Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday Bloggin': Busy as a...
Been hermited inside my shop for a while now, but the end result should be worth it. :) At least ten new items from the "Wyrm Regards" line coming at the end of this week -- keep your eyes peeled! :D
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A very happy birthday to my favorite siren :D
Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
-e.e. cummings
***
Happy birthday, Mermaiden. I hope it is filled with shells and good dark beer. :D
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Eyeball contest winner!
First, happy Independence day to my American readers! May it be full of all-beef hot dogs, BBQed corn on the cob and fireworks that don't light your eyebrows on fire.
Second, I'd like to announce the winner of last month's "Name That Eyeball" contest: Mermaiden, with her suggestion of "Wyrm Regards". :D Thanks to everyone who made suggestions! I chose that one because it makes me giggle every time I see it.
Mermaiden will have her choice of ANY of the new eyeball jewellery that will be coming to my shop by the end of this month. Yay!
Second, I'd like to announce the winner of last month's "Name That Eyeball" contest: Mermaiden, with her suggestion of "Wyrm Regards". :D Thanks to everyone who made suggestions! I chose that one because it makes me giggle every time I see it.
Mermaiden will have her choice of ANY of the new eyeball jewellery that will be coming to my shop by the end of this month. Yay!
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Boring Stuff: Dollars and Sense
So herein lies the current state of Arcadian Dreams Metalwork -- might be of interest to other self-employed business mavens. :D
Finances:
About $2500 in the hole at the moment, which is fine; my business plan allots for up to $5000 "red" before I will have to change strategies. So that's good. :)
Advertising and Promotion:
Will never be on the front page of Etsy, and my items honestly don't fit their new "branding" schtick... so I will change my focus from them to myself/other venues.
Project Wonderful got me views but no sales and no trackable hearts; will give it another go when I have a fully stocked shop.
Twitter would probably get me sales if I used it for my business, but it feels icky to do so and I'm worried about spamming people.
Current strategy is to open an ArtFire shop, keep three lines in my Etsy shop (Cocktails, My Heart Is A Castle and eyeballs) and use the rest in ArtFire, featured as a cart function on my main website, which will be overhauled.
Pricing:
Will likely stay the same for the moment. Right now I am using a formula that marginally works -- essentially overhead (shop expenses, packaging, shipping) + materials times x. Nope, no labour in there; I'm currently working for free, which is bad business, but I am trying to stay competitive. When I'm a big diva of the jewellery world this may change, of course. ;)
Meatspace venues:
Will definitely be doing the gem and jewellery show this October; will be saving up stock to do it, and have lovely new displays. I'm aiming for 50 items, which is pretty ambitious, but I have a few months to do it.
Still have consignment space at the Purple Door; will put some pieces there before and after the gem show.
New skills:
Cabbing! Cutting and polishing my own stones is not only a heck of a lot of fun, but will reduce my cost substantially.
***
So there you have it. I'm not kicking ass but I'm not going under. :D
Finances:
About $2500 in the hole at the moment, which is fine; my business plan allots for up to $5000 "red" before I will have to change strategies. So that's good. :)
Advertising and Promotion:
Will never be on the front page of Etsy, and my items honestly don't fit their new "branding" schtick... so I will change my focus from them to myself/other venues.
Project Wonderful got me views but no sales and no trackable hearts; will give it another go when I have a fully stocked shop.
Twitter would probably get me sales if I used it for my business, but it feels icky to do so and I'm worried about spamming people.
Current strategy is to open an ArtFire shop, keep three lines in my Etsy shop (Cocktails, My Heart Is A Castle and eyeballs) and use the rest in ArtFire, featured as a cart function on my main website, which will be overhauled.
Pricing:
Will likely stay the same for the moment. Right now I am using a formula that marginally works -- essentially overhead (shop expenses, packaging, shipping) + materials times x. Nope, no labour in there; I'm currently working for free, which is bad business, but I am trying to stay competitive. When I'm a big diva of the jewellery world this may change, of course. ;)
Meatspace venues:
Will definitely be doing the gem and jewellery show this October; will be saving up stock to do it, and have lovely new displays. I'm aiming for 50 items, which is pretty ambitious, but I have a few months to do it.
Still have consignment space at the Purple Door; will put some pieces there before and after the gem show.
New skills:
Cabbing! Cutting and polishing my own stones is not only a heck of a lot of fun, but will reduce my cost substantially.
***
So there you have it. I'm not kicking ass but I'm not going under. :D
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Getting To Know You: Workspace Exposed!
Wherein we ask the time-old question...
Does this bench make my butt look big?
This is where all the frustration... I mean magic... happens. :D
Those of you who are familiar with my shop may recognize some of the sketches up on the board as already having been made and sold -- click on the "all sizes" for a zoomed look!
Does this bench make my butt look big?
This is where all the frustration... I mean magic... happens. :D
Those of you who are familiar with my shop may recognize some of the sketches up on the board as already having been made and sold -- click on the "all sizes" for a zoomed look!
Get Teased! -- July's Triskaidekaphobian Tease
Convo or email me with the correct answer to this question and get 13% off any one item in my shop for the remainder of the month! :)
The French word for July is "juillet"... looks a lot like "Juliet", doesn't it? We've all heard of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy "Romeo and Juliet", in which the lovers are kept apart and ultimately meet their end trying to be together forever.
Can you name one pair of star-crossed lovers from Greek or Roman myth that follow a similar story?
The French word for July is "juillet"... looks a lot like "Juliet", doesn't it? We've all heard of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy "Romeo and Juliet", in which the lovers are kept apart and ultimately meet their end trying to be together forever.
Can you name one pair of star-crossed lovers from Greek or Roman myth that follow a similar story?
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