August Priorities
My table at the De Anza flea market on August 5th.
Now that I’ve done the early August flea market, it’s time to look at my priorities for the rest of the month. The next De Anza Flea Market is on September 2nd.
Offline
Unique Boutique
The first order of business is to put together my application for the UB jury. The deadline for that is 2.30 on Tuesday afternoon. If I miss it, there won’t be another for a whole month. So this is priority #1 for next week. Wish me luck!
Unnamed Sunnyvale Shop
I enquired at this store a few weeks ago. They said that the owner is there on Mondays and Saturdays and that they are always interested in seeing new crafters. Since there is flexibility here, I think I’ll target Monday 14th. Sooner is better, but I need to prioritize UB.
Chabot College Flea Market
In August the market is on the 19th. My goal is to join in either August or September. The cost is about the same as De Anza, but it’s a longer drive. The sooner I can establish myself there, the more I benefit obviously.
Unnamed shop on the Peninsula
A woman who bought a card from me yesterday mentioned that she has a friend who owns a shop on the Peninsula. She took a business card to give to her friend. The likelihood that anything will come out of that is pretty slim, but it got me thinking that I could make a list of stores I could approach for wholesale deals. That’s a good goal to pursue in August.
Online
Etsy
I turned off ads on Etsy because they were costing me more than they were bringing in and the trend was not positive. It made sense to advertise to get sales and reviews when I was brand new. But I have enough reviews and sales that people know they can trust me. Since I turned off ads I’ve had exactly one sale. Not stellar!
I’m not giving up on Etsy, but I will think hard about which products I want to put on Etsy and which products I’ll put elsewhere. Etsy is no longer the only game in town.
I stitched this card in Golden State Warriors’ colors between customers at the De Anza flea market.
GoImagine
GoImagine is a new handmade platform. As such they don’t have the traffic of Etsy. OTOH they have a serious commitment to handmade and a transparent pricing model. They start at $2.50/month for up to 25 products. I’m thinking of dipping my toe in there.
SquareSpace
This is where you’re reading this blog post. Given that I’m already paying for it, I might as well use it. That’s why my business cards link to this site. I’m handing out business cards at RL events such as De Anza Flea Market. So it makes sense to put more products on this site. The transaction fees are much lower than Etsy’s.
But I need to get serious about Google SEO for Squarespace to be viable.
I’d like to get serious about Pinterest and I’m considering taking a practical course in how to use it for business purposes. It seems a shame to send the traffic to Etsy, but which platform should I send traffic to? Probably Squarespace. Maybe some to GoImagine.
Given how many other things I have in the works, Pinterest may have to wait until the end of the month for my attention.
Instagram hops
Instagram hops are a fun way of connecting with the cardmaking community and getting fresh, seasonal inspiration. I don’t expect to make money from them. They’re just a fun side of the business. Here are the August hops and their themes. I need to make cards for them all.
Summer
August 20, Sun-kissed hues
Yule
August 20, Yule tree
Autumn
August 23, Autumnal colors
Yosemite Cardmaking Kits
Hero Arts’ August kit was inspired by a trip to Yosemite National Park. I thought I’d mention it here, because I know a lot of people in Northern California love Yosemite.
I got the Classic kit, pictured below. It includes a die set inspired by Yosemite, a sentiment stamp set, colored cardstock, brass embossing powder and earth-safe golden glitter. The Premium kit includes everything in the Classic kit and adds a stamp and die set featuring California poppies plus some other goodies.
While I was ordering things from Hero Arts, I also got this super cute stamp and die set featuring a mama bear and her cub. I think Mother’s Day cards with that motif would be popular here in the Bay Area.
Yosemite-inspired cardmaking kit from Hero Arts. This is the Classic version.
