Creatures and Bugs from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Creatures and Bugs curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Did I really just quit my job?

It’s been 4 months now.

I’m 1/3 of the way through my first year.  

It’s been 127 days since I started.

 I can package it many different ways, but no matter how I state it, the clock is ticking, the days are flying by and my savings are shrinking.

It’s hard to believe actually that this much time has passed since I started working for myself.

 A lot of things have changed and uncertainty and surprise seem to be my constant companions. 

I am not where I had hoped to be, at least not as I had originally pictured it, but I have made some positive strides - none bigger than starting to think beyond my original plan.

July and August were very good months for sales and got me started with a lot of momentum. After that though, things began to drag. I had this idea that if I had time to make more diploma frames and kept adding them to my shop the sales would continue to grow.

That hasn't really happened.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about my approach to this and what my goal actually is (was). I've come to realize that my goal is not to sell diploma frames. My goal is to earn a living, working for myself, doing something I enjoy.

Coming to that realization has opened me up to a much larger pool of options.

While I will continue to sell diploma frames, I plan to add a large selection of picture frames and will soon begin to use pre-cut molding in addition to milling my own.  I've signed on with a wholesale picture frame molding company that provides me hundreds of choices and opportunities to increase revenue, while becoming more efficient.

Not only will that help me increase what I offer in the way of frames I make, I will soon start to “retail” the pre-cut molding through my DIY picture framing web site, so  DIYers can buy nice molding at a reasonable price to make their own frames.

I have just taken on a large project with a local chapel to make hymn book holders for their pews. Working for the Lord has to help, right?

And of course, I've been gearing up for the holiday crafts shows. I have a table at the St. Greg's show November 28-29 and the Heim Middle School show December 6-7.

Whether these things help or not, we'll see, but I know the odds increase as more things are tried.

One thing I said at the beginning is that faith has to play a big part in this. I truly believed that one way or another, things would happen and opportunities would present themselves.  I wasn't sure how, and until I was forced to think beyond my original plan, I didn't realize just how many opportunities are missed if you don’t open your mind.  

So, until the next installment, I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open for the opportunities that are hiding, in plain sight, all around us every day. I hope you do as well.

Al

harvestwoods.com

Did I really just quit my job?

I’m now two months into my journey and the world hasn't ended.  The initial fear that used to pulse through me every now and then seems to have been more hype than anything else.

That’s how fear works though. It paralyzes the mind and body. 

In this installment I wanted to touch on some things I did prior to turning in my notice and walking away from a steady paycheck and benefits.  Doing these things have helped me overcome the fear and have, without a doubt, helped me focus on the work at hand instead of waiting for the end of the world.

About 2 years prior to turning in my notice I:

1.       Took a long hard look at my current position, the state of the field I worked in (Higher Ed) and what the future was starting to look like.  I saw more downside than upside. I began to think about changing careers.

2.       Tracked my spending for 6 months to get a better sense of where my money was actually going. I kept a daily journal and logged EVERY dollar I spent and what I spent it on. I broke it down into categories each month. This really opened my eyes to some careless spending.

Attributed to Abe Lincoln
(but there is no actual proof he ever said this!)

3.       I began to pay more attention to saving money, in case I decided to leave.

About 18 months prior I:

1.  Started to cut back from the things I identified through my spending exercise

2.   Began paying my credit cards down aggressively.

3.   Adjusted the contribution I was making to my 401k plan by dropping to the minimum percentage that secured my employers contribution and directed the rest into my savings account. I did this to save as much “ready cash” as possible should  I decide to leave.

4.   I took what I learned from the spending exercise and figured out what I actually spent on necessities (home, food, bills etc…) in a year. 

      It’s a very interesting exercise. If you've never done it – do it. I found out that the number is much smaller than I thought. You may be surprised too. It made me feel more confident in taking the risk of working for myself.  It helped me zero in on the exact amount of money I needed to save to give myself a year (if I didn't earn another penny during that year) to go on living close to how I was currently living.

About 6 months prior I:

1.       Decided that unless something drastic changed at my current job, I would leave and start working for myself full-time.

2.       Started planning for my departure and putting things in order (to help my co-workers as well as visualizing what my life would look like how to best approach it).

I am not one to recommend just quitting a job without really thinking things through. I do think anyone can leave a job they are unhappy with though – I just recommend having a plan in place. Most people lock themselves into situations without even trying to take a long hard look at what’s actually possible.

You can read the 3 previous posts in this series here: 

#1              #2             #3

Next month,  I will update you on my progress since starting off on my own and some of the early hiccups, lessons and small victories.

Following YOUR Path...Sarah Trumpp 6/6/13

Summer is getting closer and it seems we are

all busier than ever. Families, craft shows,

jobs, book clubs, Etsy teams and treasuries;

not to mention, gardens, golf, graduation parties

and of course making the things we all make!

