i sold a pair of earrings

yes yes i did and it was all cool and stuff. Yes i admit it was a pity buy from my best friend but it was cool nonetheless.

Sadly now i am set back 1 pair of earrings on working towards my goal

oh yeah and if there are any beaders out there in the Eugene area who want to start a bead society with me let me know. the closest one i found was in portland and i am not driving 2 hours each way to go to meetings.

i spent all night trying not to poke either my or anyone else's eye out

i made my second memory wire bracelet...its an experiment though of doing partial loops. I love/hate memory wire.

i should really be promoting more and i need to post more of my earrings that i haven't listed yet but
1) my old computer was fried and i just wiped out my checking account getting this new one which of course has no information i need and
2) my house is trashed and i am too lazy to set up my little table top studio thing
3) i think i am getting sick

but i was not totally bad as i made the bracelet and 2 pairs of earrings last night though it took me forever as for the life of me i could not wire wrap two briollets to match for the life of me!

oh and though i don't knit for some odd reason i am totally addicted to the lime and violet podcast

irony

So first of all love to my best friend as she has bought something from my store!!!! and she has left feedback so once again to all my awaiting customers who just needed to know that i am kosher well there you go

secondly i just thought i would mention the irony that all i have sold is my prints. when i opened the store i did it mainly to sell my jewelry...but so far all i have sold are prints...funny huh. i put those on there almost as an after thought cause i had gifted some sets for christmas and gotten such good response that i figured WTH...and now that is all anyone wants.

i think the craft show will be good for my jewelry though, and my future sister in law has commissioned me to make all the earrings and what not for her bridal party.

coolness

both feet in and neck deep

so i finally bought my first item on etsy, its a great handbag with pink lotus flowers by a fellow etsian Saratogarose.

She lives in my town so we are gonna skip shipping and i get my bag tomorrow. I am so excited not only about the bag but also about meeting another etsy person and she's relatively new too. She only started last october and i will be her 7th sale.

It took me forever to a)find a bag i liked that was within my price range and b) find it from a seller who is also a newbie(i want to help out others like me) and c)finally deciding on a bag. All in all i think i have been browsing for about 2 weeks.

But once i decided on a bag i found this great shop also on etsy Cucio.I am going to make my first custom order (well semi custom...2 of the items she already makes...but she will list it all together for me). From her i am gonna get a business card holder, a padded gadget bag, and a nice wallet in the pattern which matches my bag i am getting. SO EXCITED!!!AND YES I DO MEAN TO SHOUT!

Hurray for me!

so i am featured on cuteable! Hurray! (so far my views are still pitiful but hopefully...) Someone noticed and liked my work! i am so excited!

i only got like maybe 10 extra views out of it but still...i am excited and it makes me feel better about myself and my work

i always knew i was cuteable!

i guess i am committed (or perhaps i should be :) )

i place my order for the displays and what not that i need for the craft fair. I am getting super excited. i am trying to set myself a modest goal and so here is what i am aiming for
earrings 30 pairs
necklaces 10
bracelets 5

and if i have time i am gonna make some baby bracelets (i ordered the wrong size of memory wire so i have this small stuff meant for kids or anorexic people)

oh and i shipped my first order so that is officially done and out of the way. on the whole i undercharged about 3 bucks for shipping...oh well live and learn

its probably unwarranted but but WTH

So obviously my first sale has gone to my head as last night i freaked out made 6 earrings, a necklace, and my first memory wire bracelet...note to readers who have not wrestled with the evil that is memory wire its really really tough!

so yeah, i have my print ready to ship out for tomorrow so hopefully she can get it by monday, give me some feedback and therefore give the all important signal to potential buyers (nod to economists and behavorial/evolutionary psychologists) and they will sigh with relief that they can now safely buy from my shop.

so totals...
earrings: 22
bracelet: 1
necklace: 10

will try bracelets again later...

things i learned from my 1st sale

1. need to clarify store policies...i offered a choice of luster or glossy finish and the customer did not specify so i had spent 2 days trying to get a hold of her to clarify and finally i went ahead with luster. so now i have added a clause in my store policies that if there is an option and you don't pick one by the time you pay then i will assume either the default option or that its up to me
2. i seriously need to raise my shipping fee - i didn't realize how expensive shipping is! I just paid 2 bucks for a bubble mailer (it was very large as the print itself was 11x14 and then i will be adding cardboard to ensure that it arrives safely) and because the thing is so big it has to be shipped as a package so i am looking at 5 bucks for shipping when i had only charged 2.50!
3. need to investigate on-line bubble mailer people...there's got to be a better place to get stupid bubble mailers
4. well haven't figured this part out yet...will update as the transaction progresses.

anyhoo can't wait to get my first feedback...hopefully that will be like a green light in LA and it will open the flood gates to my hordes of awaiting sellers who have so far just been holding their breath waiting for a signal that i am not a creepy weirdo scammer...

