Eda Doreen

Etsy Weather Report : Business Stats and Sales

I had a great month in April selling on etsy. I believe that my sales are increasing as well due to a number of reasons.

1. relist, renew, and promote.

2. always find new products to make and sell.

3. have pride and life in your work.

The statistics for the April sales report on etsy were released this morning, and it was truly eye opening. A total of 22.4 million dollars of goods were sold on etsy in the month of April, and that is a positive sign to say the very least for the handmade market. The report can be read here.

At the Fair-By gbrosseau

 

Tomorrow, I plan on featuring a photographer I stumbled across on Flickr. His works are amazing, his passion is unbearable, and the photograhy is beyond whimsical.

Its raining here again in the South today, but I do like the rain for my garden, and it was needing an inch or two today. Heads up, bottoms, down ... lets get binding :)

Sam

 

:: I heart you ::

I heart you!

When I first came to Etsy, which was back in August of 2009, I found myself wandering around all the tabs, links, blogs, and different shops. It was all so very exciting. It wasn’t however, until I saw the ‘Add to your favorites’ tab did I truly understand or know what a ‘heart’ was on etsy.

 

Twitterpated

 

Silly me thought it had to do with the etsy lingo they talked about, in the forums and in the mini-chats offered, but when I finally saw how many shops had huge amounts of hearts, and some with very little, it was then that I began on my own quest to ‘heart’ shop owners, and shop items, and hope for the same to return to me.

 

Lord help me if I have a faint heart (hypothetically speaking), because to this very day, every morning before I check convo’s after logging in, and orders, do I always see if I obtained any hearts over night!

So what does a heart mean?

 

Rose Print-Somerset Velvet

 

In etsy world, a heart signifies that a buyer, seller, browser ‘favorited’ or ‘loves’ that item, or shop you have been so diligently working on. All that hard work you put on shop banners, renewing, listing, and photography is starting to pay off, as a seller that is. From a buyers point of view, they may have hearted your item to use in a treasury, or on a blog, or because that’s what they want to buy Aunt Gilly for her birthday. There are an endless supply of reasons.

 

Valentine- Love Writer Prints

 

I find I heart items to show the seller they did an awesome job, to possibly buy the item for myself, or to use on my blog as a feature. Sometimes If the artist or Etsian states specifically to contact them first before using their art to ‘advertise’ it is imperative to do this first of course.

 

So that’s it…….. I heart you!

I have a whole bunch of new work to begin this morning, then it’s off to my ‘day/swing shift’ job. Eheee..

 

Have a stupendous day

 

Sam

 

 

Purple Dreams

Purple is as blue as red shines the fire in you….

 

I’ve been dreaming purple of late, colorful dreams, and recollections that have inspired my post today. In my garden right now, I have regular english lavender growing, and French lavender as well. It’s doing considerably well considering the humidity of this region. But the flowers are absolutely adorable. The bees flock to the purple flowers, and the scent of the lavender when crushed is like a misty shower in the forest sun; fresh, alive and awakening.

On the front page of etsy this afternoon, a treasury of purple inspired handmade items spurred my inhibitions to do a little more searching and the end result was glorious. Downright quaint in its own right, purple is a color of mystery, knowledge, and hope. This can be seen in the picks I have chosen .  

 

   “Hope is the dream of a soul awake.”- ::French Proverb ::

 

Bottom Left: Sterling Silver Wire Wrap Ring with Genuine Amethyst Size 7 1/2 ,

Bottom Right: 7 Ways To Wear Wrap Dress (Cap , Short or Long Sleeve) In Juicy Plum ,

Middle Left : Its Purple Darling ,

Top Right : Plum Satin Plunge Front Lace Overbust Corset-20inch Waist ,

Top Left : Medieval Alexandrite Necklace

 

 

Will you dream lavender purples with me?

Have a loverly evening : )

 

Sam

 

greetings from a notecard

Just a short post this afternoon!  We had tornado warnings friday and saturday nights like there was no tomorrow. I must say it was very scary. In some areas of Mississippi, and Tennessee there was up to 20 inches of rain recorded, and several deaths due to flooding. Not good :( . The rain is always a welcome sight, however mother nature has a ferocious bite sometimes.