With that as a back drop, Sarah Trumpp of

WonderStrumpet was still kind enough to give us 

a quick update on how she is doing.

Feel free to wish her luck as she heads into the nerve-wracking craft show season.

Have you participated in any shows

since the May update? What shows do you have coming up? I don't think I have had any shows since the last time we talked. I have Lockport coming up at the end of June, Corn Hill in July, and Elmwood in August.

Since you started working full-time, can you share 1 hurdle that you have encountered that you never saw coming?  My biggest hurdle has been ME, which has been a little annoying. I'm following a dream and should probably not be getting in my own way. Irritating.

Compared to your initial fear or anxiety, has there been something that turned out to be much easier or smoother than you had expected?  I can't think of anything. How doom-gloom Eeyore of me!

How about the reverse of that - something you thought would be easy that turned out to be a headache? Show applications - so much paperwork!!! There was a lot of stuff that I didn't even think about, like business license (luckily I already had it) and tax IDs and whatnot, so I'm glad that's all out of the way.

Free format time - share whatever you feel like sharing  These past few months sales-wise have been pretty slim to none, so I'm a little nervous about all of that. I haven't updated my shop in way too long, though, since I've been hoarding stuff for shows, but I'm going to change that this upcoming week, so hopefully I'll start selling again. Right now I have all of my chips on summer show season, so I'm hoping things go well. Nervous!

Al Pilato
harvestwoods
picture-frame-it-yourself.com

Monday Interview with Karin Lorenc Pottery!

this week Karin joins us to shares her wonderful pottery! 

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

I live in Niagara Falls NY with my husband and 2 cats. I love nature, cheese, world music, and camping. I have a rather goofy personality and this tends to show itself in my work every now and again.

What do you create? How long have you been working on your craft/art?

I make functional stoneware pottery. Bright colors have become most of my glaze palette. White exteriors tie my pieces together so that a collection can consist of a rainbow of color. I've been making pottery ever since I first got my hands on a chuck of clay as a child. I just had my 5 year Etsyversary for my pottery shop in April.

What inspires you?

I'm inspired by nature and my minimalistic personality. Natural materials have always been my favorites to work with. Creating with a chunk of earth is a perfect fit for me. I keep most of my forms rather simple and functional. I like each of my pieces to serve a purpose so that they will be used in an everyday setting.

What is the best thing about having a etsy shop?

Being your own boss is pretty great. Waking up to a snowy WNY day and being able to stay in to work in my home studio isn't terrible either!

How do you promote your work to the world?

I have Facebook and Twitter pages for my pottery. Keeping the Etsy store fresh with new items is important too.

What is the hardest part about selling online?

Taking good pictures can be a challenge. Unfortunately my creative interests don't extend to photography, so this part is a bit of a chore for me. 

 
Where can your work be found locally?
 I do the occasional craft fair, and I have some work at Thin Ice on Elmwood.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for new sellers to etsy?

Forget about trends and make what you love! Keep the creative process fun for yourself. That's why you're doing this in the first place right?

Do you do this full or part time? If full time how did you get yourself to that status?

My pottery making has become full time. At first I worked part time jobs along with it, but as I became more established I shifted my focus. I am very thankful to be able to fill my days doing what I love!


What do you do when you're creatively blocked?

I walk a lot. Fortunately I'm within walking distance of the Niagara gorge. A good hike by the water seems to fix just about everything.

Where can you be found online?

shop: http://www.karinlorenc.etsy.com/

fan page: https://www.facebook.com/KarinLorencPottery

www.KarinLorenc.etsy.com

www.facebook.com/KarinLorencPottery

ART SHOWS 101: Survival Tips for Show Artists and Crafters

                                                         

                                           Volume 6: I’m What?!! WAIT LISTED?

So, once you’ve applied to a show the results are clear -- right? You’re either accepted or rejected. It’s Yes or No, Yea or Nay. Well -- not always. Here’s a bit of information about being chosen as a Alternate; a.k.a. being Wait Listed.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Being Wait Listed for a show means that you were “almost” chosen to be one of the first pick exhibitors. You’re On Call in case an exhibitor cancels -- and they do cancel, more often than you’d think. Wait Lists are usually set up by categories -- so if a painter cancels a wait-listed painter will be called, if a photographer cancels another photographer will be called to take his place, and so on. 

WHY DO SHOWS HAVE WAIT LISTS?

Show promoters DO NOT like empty spaces at shows! Other than looking bad and messing up the flow of a show, empty spaces often mean lost revenue. Show promoters have a laundry list of expenses including advertising, municipal permits, security, entertainment, port-a-johns, etc. Their costs for putting on the show are set whether artists show up or not. Many shows have a sliding refund policy. For example, if you cancel 90 days before the show you might get 80% of your fee back, 60 days before - 40%, 30 days before - 20%, down to 0% if you cancel within a week or two of the event. 

