I'm BACK!

I'm back! I'm back! I'm back!

So, after getting disheartened by lack of sales, and chasing these proverbial customers to absolutely NO success, I left Etsy. And was further planning on never coming back. Perhaps this arts and crafts creation, was just not for me. But about two weeks ago I log on to my email to that wonderful wonderful message in my inbox that says "YOU'VE MADE A SALE!". Immediately my jaw drops, thinking that this must be some sort of joke. I had long abandoned my shop, thinking that it was more likely that my items had long since expired. But after about five minutes of incredulous investigation it was true, I had indeed made a sale.

I still garner frustrations with Etsy. The market, it seems, has become utterly flooded. And my product is, quite simply, not desirable enough to be effective. I'm a business student... an MBA student, and I understand quite well how markets work. And I'm not the type of person to chase a failing venture. I don't put myself into denial, thinking that I can miraculously revive it. If it's not going to work, then it's simply not going to work. People don't care about hand painted candle holders. *scoff*

I love painting. I truly do. And It's not like I'm giving up art. Heavens no. I've been an artist literally forever, and I'll never stop being one. But I need to find a different outlet that IS desirable in some marketplace. What that exactly is, I'm not sure yet.

And until then, I've taken to selling to 'randoms' on Etsy and Ebay just to make some sort of semblance of a meager profit.

I'm now in the midst of a complete shop and mission restructuring. I've thrown out all the "advice" that I've been given and am trying my best to start over as efficiently as possible. Not quite sure what my new central core product is going to be. Still working on that. Hopefully I'll figure it out... soon!

As I sit here...

As I sit here, in my dachshund PJ pants, sipping my morning S'more flavored coffee, and listening to the Beatles on repeat, I think of how much my life has exactly changed just in the past year.

I tend to get introspective from time to time, so just bear with me.

Let's start this story at the beginning. In 2005 I graduated with a BFA in graphic design. I immediately began work as an in-house designer for a local sporting goods company. As the sole designer for the company I basically ran to entire Marketing operation. It was quite awesome to be honest. Well, in 2007, January or something, they got a new CEO. And with that, a new business plan. By May, I was unemployed.

So I set off on the hunt. And a mere 2 months later landed a job. Problem was, it was an hour and half away from my home and also had ungodly hours to begin with. So I was NEVER home. Now for me, being the home body that I am, this created a huge problem. Apparently, my disdain for the job was showing through to my work output. And in December of that year they let me go. (Yes.. December.. i.e. two weeks before Christmas. And they gave me no severance OR unemployment payments.)

I digress.

As it were, that Christmas was the day that my boyfriend had been planning on proposing. After 8 years of dating, he was finally going to pop the question.

The only upside of being unemployed at that time, was that I could dedicate my full attentions to wedding planning. Which was nice in its own way. The trouble was that I spent probably literally thousands of hours searching for a job that would never come. Around July of 08 I decided to hold off the job search until the wedding was over. Which was in October.

Yes... I began job searching again in October of 08. When the economy literally took the most drastic nose dive that most people had ever seen. Awesome.

Needless to say, if you can't tell from the opening sentence of this blog, I never found that elusive job. Rather, about 2 months ago I jumped on the crafting wagon.

Hopefully some day I will find this venture to be more successful than my previous graphic design career. Because God knows that I already find it more fulfilling. And isn't that kind of the point?

Inspirational Wednesday

Heh So, yeah. I know "Inspirational" doesn't technically have anything to do with "Wednesday". But I just felt like it. And this is my blog. So there.


Deep Crimson, Violet and Blue Hand Painted Glassware
Click to view full listing



I'm really thinking that I need to come up with cool interesting names for my glassware. Just calling it "hand painted glassware", while descriptive, doesn't really have a whole lot of... punch. Or at least some kind of interesting little back story. Let's see... "The world may never know how exactly these glass pieces began their lives. But somehow, by some twist of fate and universal alignment, they found their way to my local thrift store. Each piece of glass then sits there patiently waiting. Until, quite unbeknown by them, I come along to give them a different fate. No longer are they destined to be clear, sparkling glass candle holders, dishes, or cups. No. From that day forward their lives will only be filled with luxorious and rich color. With their sole purpose to pass their colorful beauty onto you. Enjoy."

