Shopping for a Shop...

So, we have found online that listing one's products on multiple sites can hurt the product's chances of being found on a search engine.  This and a sad lack of views has resulting in us terminating our trial of Shopify.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great site and so many successful businesses use it, but it's just not quite right for us at the moment.  We will instead focus on how to make Etsy work for us, since that is where we have sold the most items online.

Behind the Scenes...

Tonight is "tedious work we haven't gotten around to yet" night-I'm helping Hubby with the inventory list for the jewelry business.  He's doing most of it, since I have no business sense whatsoever.  Well, at least, that's what it feels like most of the time.  We've been trying super hard to get our work out to the people, trying different marketing strategies and online shop providers...we have business cards we've been handing out wherever we can, and a Facebook page as well.  I know we can make it, we just have to find the right formula for success.  I never thought that making new pieces would be the easiest part about having a jewelry business, but I suppose I should have known.  We've been scouring online forums, especially Etsy help forums, and we're bound to find the way to break out and sell soon.  We have to.

New Things

My fingers started to get itchy to start up crochet again, so I ordered some yarn from JoAnn's online store.  I accidentally ordered three one-pound skeins of yarn instead of two, so I decided to make some lovely hair bows to add to the Etsy and Shopify shops.  The only problem is, the yarn doesn't come in until tomorrow!  I get so impatient when it comes to these things...I'm already drawing up ways to embellish the bows with charms and edgings to make them extra special.

Inspiration

Let's face it, it can be used as a method for producing beauty, or an excuse for not producing at all.  I know how easy it is to let stress and drama and everyday life dull or entirely erase your feeling of  inspiration.  So much of modern society is based around consuming the products of someone else's creativity, rather than cultivating your own.  You have to find your own personal way of making the system work for you.  For instance, I love to window-shop, whether it's online, or via the occasional women's magazine, or actual trips to a craft or fashion store.  Whenever I find myself browsing (which can turn into such a mindless, numbing activity), I try to keep my brain switched on.  Whenever I find a piece that I like, I try to figure out what aspect of that jewelry or outfit excites me so that I can use it in the things I make.  I'm not talking about copying or stealing the ideas of others; I'm talking about boiling down basic concepts, shapes, colors and themes that can be turned around and integrated into my own personal style and skill set.  Keep in mind that I don't always feel dry and devoid of creativity. This is just something I use to either kickstart the process, or keep me going between the fits of, "Must create!"  If this helps you at all, or at least entertained you for a few minutes, I am grateful.

Fortune and blessings. xoxox