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.

Picture it

Standard photoshoot props - lotions, lip balms, pens, iPod, business cards, sunglasses, scissors, and lint brush. 
The toothbrush was a random addition to this particular shoot.

It's photoshoot day for a good chunk of the pieces I've had sitting, waiting, to be listed in my shop for a few weeks now. Taking photos of my pieces is my least favourite thing to do - I find it tedious and frustrating, but I know the benefit of having good photos when you're trying to sell something to someone who can't actually physically touch your product. My product photos have improved a fair bit since I started my shop in March, but there's a massive amount of room for improvement, I'm sure.

I don't have a lightbox, but Craftgossip - one of my favourite crafting websites - linked to a blog post about making your own lightbox for next to nothing.  I've seen lightboxes online for $50 or more (closer to $100+), but as I'm still starting out and only have 2 sales under my belt, spending money on any extras just isn't going to happen... so if I can make something that will help me showcase my work better for next to nothing, I'm willing to try it.

Right now, I use a large piece of bristol/poster board for my backgrounds, for the most part. I've used our living room floor on occasion, too, depending on the size of the piece (bags & purses) or the material I've used (black corduroy). I don't use any fancy lighting, just the natural sunlight that comes in through the south-facing window of our laundry room. After using this set-up for the last 5 or 6 months, I think it's time I try something new, like a DIY lightbox.

I'm planning on reshooting all of my current pieces while Keith is away for 8 days covering a golf tournament later this month, if only because I like to torture myself with tedious, painful activities. In reality, I've got a second shop I'm working on (more on that tomorrow...) and I want to spruce up the Etsy one for fall and Christmas shopping. And with Keith being gone for so long, I won't have too much time to work on making any new pieces, so why not work on my photos?

Drip drip drop...

With all the work that I put into my Etsy shop, I tend to forget that I've got a photoblog that I need to work on, too... the photos I post on there are available for sale, as well, but I'm not posting pictures I've taken only for profit. I like taking pictures and our backyard has provided me many great opportunities to do just that... and why not show everyone the many shots of the daisies I've got in my backyard, from every angle possible?

There's only a week before I plan on kicking off my Christmas in July sale in my shop, so I've got tons of work to do - banners, display ads for my Project Wonderful account, promotions, and most importantly, what specials I'm going to put on. There's also all the pieces I have finish before next Thursday, but all that work is on the backburner for now.

And there's all the non-work stuff we've got going on for the rest of the week - heading out to my parent's, Maddy's 18-month vaccinations, attempting to organize various parts of the house, golf tournaments... whew. I miss summer holidays somedays...

Plodding along

I've been struggling to come up with a decently coherent post today, and have had no success at all - obviously... so I'm going to step away from the computer, feed my daughter and then go shopping with her. Maybe someone at the mall will do something amusing that I can write about later...

Doing my little bit

It's been a hectic week and it certainly doesn't look like it'll be slowing down at all.

In honour of Earth Day today, Keith and I are going car shopping. Counter-productive, you say? Not quite... we're looking at going from two cars to one, eliminating Keith's '99 Sunfire and my '06 Rio5. So not only will we be moving to a more efficient vehicle (sadly not a hybrid... only because of the cost, though), I'll have less access to a vehicle for any errands I'd need to do after Keith goes to work in the afternoon (he needs the car for his job as a sports reporter for the local daily), which means more walking. And more walking benefits not only the environment, but me as well, which is always good.

We've just returned from visiting various family over the last few days, so I'm a bit behind on my work, but I'm hoping to squeeze in some quick finishing touches on a few pieces to put in my shop either tonight or tomorrow. And maybe, just maybe, get a sale. Fingers crossed and all that :)

Oooh! Almost forgot - there are several new photos I've just put into my Photoblog. I'm hoping to get in a post here later today - in between car shopping and groceries and Maddy... in the meantime, take a look around my Photoblog and my Etsy shop... or go out and enjoy your Earth Day :)

Calling cards

I've mentioned before about the challenges I've had coming up with a logo. Now that I've settled on one (I hope), I'm starting to go through all the headers, avatars and related stationery to try to get everything as similar as possible... all part of a branding strategy I'm trying to incorporate into my business.