I Sold Something!

Hurray for me! I sold a print! I am so excited! It was rather unexpected, sold while i was napping ;) i was also rather expecting to sell a piece of jewelry before i sold a print...hurray! open the flood gates i am officially in business!

hmmm...i think therefore i am confused?

so a couple of weird things.

1. i always hear on etsy how if you post in the promos it gets buries so quick and so i thought if you are a buyer though if you post a thread wanting something then you would get a billion responses and it would be great right? also i had just figured that other newbies would be there waiting to pounce on opportunities...well apparently i was wrong. I posted a thread wanting a bag for under 30 bucks from someone with under 20 sales...its been two days now and there has only been 32 posts to the thread and i would guess a good half of those are me bumping...very disappointed

2. i have earrings and what not up on flickr that are getting many more views and stuff than the actual listings on etsy...i guess that is not too weird though (also helps that i didn't realize i didn't post my etsy link on my flickr profile till the other day)

Feeling conflicted

So i got upset today because i found out that someone in my family had bought a necklace and not from me...i was upset that they didn't even think of me even though admittedly it sounds like the piece in question is of a different style and stuff than my stuff but still!

but then i feel conflicted because i would like my first sale (dear lord i am ready!) to be in true business fashion to a stranger rather than have it be a pity sale from friends or family (though give me another week or two and i might be there)

Don't know how i feel about this...

Oh and in regards to the whole germaphobes and earring issue if anyone wants to actually read the psychoticness there is the link to the thread....
man it still bugs me to think about it, reminds me of my mother who used to tell me that people can get aids from goodwill clothing

Hurray for me...boo for some people

Well first of all i want to say that i am proud to announce that i have finished 10 earrings! Hurray for me! There is a small church craft show in my area coming up on the 9th and i am thinking about being in it if i can get my inventory up...so far i have like 16 pairs of earrings (one of them is misplaced though...hope i find it soon, cause if it sells i will be turning the house up side down...but wishful thinking i guess) and 9 necklaces. If i get some more stuff made i think i might have enough for a small booth if i include my prints and the greeting cards.

Secondly, i went to my first Eugene Etsy Street Team meeting last night and though it had a small turnout it was very exciting and i was so glad to have meet other etsy members in person! They were all so nice and friendly and it was really great. Also i got my business card into the business card packs that everyone sends out and so hopefully that will help.

Finally i am irritated after reading a huge thread in the forum today. People were being all germaphobic and talking about how gross it is when they see earrings modeled on people. I think its so ridiculous! I mean of course the piece will be cleaned and wiped with a sanitizing wipe with alcohol and all that good stuff before its sent! But really! People were talking about spreading disease and stuff and its not like I stuck it in my butt!

Also on that same topic i found it interesting in that one of the most given advice for advertising and getting the work out is to wear your pieces everywhere you go. so unless i am supposed to make myself my own separate collection i don't understand what people expect...

sorry but it really bugged me...

I'm on a roll!

I am so proud of myself! I came home today and sat down and made 5 pairs of earrings! Yea for me! oh and i went out to my first Eugene Etsy Street Team meeting and it was great and now i have got my business cards in the business card packs of some of the other members!

oh yeah i might have forgot to mention i got my business cards yesterday, i was so excited! So I handed one out to a girl i go to school with who i always notice has cute earrings and i slipped 3 into my visa slip i signed at the restaurant we went to dinner at...

But anyways...oh and i am almost at 50 hearts! as a sign of my optimism, or perhaps to bolster my optimism i took 10 of the business card packs for when i finally make a sale!

so i was all happy but now...

i just spent forever retaking all my jewelry photos because i had finally decided on some handmade paper that i thought would make a nice background and i thought i was being so smart and stuff but then when i posted in the forums for feedback people said that the background was distracting...

i know i asked for the feedback but i am disappointed all the same...i thought i looked so nice and i like it...so i guess what i am gonna do is leave them up for now, my other (old) pics of the pieces is on flickr.

When my new photo studio in a box thing comes next week i will think about perhaps redoing the pictures...

I finally did it!

I finally did it! i sat down and made stuff! oh and i got a bunch of my beads sorted! But yes i not only sat my butt down and made 3 pairs of earrings i also managed to take pictures and put them up online! I have 2 of the 3 listed so far and i will list the other one today. See additional photos of the earrings on flickr! Also i finally got around to taking some pics of the greeting cards that i am gonna list so when ever i get around to fixing them in photoshop i will get them up!