I had an abundance of sales over the last week, and having to construct journals , and box up already up-cycled cigar boxes, and ship them off was priority this morning for my customers. I had my first sale to Europe over the weekend. Belgium!

I have about 10 different cigar boxes I will be altering in the next week or so, and I plan on making 9 new journals :) Lined paper journals, and blank journals. And, I also am looking at starting different lines of journals for different genres of hobbies/interests that buyers are looking for. So, I  am super exited about this.

I made a selection of note card sets over the weekend, blank note cards, thank you note cards, announcement note cards... all of which will come in handy to someone. They are in my etsy shop and can be purchased anytime. I love custom orders as well.

Anyway, tomorrow Is a new day ... with no mistakes in it! See y'all then.

Sam

Full Moon Rising

“Her image was my ensign: snows melted,
Hedges sprouted, the moon tenderly shone,
The owls trilled with tongues of nightingale.”- Robert Graves (1895-1995)

 

Moonlight

Tonight will mark the full moon for those of us who may take note of the lunar cyclical patterns. I never used to take notice of the moon’s cycles that was until I started working in a casino. Trust me; it seems that when a full moon comes to garnish our beautiful night sky, all hell breaks loose. People do the strangest of things, say the strangest of things, and if you have ever questioned the reality of a luminary full moon, and the reactions of life under her full force, sit in a hospital emergency room on a full moon, and you will see her effects. In fact, back in the eighteenth century during the English historical rise, if one committed a crime under the phase of a full moon, on that very day, or night, the accused could plead ‘lunacy’ based purely on the full moon. In turn, a lighter sentence may have been placed on the accused for that very reason. Crazy huh!

Dancing in the Moonlight

 

Oh, and if your thinking of getting that surgical procedure today, think again. During a certain studies conducted by the Florida University of Medical Science, out of a possible 1000 tonsillectomies, (tonsil removal) 82 % of those who had surgery had extensive bleeding, before , during or on the full moon phase. Medical science has proven that bleeding occurs more during a full moon due to the amounts of water in our bodies, and the ‘biological tides’ of human emotions that act in accordance with the lunar gravitational pull, causing our bodies to bleed more.

 

1. Moonlight Moth Fairy Haunting , 2. Stirling Silver Smokey Quartz Necklace ,

3. Moonlight tree ring , 4. Kiss Me Under the Moonlight,

For those women in our midst who may be considering conceiving, well now is most definitely the time to do it! Run girls run! But watch for the masses of those on earth who may be thinking about a political, religious, or social revolution. Yes, that’s right, historical revolutions are in part to blame during a full moon, and the solar wind cycles during this time.

Never to worry though, seriously you aren’t thinking of doing anything silly were you?

Have a moony kind of day, careful when you play, and watch the moon tonight, she is all that and more wouldn’t you say?

Sam

Tudorly love...

Kings Queens and all that’s in between ….

I have to admit, recently we changed our television viewing from Comcast Cable, to Direct TV, and I am glad we did. I was somewhat worried about storms and satellite coverage, but alas the spring rains have no where been as normal as in recent years. One of the most interesting and entertaining shows I have become addicted to “The Tudors” on the Starz network. Being quite a history buff, I love what my husband coins “sword” movies not for the blood, gore, and sword yielding reign of terror throughout the 1400-1500’s, but for the realism in the way in which society held the laws of the land, civilized or not. And, of course with modern day entertainment, the producers choose attractive actors to play the parts of the Monarchy, the courts, and the law makers. I am almost certain however, based on historical artistic impressions of the kings, and queens, ladies in waiting, and close aides to the monarchy were probably not as charming as television would have us believe. But, humanity is still humanity, and the pride does come before the fall, with the seduction of the human body, soul, mind, and of course the power that goes with monarchical duties.

I am three seasons behind in the series, so I will probably have to catch up on netflix for seasons one, two and three, but thank goodness for netflix and the progression of history over hours, rather than years in Hollywood.

What a charming family!

But of course, I will not deny myself today of featuring some adorable vintage elizabethan wares from etsy, and I bode you well in your afternoon duties!

Spa Day Cuff Bracelet

 

 
 Elizabethan Lace Choker

 

Tudor Rose Renaissance Style Formal gosset gown/wedding gown 

 

archival print "keep calm and carry on"

On that note, have a loverly weekend !

