April 20, 2012

I'm late with my post again and today I am blown away with the fact that blogger has completely changed format. I hope it's for the best, but I'm not really sure how I'm going to do all the posts I normally do. Things just don't look right here.

Today I did a lot of sewing. I decided, that although I want to either live off my jewelry, or my designs, I still need to make money off my sewing. I may not like sewing much, but it's what sells the most so I'm going to make the most of it, while I'm growing my other businesses.

I made a new apron with some fabric I have a lot of. Sitting on the shelf, might as well get some use out of it. I have 2 versions of retro aprons, one is the Ruffle (my daughter's design) and the other is the Sweetheart (my design).

My pattern is designed to use a 15" piece of 45" fabric, so it's a little more economical and less expensive. So I thought I'd make the less expensive version.

I also made a few Chef's Aprons that I will photograph with different pockets. I don't have enough listed and I need to add some of my better fabrics, like the Beatles and some Biker fabric and maybe more versions of Star Wars. I'd love to add the new Marvel Comic fabric, but that's getting harder and harder to find.

I love to add more Bow ties too. This is a great time of year for men's gifts. Graduations and Father's Day. I don't think I can really give up any of the things I do. I think I just have to be happy, selling it all.

April 17, 2012

Today I had to spend the whole day working on my Bread and Butter shop. That doesn't mean I sell bread and butter, it means it feeds me. I make sewn Aprons Accessories and Housewares. It's not that I don't think they are wonderful, and that they are not worthy product to focus my attentions on. It's just that the older I get, the harder it is to enjoy sewing. As a matter of fact, I kind of hate it. I'm tired of fighting with ornery machines and searching for dropped pins or getting stabbed with them. I hate having to rethread the darn serger.

Anyhow, I thought I should show a little of what I make on my other shop. I focus so much on my flowers and my designs, and never really mention or show my sewing. Many of the designs there were made by my daughter. She is a whiz at designing patterns. Most of them she keeps in her head too. Although some of her new patterns she actually cuts with a template. She designed my Retro ruffle Aprons and the Vendor Aprons. I designed the Sweetheart Apron, the Chef's Apron, the Tie Shirts and the Bow Ties. I guess I'm OK at designing too.

My best selling designs are made out of Vintage Bedsheets, curtains or other fabric, like the Star Wars Apron that my daughter designed. It's my most popular item, and the picture above was not commissioned by me, it was modeled bu someone who loved it so much. I even had a college student use it on her video cooking show.

My second most popular is the Batman Bow Tie. Those guys really love Batman (and the Beatles). Bow Ties are becoming so popular now. I would make a standard tie, but I haven't designed a good one that uses little fabric yet. So hard to make with the vintage sheets, but I'm sure I would sell a lot of those too.

See, really cute, and something I could easily grow and make a good living with, I just don't really enjoy the sewing, and why shouldn't I do something I really enjoy?

You can stop by and see more of my work at poppysgardengate.artfire.com

April 16, 2012

Time is running out. I really have to finish everything soon. It's time. I need my brochures finished and I need my packaging done. NOW!

My design portfolio is coming along wonderfully. I completely redid it. Well just made it less of a jumble. I did a few small artistic touches (changing the banner, ever so slightly) and rearranged the pages. I hat way to many tabs at the top, so I've incorporated a lot of what was in tabs, as links on my portfolio page. It's easier to understand and when viewers get a pop up saying they need a password, they will understand why. I just can't leave my designs open for everyone to look at.

I've put teaser images with links. Some of them are open designs, but I have to let the visitor know what I'm capable of don't I? I still have a lot of work to do on it, but not nearly what I needed when I started. I'm very pleased at how it's coming together.

I suppose I should mention somewhere on the site that it was designed by me, and that I do graphic designs too. I think I know where to do it. My about page needs some serious work. I may add a home page and definitely a contact page. The rest will all be hidden and accessed through links on the other pages. I'm kind of enjoying web designing. Maybe I should take an HTML class. Not right now I think.

Tomorrow I sew. Still my bread and butter, although I have really increased sales for my jewelry and product design.

April 4, 2012

Today I finished some new flowers and shipped the ones I sold. I'm pretty happy that I'm finally selling jewelry, and it seems I sell brooches in lots too. I suppose I should try that on eBay. Lots of pick your own bouquets. Might get some wedding orders there.

Things are still quiet on the design front, so I'm enjoying the peace and getting some personal things done today. I really need to clean up my area. I've been working so much that it looks like a tornado hit inside the room. Too much work and too little time to organize. I didn't really mean to work quite this hard. It's not the designing or the production that is the issue, it's the planning and extra blogging that I won't be doing in the future, that is adding to my work load. I really didn't think that my plans would work so well before I had completed them.

It is really amazing what just taking a step back and looking at what you're doing can do for your business. At the end of the four months, I will give a summary as to all the changes I've made in my business as a result of my examination. Those of you faithful readers, probably know already.

