hey remember me? i'm here!
i've been trying to get all the loose ends tied up for my b&m and finish up custom orders and keep new stuff in the
etsy shop... it's been hard! for all the times i've said my store will be open in about a month, this time i mean it. the floor will be done by the end of the week and then there are just a few minor details to take care of.
in retrospect, i'm glad it has taken almost 2 years to get the store open. i feel so much more focused on what i want it to be now than i was before. my own designs have come a long way and i have a ton of fresh ideas i'm excited to implement. although i do also feel like i've forgotten some of the business aspects of being in local retail, i'm sure it will all come back to me. it's like riding a bike, right?
i saw a great
idea on flickr for your etsy shop. it would be much easier for a new seller to start than someone who already has many sales under their belt, but i still like it. it would be very interesting to be able to just look at a map (rather than boring paper work) to see where your stuff travels to. friends often ask me where my clothes go the most. truth is, i'm not quite sure. all over the world, lots to australia, europe... it seems to be a pretty fair split between domestic and international.
i just changed my
shop banner to something more appropriate for how i've been feeling lately. some people place so much importance on what's 'in' this season, trends, blah, blah, blah. popular opinion this, popular opinion that. i'm admittedly very obsessed with clothing- love people watching, love shopping- all that. but i don't give an eff what gwen stefani or whatever the celebuturd-of-the-week is wearing.
i recently made this dress for a show a friend put together. he likes the obnoxious as much as i do, so a dick dress was perfect for the event.
i listed it on etsy and it got way more attention than i expected. lots of "where would you wear that?", "
who would wear that?" questions that i find rather boring. who would wear it? someone more adventurous than you. where would they wear it? wherever they want! it's too bad the etsy view counter exploded. that dress had almost 2,000 views in just a few days. oh, and it might be in a summer issue of Playgirl magazine. i'm afraid i'll jinx myself if i say it definitely is.
i'm excited to say that i have been asked to submit a project for a book. it's the authors second book and i'm thrilled she asked me. i don't know exactly when the book will be finished, but i'll have everything ready for her soon- i'm doing a little tutorial. yay!
i've been sewing my butt off lately. i've been working on a new series of jellyfish. there's only
one left in my shop right now, but i should have more soon. i also started doing some smaller octopi so they'll fit on more clothes.
you can see that shirt
here. i was working on a commission project (yes, another project) but all my appliques are too big for it, so i came to terms with the fact that i should be doing a few smaller, more versatile appliques. which is also sort of how
the bouffant girl came about. but back to octopi. i was watching
The Blue Planet and about flipped when i saw the Dumbo octopus.
here it is looking like some freak combo of a vintage squeaky toy and Robert Crumb's "keep on truckin' guy" with the exaggerated shoe. when it flapped it's ears to glide away i was prompted to make this-
yeah, yeah, Dumbo was an elephant and this is a
bunny. let's not split hares.
sorry, i
had to. g'nite!
it took far longer than it should have. i'm not totally in love with it yet- it needs some tweaking. i want to scatter some buttons around it but i don't know if i'll get the time. i have so many other things i should be doing to get my store ready to open. but for now, i need a nap.