...
No?
I actually kinda like it. I might have to put that in my Shop Announcement. *smug face*

This one is actually one of the first ones that I've ever made that didn't have ANY light colors in it at all. And seeing the dramatic glow that it gives off, I don't think that it lacks anything. The reason I did that, is because I've started to notice that if there's white in the paint, it makes it that much more opaque. Which, is quite obviously, the exact opposite of what I'm going for. So this was necessity birthing invention.

LOVE it when that happens.

Help Support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

My sister in law will be running a half marathon (I'm not sure on the exact date) in San Francisco this summer. And I want to show as much support as I possibly can so I put an announcement in my shop that fifty percent of proceeds from each purchase will go to support the cause. :)

Oh!

And she's keeping a diary online about it:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nce/nikesf09/akulik

Just in case anyone would want to read about it from her personally.

Now I have much more of reason to support my shop than I did before.

On a completely unrelated side note: I went to see Shinedown last night in concert. It was SOOOOO awesome. It was one of those concerts where there's no seats and the entire time there's people thinking (for whatever reason) that they're more important than everyone else and will push in front of people who've been standing there for literally hours so THEY can get closer to the stage. <_< I got stepped on. Literally. A lot.

Most. Stop. Staring. At the. Computer.

I've been in front of this silly machine literally ALL day. Promoting. Marketing. Tweaking my shop. It is literally starting to rule my life. I did, however, pull myself away for a few hours so that I could work on stock for a little bit. So... at least I did something artistically creative today. ^_^

That's something, right?
Right?

But! I have a new banner that looks FANTASTIC! Judging from the banner I had before, no one would ever have known that I literally spent half my adult life as a graphic designer.

Now, since I've officially been working for the last 14 hours, I think it's officially time to relax.

Night!

New item and Name History

So real quick before I start my day...

First of all new item:


I did a few full size paintings about... hm... 6 months ago. Where I'd literally add SO much water to the paint that it seemed unworkable. Then I would splatter the canvas, and in doing so, I noticed that it would give such a gorgeous wave pattern to it. It didn't outright mix the colors, it just... smooshed them together in a really interesting way. (And yes, "smooshed" is a technical term.)

But I decided to try doing a few glass pieces using the same technique. And it came out SO pretty. I think I'll have to do that a whole bunch more times.


And second of all, I've been hearing a lot of name history stories lately so I thought I'd share mine.

My maiden name is Winson, and as you can tell just from the name, my family was obviously English before they moved to America. Around the same time as making my shop initially I had just come out of about a 10 year quest to trace my genealogy. (Love the internet! heh) But using the internet, and a lot and LOT of patience, I was able to trace it back all the way to the late 1700's. Anyway, I digress.

In my searching I discovered that family had come to America around 1915 or 1920. This I really didn't know before. My grandfather's father had died when my grandfather was only about 3 years old or so, so that part of my family history literally died along with him. And for some unknown reason, this unknown history has ALWAYS facsinated me.

I had always wondered why in the world, when the world is literally your oyster, WHY move to South Amherst, Ohio. I mean. Florida, California... somewhere WARM perhaps? But no, Ohio. They land in Ohio. Awesome. But why?

In my genealogy questing I learn that my family had all been Quarry workers. They moved from a limestone Quarry town in England to THE biggest sandstone Quarry town in America: South Amherst.

At the time of creating my shop I had literally JUST come across this information. And since then, all of my ventures have incorporated the word "Quarry" in some way or another. As an homage to my family history. The reason they came to America, and the only reason why I am even here today.

So there you are.
:)

And the Photo Flurry is over...

I've spent the entire day re-shooting all of my photos. I mean, it was a sunny day... and I couldn't just let it go to waste, so I set up shop on my balcony and went crazy with the camera. I'm sure the people driving by thought "why is there a crazy girl with a camera in snowflake pajama pants on that balcony?" But, still. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. Awesome awesome.

