Craft Seller Tips - Sample Making Pt 1

I'm a maker. I designed a purse, but labor is high and material cost is not great either, but the profit is good when I sell. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how I can show different options without making several new purses with buckles, zippers linings with snaps, and also not use up all the materials I have and the space in my house.

I thought about Photoshop. I'm good at it, but you see how the fabric folds on the bags in use, That's hard to "shop".

I sell a lot of these Rainbow Brite Purses.

I had a few samples made, so I got a brilliant idea. What if I made "skins" for the samples. You know, just the outside panels and gusset to slip over the purse. I think it will work. I'm going to work on these for a few days and post my work for you. Maybe you can get some ideas too of how to make samples easier too.

My clutches would be hard to do this way, because I put in the zipper un-assembled, but the purses are perfect. I want to make a nice Messenger bag too. I can make the lining only and make "skins" for modeling those too.


Picture above is skin being sewn. Below is a picture of 2 of the skins after pressing. Skull and Roses and NKOTB Jon.

I'm not positive how I will attach the skins. I know basting will work, but not easy to switch for photo shoot. Carpet tape would work, but might also leave sticky residue on the original sample. I will keep posting my progress on this so you can see the finished product and maybe you can figure out a way to save time and money on your samples. Maybe set stones in bezels and glue to one band just for ring photography. Just like artists or photographers can use the same mat or frame for display.

Here's a picture of the NKOTB Joey skin slipped over the matching purse. Once I figure out how to stabilize the top edge, I think it will work. I'm open to any suggestions.

Keep watching. I will be back with more on how I solved my sample making issues.

Business Tips - Packaging and Tagging

I know, I'm sorry. I just don't give you enough tips for you business anymore. After all, who wants to hear about the crazy lady next door ripping open her garbage and throwing it all over the yard, or see pictures of the tree that fell on our house. You want to see better ways to sell your wares, right?

I had to share this one, because I'm very proud of the idea. I've been wanting to wholesale, because I really hate craft shows, but online just doesn't get the traffic I need. If only I could sell what I make at the winter holidays, all year round. But to be able to wholesale, you have to still have a profit with a hefty discount, and I didn't have many items that could support that.

Recently I started making bow ties. They're very popular and material cost is decent. Time needs to be worked on, but I see ways that making larger quantities can cut that down. My bow ties are easy to use and can be sold at a pretty decent price for bow ties.

The problem with wholesale is packaging. You can't just tissue wrap and tie with ribbon. Smaller items need to be carded or window boxed. I ordered clear pillow boxes, but those still need cards and the cost is bout $.25 each.

Then I thought that Post cards might do the trick. They're about the right size I could match them to my business cards, and have info and care instructions on the back.

Here's the front and back of the card. The bow will be on the front and the ribbon band will wrap across the middle of the back. I can reasonably make custom cards for the seller too. And I can whole punch the center for hanging.

There was a sale. So the cards cost about $.10 each and they are nicer than if I printed my own, which with ink, could cost more. Click to enlarge. I got them at overnightprints.com. Their quality is pretty good and I like their postcard size better than Vistaprint.

My daughter uses business card to print little tags, by having 3 tags printed across the vertical card. She cuts them in strips and uses a swift tagger to tag them on a seam of her clothing. Merchandise can't be returned to her if the tag has been removed. Another clever idea.

When you buy business cards on sale from vistaprint.com, they are incredibly reasonable. Much better than printing your own tags.

I'm also considering making fabric labels at spoonflower.com. Their quality is much better than my printer printed labels, and at $15 a yard, I can get a LOT of fabric tags made. I think I can use a spray fabric stay to keep them from fraying too.

Hope this gets your creative juices flowing. There's a lot of innovative ways you can use the resources available to you. Why you could make cute tags for your jewelry boxes from those little business card strips, couldn't you? Oh and of course you can make business cards or post cards too.

Goals and Dreams

I was just thinking about how in my long life (yes long, I'm turning 60 this year) I've had so many dreams and goals, and I forced myself out, and made most of them come true. OK, so I never did the Alpaca farm thing or the bed and breakfast, but I did do a LOT.

I've never been one to sit still for long. I have this 7-10 year rule. Time to move on. Poor kids, I went back to school when they were young so they had to share me with projects and books. Then my new career when they were teens. Maybe that's why one of them had a baby before she graduated. Oh well, none of us are perfect, are we?