I've got a new header on my Etsy store, a new background for my Twitter page, I'm working a new banner for this blog - along with a new placeholder design (placeholder because I do own nisseworks.com, just don't have the funds to actually have the site hosted yet)... and then there's the business cards.

Like I said, logo's no problem. I like my logo - a nice combination of fonts and a nifty use of a brush shape in Illustrator (I'm still using CS4... CS5 is a very, very, VERY distant purchase)... it's how I'm going to use it to effectively sell my brand that's the problem.

This was the very first business card I did up, back when I thought I could actually be a freelance graphic designer in a city that has an odd plethora of freelance graphic designers. Ignoring the logo, it's not terrible. Simple, clean, easy to recognize... because it's pretty damn bland. Looking back (six months), I can't believe I thought this was how I wanted my potential business portrayed - especially as a graphic designer. Eep.

The second go-around. An improvement, if only because it wasn't so bleh as the first one. This is the card that I came up with when I launched nisse.works as a handmade crafts enterprise (hence the tag 'Handmade crafts & designs... smart, eh?). If there's one thing I've learned in my many years in graphic design and journalism, it's that sometimes, less is more. I liked this card, but because I'm trying to keep expenses to a minimum, I print my cards at home (on my lovely Epson that I picked up on sale and don't use enough). And because I'm not a major print shop, those thin pink, green and brown stripes on the left side don't always turn out right. Or at all.

This is the most recent version of my business cards. Even simpler than the previous one, but not as mundane as the first. It's got the info I want right where I want it (I'm a fan of justification - left, centre, right... I don't care, as long as it's all justified) and looks pretty damn good on the metallic cardstock I've got. But as with most things I design for myself, I'm not as keen on it today as when I came up with it, so this whole branding thing couldn't have come at a better time.

I have no idea what the next round of cards will look like - I will be doing them myself and printing them from home to save on the costs, so there's no need to use the local big box office supply store's standard offerings. Simplicity, yet creative and unique are definitely going to have to play a part, but I don't want them to look like someone made them up in Microsoft Paint. I shudder at the thought...

I've collected a few websites that have some pretty kickass samples of business cards that I can hope to one day emulate (not duplicate). Take a look through them and marvel at how awesome - for lack of a better word (it is after 10pm here, so...) - these cards look. Especially when you consider the old standby design of 'logo in the left corner, name and title centred, bolded and in 12pt Times New Roman, office address and information below that in 8 pt TNR as well'. Blah.

100 Fresh Creative Business Cards
100 Refreshing Black & White Business Cards
The Basics of Business Card Design
Business Cards - a set on Flickr
Cool Business Cards

Another iron in the fire

I set up a Photoblog this morning.

I'm still not sure if it was the best idea, but I did it.

Take a look. Spread the word. Let me know what you think.

(Also, selling prints via Fotomoto... via said Photoblog.)

Mmmm....

Ah.

New iMac.

Now I can get to work. Hopefully, I'll have a post up later about the new products I'm working on, the new computer we've got and an update on the photo fixing adventures at my Etsy store.

Woot. Woot.

:)

1000 words

These are two pieces from my Etsy shop. While the pieces themselves are pretty awesome (if I do say so myself), the photos leave a lot to the imagination.

And that's why I've decided to take new photos. Like these:

While making a photo light box can be easy - or complicated - I think I've found a really simple, inexpensive way to create a light box effect.

How?

87¢ of Bristol board - or heavy posterboard.  And my laundry room with a south-facing window and useful shadows.

It also helps to have a someone in your house who knows about white balance and shadows in photography, too.