Although, as someone told me *waves* I'll probably end up re-shooting them again in a few months. But for now they look awesome. ^_^

Here's a few:

Ahhh the joys of knitting.

New one from http://countrysweet.etsy.com.

I've always loved to knit. I mean, I love to craft in general, but I've really REALLY loved to spend my spare time knitting. I started this bag with the intent that it would be a cute little clutch for a wedding or something. (Hence the white-ness) But I think that added pink really makes it pop.

The beads making up the flower were originally clear glass seed beads, and I've painted them to match the inside liner color of the vibrant magenta pink.

I think I'll have to make a WHOLE bunch more of these, I had so much fun making it. :) When my days are generally spent either painting more glassware, or trying endlessly to promote my shop, it's nice to just sit down and knit.

And the limey toads... and the momeraths...

Full listing:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24911227

New item for today! Inspired actually by an item I saw on Home Shopping network. Yes yes... I'm one of THOSE people that watch HSN and QVC like constantly. But anyway.

It was some juicer or something and they were juicing... well limes obviously... and the lime halves were all sitting on a plate looking all... limey. And cute. And I thought that would make such a cute design for one of my glassware.

Yes, kind of a lame inspiration story. But there you are. From a home shopping channel straight to paint. hahahaha

Spring has Spring: Inspiration Post

Title: Spring has (finally!) Sprung

Being from Ohio the sound of birds chirping in the Springtime, or even the ability to simply have your windows open and let the sweet breeze come through the house, is such a welcome time of the year. Most of my pieces previously had centered around a single color (or a few colors) focusing on brush stroke patterns. Not that it's altogether a bad thing. I mean, if I didn't think they were pretty I wouldn't have posted them, after all.

But finally getting out the house after the long and cold winter, inspired me to do something a little different than what I HAD been doing. I wanted to step a little out of my comfort zone and create something that had a definite recognizable form. And also, I wanted to use colors that were so Spring-like that it would be difficult to not recognize it as such. The bright, vibrant yellow just screams *yay! Spring!* to me, and the tall grass (which has been covered with snow for the past 6 months) is something that is so indicative of Spring also.

I hope you like this piece, I know that for me, it has become one of my personal favorites. :)

First Sale!!!

Made my first sale yesterday!

True story. I go into my shop a couple times a day to see how many views my items are getting and in the process of doing so one time my eyes happened to glance over to the right column. And there it was.

10 items for sale
1 sale

One sale???!?!?! I didn't have a sale 30 minutes ago. This must be some kind of mistake. Maybe a glitch or something. So I go to investigate. Checking my email. Double checking the product under "inactive listings". I just couldn't believe it. After gaping open mouthed for 10 minutes it finally dawned on me that I had indeed made a sale. It wasn't a joke, nor a glitch, nor some crazy trick by the crafting gods, I HAD MADE A SALE!

Now! I have to go to post office, so I should be off. Lots to do!
^_^

Happy Thursday!

Yesterday I said that I would briefly lay out the things that I've found helpful with regards to Etsy promoting and marketing. And well, since I'm not one to break a promise, I'll do that.

First of all, let me preface this (again) that I am an MBA student whose studying Marketing. I really have a passion for good marketing. I don't know why, but it's like a puzzle to me, and I love to solve it and see results. So... enough of that. On to the nitty gritty.

1.) Twitter - I really cannot say enough about this as a promotion tool. According to Google Analytics (which I highly recommend everyone getting, by the way. Simple, easy to use, just do it.) 50% of my total page views come from Twitter click throughs. Besides that, Twitter takes up about NO time, and even the busiest person can find a few spare minutes to post. The trick is to start conversations. If someone else posts, saying something back really helps with rapport. I mean, wouldn't YOU love it if someone commented on your stuff? Do unto others and all that. I gave Twitter a 9/10. Losing points because the site is very slow and frustrating at times. But when it works it is just awesome.