Sam

 

 

 

::Animal Crackers::

Waiter… there’s an animal in my soup!

 

Oh my golly, I do hope you all had a wonderful, fun-filled, sunshine full of cornflake kind of a weekend. Speaking of fun filled, today’s post is all about one of my most favorite passions, that being animals!

Where do I begin with my passion for Mother Nature’s kindest, adoring, and respectful creation… the animal? I do remember my most distant but vivid memory of once trying to save a poor black bird from the jaws of my kitty cat, so many years ago, and begging my mum to take me to the Vet, so I could save this poor dying darling. Needless to say, the vet tried his hardest to help me feel better in knowing, I should take my feathered friend home to rest some, keep him warm, and wait. He died within hours, but I had a burial, a good cry, and I managed to construct a little cross for the head of the mound under the rose bushes in my grandpa’s garden bed. Kitty was not in my favorite books for a week or so after, but the things we do for the love of nature. So, my memorable moments spent with animals over the years, have been many, sad, happy, and loving memories, and up to today, all of them, and my animals still linger in my admiration for animals, and loving and caring for them.

 

 

 

Baby Giraffe-(c) Sharon Montrose

I wonder how many times you have saved an animal from the jaws of death, or taken in a stray cat, or dog, or bird, or even a worm in the darkest of hours. One of my favorite photographers I have discovered recently is Sharon Montrose. Sharon’s ability to catch the primitive, natural rawness of nature is surpassed only by the animal themselves, and believe me, her photography shows this in every adoring shoot.

 

Baby Raccoon-(c) Sharon Montrose

 

Her love of animal photography started while taking several shots of her family dogs, which grew to a need to photograph other animals, from raccoons, to giraffes, to eagles, to bunnies. All the animals you can think of she has, or will photograph. Her shop on etsy and her website is just gorgeous. On her blog, she relays stories about animals that come across her daily career, and she reveals so many uplifting stories. Do stop by on her blog, and have a read!

 

Prairie Dogs- (c) Sharon Montrose.

 

Have a happy afternoon! Pat a cat, take a doggy for a walk, or just sit and listen to the birds for a while, they are all waiting for your love :)

 

Sam

Paper Sparrow

Paper Sparrow

Artist, Musician, and vintage seller, Andrea Lauren, sure knows a thing or two about combining creativity in many forms. I stumbled across her shop earlier last week, and fell in love with her adorable forest like depictions of animals in her jewelry, paintings, and prints.

 

 
Dancing Raccoons

Compact, cute, and unique Andrea also uses her artwork in brooches, pendents, mirrors, and necklaces something I find one of a kind, and furthermore her journey as an artist can be read about on her blog. But Andrea does not stop at one etsy shop, she also has a vintage style repetoire, offering up absolute items, that suit the vintage lover to say the very least, including full outfits, to shoes, to purses, and jewelry. What more can the vintage obsessed ask for ? Her vintage wares can be found at Pegasus Vintage. 

Ever After Pendant   

I just love Andrea's works!

Have a wonderful morning, afternoon, and be sure to get some sun today... it's there for the taking .

 

 

Sam

  

Stylin Wise

Stylin wise

 

How is everyone doing today?

Here in the South, it looks as if we are about to get a downpour of torrential type rains, but either way, whether we do or not, I will be ready for them that's for sure. Over the weekend, I managed to broadcast some seeds in my beds for the summer and end of spring flowering season, and even if the perennials do not come up as strong this year, they will look marvelous next season! And, speaking of looking marvelous, I have put together a cute outfit today for the evening out, or even for getting out and about in.

I found an adorable pair of vintage levi jeans that have bell bottoms, and will go perfect with a t-shirt, clutch, slip-on shoe/sneaker and some earings and necklace to boot it all together. The jeans are adorable and can be found at OnceownedTwiceloved on etsy. I found them earlier this morning, and so happened to find out that the vintage seller lives just a stone’s throw away! I used a pair of Roxy 'Brisas' Shoe, simply because they look natural, and offset the outfit perfectly. Anyway here is the collection, all is for sale on etsy, and at Roxy.com, and can be ready to wear now.