In high school, I wanted to go to school in Paris. It took a long time, but I went to Art School in France, Lacoste, not Paris, but I did get to Paris. I wanted to travel the world, and I have seen a lot of it. I spent a ot of time in China. I became the designer I wanted to be, but product design, not clothing. My daughter fills that position with her clothing designs.

I've done a lot in my life. I raised two kids, lived in the city, lived in the country, lived in a few different states, and spent some time in other countries. I've been a store detective, an accountant, sales clerk, a gas station manager, a jeweler, and a product designer, I even worked in a drapery sweat shop.

I live my life without many regrets. That's just the way I roll. I never wanted to look back and say, I wish I had done it differently. OK so maybe I wish I HAD bought that bed and breakfast in Geneva on the Lake and had a go at it. But then a few of my precious grandchildren probably wouldn't have been born. Someone else finally bought that house that had been sitting on the market for so many years. It was a mess, but I loved it. But 40+ windows that needed to be replaced, on top of other repairs, were just too much for me to handle at the time.

So what's left? I still haven't been to the Pyramids of Egypt. And I won't go until the country is safe. Although I had a friend who went with the Smithsonian tour and said they were well protected. I've been to Italy, but not Rome, to see the Sistine Chapel, but I did see a representation of it.

I want to build my own tiny house, but I have to buy the property and I'd better do it soon, before I get too old to move my body. I still have goals, like making my own business be a success. Oh yeah, and get a car that actually runs. Dreams.....

Bow Ties and Cool Guys

I so love Dink in this picture. With his untamed longish hair, he reminds me of a young Beethoven or Mozart.  The Music Note bow tie makes it perfect.

I added bow ties to my shop this year. I noticed that they are becoming popular, so I started making my own version of genre and themed ties and have done very well with them so far. Good to watch current trends.

I was wondering exactly who is wearing all these ties. I sold one to someone working on a movie set and a Captain America tie to someone from Newtown.




I was remembering when I lived in Utica, NY. No one EVER wore suits there. It was a thing. If you ever HAD to wear a suit, you had to dress it down with jeans. This was for funerals and weddings.

I remember seeing a man on a cel phone in our parking lot in a three piece suit. Several of us went to the window and stared. "He's definitely not from around here". I wonder if things are the same in Utica, or if anyone there would wear one of my Bow Ties. I've never sold any there, so I doubt it.

I think that some guys won't think it's cool to wear a bow tie, no matter what is trending.

But the cool thing about them is that they can be worn with just about anything. They look better on a shirt. But My bow ties can even be worn by girls with a t-shirt.  Now that's adorable isn't it?

You can find my bow ties at my poppysgardengate shop on Artfire. poppysgardengate.artfire.com

Here's a link that will take you straight to all of the Bow Ties I have.

Put Your Geek Stuff Here - Artfire Collection

Poppy put me in a collection. Isn't she sweet. Love the geekery.

Put your geek stuff here!

  Curated By: PoppysWickedG...

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

Recipe for Success - Listening to Buyers

Oh I should be writing and posting a food recipe, I know. But unless I have something truly unique (and I do) why would you want to come here instead of Pinterest?

I thought I'd share a secret with you. It's called a buyer.

While my shop and most of my designs have come from my daughter Poppy, some have been inspire by buyers.

I love when buyers give me something absolutely impossible to make, because that's how I've come up with some of the best selling items in Poppy's Garden Gate.

Can you make an apron that isn't ruffled? Can it cost a little less? My sweetheart apron made with a 15" strip of 44" fabric - economical and still cute.

How about a tie. I need a tie out of your cute fabrics. This is where the inspiration for my Bow Ties came from. I still haven't made a suit tie yet. Haven't figured out how to make those economically, but they might come this summer.

Can you make me a purse that looks like this with a pocket and adjustable strap? I'd like it to hold more and close with a zipper. I'd been wanting to make a purse, or messenger bag, but didn't have the guts to try. The order for 3 different bags at $85 during the slow Summer season, convinced me to give it a try.

Another wonderful addition to my shop will come just in time for Wedding Season. I'll be making wedding garters out of cute genre fabrics. I made a custom New Kids on the Block one. Why didn't I think of that? Matching bow ties and garters for fun and funky weddings.

My daughter has the same type of inspiration from some of her buyers. Some of her best selling items, came from custom requests.