I need to quit looking and start making

Resolution 1: stop shopping online and looking at every bead/jewelry/craft store because a) i have no money and b) i just got my 32lb box of supplies which i have yet to record, sort and inventory

Resolution 2: spend less time on etsy forums and obsessively watching my store...perhaps a watched pot never does boil...oh and i am starting to think that the other etsy people think i am a creep as i am on the forums like all the time

Resolution 3: make something! I have been getting so caught up with the managing and promoting side of the business that i have not made anything in like a week

Resolution 4: price and take pictures of listable items as soon as they are ready

and now i will go back to what i was doing in clear violation of resolution 2

this has nothing to do with anything but

okay i just found this on punchella's blog and its one of the funniest things i have ever read in my life

http://ijustworkhere-punchanella.blogspot.com/2008/01/what-would-chuck-norris-do-amazing.html

i should really be doing my homework

but yet i spend all my time lately online promoting my Etsy store and working on my database.

oh yeah, update on that, i am currently building all the tables first and then i will attempt at building the queries...i took database management last term so hopefully something stuck, otherwise i guess i will have to email the professor and beg him to write my queries? So far i have manually entered about 300 rows of data and will have to do many hundred more before i am near done...don't hold your breath! but on the bright side i am getting my expenses recorded in some kind of format so as i said before if worse comes to worse i can always just export it to excel

the stupid thing right now is that i bought my stuff in mixed bags sold by weight and so now i am trying to figure out a way to do cost per unit of the things that make up the mix bags and its getting really confusing.

Oh and i joined flickr and indie public so if you are bored or feeling generous then add me

http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomnotions/
http://www.indiepublic.com/profile/randomnotions

Ugh i think i hurt myself

Okay i just spent the last 6 hours on the computer working on the database (and yes i admit i did spend some of that websurfing, promoting, what not) but still...my neck, back, shoulder, everything hurts.

Anyway, quick update on the database, i have almost all my transactions entered and then i have to go through and number and count all my stupid items. then after all that is done i can try to run some queries to see if it worked....if nothing else i can always export my stupid tables to excel and be done with it

Myopic Masochist

So i haven't been creating or blogging or well much of anything the last 2 days because as you know i received my shipment on Tuesday and have been ever since squinting and sorting 32 lbs of mixed inventory. The bright side of buying in bulk mixed bags is the price and the variety, the downside is well if you are OCD like me then you have to sort and sort and count and sort and sort and count. Also i have findings and what not that i have no idea what they are or what they do and now i have to look them up somewhere to figure out what it is. For example, i have these weird ones that are doughnut shaped but not a complete circle it has 1/4 part that is open...i don't know if i can't figure it out i will suck it up and take a picture and post it here and in the etsy forums and hope someone knows.

Also i have been working very hard on designing a database to track my inventory, expenses, projects, materials used...etc. everything i have found online so far is either inadequate or freakishly expensive. I am now desperately hoping that the database management class i took last term will pay off. If it works out and i get it figured out then perhaps i will offer it to other crafters...let you know later how that goes.

Oh and i joined flickr and indiepublic so, find me there...i am either randomnotions or random notions...i think

Hurray!

I just got it and i am so excited (i just can't hide it) and on the bright side my floors are all swept and moped, i took out the garbage, did a load of laundry and the dishes during my wait to keep myself from being ocd!!!! Here are pics of my heavy box upon opening

okay still waiting

okay i admit it...i have the patience and maturity of a 3 year old...i ran home after classes and my package has not arrived yet....then in some sort of bargaining with my inner self i convinced myself that if i did the dishes and stayed off the computer somehow that would make my package arrive...then its now getting close to 5 so i was starting to panic so i actually called fedex to see if i could just pick my damn package up but then i found out that because it is Fedex Home Delivery they deliver until 8pm and the guy says i am still getting my package today...i have been hyperactive all day because of this package...worse than myself or a 3 year old on Christmas eve. Now i am gonna go mop and sweep and hope that appeases the gods who control Nancy land and they will deliver my damned package!

I am loosing whatever marbles i thought i had

Okay so i guess despite the slushy ice rain and the waking up before sunrise crap i am glad classes are starting tomorrow because if not for that i think i will go completely insane and also totally broke.

I went back to work for the first time today since my car accident (read all about my vortex of doom on my other blog ). The day was going fine and dandy but then i decided to be a shit and go home after work at noon and guess what? i got nothing done and have spent the last 7 hours on Etsy, project wonderful and then a combination of myspace, my email and my blogs...I need to get back to life!

Also though i knew ahead of time that FedEx was not gonna deliver my package till tomorrow i was still irritated all day because i kept looking the thing up on tracking and it says that its been sitting in portland (only 2 hours max away) since 5am this morning SO WHY COULDN'T I GET MY PACKAGE TODAY!!!!!!

