, electricity, rent (if applicable), 1/2 = Reinvest (supplies purchase, adverts etc)

I find this easier to implement when I have a wodge of notes from a craft fair that I can divvy up. Less easy when I'm handling intangible money (such as Paypal). It's an area I need to work at.

The most basic thing I do do to help myself enormously is keep a handwritten ledger of Ins and Outs. I also print two copies of each sold order and sent one to the customer then number and file the other for my own records.

I keep going back to the Seller Handbook. Here's the Archive link:

https://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/the-seller-handbook-archive/

[Former_Member]

Well, I'm all packed up and ready for my local village fair tomorrow. I've deactivated the listings of things I'm taking with me, washed my hair and am now letting it get *just* dry enough to put in finger rolls, as Georgina taught me :)

I can do this! Some of the local villagers see me just about every day but they've never seen The Navigatrix wandering down the little high street (then again, *she* wouldn't be running after a 4 1/2 year old on a scooter, either).

I've labelled everything, sorted out a destash treasure box, framed a few pictures and made a display tube stand for chokers (did you see it on Instagram or Tumblr?)

Wish me luck! And sales. Many happy sales :) Thankyou ♡

[Former_Member]

Woo, Sally-Ann, go you! I'm sure you're going to rock today!!!! I am thinking about you and all of the sales you're bound to have!

[Former_Member]

Sally-Ann- care to share your experience?

Everyone else... what's up? How was July? Any exciting things coming up in August?

[KimberlyAndertDesign]

My apologies to one and all; I am so behind here on the team board. The summer has flown by, with my hubby recuperating from surgery. Honestly, I cannot believe it is August! He is finally heading back to work on Monday, and I am starting to get my artistic groove back a bit. I had a fantastic photo shoot this week (you can get some peeks at it, on my FB page, here-https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyAndertDesign). We are planning more shoots in the next few months.

I have also been working mostly on Steampunk costuming for hubby and I, as we are going to Teslacon in October. I am going to try to start treating my sewing as a full time job. Working at home, there are so many distractions; always something to get caught up on. I am not sure how long I will be able to stay with a new schedule, but I am determined to try. Hubby walks out the door for work, I head to the sewing room. Sounds good on paper, doesn't it? I am laughing as I write that, because, oh my goodness, the distractions....laundry, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, animal care, the garden. It's a honey-do list that never ends!

Oh, before I head out, I just remembered....we did have a terribly EXCITING day a week or so ago. After 8 months, hubby received his package from Arcane Armoury!!! Long story of loss by Royal Mail, and much, much aggravation for Matt to deal with, then the package just mysteriously shows up. The pistol is absolutely amazing. The husband was truly like a little boy at Christmas time with a new toy! So, hurrah, for having such talented teammates! Hope August is a wonderful, productive, yet fun month for everyone..........

[Former_Member]

Kim, it is so wonderful your husband is feeling well enough to return to work. I'm sure the recovery process was difficult, but it seems like his health is looking up... fantastic!

I loved the photo shoot, especially the black and white with the focus on the crown. As soon as you post that item in your shop I'll blog it on Tumblr, I think it will attract a lot of attention!

And hurray for lost packages being recovered! I had a lost package and I was so disappointed when I found out. Fortunately, after a month, it turned up. But 8 months is some sort of record. Matt should get a refund on that shipping!

[Former_Member]

8 months is crazy, I can't imagine a reason for a package to take so long 0_o

I'm hoping to have a few knives in my shop this month. It's been a long frustrating journey with those since I don't have a good area to do most of my work. I have to piece together time and do some of it at work during lunch.

[Former_Member]

Karl, I've totally had to work during lunch breaks. Any extra minute we get to work helps!

I just put in my two and a half weeks... AHHH! So excited, I've been miserable at this job for about a year now, so I can't wait to be done.

However, I don't have another job lined up, so I have to get cookin' on that. I am trying to get a cocktail waitressing job here in Denver... wish me luck!

[Former_Member]

Emily Joy: Good luck!!
Kim : I'm so glad to hear that your hubby is well recovered. What a huge relief that your package finally showed up! I wish you well with your new routine. I know exactly what you mean but must admit my creativity and drive to make things (or show and tell people about it on the internet) often get prioritized over housework!

If you follow The Navigatrix on Facebook you'll know that Matt and I got dressed up in full Steampunk costume and jumped on the bus to a nearby Steampunk Market. I'm so glad we went as we met many lovely people, some of whom we shall see again next month when we trade at the big Steampunk event, Weekend at the Asylum. There are some exciting developments happening so you may not hear much from me for a while as I'm busy making things and enjoying the summer holiday before my daughter starts Primary School!

[NomadicKnits]

Sounds like there is some exciting things happening for everyone! Kim, I can't believe your package from arcane armory took 8 months! That must have been terribly exciting when it finally showed up -- and a huge relief for Matt! Ugh, that must have been terrible!

Your photo shoot looked fantastic. :D

Karl, I hop you've been able to find the time to make your knives. It must be frustrating to not have all the time you need and a good work area. Can't wait to see them!

How is your job search going Emily? Waitressing is such good money. I do miss that! :)

Good luck with the Asylum event Sally-Ann! I'm sure that you are busy creating right now, hope it's going well!

It was starting to feel like Autumn here, but then it jumped up to 90 degrees! AH I'm melting! haha! Can't wait for it to cool down. My shop has been so slow and I don't have the money to buy new yarn, which has been frustrating. But I do have some yarn to build up inventory on things that sold well last year so I've been keeping busy with that. I so want to make new things though!

OH and terribly exciting.... I am joining forces with a fellow etsy shop owner that is opening a brick and mortar shop in her town and she is going to be selling my knits in her shop! She makes fantastic hand spun, hand dyed yarn with natural dyes! So I'm pretty excited about that!

What is everyone else up to these days?

[KimberlyAndertDesign]

Great news, Kristina. I think if people can actually see and touch your work, it will sell. I do believe that is part of the problem with Etsy. So many people need that tactile involvement with a future purchase. They need to hold it to fall in love with it enough to buy. Hold it up in front of the mirror to see how they will look with it, etc. So I think this will be a great opportunity for you.

Planning another photo shoot; this time, for my Edwardian tea gown. And trying to slog through all the work that summer brings! Artwork seems to always get put on the back burner....guess that is what winter is for!

[Former_Member]

I can't wait to see your next photoshoot, Kim! The last one was lovely.

Kristina, that is so awesome about having a presence in a physical shop! I am sure that'll increase business and be a wonderful experience for you. I'm also sure your sales will pick up once it cools down.

My job hunt hasn't really been going anywhere. I've been too busy with my regular work and my commission. I'll have to probably wait until I'm officially unemployed before I search for the next job. Scary, but I think I'll be ok. Worst comes to worst, Joel can probably find me a job in a decent (although less profitable than a club) restaurant.

It is good to "see" you all! I love that you're all chatting again!

[Former_Member]

Ahh! I made front page.... I can't believe it!!!!!!! I'm so excited!

No sales came from it, but it was a great boost in confidence!