Wordless Wednesday

I could feel the excitement from my living room...

Where Am I Going? Where Have I been?

I remember when I first thought about selling my knitting on Etsy over a year ago how new it all seemed. It was an exciting and scary feeling to put my creations out into the world like that. I was already a confirmed Etsy addict and my thought was to supplement what I spent on Etsy by selling a few things. I had no business plan or real direction for where I wanted to take it. I just knew that I loved knitting and I might as well be making some of what I spent on yarn back.

I think that a lot of sellers start out that way. We are what they call hobbyist. Which is a bit of a bad word to some in the Etsy community. They see us coming in, excited to just sell a few things and clear out some of the many scarves or jewelry piling up in our craft rooms for what ever someone is willing to pay. We tend to drive the prices down and can have a less professional approach to running a business. I sold my first scarf within 2 hours of listing it, which would have been exciting but I had listed it so low that it was truly a steal. I've learned a lot since then. I'm here to say that just because I'm a hobbyist, that doesn't mean I'm not running a business. I am working hard to create a brand and get my business out there.

I've sold close to 150 items in the past year or so on Etsy and off. I wish I could say that I knew exactly where I was going with my business but I can't. I'd love to be able to take my business to the next level and create a real name on Etsy. I've unfortunately found that I sell much better off Etsy at craft shows where people can touch and experience my items. I enjoy this interaction but it takes a lot of work and emotional energy on my part.

I know the dream is to be able to make enough money from our hobby to turn it into a career. Who wouldn't love to be able to stay home and create all day long. What we forget is all the other things that go along with that. I'm afraid that if my mortgage payment depended on how many scarves I sold that month we would be in real trouble. I've thought about the dream of opening a yarn store or boutique for handmade but I don't know if I have the drive and ambition to really make that work.

Figuring out where we are going and where we have been are important questions that can make a big difference in how we approach our business. They are questions that can have a different answer depending on our mood or day of the week, but we should constantly be evaluating them. But wherever we are along the continuation of hobbyist to professional crafter making a living from their work, it is important to treat our work like a business. Who knows where that might take us.

Random Monday Thoughts

I love my new little painting from fauxtograph. She decoupaged pages from The Audacity of Hope and then painted the iconic image over it. This is the first time in my life that I'm actually excited for the chance to vote tomorrow. I have the picture hanging over the fireplace right now. Mike is indulging me until the election. He says it is a little too "our great leader" and makes him feel like he's in North Korea, but I can tell he loves it too.

I took my little niece to see High School Musical 3 this weekend. It wasn't as mind numbingly bad as I thought it would be. That Zach Efron really is quite adorable as all the girls say. I told Anh on the way home that I thought I even had a crush on him, which I think she found a bit disturbing. She was dancing in her seat through most of the movie and when it was over she waited until most everyone else had left. She walked to the front of the theater and took a little bow and then danced her way out. She is such the diva.

I was talking with my friend Tif this weekend about the direction I want to take my blog. She is such a good business woman and always makes me think about things more clearly. I've decided I'm going to be including more "tutorials" and helpful information on running an Etsy shop. I've been selling on Etsy for over a year now, and I'm certainly no top seller but I think I have some useful knowledge that I can share. On top of that I've been buying and creating a handmade lifestyle for even longer now so I definitely feel I have more that I can share about that. The blogs I read and enjoy are not just glimpses into other peoples lives but also teach me something I didn't already know. That is what I'd like to create here. I don't want this to be just another knitting blog or all about self promotion. So I hope you'll bare with me as I see where this thing is going.

Halloween Humbug

Is it just me or does the whole world seem to be obsessed with Halloween now. When I was a kid it was a fun day but I don't remember it being such a big deal. I used to dress up in my grandmothers old clothes and costume jewelry as either a flapper or gypsy, alternating each year. There have been silly teenagers dressed up in rental costumes on just about every street corner for the past month and a half advertising for one costume store or another. I've heard lots of adults and teenagers talking about costume parties which I honestly never did past junior high. Am I the only one who doesn't get it?


Perhaps being childless has something to do with it. I don't have the anticipation of finding a costume and parties leading up to it. The Child Development classes all came trick or treating through our offices this morning on campus. It was fun seeing all their happy faces but it also kind of made me sad. Another side effect of being childless I suppose. There are certain moments when it hits me.

Gray Eyed Sister-in-law

I decided I would do a series on my favorite bag makers on Etsy. I, of course, had to start with my sister in law of grayeyedscorpio.etsy.com fame. I have a bit of a purse obsession which I believe runs in my family. I have bags tucked away, often filled with yarn, in various corners of my house. I once had a guest open a cupboard looking for a board game to have 10 purses fall out.