Indie Seller Tips - Social Sites

 So many of you have been told to post your product on tumblr, pinterest, wanelo, or make friends on Facebook or Twitter and get a good following so that you can get more exposure and sell more. Get a link on blogs or even get your own website. What is the right thing to do?

Here  is my experience.

I have posted my merchandise on many sites. If you are lucky to get posted on a well read article, like a LOOKBOOK for fashion or a jewelry or home magazine if that's you product, fantastic. This will bring you a lot of business. It not it has been recommended that you post on tumblr or Pinterest. From my personal experience, I have not received any business from either one of those sites.

I definitely do believe that making a store twitter and Facebook account are important to support whatever other social site you are using. But don't just rely on the autobots to post for you. Show up in person and leave a little bit of yourself there. Say hi to your friends. Share yourself, but don't share too much. This is a tricky subject and best left to another post. Just make yourself real and likable.

As for where to post? I am positive that it is different for different types of merchandise. I find that I get the most direct sales from Wanelo. I can see direct correlation from my visits to my sells. I actually get a lot of visits from google shopping, but those rarely make sales. Wanelo makes sales.

I also get a LOT of visits to my shop from RebelMouse. It's a nice little social network that just reposts sharing tweets or facebook posts. Seems to bring people into the shop.

I also get a lot of visits from my website and from blogs I have ads on. If you have a website, make absolutely sure that you are using your metatags to show what you sell on your shop so that people can find you in a search. Also make sure to occasionally post your website socially, even if you don't sell directly off of it. Any posting you do will rank you up on search engines. The more visits you get, the higher your ranking. Remember, your website is there should you decide to switch selling venues. People will know where to find you.

Remember to give Wanelo and RebelMouse a try. You'll like them I think.

Indie Seller Tips - Refreshing Your Shop

I've been looking around at some shops lately and I see that for the past 4 years some of you have been selling the exact same merchandise. Many of you have improved and changed. But it's a very competitive market out there. If you're selling the same thing as you had in the past, or you're selling the same thing as 1000 other shops, why should people come to yours.

I've also found that my felt flowers, no matter how lovely, do not sell well on Artfire. I am going to revise my offerings at akaCINDERS. I will still have a limited flower section, but I just can't live off of the very few customers I have that love them. This is busy season, so I need to focus on other things, and work on it later.







I have focused heavily on PoppysGardenGate, which is my bread and butter. I have added several new items this year and it's paying off. Some I dreaded adding, but turns out they weren't so bad and fairly easy to make, like the new purse that is doing very well after only two short weeks online.

 I've added bow ties, and I'll be adding men's neckties soon. Not looking forward to that one either. I have even started to design my own fabrics on Spoonflower and I will continue to make more original fabrics as soon as I have free time.


I'm trying to be competitive, and it's working. I'm looking for trends and meeting buyers needs. That's what we need to do.


 Be flexible, even if you're old and set in your ways. If you're not satisfied with how your business is doing, take a good long look at it. Take a look at your competition. Is there anything you can do to make your business successful?

Life Without Etsy - Nearly Two Years Later

It's been nearly 2 years since My daughter Poppy and I were unceremoniously removed from the ranks as Etsy Sellers. Can you believe it? Well she had her shops shut down a bit earlier than mine, and she did brazenly open other shops and sold under different names until they found her and shut her down. Her offense? Mistaken reports of copyright infringement. You can read more in my post Etsy Shop Closings

First Poppy was mad, and rightfully so. She has been with Etsy since the early years, promoted it, and earned her living there. They were not even remotely kind or willing to listen. She wasted a lot of energy, trying to work things out, or break their system. She had already opened an Artfire shop, but back then, Artfire was just a startup, and not working the way it does today.

One day I suggested she go back to eBay, where she started. Statistically eBay as far more traffic than Etsy, so I thought it worth a try. Poppy knew that only her genre clothes would sell there, and sell they did. Sadly, she eventually had to give up her very popular Longstockings and beautiful designer clothing, but she found a niche on eBay with genre clothing and cosplay. After time, her business on Artfire grew nicely too.

This year, in this poor economy, Poppy will be earning close to double the money she made on Etsy. It took a lot of work and re-imaging, but she is a success once again. It really can be done. For those of you who think Etsy is the Sun and the Earth, take a step back from your computer and breathe the real air.