 Top Left: My Brain on Spring t-shirt, Top Middle: Vintage Brooch Necklace, Top Right: Roxy 'Brisas' Shoe , Middle Left : Large Jenbaby, Middle Center: NWT Vintage 1970's levi bell bottom , Bottom Left : Opalite dangles-silver .

For this afternoon, I will be heading off to work some, but tomorrow I will be posting some shop help on photography for selling online. Having great photo's online is one of the most important aspects of selling to a prospective buyer. The buyer cannot hold, touch, smell, or imagine your product in their hands, but with good photographing skills, backdrops, and props, they have the ability to picture your product that much easier. 

Have a glorious wednesday afternoon .... see you all tomorrow !

  Sam

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." -Galileo Galilei.

Clever Betty

Clever Betty

The etsy forums are a place that buyers, sellers, and outside online browsers can learn a thing or two from. Needless to say however, I have learnt so much from the forums. Some postings are so helpful; you stand there scratching your head thinking ‘why didn’t I think of that?’Other postings are downright hilarious, and very much remind me of the local pubs, back home in Australia.

The forums have also become a place of solace to some. There are some days where you may not have sold anything in your shop, or a transaction went back of the woods, or like me, you end up browsing the forums for a great laugh. Either way eventually one finds exactly what they came there for. And, that’s exactly how I met Clever Betty. And, after having a chit chat, I asked artist and etsy seller Lauren Zelazek owner of Clever Betty if she would mind being my feature artist of the week on Eda Doreen.  

So, I asked Lauren a few questions or two, which would help the indie artist out a little.

Welcome Lauren!

First things first, where did you begin in this chosen career?

I'm one of those "art was always my favorite subject in school" kinds. Hands-on activities have always kept my attention for much longer than working math problems or typing up a book report. I started sewing sometime in middle school when I found out I was going to have to take a FACS class and sewing was involved, so I wanted to be ahead of the game. I got hooked, and spent weekends in high school with my best friend and her grandma in their sewing room, learning the "right way" to sew. I tend to do things my own way now.

I earned a bachelor of fine arts in art with an emphasis in graphic design (to "make some money," ha!.) I worked for Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine straight out of college, and was constantly surrounded by people and images of the things that I could see myself doing for a living. The magazine, unfortunately, was shut down by its publishing company, so I took that as a sign I should get to researching how I was going to go about starting a business. I spent well over a year (back to that attention span thing- numbers and writing...) doing so, and finally opened up shop this January.

 

Lauren Zelazek 0wner- Clever Betty

What inspires you to keep creating and selling in the indie art business?

Probably thousands and thousands of other sellers- on Etsy, people I've seen locally at craft shows, those that have "quit their day jobs" and are living the dream by creating for others' enjoyment. In particular, I'm kind of a fabric fanatic and wouldn't mind being a fabric designer someday, so Anna Maria Horner and Amy Butler are both women whose work I admire. (Not to mention their gorgeous families and homes!) My family is very encouraging of my work so they're definitely also part of my inspiration.

 

Grocery Bag Set

Where do you want to go with your craft Lauren?

I would love to be one of those quit-your-day-jobbers featured on the Etsy Storque! But first things first- I know it's going to take a while to get there. I'm working on getting the word out that Clever Betty exists right now, and hope to do some local craft shows this year to start.

 

Corduroy foldover clutch

Do you have any Tips for other new sellers?

Research! You definitely don't have to spend as much time as I did doing so, but definitely check out the market for what you want to sell. Why should anyone buy your product in particular and not someone else's? Also, make sure you stay legal. You'll have to check out what the laws are where you live- but make sure you register to pay taxes, have a retail sales license, are compliant with city and county laws and anything else that might apply to your state/country. It's a lot of work, but it's a lot more work to have to come back and do all of this later once your business is successful- the IRS in the US will definitely make sure they get every penny that they're owed, and then some, if you're not careful. Finally, always remember why it is that you started crafting. Cranking out products to make a quick buck is one thing, but making products that you put your heart and soul into and are proud that someone would want to purchase is what it's all about.

 

Awesome tips and a very inspiring story thank you Lauren!

Lauren Zelazek
Owner, Clever Betty
www.cleverbetty.etsy.com