Making it up

This is my primary workspace, outside of my desk. It's our kitchen table, theoritically seats 4 when it's not covered in my sewing stuff and also isn't in our tiny war-time house kitchen. (We can't open the apartment-sized oven if someone's sitting at the table. That's how small our kitchen is.)

Yes, it's disorganized. Some would say mess. Others would say, 'Oh, wow. That's a disaster'. I seem to work best when my workspace looks like this. Can I find everything I need at the drop of a hat? Heck, no, but I can't do that when it's nice and tidy, so what's the difference.

I also clear everything off the table every 2 weeks to make bread. It's quite the challenge when you have no storage space, except under the table itself. That's something I'm going to have to rectify soon because there's a furnace vent that is on the verge of being covered and in a house with crap for insulation, we need all the vents to be as clear as possible.

But back to my work. That tote bag is the first piece I've made that wasn't done for a craft show in a month. And I love it. The lining, the duck cotton exterior, the eco-felt flower that I embroidered on the outside... it's the perfect tote for any occasion. I'm hoping to have it listed in my Cargoh shop by the end of the week. First, though, I need to build a light tent.

I've been trying to come up with designs for a few new pieces lately that (a) are within my skill range; and (b) within my price range. We've got some pretty amazing thrift shops here, as I've mentioned before, and there have been some pretty killer finds beyond the scarves I wrote about before.

Like these. Lovely pieces of soft corduroy, beautiful wools and whatever-the-blue-plaid-is (I think it's a cotton/wool blend)... I'm excited to be moving beyond cottons, especially into wools. I have a lot of it, all in suitweights and all in dark hues, but I'm trying to be as stingy with it as possible right now. It's too nice to just hack up for any project under the sun or cut for something I never intend to make. Right now, I've cut a few pieces to use in a iPod/iPhone sleeve design I've come up with.

Progress is being made. Decisions are being made. Pieces are being made. I want to have as much as I can in place for October 1 - what is essentially going to be the beginning of holiday shopping for me and my shops - but I don't want to be making things for the sake of making them to sell. Quality in my work - and workmanship - is something I need to focus on right now. And I think it'll show in the pieces I've got planned.

On a quest

I'm trying to get back into the work groove as smoothly as possible - it's only 10:45 am and I've already made 9 loaves of bread (including 2 cinnamon & 1 raisin). Next on my list o'things to do today: organize myself for the next 3.5 months.

The holiday season is the prime money making time for crafters and artisans. I need to get in on that like there's no tomorrow. The question is, how to do that most effectively. I've been reading a lot of online articles and how-to's over the last week or so (when I wasn't embroidering or stuffing tiny pin cushions) about what the experts claim to be the 'best' methods. This business is still fairly new - not even a year old yet - and I feel like it's not quite at the point it should be at yet.

On one hand, I worry that things are never going to pick up and that I'll have to go find a 'real' job in the new year; on the other hand, I want to be a success, but don't want to sacrifice my goals and aims to please the market. I've heard and read so many times that in order to be a successful crafter/artisan (and I don't use those two titles interchangeably, but as a complementary pair), you have to produce what the people want. Well, that's fine and dandy, but what if it means changing what I do? Where does the creativity of the crafter/artisan come into play? Or is that the point where you say 'Am I doing this to make money or to be creative?'.

It's a fine line crafters and artisans tread... I know that if I go back to work at a 'real' job, I won't continue doing what I have been for the last year. Creativity, for me, will take a backseat to bringing home a paycheque... bills need to be paid and I really don't think the bank will accept a purse in lieu of a mortgage payment.

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And now, here's a question for my readers: what types of bags, pouches, cases - all handmade - do you like? I'm trying to figure out where to focus my attention next, and I've had some decent ideas and suggestions so far, but I'm always open to new ones. If you want to be specific and have a link to something that you really like, feel free to pop it into the comments, too. Thanks :)

Stacking the deck

It's been a busier-than-expected week, but quite productive. I managed to get a whole bunch of pieces finally finished - mostly cutting hanging threads, putting buttons on, that kind of thing; also updated nisseworks' Facebook page with photos and some links to my work so it's not quite so blank; and ventured full steam ahead into the world of custom work.