Sorry about that...see what i am saying about being nuts? Lets hope i have no homework tomorrow because i intend to spend every second after class at home with my 32 lbs of beads

My anxiety is getting the worst of me

So its officially been a week now since i have started the store and i have yet to sell anything. So i am starting to freak. Spent the last 3 days redoing or touching up my listings and pictures. And now i have sucummbed to the lure of advertising and have started using Project Wonderful. It seems to be a fairly reined in way of advertising but i am sure it will end up costing me a billion dollars that i don't have and nothing to show for it.

So far today for my 1.26 i have got a whopping 14 unique clicks....well we will see how this goes.

if anyone is interested or wants to check it out here is the link to that site
www.projectwonderful.com

oh come on already!

So i am trying to hold my breath and not panic. i have been getting a decent amount of views lately but still no sales yet...i keep telling myself well its only been 5 days but then crazy lucky people out there will post stuff in the forums like "i sold something in 4 seconds after posting!" ...aw crap...jealousy is an ugly thing but someone got to feel it right?

WOW

I just got the shipping confirmation for my package and get this its 32lbs!!!! I was thinking that it was gonna be like 20 lbs but wow, i guess i outdid myself

To keep track of all my expenses and stuff i am working on building my own access database to track the business stuff, the supplies, the projects what not. i spent all yesterday researching existing products and to say the least they either suck or was a ridiculous amount of money...so anyhoo. yeah me and my handy dandy access for dummies is gonna figure this out.

if anyone knows how to make a field within a table, note NOT a query, calculate simple division please let me know.

ocean breezes

Just posted this piece on etsy

this piece originally started due to two events

1. i got the little mermaid 2 disc deluxe edition for my Christmas present
2. i ran into the last 20 minuets of a gemstone bead trunk show at my local bead store immediately after getting some Christmas money. here i found 2 strands of aquamarines and bought them

I put this piece together thinking about the ocean, aqua, and well blues and greens. Also i had not yet made anything in the green color family and had been wanting to make something with a pale green for a while.

Anyways, here are some horrid pics of me wearing the piece. I think it would work much better on someone with perhaps a different skin color.

YES YES YES - The catharsis of finally ordering

Last night at like 3am or some god awful time like that my payment to my credit card posted and i was able to finally place my order! i am sooooooooooo psyched! can't wait can't wait can't wait! Hopefully it shows up at a decent time next week meaning it comes on a day when i don't have class all day so that i can indulge and fulfill my need to dig through the stuff and let thousands of beads flow through my fingers!

Fellow Etsyers!

Wow I have recently posted a link to this blog on 2 forums in the etsy forums and I am so touched and amazed by the response I got! Thanks for all the warm supportive comments from my fellow craftspeople! Its so nice to feel as a part of a community of people who care and actively support each other!

Peaches with Strawberry Cream?

I just posted this piece in Etsy and had more pics than my 5 limit so here are some of me wearing it! once again i must caution that one should not be put off my the stubby chubby nature of my neckline as i am sure it would look much more elegant on you!

waiting for the money to go in so i can make it go out

So i have spent about the past 2 weeks perfecting my massive shopping cart at a beading supply store and now i finally got my money and am waiting for the payment to post to my damn credit card so i can purchase my mounds and mounds of goodies. i don't think i can wait much longer as i will just endlessly tweak with the damn thing until i drive myself insane!

slowly but surely

I am slowly but surely building up the store. I have posted 3 more things today and also made some price adjustments. The pics of the jewelry don't look too good but oh well. I seem to be getting a decent amount of visits and views though no bites yet!

finally some jewels

I finally got some jewelry postings up...well two to be precise. Trying my best to get better pictures of the pieces. I took some new photos outside as it is not raining for once, but i guess its still too damn overcast or something cause the photos are still all weird and i had to do alot of tweaking to get them to look right. but they do look better than the photos i have done so far.

Below are some extra pics of the piece i just posted.

My First Posting!

I just posted my first posting on etsy.com! This is so exciting! I went ahead and posted the photographs I took in China which are for sale in the form of prints. I hope they will do well. The prints i gave my dad for christmas (of the same series) got great reception, but then again those were given in a group and i did pay to have them framed (although it was just cheap frames). Right now I am charging 7.50 each print and then 2.50 shipping and if you buy something else then its only 50 cents to add it onto the other order. I think that is pretty reasonable price, though i might offer some sort of group discount such as if you buy 4 or more you get them for 5 dollars each or something. i am not sure yet. we will see how it goes. If you want to know what the prints look like you can either suck it up and go to my website at http://RandomNotions.etsy.com or you can squint and look at my avatar and get an idea of what my pics look like.