The reason for this is obvious. While it might be pretty easy to fill a vacant space a couple months before a show, a cancellation a couple days before the event will be much harder to fill. The wait-listed artists may have found other shows to exhibit at, they may not want to travel last minute, or they may not have built up enough stock to do the show last minute.

DO ALL SHOWS HAVE WAIT LISTS?

No, and you’ll see empty spaces at these shows more often than not. These shows usually have much less flexible refund policy.

DO YOU HAVE TO EXHIBIT IF CALLED?

No, and you won’t be charged an exhibit fee either. I was once called off a wait-list for the 3 Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh 24 hours before the show. I didn’t have hotel reservations, I hadn’t made travel arrangements, and it was just too short of notice to pick up and go.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES YOU’LL BE CALLED TO DO THE SHOW?

It varies. 

The number of artists on the wait-list varies from show to show, so it’s hard to say what the odds are that you’ll be called. 

If memory serves, I think I’ve been called to exhibit about 1/3 of the times I’ve been wait-listed -- but I know others who almost always get into shows they’re wait listed for. 

Wishing you all the best for your upcoming shows!

Until next time -- keep creating!

Alison

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio

Treasury Love, Part II

If you build it, they will come.
NOT QUITE. THIS IS ETSY, NOT FIELD OF DREAMS :)
 
Honestly, there are better ways to increase your shop's views than building treasuries. Just look at other shops: look at their massive number of sales, and then see how many treasuries they are creating, and how often. In many cases, they haven't created a single treasury!

Now look at these mind-boggling stats from Etsy's February 2013 "Weather Report:"
• 1.49 BILLION page views  • 1,988,713 new items listed  • 1,025,124 new members

Those staggering numbers, while down from January's numbers, mean two things to me:
#1. There's a lot of competition out there. #2. It's easy to get overlooked

Don't be discouraged. Go ahead and create a treasury, because YOU need views. Yes, building a treasury is not a purely altruistic effort. I check my shop stats, and views quintuple when I post a new treasury.

A GREATER NUMBER OF TREASURY VIEWS = GREATER POTENTIAL SALES for YOU
You can't list a new item and expect a chunk of those 1.49 billion page views to be YOUR shop page, right? Well, the same goes for treasuries. Ya gotta PROMOTE.

PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!
Once you've published your treasury to "everyone," get to promoting. Take a gander at this recent screengrab and those 4-digit views (I added the green circles):

Promoting, step-by-step:

1. "Favorite" each of the 16 items you've treasured. This step is often overlooked. If I favorite one of your items, for example, that means your item will potentially be seen by my 700-and-some followers. If your list of followers is wimpy, I would gently suggest that you get to working on that.

2. Publish your treasury on Facebook, Pinterest, your website, your blog, Tweet it, etc. Use social media to your advantage!

3. Notify each of the 16 shop owners that they've been treasured. Another step that's often overlooked. The copy and paste function makes this process more efficient. Compose a message to send to each of the 16 shop owners, click the item you've treasured, and contact the owner. Write something like: "You've been treasured! (copy and paste the URL of the treasury page here). No need to reply to this message, but favoriting the treasury and leaving a comment are appreciated. This treasury has also been promoted on (copy and paste the URL to your Facebook shop page and anywhere else you've promoted the treasury). Sign off with a friendly "Thank You" or whatever you deem friendly. NOTE: Your featured shop owners don't always respond. DO NOT SEND THEM A REMINDER CONVO. Yes, I am shouting. Spamming via convos is a major no-no on Etsy.

3. Promote the treasury on Etsy. My best guess is that the curators in the above screengrab are very busy promoting their treasuries on Etsy.

You belong to teams. Those teams have dedicated threads for treasuries, but follow their rules. Some require favoriting and commenting on x-number of treasuries above you. This means anyone posting treasury links after yours will be doing the same for you! Some team captains threaten a wrist slap if you don't follow their game rules.

4. Repeat Step 3. The web is a 24-hour operation and there are people browsing Etsy who live in other time zones. Re-post your treasury link at other times of the day, but again, follow the treasury rules posted: you might be required to wait until 10 others have posted before you can re-post.

Speaking of promoting in team threads, there are Etsy teams focused primarily on treasuries! Search teams, and join Avid Treasurers, Click and Comment, or any others that strike your fancy.

New-ish! An easier way to curate treasuries!
When you click on an item that you want to add to a treasury, there's now an "Add to treasury" option right above the social media icons on the right. This means you don't have to manually copy and paste the URL of each item into those 16 boxes. There's also Schmetsy, but I haven't taken it for a test drive yet.

Happy treasuring... see you next week!  - Carla
http://www.etsy.com/shop/716Buffalos