Taking on four custom orders in the last week has opened a new venue for revenue (ooh, rhyming), one that I had considered, but decided against because I thought it would just lead to headaches. Well, after almost 6 months of my Etsy shop being open and only selling 3 pieces, it's probably time to start looking at other ways to use my creative skills to help pay the bills.

Hence, my Cargoh shop. Let me just say that Cargoh is awesome. Just awesome. Sure there were a few hiccups earlier this month with the jurying and eliminating sellers and all that, but they've come out ahead. I like being part of Cargoh and hope that it succeeds, and I'd think that even if I wasn't a seller there. It's got a very close-knit feeling to it, unlike some other online venues that make the seller feel like they're just a cash cow for the owners.

Then there's the request for a quote to do up some wedding invitations which came right out of the blue. Back in January, I had given Keith a stack of flyers to post up around town and pass on to people he thought might be interested. He dropped by a small wedding boutique here and they were quite happy to take 200 smaller flyers to put in the goody bags they gave to prospective brides. Fast forward 8 months, and I get an email from a bride-to-be... so I sent her a quote and a basic outline of what she can expect/what I need from her and I'm hoping to hear from her within the next week or so. I had assumed that the boutique just stopped handing them out or no one was interested, but lo and behold, someone is. Hopefully.

August has been the month I didn't expect, but hoped for. I've been really busy coming up with new designs, trying new promotional ideas, doing research, as well as selling and taking orders. Keith is leaving for a week on Saturday and I'm planning on taking some time while he's gone to figure out where I should take this little business of mine next. I've got a couple of ideas - like the paper/digital design line that I'm 99% sure I'm going to launch in the next month - simmering away, but need to figure out how to get them out of my head and into action. I know that I'm farther ahead today than I was a month ago, which is all anyone can really hope for... I just need to keep the momentum going for the rest of the year.

Awkwardly attempting augustness

I consider my desk to be 'clean' when I don't have to take anything off the keyboard or hunt for the mouse. 
And yes, that's a red Swingline stapler in the top right.

August.

What a depressing month.

No, no terrible personal events or tragedies (that I can remember...), I've always just found August to be the least pleasant month of the year. It might have something to do with still associating August with the beginning of school, but I think it has more to do with knowing that the year is way more than half over and winter is closer to starting than it is to being over.

If that makes sense... it does to me.

August also means that my birthday is a month away. At this point in life, birthdays don't mean that much. And now that my driver's license doesn't get renewed until January, I don't even have that to look forward to.

But enough slagging on August.

This month is looking pretty busy already. I did up a to-do list for the month so I had something to torture myself with midway through the month when I have nothing done. 

No, I really did a to-do list so I could get organized now rather than later. I've applied to be in my very first craft sale next month (Sept 11, to be exact) and need product to sell. Right now, I have none, and I don't want to sell what I've got listed in my shop, so I've got to come up with new - and different - product to sell.

My plan at this point is to make:

• pincushions, in a couple of different styles and sizes;
• needlebooks, mainly because I need one and if I need one, other people do too;
• sewing pouches, like the pouches I sell already, but with a few pockets on the inside for scissors or something;
• large sewing totes, which would be like this tote, but, again, with pockets on the inside.

So that's my plan for the craft sale.

I'm also starting to look at doing some graphic design stuff to try to catch some Christmas/holiday-specific sales this fall. I tried doing some things last fall, but didn't get them ready in time and wasn't really happy with the work I had been doing. I had a few different styles of gift tags and cards, and I may keep some of the elements but probably redesign the majority of them.

This is almost the perfect month to get a lot of work done, too... Keith has quite a few days off leading up to the 8 days he's away at a golf tournament, and my mom's already said she'll take Maddy for a night while he's gone.  Maddy's able to play by herself a lot more and doesn't need to be right with me all the time, so I can do a lot of embroidery while she's playing. I'm still going to make time to get outside and relax in the yard before the snow flies, and we're probably going to head out to my parent's next weekend and maybe to Winnipeg this month.

 It's all about using the time we have available appropriately. And I can't work all the time. As much as I try (re: want) to.