Friday Favorites: Leather

There is always something sexy about it. Leather is soft, supple, and in many ways just as wonderful as silk. It shows we are strong, fierce, and to be desired. So today I bring to you an array of leather pieces. I always find that on days where I feel a little off my game, I can suit up in my favorite accessories and storm the day.

People listed:
1. VintageChase / 2. IrinasIsland
3. LilaSandals / 4. farragobags
5. MimsMaine / 6. Marajoyce
7. skadijewellery / 8. greenbelts

Birth of the Metallicuff

Each piece has a birth. It is a moment of conception. It is the moment you feel the piece in your mind even if you can not see it. And, this piece was born out of another interest of mine. I adore the genre of a supernatural reality under the veneer of a normal world. Because of this I am drawn to books like the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, movies like Underworld, and TV like Supernatural. So during the second break of Supernatural series this year this year, I was left wondering what would happen next. I watched old episodes to get my fix. Because like many I find myself faithfully following the Winchester brothers as they battle Heaven and Hell to protect the humans around them.

I also found myself wanting to own the car. It is a 1977 Impala with a hard top. It is the sexiest car that would allow you to fit a dead body in the trunk. It drives up next to you and you instinctively lock your doors. The long shiny black lines flicker in the rear view mirror. Then somewhere along the line, I found myself surrounded my black beads, a silver center piece, and a cuff blank. Then the Metalicuff was born. It is named after it's automotive brother the Metalicar.

Side note: I am totally a Dean Girl.

Business Sense: Buying Online

On this subject, I will admit I am torn. I do encourage people to have a relationship with their local shops, the people involved with them, and the groups that meet at them. Your local support is extremely important. This is true of any specialty or local craft store. Many of these stores will host workshops and classes. These are important you will learn skills and meet people.

Now for the flip side of the argument:

Money is tight for a lot of people in today’s economy. We find ourselves trying to make a dollar into two. So why should the money we spend on our supplies not work just as hard. This means you have to find places that will give you a discount for bulk orders or shop wholesale. I have recently started shoping online at Fire Mountain Gems. Since I keep most of my craft receipts I was able to go back and compare my “shop purchases” with my new “online orders”.

I learned two things. Shopping online is safer. I am not walking around a bead store able to touch the shiny objects. This means that I can look at the picture and not have the impulse that if I don’t buy this now it will be gone forever. There is also a convent link that lets me look at a list of items and a total. This means I pick the items more carefully. I make sure that I get what I need and maybe a few specialties. I also don’t like the sites that require a minimum purchase. I find that I am usually unable to make the minimum purchase due to an inability to get all of the money in one place.

I shop on a site called Fire Mountain Gems. They have a large selection, but this isn’t the main reason. I shop there because they have a tiered discount system. There are four tiers based on the number of items in you cart. This affects the item price of everything in your cart. And, they are upfront with all of their costing. And, since they use a tiered system for discounts they don’t inflict a minimum purchase.

So I want you to consider a few things…

Where do you shop and why?
How much do you get for your money?

Book Review: Crafty Superstar (Part 2)

(This is the second post in the Book Review for Crafty Superstar. Make sure to read part one, in last weeks Thursday post.)

Book Title: Crafty Superstar
Author: Grace Dobush
ISBN-13: 987-1-60061-320-3
ISBN-10: 1-60061-320-9
US $17.99 / CAN $21.99

In Crafty Superstar, Grace Dobush tries to share her creative business experiences and knowledge with us. She layout in in chapter 3, the best ways to go about selling you goods based on the store type you want to have. She starts out covering selling on-line, in a brick and mortar store, craft shows, and moving onto specialty sites like Etsy. She lays out the pros and cons for each. Since Grace owns an Etsy shop she does focus on the functions of Etsy. In this chapter she gives the reader easy tips on lighting a scene for your product shots, things to keep in mind while designing a business website, and simple yet interesting ways to package your products for the customer. She also covers customer service. This is a section worth reading twice. Our businesses are built on the desires of the customer. Like all business without them, we don’t sell. The final section covers how not to sell. She talks about common ways people will get in their own way.

In chapter four she talks about Craft Shows: where to find them, how to get involved, how to apply to be a sellers, and ways to stand out. I have to say when I thought about doing my first craft show I was overwhelmed. I have never been to one. I don’t know anyone who has participated, and I have no clue what I am getting into. So when Grace lays out the basics for me, I have to admit there was a sense of ease to it all. If you are considering participating in a craft show, but are worried that you might not have what it takes you need this book. It covers how much inventory you need going into a show. It talks about ways to display you good so that they are interesting. It also covers ways to set up your booth to be more functional. It also covers networking at these shows.