I'm going to be spending my weekend re-shooting all of my pieces for my store. It's a small - but beneficial - part of the marketing plan that I'm 'launching' tomorrow. Another part of that plan is a re-tooling of this blog, which includes a slight re-design and the addition of additional pages. Forewarned is forearmed, so don't be too surprised to see a new layout this weekend. I hope.

Relief... but not relaxation

Crazy, insane, busy day today. I'm tackling a nasty to-do list that will hopefully be cleared off by the end of the day. Amongst the wonderfully fun things I am attempting today are:

• a marketing strategy and plan. Aren't they the same thing? Heck, no. It's like I'm re-living grade 11 Accounting all over again.
• spreadsheets. Two of them - a 'cost per produced item' one and my business ledger. Again, grade 11 accounting is finally paying off.
• banners, avatars and redesigns. I'm not happy with the banner here or on my Etsy store (same with the avatar there), so I've been tinkering with them all for about a week now. I should have specs done in about a week.
• making a light box. Oh, yes, I will... from scratch. Or I'll try to make one, give up and continue to use the floor of my war-time house as the background for my product photos.
• product descriptions. Now that I've had my store up and running for a few weeks and haven't had a sale yet, I'm starting to look at why people like to look at my stuff but not purchase it. Part of what I've come up with is going to be the marketing strategy and plan; the other part - and probably the most important part - is how I present what I am selling. Re-photographing all of my pieces is one step, but the descriptions I have written for the pieces themselves needs work. It's going to be a very 'yay for thesauri' project. 

Keith has agreed to watch Maddy today and I'm eternally grateful for that. I should have the entire afternoon to get through the majority of this... and I have to get it done. I set April 1 as the 'launch date' for my marketing to start and I refuse to let another deadline pass me by. Time management is a big issue for me (and us as a family, really) right now and if I can't start arranging my own work time properly, then what's the point of trying to get this business off the ground?

I should probably get to work on that list now. *sigh*

Taking missteps

Things are... progressing. Slowly, but surely... I'm having issues finishing anything I've started, usually because I get lost halfway through. This week, I've learned the benefits of reading - and following - instructions, SLOWLY, as well as trying to keep myself from becoming too overwhelmed. Of course, both of those lessons went in one ear (eye?) and right out the other. Yee. Haw.

I've started half a dozen projects this week and I think I could theoretically put on in my store. That's not only a lot of wasted time, but a lot of wasted material. I figure that within the last week, I spent close to 20 hours working just on these projects - that's just the cutting and sewing, keep that in mind. And I've got one semi-reasonable piece to put in my store. Yikes. At this rate, I'm going to have a lot - A LOT - of 'flawed' pieces to give away to family and friends.

But I'm trying to stay positive by looking at different designs and procedures that might make my job - or my attempt at it - a bit easier. I'm not a professional seamstress by any stretch - I'm a recreational one, if anything. But I know my limits and don't want to start thinking I can do things that are well beyond my abilities (which usually results in... that's right, wasted time and materials). There's also that risk of boredom if I stick with doing one thing, over and over again.

Which is why I was quite happy to find two books in Chapters' online store that I could finally use the $30 gift card I got for Christmas on.

Bags of Inspriation and Carry Me were the two books I ended up choosing. There were hundreds of others I may have liked, but these two seemed to be the ones that would (a) help me come up with some new ideas and (b) teach me some new techniques in the easiest and simplest ways possible.

 A few of the projects in Carry Me.

I haven't had much of a chance to really go through either of them, but from the brief glimpses I've had, these books are going to help me a lot. There are some things that I'm just not interested in in both books, but for the most part, they both are definitely worth the price (and Carry Me includes the pattern pieces for each project in the back... big, BIG help).

