Bye Gonzolyn :(

Gonzolyn was the best cat that ever lived.  A little ball of fur perpetually on my lap. A presence 100 times as big as her mere 4 pounds and a heart even bigger.  She was named after Speedy Gonzalez because she was mostly just a blur when she was little and I know she's back to chasing all things shiny in kitty heaven.

I survived!!

Yes, my anxiety had me a little neurotic this last month or so waiting for my first craft fair.  I started making my unique jewelry designs less than 4 months ago and even though I have not sold much it has been a whirlwind.  I started a website, a shop on Etsy and I'm trying to master the world of on-line sales (much more complicated than I could have ever imagined).  I was able to get my jewelry displayed in a store and I am involved with the group that is working on establishing a community market in the small town I live.  Then I was in a craft fair for the first time.

The fair was in a gorgeous new building in down town Madison WI.  The parking was very limited and apparently the organizers did very little advertising.  The only advertising anyone knew about was ads in the student newspapers.  We all know that college students are not known for having a lot of money.  So, the turnout was very low.  I have some mixed feelings about this.  If it had been really busy I would have been really anxious and may have felt really overwhelmed and unprepared.  BUT, as it turned out I just barely sold enough to cover my booth fee and I did not cover the cost of transportation and food for the day.

I was able to meet a lot of the other vendors and enjoyed getting to know some really remarkable artists.  I still have to go through the business cards I collected and I will make sure to give a shout out to them.

I am fairly happy with my display and got a few positive comments.  I few people really liked the business cards, tags and banners my amazing husband designed for me.

Overall, I loved the set up, the other vendors and how my display turned out but I definitely would have liked a better turn out.  I'm signed up for another fair in March for a fundraiser craft fair and fashion show.  So, we will see how that goes.  I'm still debating whether or not I want to apply for any more for this year.  If I do I also need to make sure the times are shorter.  Seven hours in a chair I am not used to is too hard for my Fibromyalgia.  I am still very sore today so I probably shouldn't put my body through that again.

Yikes!

Tomorrow is the big day...My first every craft fair.
Art from the Heart at Memorial South in Madison WI


I'm so nervous!  What if no one likes it?  What if no one buys anything?  What if my fibro pain is too much to bare?

I took 2 days off of work so I can make sure I am ready to go first thing in the morning.  My amazing hubby also created new business cards for me and a banner to hang.

I should just title every blog "Another First" because I keep delving into new adventures.  Yesterday I met with a group of people who are interested in doing a farm market in my little town of Edgerton WI.  Some people tried last year but it flopped.  This year we are hoping to be a little more organized.  My hubby wants to do social media and other marketing and I'm going to have a stand for my jewelry.  I can't think of anything more lovely than sitting outside on Saturday mornings, talking to my neighbors and possibly selling a few items.  I can also bring my supplies and create while I'm out there.

I am also working on some new designs which have become really popular.  Some really loopy necklaces and headbands which I don't have any pictures for yet.

This first one sold within a few hours of listing it at www.AlyxAndreaDesign.etsy.com

https://www.etsy.com/listing/122575866/pale-green-beads-dark-brown-ribbon

https://www.etsy.com/listing/122544390/large-loops-pink-and-grey-ribbon-and

Etsy Teams and Another First

It's been about 3 months since I first opened a shop on Etsy.  I took a picture of a necklace I made using my phone, uploaded the pic to my store and added a price.   Absolutely nothing happened because the picture was terrible and the description was worse.

Then I discovered teams.  Teams are little forums with groups of people with common interests.  There are teams for asking questions or posting new items or for just about anything you can think of.  I found a lot of good information and even got a full shop review from the "Helpful Relevancy Team."

The best team a person could ever find is the "Promotional Frenzy Team."   You need to have 500 people following your shop in order to join which I had to work really hard to get to.  But once you are welcomed into this amazing group of people that are becoming friends the rewards are limitless.  I have gotten a ton of advice on how to improve my pics, descriptions and other aspects of selling on Etsy.  My views have skyrocketed because everyone on the team must participate in activities which involve promoting each others items on Etsy and with social media.

I can also thank these incredible people at  "PromoFrenzy" for helping me get my first sale. It happened less than a week after I was allowed to join.

I spend a lot of time on this forum both chatting with team members and promoting their items. It's fun and extremely helpful.  If I'm feeling discouraged I get encouragement, if I'm having difficulties with my photos I get advice, if something positive happens I get applause.

I've actually withdrew myself from most of the teams I joined initially because they were basically just post and run teams.  Meaning you post a link to your item and it just sits there and no one does anything with it.  Basically a huge waste of time.

One other fairly helpful team has been the "Wisconsin Craft Fair Explorers."  They don't seem to be terribly active but I found out about a craft fair that will be in Madison on February 9th.  So I applied for the "Art from the Heart Craft Fair" which is juried and got excepted. I was really excited for about 2 seconds and then I realized that I had no idea what craft fairs involve and I have nothing to use for a display.