There are many sellers who have left Etsy for their own websites, craft shows, brick and mortar shops, and other online venues, with great success! I know this, because I've done it myself. I had to re-image too, but between my eBay store, websites, and Artfire stores, I've made a living too.

You can visit us at our websites. Poppy's is poppyswickedgarden.com
Mine are akacinders.com and poppysgardengate.com
They will all link you right through to our Artfire shops. We use the websites as a gateway to our shops. Artfire is great for this, because you don't need to be a member to buy, so it's just like having an online shop. And if we decide to switch venues, it's just as easy to do it this way.

Creativity On The Run

A few days ago, I was waiting for my cousin to pick me up to go to the Art Museum. It was fairly early in the morning, and we don't have the greatest roads, so I was meeting her a few blocks from home.

While I was waiting I realized I didn't grab any jewelry for my arms or fingers and I kind of felt bare. I started to look around and saw some nice stones, if only I had something to mount them on, and a decent sized length of white electrical wire.

The night before I was looking at a Wire knot ring tutorial, kind of like this one on Handmadeology. I couldn't find the one I was looking at. It was a bit bigger, more like a rose. So I thought, I could do that with the electrical wire. Before I started, I checked my bag for a Swiss Army knife with scissors to snip the end. Yep I had them.  And here's the Ring.

Not too fancy, but I had to twist the wires by hand. Not that shabby considering it was made from garbage I found at the side of the road. Too bad I didn't have time to snip a beer can into a bracelet too.

Biz Buzz - Holding On or When to Close Shop

early photography with flash

I see a lot of twitter and blog posts lately from sellers debating whether or not to give up their shops. I can tell you from several years of experience, that July is a very bad month and not one to really judge the validity of your marketing and design skill from.

There are several factors that should go into your decision making. First look at your annual profit. July and early August are slow. It's a great time to relax and organize. Look at your sales figures and do your monthly sales for the first half of the year. That way, in January, you won't have so much to do. I do monthly profit sheets so I can see how I compared to the previous years. You may think this will upset you to see your sales figures, but you might just be surprised at what trends you find. For instance, although this was a lousy July, it was still better than last year for me.

natural light photo

If your sales are a bit lower, don't be discouraged. this was a particularly bad July. the only reason my sales were up at all, is because I opened a new venue since last July.

Look at your product. Are there too many similar items on your venue? Are you unique enough to hold on? If not, think of what you can do to make yours different. It can even be customer service or packaging. How about making your tags out of seed embedded papers, or packaging in a little reusable satin bag? Your product may be pretty, but what makes you special. This is a perfect time to take a good hard look at what you're selling.

How about Photography? Do your photos outshine your competition? Handmadeology has some great photography tips HERE.

professional photography

Maybe you're just tired of trying to climb to the top. Maybe it's just hot, and you're too busy with the kids, and your sales are so low this month, that you just don't want to try anymore. It's OK. We are not all cut out for this thing. Some people are better at selling in person at shops or craft/art shows too. Internet sales is a lot of extra work with photography and marketing and listing descriptions. The reason I like it, is that I can make a sample and, then make the product when it sells. I don't have to have an inventory. Very nice for my very small house.

Let's take a close look at your bottom line.

PHOTOGRAPHY - Is it good enough? Look at my early photos compared to my pro photos and improved home photography. Can yours improve too?

PRODUCT - Is your product unique? When I started selling beach glass jewelry, I was the only Etsy seller with it. Then there came all the others, so I decided to try something unique. My flame shaped flowers are different that others on the market. Are they unique enough? Maybe not, because I'm considering dropping this line and moving on to something else.

PROFIT - This is the biggest deciding factor. Are you making a profit? If you haven't made even the tiniest profit in 3 years, you are doing this because you love it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving your craft and not making a profit,but if it has become a chore, and you don't love what you're doing anymore, then your decision to quit is valid. It's OK to so something you don't love if you are getting something out of it, but if your heart doesn't sing, and your wallet is empty, you just might be right. There is a place for you and your art  in the world somewhere. maybe just not online sales.

Biz Buzz - Should I Close My Shop?

Dr Who Bow Tie

I know I'm not the only one who has ever considered closing up their handmade shop. I hear it all the time. The depression when you go for a week or two without sales. Imagine what it's like for sellers who have been forced off of Etsy, and believe me, there are a lot of us now.

