I have a question to ask...

And I'd REALLY like some objective opinions.

I have an etsy shop where I was trying to sell my resin pendants and some knitted items.

I'm not at all gregarious or outgoing and I hoped that my pretties might attract people to look and buy without the terror associated with an actual craft fair.

Well, I was right in one aspect.

Lots of people looked...

...but hardly any bought. I think in the 3 or so years I've been on etsy,I've sold about 4 items and one of them I had to refund they're money. They sent it back because the colour wasn't actually what they wanted!

So, about 6 months ago I put my shop on vacation so I could regroup, find where I'd   stored all my goods in the last move (since it had been that long since I got any of them out!) and ponder if this was really worth the effort.

I try to buy gifts, when I can from etsy, because you can get really great unique items and I also try to buy any jewellery findings and pendant trays from etsy as well because I like to support other artisan crafters. But do I just suck at selling? Am I only a gifted technician and should leave the business of presenting my wares to more gifted individuals?

So the question I have is...should I shut up my etsy shop and try something else or get everything out, go through the trauma of photographing it all again and try to work out what I'm doing wrong??

I  keep making things and I only have a finite amouny of space to store them in! Any comments or advice would be invaluable!

Cheers!
Dx

Shops on Etsy I admire

There are a lot of shops on Etsy which I admire a lot since they sell things set in resin or between glass. I wish I had the technical skills they obviously have that I'm still struggling to attain.
Of the resin Artists;

Garden Jems Jewelery

I love how beautifully positioned is each piece! I'd love to know how she does these. There are lots of other beautiful examples in her shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GardenGemsJewelry

Dream Half Full

Some really sweet pieces with real pressed flowers like this delicate white flowers in this shop. Again I wish I knew how they did it!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamHalfFull

Lowe Lowe Jewelery

Beautiful range of flowers, leaves and lace preserved in lovely clear resin. So gorgeous!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lowelowejewelry

That Old Blue House

I love these and would dearly love to learn how to solder. Many pendants with lovely vintage lace preserved between glass. Such a wonderful way to enjoy this delicate beauties!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThatOldBlueHouse2

And that's just some of the wonderful artists on Etsy who I admire!

So far I think I can do this.

It might be a bit obvious but I am not a naturally good at running a business.

Just thought I'd put that out there.

While I am a very able Technician, I can come up with fresh ideas for jewellery,pendants, tatting and knitting I have a really hard time selling.

My father, who's excellent at selling, did not hand it down to me when he gave me the hodge-podge of genetic material which included high-function Aspergers!

Thanks a lot Dad!

So to try and help myself I've bought some books (I love books! I've taught myself almost everything I've ever wanted to learn from books!) to help me with my etsy shop.

I think I'm learning...slowly.

I've put up some new listings and I will tweak it some more and hopefully increase my exposure!

The flower brooches are up but I'm still taking new shots of the pendants.

I guess you really do get the results you work for.

:)

Sometimes It Just Doesn't Seem Fair....

Just as I seem to finally be able to sell some of my pretty things to a few local gift stores, Hubbie gets his transfer papers! Which is not a bad thing, it just complicates things a bit.

Carnamah will be an entirely new experience for all of us since Jordan probably wont be moving with us, he'll be moving to Perth instead to further his education. And we've never been posted so far from home before.

And it's going to be hot. Flat. Inland. Wheat country.

Ggggreattt...

But on the upside I've been able to sell 13 of my resin and glass pendants to a specialty gift shop in Walpole called Arcadia Blue with the help of a lovely lady who was not only helpful but sooo encouraging! I also sold 8 to a beautiful gift store in Denmark called Karissma Gallery and Gifts. And I've recieved an email from another shop in Denmark, All About Me, where I left a sample piece and they'd like me to come back on Friday and maybe buy 6 off me. I'm actually starting to get anxious that I'm going to run out of stock!

So I've ordered more frames, glass and chain and I'm going to have to make myself get organised and pour more resin pendants before I run out! 

Oh, it's so nice to be doing something I love and being able to make a little money as well :)

Here it comes...2012

Wow, I haven't posted in ages. I find it  hard to use this as a journal, especially when I can't think of anything to say. But!
I finally caved and took some of my pendants down to the only specialty gift store we have here and asked if she could sell them for me. She thought they were beautiful (which was nice) and said she's never seen anything like the tatting motifs in resin before (goody!). After fluffing around when she asked me how much I'd sell them for (what? you mean I should know that? Oh, er...) we settled on $9 each. She took 10 and before the day had finished she rang to say she'd already sold one! So that was very encouraging! Certainly more so than etsy where I haven't managed to shift a thing!