For the time being, I'm going to keep plugging away at what I've started to branch out into this week - wallets (not just for carrying cards anymore!), laptop sleeves and brush/pen rolls. I wish that I had more time - or at least more consecutive time - to do my work. The start-stop work pattern that exists for me is very, very challenging and I'm finding that my to-do list is just getting pushed back every day. It's a daily battle - work on projects or attempt to get some business stuff done?

Sigh... maybe sleep is overrated...

Spring has sprung

And has it ever... when Keith left the house at 3:30 this afternoon, there were only a few sprouts. At 5pm, there were hundreds.

Glee!

Lessons learned

Spring is apparently here. It's been here for a few weeks, actually, which is a bit unheard of in my neck of the woods. The sight of green grass and warmer temperatures has made a lot of people - including me, for the most part - happier. I wouldn't say that there's a great outbreak of SAD around here, but months of cold and only 8 hours of sun and 2+ feet of snow makes people grumpy. Myself included.

I've managed to introduce four new pieces to my Etsy store this week. I had intended on a few more, but buttonholes got the best of me. Lousy - and kind of inexplicable - excuse, I know, but it's true. And I have a photo to prove it.

I have tried to make buttonholes with my sewing machine, using the handy-dandy buttonholer attachment. Failed miserably. So I figured that they had to make buttonholes with hand at some point in history and did some research.

That photo above? Yeah, that's what I ended up with, following the instructions. I wouldn't say I'm an expert embroiderer or needlepointer, but I am decent. That button hole there? Eep. Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I had done up a couple of other wallets with the handmade buttonholes and decided that they were not worth attempting to sell... the holes turned out so bad that I felt bad even giving them to Maddy to play with.

I've come to accept the fact that I cannot make buttonholes to save my life. I love buttons, though, so what to do with a cookie tin of random buttons (vintage, military, tiny, massive, all kinds)? I think I have a solution: I have a few dozen sew-on snaps in silver, black and clear. I'm going to try using them as the actual closure, while using a button as a decoratation on the outside... if that makes any sense.

Over the next few days, I hope to be posting a bit more what I'm doing - and hope to do - as well as what blogs I'm addicted to for inspration and ideas. And, with fingers crossed for some free time, there's always the potential of some cosmetic changes coming to this blog... or not. I'd side with not at this point in the week. Heck, I'd say it's a sure bet right now :)

A slight uptick

We've been pretty lucky - and not - this year. It certainly hasn't been as cold as it usually is. There were no stretches of -40C longer than a few days, but the snow... so much snow this year. It's nice to have the white stuff for snowmobilers and farmers, but come on... when the snow is even with our front porch landing, it's a bit much.

This week, we've seen the temperatures increase to daytime highs above freezing, which means added humidity and hoarfrost most mornings. I took these photos a few days ago when the frost was pretty thick, but only on the westward side of everything. A little odd, if you ask me.

I'm starting to go a little stir-crazy now that it's getting warmer. I've started thinking about my garden plans this year and whether or not I should expand the veggie garden and what to do about the flower gardens. And the rose bushes - move or leave them? That all depends on how many times Maddy runs into them once we get the fence up in the backyard and let her roam free.

I've got a pile of catch-up work to do - including a post that I'm going to attempt to get up tomorrow - before the weekend is over. Likelihood of actually getting through the entire pile? Slim to none, but it doesn't hurt to have a goal, right? Even it is futile :)

Just about there...

Today's the day.

*deep breath*

My Etsy store should be live by this evening, barring any tech disasters. I used my camera yesterday, so it should be good to go; my computer's kinda slow, so I'll shut it down while I'm taking product photos; I've got 99% of my bio/policies/etc. done, just need to get Keith to take a look at them.

There a slight feeling of trepidation with all of this - this is the first time I've put myself out there, things I've designed and created, for other people to see (and maybe, just mabye, buy). For the majority of my career, I was a faceless name, just someone who built ads for a living. Now, I'm completely and utterly responsible for everything - product, promotion, financing... terrifying, really.

But I should really get to work. *deep breath*