Check in

I've been trying to figure out the billing aspect of the etsy shop and it's proving slightly complicated. I think what I'll end up doing is linking my dad's paypal to my user and just do that till next year when I'm old enough to create my own account.

The next thing I have to do is get on my art blog... it's already created,  but I haven't posted anything yet. It's going to be a mind-map in blog form about what I think about, what is inspiring me at the moment, and a documentation of the alterations, sewing projects, and I'm also thinking... a style journal. It's the most daunting part of the whole process, honestly, because instead of having people being exposed to only the things I create(my etsy shop), this blog will hopefully be a showcase of my artistic point of view, and putting that out there is a little nerve wracking.

Anyway, here's the blog url in case you want to see.

rewoundthread.blogspot.ca

Banner is Up!

Next is finishing my profile, about page, and listings!

Mechanicals

So I'm still in the process of getting the shop stuff written. I have yet to do an about page, update my "about me" info on my profile, change my profile picture, upload the banner with the logos, and publish a listing. I think I might need to do all the latter before I'm allowed to write my about page, though, cause where to do so is eluding me at this point.

I got a bunch of books out of the library today, so over the next week I'll be tearing through those, hopefully there will be some useful info.

Some titles:

Make Your Own Breaks; Jim Lang
The Small Canadian Business Survival Guide; Benj Gallander
All Work, No Pay; Lauren Berger
How'd You Score That Gig?; Alexandra Levit
Consumer Republic; Bruce Phlip

Also, yesterday I was in Chapters waiting around, killing time, and I went straight to the business section and read the prologue to "The Power of Habit" . It was really interesting, and after I pay my hefty public library late fines, then I'm going to go get that out and read it. It'll be good for me to gain a better understanding of my habits and what I need to do in order to make my organization and business endeavors successful and efficient.

Visual Impact

Researching logos: I've realized that the most powerful and the ones that have the greatest visual impact, ones that made a lasting impression, were the simplest and most graphic. I asked my friend Marian to design a couple options for me and I am super excited with what she gave me! I'll hopefully have them up on the site by monday.

I also wrote all my policies the other day! They include shipping, returns/exchanges, damages, repairs, etc.

I'm excited.

mjólk

Susu
Moloko
Melk
Llet
Mléko
Leite
Uyu

...Susu 

Browsing through etsy shops to gather inspiration for shop names, I've come to the realization that it really doesn't matter at all. There are lingerie shops called "hopeless", a jewelry shop called "Xtravirgin", and someone who makes handmade backpacks who's store is called "ziazia". So I stopped worrying about it and started thinking up words I like... Susu.

It means milk, in Malay. I'm half Chinese-Malay, I like milk things. Susu alone is already taken... So 

For now, I'm Susubaik. 

      (Milk is good)

Next to draw my banner. 

It's time to name your etsy shop

Apparently it's time...i got an email telling me so. These people are so ontheball.

Help!

Etsy ... and Etsy Success

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/the-seller-handbook/#newsellers

Etsy is an "online marketplace" where individuals internationally can list and buy things from independant businesses around the globe. Their mission is to "reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world." I've been a member of etsy for years, and its continuing to be one of my favorite ways to discover and support rising artists. They have a simple pay-pal system, and it costs $0.20 to post a listing. With every sale, they collect a 3.5% fee that comes directly out of their payment.

The etsy community is fairly well-acquainted as there are conversation features that make it really easy to communicate. They also have a feature similar to facebook wherein you can add people to your 'circle' and have all their activity added to your newsfeed. It really has evolved recently.

Etsy Success is a forum for the sellers and buyers to talk and work their way through problems together. They also post newsletters fairly often with articles that range from how to best photograph your items and to how to increase your sales through the description you write for your shop. It's an amazing resource, actually, so a lot of the research I'll be doing will be off their articles, especially as all of them are especially tailored for etsy sellers as opposed to small businesses in general.

Anyway.

I created my etsy shop... now the name. What the heck am I supposed to call it...........!

Pinterest

"Pinterest is a tool for organizing and collecting things you love." 

~Pinterest/about

I've been using pinterest for a couple months now, and its like having cork-board after cork-board of collages and vision excercises all over your room... only it uses way less thumbtacks, magazine articles, and time to organize. Some people use it as a personal thing, a way to organize what inspires them into easily navigated and easily edited. It's also a great way to gain publicity for your product, as it has click-through links on every image "pinned". Pins are categorized, with women's clothing, men's clothing, travel, food, fitness, art, design etc. 

my style board

You can repin other's pins, or you can upload your own. Many artists of all mediums use this to promote themselves... its incredibly effective. Because of Pinterest's "repin" feature, when one person pins or repins something, all the people who follow them will see it, and if its a popular image, it will spread over pinterest at an exponential rate. At this point, I've used pinterest for my interests and inspiration alone, but once I have my business set up, I'll create a board specifically for my original pieces, and link the board to my etsy site and blog.

http://pinterest.com/elenaimari/

Starting Over

This blog is the journal for my IS class's independent study.

Hi, I'm Elena. I've been making jewelry for just under ten years now, and have sold it online before, using it primarily as a fundraiser and less as an art form. Given the opportunity to dedicate some school time to something I'm passionate about, I decided to start a business. Selling my jewelry.

A little bit of history: I've sold my jewelry 3 years in a row online, sending emails out to family and friends. For a short period I had some jewelry selling in Hemma a yoga and acupuncture store of which my family friend is the owner. Overall, I've raised around $2000 selling my jewelry, but it's always been about the money, and not the art. This results in a lack of drive when I don't have a particular financial goal in mind, and my production has been limited, happening only when its necessary for sales.

My goal for this project is to start a jewelry line. I'm going to document the whole process... the research I do regarding marketing and product development, the process of setting up an environment in my room that can inspire me and doesn't limit my production/the functionality of my room in any way, the legal business, and the creation and production of the jewelry itself. The final product will result in a couple things:

1. an etsy store that has full listings posted, a paypal account, and all the features necessary to make it easy for customers to view and purchase my jewelry
2. an art blog that will document all my creative endeavors as well as my sources of inspiration and serve as another way to get my artistic voice out there
3. this blog, documenting my progress, with photos and the occasional video of the process
4. a pinterest account that is more focused and can also be a vessel for the promotion and marketing of my jewelry.

Wish me luck!

Elena