Black Friday is here already! How did it get here so soon? It's been busy around here, tuxedos other uniforms given out and sized for my daughter's school concert and symphonic bands (as well as some of the choral groups) a major health crisis in my family (I still have many hospital visits in my immediate future, but with luck and faith and good health care all will be well soon.) yesterday my daughter participated in the Tournament of Bands All Star Band in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade. The family members that were well enough all gathered at my brother's house yesterday for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. And, so, that brings us to Black Friday. The closest to shopping center's I got to today was visiting my bank to sort out my bank card - it was blocked due to someone getting/using it without my knowledge or permission. But the bank was quiet and all will be well there. I got some of my shopping done today - much of it on Etsy! This weekend I have made shipping free on everything in my shop. If you are one of my facebook friends or if you read my blog you can use this coupon code to get an additional 20% discount. FBBlackfriday2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Etsy, sooo many choices!
Just out of curiosity I did an open search on Etsy - under "all items" I did not put in any search terms and clicked Search. As of the time I'm writing this there are 11,669,654 items listed for sale on Etsy. Repeating the exercise for shops yielded 1250 pages of shops - 10 shops per page = 12,500 shops.
There are so many items, so many categories, so many shops to choose from there is truely something for everyone there. If you are shopping it could be overwhelming to find just the right thing, but with patience and an open mind you could find just about anything you might want, at least in the Handmade, Vintage or Supplies categories. The prices range from $.10 to $100,000 so every budget is accounted for.
All that said, as a seller on Etsy it drives home the point that Etsy is easy to get lost in, and that it is really incumbant upon each seller to find their own market and let the people who would most appreciate your offerings know where you are. This is the journey I am on, where are the people who would love my work and how do I find them. FaerieCon http://www.faeriecon.com/ is a good start, I'm also thinking of going to the MD FaerieFestival http://www.marylandfaeriefestival.org/ I would love to the the PA FaerieFest but that will have to wait until my kids don't have their final band competitions on the same weekend. I am happy to announce that 4 of my dolls and a feature article will appear in an upcoming issue of Art Doll Quarterly! http://www.artdollquarterly.com/
Who knows what else will follow.
There are so many items, so many categories, so many shops to choose from there is truely something for everyone there. If you are shopping it could be overwhelming to find just the right thing, but with patience and an open mind you could find just about anything you might want, at least in the Handmade, Vintage or Supplies categories. The prices range from $.10 to $100,000 so every budget is accounted for.
Who knows what else will follow.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Fantasy made real at FaerieCon
After "dangers untold and hardships unnumbered I fought my way to" ... wait that's a different fantasy story. But, there is a connection.
Wendy Froud ( http://www.worldoffroud.com/ ) one of the creative minds/hands behind the movies Labyrinth, Dark Crystal and one of the creators of Yoda (some of you may have heard of that little film franchise it’s called Star Wars) has been making dolls since she was five. She is one of those artists you (well I) fantasize about meeting and talking about dolls with since I started making dolls. I have loved her work and the work of her husband Brian Froud for longer than I can remember.
Wendy & Brian have been featured artists at several of the FaerieCons that I have attended/been a vendor at. Yet actually meeting them and talking to them had eluded me for years. This year that dream came true. Wendy, with Brian at her side, stopped at my table the first night of FaerieCon. I believe I managed to talk like a sentient human, and avoided gushing at her like an overwhelmed crazed fan. I have seen many a fan fall apart when their idol/muse is actually in front of them.
Wendy was as charming and personable as every report of her I’d ever heard. She had some complimentary things to say about my work and table, as well as my dress (which is why she stopped to talk to me in the first place) The next night at the Bad Faeries Ball (vendors on my hallway stay open through the balls) Wendy was shopping for some fabulous silk creation across the hall from me at Reyen Designs (http://www.silkcloque.com/ ) when I beckoned her over to my table. I told her that her feedback was so important to me that I would like to give her a present. She said “really?” and I told her to choose something from my table. To which she said “REALLY???” when I said “yes!” She did not hesitate; she knew exactly which doll she wanted, which resonated with her. We discussed how my daughter, when much younger, did not want me to sell my dolls but that I could allow them to be adopted by appropriate families. Wendy touched my arm and said she feels exactly the same way about her work.
On Sunday morning we had 2 more connections, one was a short word as we passed in the hallway. The second on Sunday and final of the weekend was quite lengthy. We were waiting to have Dancing Hands, the Faerie Goddess Mother put Fhairy Strands (http://www.faecraft.com/ )in our hair. She gave me some great advice regarding how to display my work and how to view my creativity in regards to the world outside of FaerieCon, and so many other things.
Dreams do come true.
It's hard to believe that nearly 2 weeks has passed since I was preparing to pack my car for FaerieCon. There were many challenges I had to overcome to get there, and many things I was hoping to happen. The hardships were of the mundane car variety (timing belts – ugh) and the normal challenges of getting last minute projects done, and reworking booth set up for the umpteenth time… In the category of hopes – being profitable is always on the list but there were a lot of more personal dreams as well. This focuses on that area …
Wendy & Brian have been featured artists at several of the FaerieCons that I have attended/been a vendor at. Yet actually meeting them and talking to them had eluded me for years. This year that dream came true. Wendy, with Brian at her side, stopped at my table the first night of FaerieCon. I believe I managed to talk like a sentient human, and avoided gushing at her like an overwhelmed crazed fan. I have seen many a fan fall apart when their idol/muse is actually in front of them.
Wendy was as charming and personable as every report of her I’d ever heard. She had some complimentary things to say about my work and table, as well as my dress (which is why she stopped to talk to me in the first place) The next night at the Bad Faeries Ball (vendors on my hallway stay open through the balls) Wendy was shopping for some fabulous silk creation across the hall from me at Reyen Designs (http://www.silkcloque.com/ ) when I beckoned her over to my table. I told her that her feedback was so important to me that I would like to give her a present. She said “really?” and I told her to choose something from my table. To which she said “REALLY???” when I said “yes!” She did not hesitate; she knew exactly which doll she wanted, which resonated with her. We discussed how my daughter, when much younger, did not want me to sell my dolls but that I could allow them to be adopted by appropriate families. Wendy touched my arm and said she feels exactly the same way about her work.
On Sunday morning we had 2 more connections, one was a short word as we passed in the hallway. The second on Sunday and final of the weekend was quite lengthy. We were waiting to have Dancing Hands, the Faerie Goddess Mother put Fhairy Strands (http://www.faecraft.com/ )in our hair. She gave me some great advice regarding how to display my work and how to view my creativity in regards to the world outside of FaerieCon, and so many other things. Dreams do come true.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
