Packing up

At some point in the next few weeks, I'll be moving this blog - and hopefully everything contained within - to my new website nisseworks.com. I've wanted to have everything - my blog, an online shop, portfolio - in one place for a while, and I managed to catch an awesome deal with Netfirms for hosting last week. I'm in the midst of doing some research on what will be the best shopping cart for what I plan to do (Ecwid's leading the pack so far, but the WordPress widget looks good too).

Once this blog has completely moved, there will be a post letting visitors know to head to the new site. I'm hoping it all goes smoothly and that eventually, I'll have an online shop that I can be proud of (I'll still keep my Cargoh shop, but my Etsy shop will be closing by Jan 1/11).

So, apologies in advance if something randomly goes missing or there's no blog here at all one day. I'll try to do this without messing everything up, but I'm a borderline Luddite when it comes to this type of thing.

Aim high, hit low

I had hoped that by this point in August, I'd be working just on pieces for my shop (or shops, more on that later), but no. As a procrastinator - as well as someone who isn't quite in the best of health - I should have known better. I've needed more sleep this month than any other in the last year, which usually means I'm dead asleep by 9pm most nights. My energy levels are pretty flat right now, so I've been sticking to doing less intensive work, like embroidery. And to top it all off, I get easily distracted.

So this weekend, I'm hoping to get a lot of work done, in amongst visiting with friends and family and taking care of Maddy. My to-do list is already done and ready to be ignored used to help me keep on track and get ready for what promises to be a busy fall.

Green thumbing

First harvest of the year - a Manitoba Tomato. It's not that big - about the size of a ping pong ball - but it's the first one that's managed to make it through a slight blight infestation that's attacked at least one of my plants. But it's a garden tomato... mmm.

And my lavender! Oh, my sweet, sweet lavender... this is the third time I've tried to grow lavender in my many years of gardening. This is the first time I haven't killed it within a month of planting it. It's flowering - as the photo shows - and sprouting and strong... and it smells so wonderful.

I'm already making plans on how to keep it alive through our winter, which may prove to be a bit more of a challenge for me than most people. Not only do I procrastinate like a pro, the way our backyard is landscaped (and I use that term very loosely), the lavender (and my only yellow rose bush) is in the lowest point of the yard. Our backyard is essentially a bowl-shape so everything tends to collect right where the lavender is; add in the windtrap that the backyard becomes in the winter and waist-deep snow and keeping this particular lavender plant alive - and thriving next year - will be a battle worth winning.

Today's a pretty hectic day for us - we're heading out of town this afternoon for doctor's appointments (yes, I live in a city of 50,000, but my family doctor is 45 minutes away in a small town of 1,500... yay, Canadian healthcare!) and supper at my parent's, so instead of listing a new piece I don't have time to finish properly, I'm going to have a surprise deal announced via Twitter - @nisseworks - this afternoon (within the next 5 hours). Follow me on Twitter and you can have a chance for an amazing deal on something in my shop.

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And a new design for the blog! I like it, after all the hiccups last evening... clean, not flashy, simple. I give it 3 months before I change it again :)

Just for all the eager beavers out there...

It's here - Christmas in July Sale in my Etsy shop. Be sure to check it out for some great deals (if I do say so myself...) - right now, it's free shipping on all the pieces in the Christmas in July section of my shop.

Follow me on Twitter - @nisseworks - to watch for surprise deals (like killer deals... if I'm organized enough) and to keep up with the new pieces being introduced during the sale.

The Christmas in July Sale in my shop runs from July 15 to 25. If you have any questions, drop me a line, either via email, in the comments here or on Twitter. I'll try to help... or at least try to bullshit my way to an answer :)

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...

Slight adjustments

It's a beautifully gorgeous day here and I'm stuck inside, catching up on the paperwork for my shop that I've been putting off for 3 months.

I know, no one to blame but myself and I have to get it done today as there's quite a few listings that expire tomorrow. I plan on reviewing the pricing for everything - all 34 pieces - and will likely end up adjusting them. And they will probably end up higher than they are today... so if you had your eye on a piece in my shop, get it today before the prices go up (hint, hint).

This post from Crafting an MBA (a must-read website for any crafting entrepreneur) about making a profit with your business really hit home for me. While I'm pretty new at business-running, I've worked in businesses and know that in order to keep running, they need to make a profit; so why is it so difficult for crafters, especially those that want to make selling their wares their business, to want admit that making money is a good thing? That's kind of a convoluted sentence, but my point (and their's too, I guess) is this: why should I cut my own proverbial throat (ie. profit margin) just because I make something in my home/garage/workshop?

For me, I worry that my work isn't worth as much as I should potentially charge for it. I'm sure many others are in the same boat, especially when - like me - they may compare their handmade work to something that can be found in a major department store (for me, it's Wal-mart). They - the major stores - can make a profit by charging $5 for a piece because they can produce 1,000 of them for a fraction of the cost, thanks to cheap labour/materials/shipping; I make virtually the same piece, by hand, and can't make a profit (which I've been taught time and time again should be 40%) without charging $20. Who wins the hearts of the everyday shopper?

I've recently added a button to the sidebar from BuyHandmade.org, an awesome collective that encourages people to purchase handmade as often as possible. My aim this year is to only give Christmas gifts that are handmade... a rather brave proclamation, but one that's completely doable. Craft sale season starts after Labour Day here and there's always online shops that have some amazing ideas for almost everyone on your list. Or potentially everyone... kids generally aren't too keen on getting handcrafted gifts. Maddy has little to no choice right now... she's already got quite a few handmade toys (like these) and I plan on making or buying many, many more in the future. And handmade toys can usually go through the wash, unlike the mass produced generic stuff in stores.

Well, now that I've had my rant for the day, it's time to finally get to work on the dreaded spreadsheets and get my shop back on track. Be sure to visit my shop next week during Etsy's Christmas in July sale, starting on July 15 and running to the 25th... I'm aiming to have at least one new piece in my shop every day, along with a couple of surprises for holiday early birds. I'll be sure to post here during the sale, as well, highlighting the deals and special surprises I've got in store.

No spooling...

I made quite the killing making the rounds at the yard sales in the town where my parent's live (not my hometown, but where they've lived for 14 years). I spent $20 or so and walked away with mounds of stuff.

I have photos and a half-written blog post basically showing off, for lack of a better term, what I managed to pick up today. But it's late and I'm tired. And a stretch SUV just drove by my house and I need to find out if they made it around the curve on our street (I'm guessing yes, with a lot of difficulty)... long, story short - I'm going to bed. Post should be up tomorrow sometime.