2.) Facebook - I could go without Facebook personally, and I have not heard such rave reviews about it at all. Don't get me wrong, as a social networking tool, it's phenomenal and the creators of the site should be praised eternally. But for promoting a business it's not so hot. I made a business site on there and it never came up in ANY search result. And further to that, the site editing capabilities were vastly sub-par. I gave it a 3/10. So little exposure, I might as well just post on my own wall. (Which I again, I do recommend. Not too often though lest you frustrate your real life friends.)

3.)Etsy forums - Not terrible. I do get quit a bit of lookers if I post on the forums. Trouble with those is that they're SO incredibly fast paced it's difficult to get a word in edge-wise. I love forums, don't misunderstand me. Some might say I'm obsessive about them. But being in the Etsy forums seems like standing in an over crowded room with everyone yelling at the top of their lungs. I get the same amount of exposure with Twitter. And the Etsy forums are 10 times the work. 5/10. It is convenient after all if someone has the time to sit there.

4.) Blogs - Not really for use as a marketing tool itself, but its part of the overall marketing "package" I guess you'd say. I think they're critical as a side piece, but if you really don't have time, they're not entirely essential. If your a painter and you want to share your inspirations or backstories, people probably won't want to read the full story in the description. But maybe someone would be curious, so you throw a link to your blog in the description. Also, it kind of rounds out the experience. Gives you more of an overall internet presence. 7/10.

5.) Etsy Teams - I'm fairly new to a few teams: Cleveland HandMade and the Eclectic Artisans Team, but my experience so far has been enormously positive. It seems like an awesome way to not only provide another avenue for promotion, but also as a way to make a few friends along the way. If anything, it will give you exposure, and that's never a bad thing. Also, many teams create Treasuries of ONLY team members. This is an excellent way to get into one of those treasuries and possibly (if your lucky) onto the front page. 10/10.

6.) Creating a Treasury - The Treasuries seem to generate tons of view if you title it properly to something that is eye cathing, interesting and unique. I'm not sure how many views this gives the creator of the treasury, but it shows that you're willing to help out other Estians which also is very important. The hard thing for me personally, is that I simply don't have time to sit there and wait for the count to go below 333 so that I get a chance to make one. 7/10.

7.) Third Party Blogs - Occasionally people will post in the Etsy forums advertising an offering to list you in their blog. As I said before, this is more exposure, and this is never a bad thing. It's truly effortless on your part, after you make them an Etsy Mini, your work is basically done. The down side is that you'd have to sit on the forums and wait for someone to post. Which, as I said previously, this can be a little obnoxious. 8/10.

All right I'm done for now. Dinner time for me!

Thar be blogging. Yar.

This is the maiden post of my new blog. Cheer for me!
^_^
Ok, so you don't have to cheer. It would be nice though. *puppy eyes*

Anyway, my previous blog (www.mkdragoness.wordpress.com) and I sort of had a falling out. Things just didn't work out. It was me, not it. No... no that's not true. It was all its fault. It refused to support my Etsy Mini code. Well. That just won't work at ALL. So, I came running with open arms to Blogspot. Hopefully this will treat me a bit better than Wordpress.

Anyway, on to the reason for this post: background on yours truly.

My name is Michelle. I run two shops on Etsy: www.thequarryartstudio.etsy.com and www.countrysweet.etsy.com. I've literally been crafting for my entire life (yes all, 27 years of it) and only up until recently did I start trying to sell my wares. It started out with drawing when I was very young. When I would particularly get on my mother's nerves she'd just send me outside to draw something. Better than folding the laundry I suppose. :)

I just got married last October to my high school sweetheart (gushy and girly, I know. Like a Nicolas Sparks book or something). And we have two crazy special cats that like to make funny noises at night, and one extroverted wiener dog who likes to chew on their faces.

I LOVE to travel. But really don't like airplanes. It's one of those necessary evils though.

Oh! And I'm in the middle struggling through an MBA degree, specializing in Marketing. I do know a thing or two about marketing... but surprisingly enough, am beyond clueless when it comes to marketing myself or my Etsy shops. Tomorrow I'm planning on doing a post about the different marketing options that I've come across for Etsy.

So stay tuned!

Later dudes!