New Items Posted!

I finally finished my purses! My purses have been one of my forgotten projects. I finished added the last touches to two of them yesterday and today they have been added to my shop.



They are both made form the same pattern concept. I say concept because I have a serious problem following patterns. I usually end up with a great final project but a lot of times the space in between start and finish is a head ache. So I have stopped using patterns for directions but more inspiration.



These two purses are made in a simple two piece concept; one is the strap, the other the body. Inside is lined with fabric usually from the scrap section of the fabric store( I hate wasted fabric).

I will hopefully have more of these purses in my shop in the coming months. Now I can cross off finishing these purses from my forgotten projects list.

Yart Sale and ReUseable products

So the first Etsy Yart sale is drawing to a close. I unfortunately did not sell any of my yart sale items. I did sell one item that was not apart of my yart sale, which made me extremely happy. The item was small but every little sale makes me happy.

The item sold was my Crochetd Brown ReUseable Coffee Cozy(that is one long name for an item).

I thought that this would have been more popular of an item seeing as many people drink coffee and reusing a drink cozy is very eco-friendly. I truly think that Etsy sellers and buyers are not as "green" as one may think. I would hope that the Etsy community would be and would be looking for ways to decrease waste or natural resources.

I do see a great deal of sellers who recycle in their shop, but I wonder how hard core these individuals are about the environment. I hope that they would all be doing their best to preserve our resources.

I understand that some people do not have the ability to partake in certain environmentally practices. My boyfriend and I would love to be able to recycle more, but our apartment complex does not recycled. We have to find a place to drop off our glass and plastics. We already recycle plastic bags by taking them to Giant Eagle and we drop off paper at our local churches and schools that have recycle dumpsters.

The things we don't have control over are the things we can't afford to use or do. We both cannot afford new cars. My boyfriend's gets better gas mileage than mine but we are still using a lot more gas to get from point a to point b than we would like. We not only cannot afford to use solar panel but also are not allowed to add such items to our apartment.

I hope that people who can afford to make changes in their lifestyles do. Even if it is only by not using a new paper cozy every time they order their coffee from the coffee shop.

Granny Square Blanket Number One

As I said in my last post I was going to start working on depleting my large supply of yarn. My first project was a sage green baby blanket. This blanket is made in a Granny Square pattern. I love granny squares because they are not only fast and easy but have a great pattern that is so much more interesting than straight rows.

I am very proud of myself for listing this item right away. I usually hang on to things and let them pile up till "I have more time"( my usual excuse). Finishing an item and listing it as soon as possible is the best way to make the most of my product. A product that sits around in my apartment not in my Etsy Shop is wasted product.

Here is the blanket:

What to work on next...

I have decided that I have listed as many items that I can for a while and will now work piece by piece. Almost all my items from the gift shop are listed except for one large blanket that I think I am going to donate to a friends charity event( Or keep for myself). I'm actually quite in love with the afghan and am having trouble parting with it.

Here's a pic:



I am very proud of this one because it is my first granny square afghan. I know I will make more, actually thats what I plan to do with all my scrap pieces of yarn. I think I can get a decent amount for it on etsy. Yet I am feeling separation anxiety.

I think I need to get over it and just list the darn thing. I can always make another one for myself. As far as the charity event, I'm not really sure what going on with that or even when it is. I really need to get a hold of her to figure out what she wants and when. The charity event would be good publicity as well as a chance to help out a very sick little boy. I think charity is going to win.

As for what I am going to do next, well more granny square blankets! I have so many ends of skeins to use up and I can't think of a better way to use them. I have decided that after I use up all my yarn that I will start buying from etsy sellers only. I want to use more eco-friendly yarns and help support the handmade community. I will definitely be blogging more about this later.

A "Real" Artist not a "Cheap" Artist

I've been think about the pricing in my photography shop and wondering if I am selling myself short. Someone told me that I was in my crochet shop and that I should not settle for less that what the quality of my items demand. I don't want to be thought of as a "cheap" shop. I put a lot of hard work and effort into my items. So a little while ago I raised some of my prices so that my shop would not look "cheap."

I think of it this way. I want my shop (ANiemanCrochet) to look like a Sleek Contemporary Crochet Shop, as my tag line states. Look at it a month ago it did not resemble anything like what my tag line suggests. Over the past month I have put a lot of effort into cleaning up shop and I think it is coming together nicely.

The economy is difficult right now but I do not want to cheat myself. I could have a profitable, successful business if I make the right moves. Making cheap items and pricing them cheap is one thing. Making quality items and pricing them accordingly is another. I have a great deal of pride in my products.

In the beginning I was afraid of overpricing but after two years on Etsy I think I have seen what people list at and what people are willing to pay for things. My lack of business, I can safely say is not due to my pricing. It has everything to do with my marketing. This is a huge revelation and I am glad I have finally come to it.


