Venetian Vibes

It’s hard for me to believe that almost 1 week has gone by since my last post.  YIKES!  I feel like I have so much to do and not enough energy or time to do it!

I was feeling continually discouraged and frustrated over the past week about my business.  All of a sudden, it seems like I’m starting to get some attention and great feedback.

I’m meeting some wonderful people on Creative Souls, an interactive on-line community for creative persons.  It’s great, it really is…wonderful, wonderful people!

I’ve got items posted on Etsy, eBay, The Fairy Society and Fine Art America.  It seems as though everyone who sees my work enjoys it and likes it…a lot.  That means so much to me.  Slowly, I’m getting some interest and offers for my work, so to speak.  It’s so much to think about, I cannot possibly imagine sorting it all out.

But, I’m going to remain focused and put my immediate effort and resources into perfecting my website and marketing it properly.  I don’t want to get distracted with applying to craft shows or art fairs, diversifying too much, etc at this point in time.

Well, gonna run…today has been a great day for a number of reasons…a very special one, actually which is completely unrelated to my art work.  More about that tomorrow!

Well, I’ve been feverishly working away at things…jewelry, jewelry, jewelry…seems like it’s the only thing I think and talk about these days.

I’ve been up late (’til 4:00 am at least) the past few nights reading this book that the folks at the Stony Creek Bead Gallery suggested as a must read.  The book is called “Marketing and Selling Your Handmade Jewelry,” by Viki Lareau.  The author of the book details her journey as a young retail marketing student who decided to try her hand at upstarting a beading business.  The book is great because the author gives TONS of practical advice about what to do and not do when one is thinking about moving from “beading hobbyist” to “jewelry making business entrepreneur.”

After reading a portion of the book, I was feeling better and actually feeling normal yesterday.  Not so today.

Ms. Viki talks about “ups and downs, highs and lows, etc.”  It seems as though mixed emotions go along with starting this business.  Great.  As if I wasn’t already moody enough before all of this-lol!

I spent hours yesterday entering some of my products onto the Etsy Website.  Of course,  no one at all is making bids on my items on eBay, which doesn’t surprise me.  I know that a lot of people who troll eBay are looking for big bargains.  Many eBayers are not about to put out lots of money on hand-crafted jewelry (or much of anything for that matter).  I am really no different.  I travel to eBay in the hopes of finding really good deals.

 Well, I will just continue to take it “one day at a time.”  I feel like I want to try diversification and attempt the Heritage Festival in Ypsilanti.  John feels like it might be “too much work in too little time.”  Maybe he’s right.

Maybe I just need to forge ahead and be more patient.