I got some different frames too. These are a lot easier to handle compared with the resin. Just glass slides in a frame with a piece of tatting trapped between. See how we go for the rest of the year. The lady suggested knitting some mitts and headbands and she'd have a look because they go quick during winter and she doesn't really like the cheapee chinese mass-produced ones.
This year could be an interesting one with lots of curly decisions popping up here and there. Youngest son is getting ready to embark on not one but two massive adventures. Moving to Perth and living almost independently as well as attending uni to further his education. For any other 17 almost 18 year old boy this would be daunting enough but with his Aspergers it throws one more variable into a mix already fraught with possible OMG moments! He's got the support of a lot of really good professionals and we're hoping to hear more back soon since the course he wants to enter begins Feb 21st.
Oh dear. Where's the brown paper bag. I think I'm starting to hyperventilate again!!!
Also Hubbie's two years is up here so he's starting to have to think about where we're likely to choose to be transfered to next. Not looking forward to that since anywhere we choose is bound to be a long way from here, from my parents and I'll probably have to find another job. I hate that!
But none of this has happened yet. 2012 is starting to look like another one of those pivitol years...
...I'm not sure I like that.
Ah well. There's always knitting :)

New Stuff in Shop

I've just put up some new stock on my Etsy shop. I've heaps more pendants to put up but this'll do for the moment. I've just resined up a heap more pendants so hopefully they'll be as pretty. I hope I get better at this. I always make such a mess! 

Wish me luck.

Twinkle, twinkle, Little star...

..well, they do look kind of like that. I've finally got a group of pendant trays with a tatted motif embeded in resin all finished. Not 100% satisfied with it myself yet but I'm getting better!

The first group I did I didn't warm the resin first and there are tiny bubbles trapped in the resin not to mention I didn't coat the motifs in PVA glue to keep there colour from becoming washed out when the resin absorbed into it. And some of the background colours weren't the best choice for displaying the motifs either.

These ones are an excellent example of what not to do!

While this one, while beautifully clear...

...still has bubbles trapped in it. But at least I'm getting better at mixing the resin!

Now all I need to do is wait till I get the chains I've ordered off www.etsy.com (LOVE Etsy! I've gotten most of my supplies from there and have had excellent service so far!) and some more pendant trays. And then tat some more motifs, without getting bored doing the same ones over and over and over...

I have a relatively short attention span sometimes :)

Keep Happy!

Now I'm Back Home...

Well, after a lovely nine days with my darling Daughter I can start putting into place some new ideas I had about what I might want to try and sell in my etsy shop, when I finally get myself organised enough to stock it. My little tatted motifs are so sweet I thought it would be nice if I could present them in a way where they wont get dirty or torn off, you know, some way to display them in all their delicate beauty.

I've never used resin before so I've been tinkering. My first attempt was pretty ordinary because I wouldn't wait until I had a few tools I needed (like cups to stir the stuff in!) and the only moulds I could access where silicone muffin trays. Although they look like the bottom is flat they have just a trace of texturing which makes the bottom of the resin kind of frosted. Not the best for looking at a piece of lace :(

So I was more careful next time. I put a layer of resin in the bottom of the moulds and when it was tacky I placed the motifs on it and poured another layer of resin on top.

Then I waited.

After a day and a half I was pretty sure they were dry so I popped them out and gave them another day to dry out a little more. They looked pretty good although I was annoyed that one of them had managed to entrap a gnat so now I have a wonderful lace motif accentuated by a small winged speck!

I sanded them underwater with wet & dry sandpaper (grad 600 & 1200), dried them and dug out my jewellery making supplies and managed to find some bails I bought ages ago for glass bead pendants. Bored a hole in 5 of them and hey presto! I had 5 individual and totally unique resin pendants!

  Aren't they pretty? Don't bother looking for the gnat because it isn't in this group. I'm very pleased with them and will continue experimenting. The tatted motifs of the next lot will be PVA brushed and dried before they go anywhere near the moulds. 

This is fun :)

Stay Happy!