The Integral Workings of Etsy

Starting up the Etsy shop this year has been an interesting process.  Before I set it up in favour of my old costuming site which is being emptied and will be closed when my contract ends I did a huge amount of research.  There’s a wealth of information within Etsy itself about *how to do this, why not try that, this is what worked for some people etc*.

And it’s a very supportive selling arena with lots of teams and forums and blogs and – well, there’s enough there to have me at the PC all day if I had the time.

One very interesting investigation I did was into the pricing recommendations made by not only Etsy but by other seller communities, two of which are based here in the UK.  They were almost polar opposites in their advice.  here in the UK the advice was, *make lovely things, make sure you get back what it cost to make it, but you probably can’t charge for your time, people won’t want to pay if you add in your time….*

What??  Do it for free then?  Don’t factor in any product research (who else makes these? what do they charge? how will it be packaged? where are they made?), resourcing materials at best price, plus packaging and little finishing touches, a proportion of time for photos and editing them and for the time it takes to list things?

Etsy on the other hand encourages sellers to offer the most realistic price for the item being offered and to take it on the chin if you yourself would be unable to afford your own items.  They are clear about not underselling yourself and that every single element that goes into your work should be factored in.  That said, if you visit the forums there are plenty of sellers who do as I do which is factor everything in, add it all up, wince a bit and then start adjusting so that you offer a unique item at a reasonable price.

And there are many other factors that go into having an Etsy store – the time it takes to build your links through Treasuries and Circles and forum support…..just as in the real world networking is a major factor into getting people to look at your store – and that’s only from within the world of Etsy.

But here’s the thing – I found a site today called Craftcount that offers an easy way to see who the top sellers are.  And most of them sell a lot of items that are as cheap as chips. Small, simple easy to sell items.  I had already picked this up from the forums but it didn’t really sink in until today.

So my dish of bits and pieces that still need to be photographed and listed will be bolstered by as many cheap as chips items as I can make.

I can feel a stash of earrings coming on……

 

The Octopus

Late last night the Octopus with its sticky, snakey tendrils of self-doubt slunk up behind me and got me all tangled up in myself.

I had thought I’d banished this particular beast, but it just goes to show that you can never take anything for granted when it comes to monsters.

Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Sneak Peek…..

So the photos are rubbish and were taken earlier without proper staging – I just wanted to get a few pics of this one up as I am soooo pleased with it.  It does need a little adjusting, unless you have a smallish head (not freakishly small, just not massive) but the adjustments are going to be easily done.

After various members of Covert Bling tried it on for me tonight I can assure you that if you have long hair this looks sumptuous and I shall make sure to do something that is equally as sumptuous for those with shorter hair.

And, I think I may have found a model for my head-wear instead of Dolly Head….  Sam?  You know who you are!

My Mucha-esque inspired Pearl and Chain Headdress:

 

 

 

 

 

I love this and want to make more more more, and have textile versions planned too…..

The work of Alphonse Mucha inspires me always and although to some it may be hokey and quite possibly pop because of his popularity (no pun intended), I don’t care.  The beautiful, sumptuous, flowing and sensual nature of his work is just irresistible.  Who doesn’t want to look like a goddess?  Really?

In my bedroom I have a signed Bob Masse print of one of Mucha’s Autumn pictures and each time I look at it I wonder why I don’t have more Mucha prints framed in my home.  I’m just an Art Nouveau freak at heart.  When I look at the peas growing in my garden I love the way the pea shoot tendrils snake and curve around one another….I love the way that Mucha romanticises women and their forms and so it cannot help but escape into my work.

I’m happy because this piece has been made with a mixture of contemporary and vintage pieces, and this exact item cannot be reproduced.  So there will be only one…..  I’m happy because it has been weighted to it perfectly on your head without the need for clips and grips (unless you’re going to do some radical moves) and I think that as a Bridal Wear piece, this is just awesome….

Once I get good photos it’ll go up on Etsy.  I’ll keep you posted. xx

The bedtime ballet……

…is in reality more of a fight.

This is about children by the way…

Yes.  I know it’s a bit warm.  And yes, I know it’s light outside.  But for heaven’s sake, surely after being up since silly o’clock small children with busy lives and full tummies should feel the need to go to bed, and sleep.

Not want to get into each others bunks, spill water, need their sleeping bags (sleeping bags!!) and generally feel the need to bang and crash around until I have to steam up-stairs and play the evil mummy card.

I’m no fun when it gets to this point, no eye contact or kisses or kind words, just stern admonishments that they should GET BACK INTO BED.  All totally lost on them the minute I close the door.  My almost three year old is currently over-tired and shouting for the kids who live across and up the road…maybe he hopes they’ll come and save him from evil mummy who keeps making him get back into bed….

Don’t they know I have to write a blog, do some dance practice, make a Mucha inspired headdress for the Etsy shop, do some more dance practice, think about how I’m going to cobble together a costume for Sunday’s performance at Hipnotic (for which I need to practice some more, did I mention that?)

I think I’ll go and eat some chocolate and hope they don’t smell it.