Helleborus Necklace

Actually there are a lot of sellers who do very well on other venues. Sometime you just have to find the right one. I do very well with my genre Aprons and Accessories on Artfire, but my felt flower jewelry sales is very slow. Although the sales have doubled from last year, they still are not enough to do much more than pay for materials and shop fees. If I was on Etsy, with the changes I've made, I'm sure I would do very well, but I'm not on Etsy, so I have to be more flexible.

Ao I've been considering closing my akaCINDERS Artfire shop. I might try another venue. Not sure yet. I've written more details about the where and why on my other blog in the post A Few Months Later. Maybe it's because I've had no sales in the shop this month, although I had a decent amount last month, but when you compare the $0 in sales on a slow month to the $800 in sales on a slow month in my other shops, what choice is there?

Life on Mars - Business as UNusual

At the beginning of this year I wrote a blog about spending Four Months trying to increase my sales of my handmade jewelry and doing some freelance design work because I really didn't enjoy making the Aprons and Bow ties as much as I liked making the jewelry and designing.

It's really the sewing thing. I have to cut fabric on the floor and it hurts my aging hips and knees, and I have a hard time actually seeing what I'm sewing. Meaning I have to wear reading glasses to sew, then I can't see anything else when I look away. It's kind of a pain.

I guess I have to wear them to make jewelry too, but I just need to complain. It's who I am.

Well I did increase business in my jewelry shop a bit, by reviewing my product and making some serious changes. Mostly I added reasonably priced brooches and have sold a lot of those and some large orders too. But still, that shop income is nothing to make a living at.

As for my design career, I'm sure the small commissions I get will be good, and it is fun, but I'm not willing to give up my freedom at the moment, to go at it full time, and that's where the money really is.

I have however, found that opening up a real store on eBay has found me the income I really needed, through my Aprons, Bow Ties and Pillowcases. Yes, the thing I really didn't want to do. By opening a store, and a facebook page and more promotions, I've nearly doubled my sales from last year. However, that does include better jewelry sales, and freelance design commission, no matter how small those are.

I've resigned myself to sewing. I've even accepted it as my lot in life at this moment in time. I'll still keep my jewelry shop open, and work on new merchandise for a time, but my main focus right now is income. And after all, those designs are cute too. Now I need to finally design those messenger bags I've been wanting to make. And maybe, just maybe, I'll add some jewelry to my eBay store.

Shops I Like - Cubits - StudioBotanica - TheHickoryTree

This week I'm looking forward to the garden. It's been a crazy winter and an even crazier Spring. I think April was colder here than it was all winter, and March had days as warm as Summer! I hope to plant my veggies as soon as I'm sure we're not getting snow (like in June).

These three sellers are nature lovers like me. All three have very different product, but all three celebrate the garden and nature. I love what they have to offer. Two of the sellers I know, the third is a shop I recently found  and love too.

The first shop is Cubits. cubits.etsy.com. Like their banner says, organic, rare and heirloom seeds. And what a selection there is in this shop. Someday my garden will be filled with these treasures. I can't wait to try the Organic Lemon Cucumber or the Heirloom Tomatoes. Look at these yummy veggies and fruits. Head over to the shop right now and get you seeds, I did. Great selection of Herbs too. What can I say, my mouth is watering.

The next shop is Studio Botanica studiobotanica.etsy.com. I've been acquainted with Cristy for quite some time. I remember when she first started selling and wasn't sure which craft she wanted to focus on. she's a very talented person. I think her love of nature pushed her in the right direction finally, because her new shop offerings are just wonderful. My personal favorites are her pressed flower and leaf rings and pendants, but her botanical vials and plant printed flowers and journals are great too. You really need to stop by and see her work.

Finally we have The Hickory Tree thehickorytree.etsy.com. I recently came across this shop. I'm not only a big fan of nature, I'm absolutely fascinated with stones and wood, and does this shop have the wood. The shop is filled with some of the most unique buttons you could possibly find. For those of you who do not know wood, finding spalted maple or hickory or even lilac wood buttons are just a delight. So beautiful and well crafted. These are all made from branches, which is wonderful because branches fall naturally, or they do have to be thinned from trees, helping rather than harming the tree. You have to take a look at this shop, really! These buttons are really great for fiber artists, but there are more things in the shop too.

It's been such a beautiful adventure. I think I'll go sip some coffee out in the sun and enjoy the day. Please stop by these great shops and get yourself a little treasure or two.