You can learn more about my sister in law at her blog Fabric Addict. She is a very talented sewer along with her many other skills, including gardening, cooking, building things, and teaching. She also introduced me to sushi, Scholarshop, the Wentzville flea market, and my husband, in no particular order. We've had the typical sister in law miscommunications through the years but she is one opinion I truly value and respect. We have drastically different taste in footwear but I know she will always tell me the truth when I ask her if something looks good on me. I would be a very different person today if I had not met D. and I am grateful to her for many things, including bringing me into her family.

Last year I asked her to turn a cape that I no longer wore into a bag. Despite the fact that she really hates the constraints of custom projects she did it for me. It is one of my favorite bags in my "collection". She generally uses very earthy colors and upcycles materials quite a bit. She also makes very comfortable headbands in every color and pattern imaginable. I still wear her prototype and first headband from when she got her shop started. I told her about Etsy and because she is much more the go getter than myself she had her shop up and running months before I did. If you are in the market for a new fall bag I couldn't recommend anyone higher than the grayeyedscorpio.

Trading Etiquette 101

I talked earlier about how I was working hard to get trades set up for my holiday gifts this year. A few people asked how I went about making trades. There really is an etiquette to the process that some people just don't get, so I thought I would give my thoughts on the subject. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not perfect. I know I've broken a few unwritten rules in pursuit of a good trade, but I do keep them in mind as much as possible.


The first thing I would say if you are wanting to do trades on Etsy is to not have a skin thin. If you don't handle rejection well then I would stick to joining trade games where no one gets hurt. You can also make sure your name is on the big trade list and join the trade team and let people interested come to you. You will have to be prepared to turn some people down but there is a protocol to that as well. Many people don't reply to trade requests, which I find much more rude than a simple and polite no thanks. I have had to say no on different occasions when the other shop did not have anything I needed or wanted to trade for. All you have to say is "thanks for your interest in my item but I don't think there is anything I need at this time from your lovely shop." If you say no politely there is still a chance the person will like your item enough to go ahead and buy it. If you ignore them they will go away and likely have a slightly sour impression of your shop. Most people pursuing trades know there is a very good chance of rejection so they are not going to get offended if you say no. That is part of the process so don't sweat it.


Once you are prepared to pursue a trade you can start looking through the many trade threads on Etsy like I do by doing a forum search or going through the huge trade list found here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5735502 I love "shopping" for things to trade for. When I find something I like or that would make a good gift I convo the seller and say something like, "I love your xyz item and I was wondering if you would be interested in trading for something in my shop. If not, no worries!" If you're lucky they will reply back with an offer of what they would like in your shop. Make sure there are items in your shop that are of comparable value. I've actually had someone offer to trade something when all of the items in their shop did not add up to the cost of the item they wanted of mine.


If you are happy with the arrangement reply back and let them "buy" the item first. If I'm the pursuer I feel it is polite to let them make the first move and put the item in their cart. After they've done that then I will "buy" their item without going through paypal. If it is a heavy item it is polite to ask if they would like for you to pay for shipping. They can then send you an invoice through paypal for the shipping amount.


Don't go through with it if you feel like you aren't getting a fair trade. I've asked someone for a trade before and was offered to trade for something that cost twice as much as what I wanted. I probably should have told her why I did not want to go through with it but I was a bit offended so I did not reply to that one. When I have been on the other side of that situation and I found something that cost more than what the other person wanted I offered to pay the difference. Often times they will tell you not to worry about it but it is polite to offer.

If you are interested in trading be sure that you are put that you are open to trade requests in your profile. I know that I rarely if ever ask someone for a trade if I haven't seen them on a trade list or in a trade thread on etsy, and it is always nice to see that trade friendly message in the profile to know that it is an option.

As I said getting trades is not always easy. I actually prefer to be the pursuer so I tend to stalk the trade threads looking for new people interested in trading. I'm happy if I get a trade set up from 25% of my requests. If you get turned down you can't take it personal. It is just part of the game.

Playing With Matches

One of my husband's closest friends since High School is Brian Katcher, who wrote the young adult novel Playing With Matches. He had a book signing at our local Barnes and Nobles this weekend. He is one of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met so you can't be anything but happy to see his success. Here is what I wrote in my amazon review of the book:

"As I read this Young Adult novel I was brought back to my own years in high school with all the angst and emotions that entailed. I was rooting for Leon so strongly that it was painful to see him make the inevitable teenage boy mistakes. I was also constantly reminding myself that it was written by a man. The writer was able to capture the emotions of both the male lead and the female characters which was fascinating to read. This is more than YA fiction. It is a seriously good read for anyone. "

It would make a great gift for a teenager in your like whether they read or not. It is about underdogs and has a great message of acceptance. There is sexual content appropriate for a teenager but I wouldn't recommend for anyone under 13.

Brian is on the far right, my nerd Mike is next to him, his twin Mark, and Ajay another good friend of theirs from high school. Mike says that Brian took all of their personality traits and put them in a blender to create the friends in the book. There is a lot of references to their high school, Ft. Zumwalt South, which made it fun for a lot of the kids around here to read.