Tomorrow I plan to spend a little time on my sewing. My new product there, has been taking off like mad too. I added bow ties to my line, and they are great sellers and pretty profitable too. I'd love to cut back on everything else and just make bow ties. Not that they are entirely original, but I did make my own pattern, and because I have so much grosgrain ribbon, I used that for the neck portion. They actually look really cute on a bare neck for women, and they are fastened with hook and loop. I'm making Jack Skellington tomorrow, but so far the Beatles fabric and Batman are my best sellers. Genre Bow Ties.

March 1, 2012 - March Comes in Like a Lion

You're starting to know so much more about me than anyone else does, I might as well let you in on a little secret. I promised myself if anything happened, that I had some free time on my hands, I would write a book. Well, for the past four years, I've had lots of time on my hands, but no book. The main reason I'm writing all this down, is just to prove to myself that I can write, four months every day.

It's March, that means I've written for two of the four months everyday. Go me! That in itself is quite an accomplishment. But have I accomplished my goals?

Here's a wrap, this week has been heartbreaking and amazing. There were so many ups and down this week. I haven't had such a roller coaster ride in a long time.

The downs were that our car died, after we put so much money into it. Money we didn't really have to spare. $2000 for a car that only lasted three months and barely that is not good. And then there was the shooting in Chardon. The community we spend so much time in. The school that my daughter's brother in law went to. The school she was considering sending her son to, because his school doesn't have the best programs for him.

First positive was that on the weekend I found I got my Power Seller status on eBay and then Top Seller and later this week I rolled over 1900 feedback with a 99.4% positive rating. Darn that .6% of people who just have to be negative.

And then there were the sales. This week was amazing. I can't believe how many sales I had on all my shops, and at the end of the month. The nice thing is that most of my sales were on Artfire which means I don't have to pay those ridiculous fees on eBay.

Lastly, I got a design commission. I guess updating my profile on linked in payed off. I'll give you a little tip, even if you are a handmade artisan. Join linked in and make as many contacts as you can. Updating your profile sends out notification to your contacts. This reminds people who you are and what you do.

It's been quite a week and I can't wait to see what else March has in store for me.  

February 14, 2012

Today is Valentine's Day. One of the worst ever for me. Not that I don't have a love, but that I've been sick and my daughter is very sick. Her baby is cranky and I've had to help take care of her a lot, because my daughter has a horrible sinus infection. One of those days, when you try to work and it's so hard.

I had to sew and both machines were fighting me. Popped thread on the serger, bunching bobbin thread on the straight stitcher, this is one of the reasons I hate sewing, obstinate machines. I had some imperfect vintage fabric to work with that needed a LOT of work on. Pilling, I hate removing pills. It took a long time. And then I had to package to ship, late at night because it was the only chance I had.

I was able to review and decide on my logo while I was cradling the sleeping baby. So hard to work with one hand. I admire those who work with disabilities. I really have a hard time using the computer with one hand. I even did some photo editing, but the commands I use with 2 keys simultaneously are so hard to do with one very small hand. At least I have a touchpad, not a mouse. That would be so much harder.

I made the final decision on the logo, and although it's not finished yet, I can start working on the things that will use it. Then when I get it back, I can just drop it in the places I need. Finally progress.

I've also decided to calculate how much profit I will make at wholesale, and how many pieces I need to sell to make a decent wage. I hate doing that, because thats why I decided to go into product design in the first place. Although now I do know of better ways to sell my product than back then. Artists and Crafters are much more respected and placed than they were 20 years ago.

I will have to post my results on both my blogs for you to see and see how I came to whatever conclusion I made. Wish me luck.

February 13, 2012

I took another break on the flower shop today, I worked on some aprons and bow ties I sold. I keep thinking that maybe I would just be better off resigning myself to sewing, because although I could make a lot of money designing, I'm really not sure that's what I want to do.

I started sewing by hand when I was little, and then by machine when I was about 14. I did a lot of embroidery when I was younger. Kits, but they were well done. I was not a patient crafter though. I could only finish things if they took a few days at the most. I still prefer design to making, because it's over and passed on really quickly. I also learned how to work really fast, because I get bored quickly.

I got my first sewing machine for my 16^th birthday. It was a wonderful machine. At that point in my life, I planned on becoming a fashion designer. I even took tailoring classes in high school and designed a lot of my own clothes.

I had some money for college, but not enough to get into any fashion schools. I didn't know anything about financial aid or loans. My high school counselor advised that I take typing, because a secretary was a good career for a woman. I sometimes with I knew where she lived so I could have left her a flaming bag of, well, you know. At any rate, she was no help to me at all, and I missed out on college, because of very bad advice.

It took quite a few years, but I finally went back to school and what did I do to earn money for tuition? You guessed it, I sewed in a drapery shop. I made beautiful custom drapes, bedding and slipcovers for interior designers clients.

Not sure why I have such an aversion to sewing now, but I really don't like it. Maybe it's a stat of mind and I should learn to like it. Maybe I need to create my own thing or my own process of sewing.

I don't plan to give up on my flowers just yet, but it is nice to know that I have something to rely on

in the mean time.