This leads me to my other shop. Looking around at the other photographers on Etsy, I would have to say that my images are cheap. I believe that I am a great artist, although still learning a lot about photography and my skills. I am cheating myself of what my art is really worth. So therefore I no longer will be selling my at a such a cheap rate. My prices will increase by the end of this month.

So why and I announcing this? Why not just do it and hope no one notices? This is why:
I want people who do notice to understand why I am doing so. I also dislike companies that keep things from consumers. I also want people who do pay attention to my blog or shop to be able to have a last chance to purchase my art at the lower pricing. It is only fair to give you a chance to buy my art at a lower price and hopefully you will come back when they are at higher prices because you think that my art and customer service is worth it.

Thank you for your time!
Have a Great Day!
ali

Its Friday!

Well, I don't have too much to talk about today. Its been a pretty uneventful week as far as the shop are concerned. I have had another week of no sales. I really feel that I need to promote myself more, but with the lack of funds to do so it is quite hard.

I know I should be blogging more but I am drawing a blank for what I should be talking about. I need some topics. So I am calling for TOPICS!

Please leave some comments or feedback with some topics you would like me to cover.

Some things about me that you might need to know:
I have a degree in Textiles and Clothing focusing in Residential Design from OSU.
I work at Dillard's full time.
I am the owner of both ANiemanCrochet and ANiemanPhotography.

Thanks for your help!

Selling my Photography as Supplies

Recently I asked for some critiques through the forums of my A. Nieman Photography shop. Someone brought up the fact that some of my statements in my shop policies were unclear. They also poised the question, what if an etsy seller would like to use my art work in theirs.

Here's the answer: I would love to have some use my photographs in their own art work etc. The only thing I ask is that there is full disclosure on where they purchased the photograph. By this I mean that I am given credit within the listing, stating that the artwork used in the item was taken by myself.

I don't think that that is too much to ask. A link to my shop would be appreciated. I would also love to work with the seller and promote them here on my blog. I feel that if they would like to use my photos that it is not only a way for them to promote my shop but for me to promote them. It would be a thank you for their purchase and honesty.

I'm going to start adding the tag of supply to my digital photos for this reason. I think it should give me more exposure and maybe help spark sellers imaginations for the use of my art. My aim is to become a great resource for crafters!

Here are some of my latest additions:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11840912



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11758830



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11531360

Thank you and Have a Nice Day!!!

ANiemanPhtotgraphy

I'd like to take a post and promote my other Etsy shop. ANiemanPhotography

Here I sell my photographs as image files. They are priced by file size. ( 1 mb = $1). I also sell prints in various sizes.

I have not had any sales in this shop so I wanted to post a blog and share the thumbnails I use to hopefully increase business.

I am selling the files to be used as either desktop wallpapers, screen savers, or stock photos. They can be used in the ever popular digital photo-frames. All I ask is that you are ethical with their use. You can even get have the images printed yourself.

The file that you buy will not have my copyright on it and it will be much larger in size. This means that it will have better quality for large screens or printing.

I am not very greedy with my photography. I love it and wish to do more of it one day. I think art should be affordable and easily obtained by all.

Please enjoy and have a nice day!

Some new Stuff on Etsy

This past week I took a bunch of items out of my booth at the gift shop to make room for some new items. These items I think were either too big for the shop or I priced them too high to begin with. They now have new prices and great pictures, that I think will help them sell.

I have posted four so far in my shop, a red and green throw, a trivet, a set of coasters, and a green and white afghan. They are all pictured in this post.

I am planning on removing items from my booth at the end of each season. I will lower the prices and post them on Etsy. This will hopefully decrease my inventory as well as promote online sales.

I am also going to take some business classes. The University of Akron offers some continuing education classes. There are a bunch I would love to take but I think I am going to start with How to Start Your Own Business. I think It will help me with my crocheting and Photography as well as my Interior Design.

Design to Save the World

I'm sure I have talked about it before but I have another blog.

www.designtosavetheworld.blogspot.com

I have been trying to turn it into a resource for people to find Eco-friendly, organic and green products. Each day I have posted a different seller in a spotlight to share their work. It is not a length feature just something for people to check out and get an idea about teh seller and what they offer.

It is important to me to share sellers that have similar values as I do about the environment. Please stop by my other blog and fill out the survey if you feel you are an eco-seller. I'm trying to be able to do it everyday and will notify you when I post a feature.

If you are not an etsy seller please fill out the survey and add the information you think I should share about you and your eco products. I welcome all to fill out the survey.

Thanks so much!

I sold something!

I finally sold my Halloween Colors Accent Pillow! It was one of the first pillows I had ever made! The lucky new owner is a Halloween collector, which couldn't be a more perfect fit!

This pillow is a contemporary interpretation on Halloween and the colors! Crochet is art!