So I started Googling and got some ideas.  I decided to see if I could find anything unusual to use for displays at thrift stores.  I hit the jackpot on my first try.

The store had a ton of these new but not put together well table top easels.

I bought 6 for $6 each!!  I tightened the screws and good as new.  I also bought 2 tall candle holders with leaves that will be great for hanging necklaces off of.

I used ornament hooks to hang necklaces off of the raised part of the easel and ta da.....

I'm still a little nervous about the fair.  I'm not much of a salesperson, I'd much prefer to give things away.  Plus I'm terrified that no one will like my jewelry.

I took the 2 days before the fair off work so I can prepare and also shield my co-workers for my neurotic self.  I'm sure I will be a nervous wreck and I will wonder around asking everyone I meet if I'm nuts for thinking I can do this and complaining I'm going to fail miserably.

Of course I'm fairly certain I will be just fine and I really do think I design jewelry that is unlike anything else available for people to buy but also beautiful and looks good.  Sometimes there is a reason why no one makes something - it's not good but I don't think my design is one of those things.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/121146895/elegant-pale-pink-and-mint-bead-and

So if you are anywhere near Madison WI on February 9th, stop by Union South on University Ave. for Art from the Heart.

Rollin'

Maybe the sales aren't exactly "rollin" in but I'm getting a couple.  I got my very first sale on Etsy today.  I screamed so loud I nearly gave my husband a heart attack.  A woman actually purchased 2 already made pieces and requested a custom made necklace in order to have 3 necklaces with heart pendants to give to her 3 grandchildren.  I also sold 2 necklaces at Edge Comics and Games/Art Market in Edgerton WI.  Combine that with the few items I've sold to friends and I may be breaking even :-p

Another bit of excitement was coming in first place in an Etsy contest this week.  It was kind of funny because the first contest I was in I places at nearly 200 out of probably 200, who knows.  Each time a piece was featured I went up a little by little and I was happy to rank under 100 in the last one.  The most recent pick was actually a necklace my 12 year old daughter made (the Alyx in AlyxAndrea Design).

It's been a really tough week at work so it was good to have some good news.  I client of mine died of an overdose after 2 years of sobriety.  She had suffered a lot of loss over the last year and I guess it got to be too much.  What is really tragic is that she was was using her experience with addiction to help others.  She was returning to school for Human Services, volunteering and sharing her story at speaking engagements whenever possible.  My husband had interviewed her awhile back for a documentary he is doing on homelessness in the city I work in.  I'm thinking it will be very painful to watch when it is finished.  If possible I hope that her legacy will live on as evidence of the devastating affects of addiction.  You can work so hard, go to treatment, by motivated to your core and it can sneak back up on you just like that.

So like I said, it was good to get some good news.  After typing this I feel a little guilty about being so excited about something so trivial in comparison but part of working in social services it separation.  Separating yourself, your life and you feeling from you job.  Sometimes I feel like my heart is turning to stone because I can hear the most unimaginably tragic stories of trauma in the lives of people without safe homes and it barely fazes me sometimes.  As a whole it takes a great toll on my mind, body and spirit but I have to put up a little bit of a wall to protect myself.  Everyone in this field experiences a little bit of secondary trauma meaning that we are actually traumatized by hearing and empathizing with the traumatic stories of others.

One of the things I really enjoy about making jewelry is that it helps me take my mind off work and having other people like what I make is an very exciting added bonus.

Yearly Christmas craft project

When my daughter was 2 months old I was extremely poor for her first Christmas so instead of purchasing a gift for my mother I started a tradition.  I traced out my daughters hand and put it on a tree skirt with her name and date on it.  Since then I have made a new hand print every year.  I actually make 2, one for my mother and one for my tree.

This isn't the greatest pic but this is what it looks like right now.

My crazy child is not 12 and I'm not entirely sure if her big ol' hand print will fit on the skirt for many more years but I will keep making them.

This year I decided to use bead and ribbon to represent the new business venture my daughter and I started this year.

Now that I'm only moderately poor rather than extremely poor I kind of dread the time and energy it takes to make these every year but I actually enjoyed making this years because I am just so excited about this new venture.

Do you partake in any holiday crafting traditions?

Bugs

What is it about creepy crawlers that are so obnoxious and or gross when they're in your house or crawling up your shirt but sooooo much fun when on jewelry.  In high school I loved spiders and never took off a spider web necklace.  I still love spiders but I absolutely love this bee pendant I found at Hobby Lobby.  This is one of the first necklaces I made and also the first one I wanted to keep for myself.  But since I'm having a hell of a time trying to sell anything anyway I figured I'd put it on my Etsy shop.  So I can still wear it until it sells :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlyxAndreaDesign

My first few necklaces just featured little charms and buttons on the side tied bow and this was the first time I put a pendant on one.  I still kept put buttons on the bow that was tied on the side which I have since moved away from.  I am now keeping most of my necklaces left untied so that you can tie it to any length in the back.

Do you like insects in fashion?  If so what kind?