The fifth chapter is about getting your name out there. It covers several ways to promote your store online, good ways to find people in your area, and purchasing ads. It is one of the shorter chapters, but the information is densely packed. She lists out the best ways to deal with a magazine. She talks about blogging. (This is actually about the time I started mine. I knew I wanted one, and her book gave me a bit more focus.) She also talks about social network site.

In the final chapter, she talks about trying to balance work, crafting, and personal time. I am one of the obsessive crafters. I can sit around working on projects for hours. I try to balance this by beading about to construct my jewelry while talking to people. My friends are understanding and know that it is mainly a need to fidget. But, after a while you have to find a way to have this balance. She covers a few ideas on how.

So in general, I love this book. I believe that anyone who has or is starting an Etsy store needs this book. I suggest going down to Borders or Barnes&Nobels, get a cup of tea or coffee, and find a spot to hold up for thirty minutes. Read through the book and see if it is for you.

Book Review: Crafty Superstar (Part 1)

(In an attempt to have these be smaller posts I am going to break this up into a few posts…)

Book Title: Crafty Superstar
Author: Grace Dobush
ISBN-13: 987-1-60061-320-3
ISBN-10: 1-60061-320-9
US $17.99 / CAN $21.99

At some point I decided that my Etsy shop needed to be more then just a hobby. The actual creation of items I make stemmed out of a hobby, but I was treating the business side of my craft that way too. I was maintaining a small inventory. I wasn’t listing new items frequently. And, in honesty I wasn’t very worried about getting my name out there. So I wasn’t very surprised when it never went anywhere. But, one day I created the first blossom ring. The attention I got was overwhelming. So I went down to my local bookstore, and started looking for a book to help me.

I ran across two and after reading a bit in both went with Crafty Superstar. Grace Dobush’s writing style is clever, honest, and seems more like someone having a conversation with you. The book has the following chapters: 1: DIY, 2: Business Basics, 3: Selling Opportunities, 4: Craft Shows, 5: Self Promotion, 6: Time Management. Each chapter has a listing of things you should keep in mind, questions that someone should be asking you, and tips for getting what you want. She also ten appendixes that have a list of questions, resources, and forms that will help you accomplish your goals.

In general the first chapter helps to establish your personal style of creating and selling. It also introduces a person to the basics of the crafting community, what you should expect, and an honest look at what is involved with starting an online craft oriented business. Even if you already have a store, I suggest reading this chapter. There were several tidbits that I would not have taken into consideration.

In the second chapter you discuss the information you will need in getting a business up and running. It covers self branding, setting business goals, pricing your goods, hiring on help when you need to boost production, creating a functional workspace, record keeping, and legally protecting your name and brand. This is the chapter I tend to spend the most time reading. In many ways this chapter made me break a few of my own preconceived notions. It never accorded to me that some of the shops that can produce so much quickly might have more then one person working it. In retrospect it makes sense that they would have to have at least 2-3 people, one running the shop and two making. In a perfect world this is generally what I would like to have in the future when I get to a point where I can support it.

Friday Favorites: Steampunk Jewelry

I spent this morning watching Howl's Moving Castle. I love that movie. There is something about the way Miyazaki wraps the concept of World War 2 in a fantasy setting. I love the way the immature super powered male finds his way into growing up through interactions with the woman he was sent to find. I love the way the young woman learns to value herself through fighting for people she cares about. And, Calcifer is the cutest fire demon in creation.

So here is a little sample of the jewelry of the time. Well... at least a modren retelling of it.

People listed:
1. LondonParticulars / 2. revolt70
3. FringeLore / 4. SteampunkCouture
5. sewlutionsbyamo / 6. CosmicFirefly
7. Tistjewelry / 8. asecondtime

Business Sense: Bookkeeping and Records

Finance is the core of a business. You need money to create an item, you need money to list the item, you need money to send the item, and you receive money from the customer. This is the pretty cycle that our money takes when we have an Etsy store. It is actually true of most stores. We the creative people selling our goods have to be aware that the government only wants to see the cycle.

Things to keep in mind:

Receipts
You want to keep them, all of them. If you are buying supplies, reference materials, booth space, organizational tools are all important. I suggest going to Target and getting a receipt folder. I sprung for the sexy one with 12 pockets and a cute blue polka-dot pattern. You can list them as the months of the year. At the end of the year pack everything into month labeled envelopes and those into a larger envelope. Then you can put those away and not worry about them until tax time.

Records for Supplies
You need to keep a list of supplies that go into your pieces and cost. Make sure if the item comes multiples in a pack that you divide the price by the number in the package, then round up to the nearest penny. I have many supplies that are .007 for a single bead. Keeping track of this will do several things for you. First it will help you make sure that you never loose money on a piece. Second you can make sure that the profit margin you are receiving stays consistent in your shop. Third is it allows you to keep tabs on what items you have and need to restock. I have an excel sheet that I have uploaded to Google Docs and a copy on my iPhone. The records of what goes into your piece might also be useful at tax time.