Time to Change

It was inevitable. My website was going to have to change in a major way. Not that I dont love all of you who follow me so loyally, just the opposite is true. I want to very much to give you the best website possible that I have been working feverishly to figure out how best to serve you.

Great Scott! I have found the answer!

Like many of you out there, I am a sports widow. I adore my husband, but I am NOT a fan of watching sports on TV. How do you survive this life of spousal fandom? Lets take the journey together. Maybe we will even learn to appreciate the down-time a little :)

If you are ready to take the wild ride, please sign up for my email newsletter. I will be contacting everyone when the big re-launch happens, and may even have some great surprises!

Top Shop: Waste of Money

You are a crafter. You have a shop on etsy where you sell your handmade creations. You sell a few items a week/month, enough to pay for your supplies and listing fees with maybe a little something extra.

Does this description fit you to a tee? Then it is time for you to make a decision: 
are you a crafter or an entrepreneur?

Hand Stenciled Shirt by Verbing

This is how I answered that question for myself:

• Do you seek out anything and everything that might help you learn to make your shop a success?
• Do you subscribe to newsletters of blogs featuring articles on making your shop work?
• Do you check your shop stats often to see what new ideas have worked for you?
• Do you imagine yourself working full time on your shop?

If you said yes to these questions, you may have the right stuff. Sometimes it takes a little more then you can find online for free to make it as a crafting entrepreneur. You can find that online for prices ranging from $4 to $1000, depending on how much help you think you need.

If you are not putting this effort in already, chances are these programs are a waste of money for you. Enjoy your moderate success. You may stumble upon sales without effort, and you will definitely enjoy making your products, but you will not have wasted your time and money on these serious programs. 

Still interested? I will be sure to highlight some of my favorite programs over the next few weeks.

Geekly Weekly: Greatest Treasury Ever Sold

So you say you want to sell on etsy but your not sure how to get noticed. How about borrowing a little brand recognition from some of the big boys? What is good for us is also good for the brands. Being a "pop icon" means that people will buy anything and everything related to their product. We keep the brand fresh and creative while reminding shoppers that they can still buy the official products in stores.

Or at least that is what I keep telling myself about my golf club covers....

Yarn Goes Gangsta

I am a fiber artist. I have chosen yarn as my medium and my finished products are works of art.

Like many children of the 80's in NYC, I grew up surrounded by some of the great graffiti artists of all time. Haring and Basquet who both started their careers as graffiti artists, transformed the urban landscape.

What an amazing time to live in when 2 movements have converged and have made such a substantial impact on the world. "Yarn Bombing", as the graffiti is called, can be seen all over. Now a documentary is being made to draw more attention to the artists behind it.

Check out this video, and if you feel moved to donate, you can find more information on doing that here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Yarn-Graffiti-Documentary#

Right Tool For The Job

Wood Knitting Needles by Baahurrah

There are many similarities between knitting and golf. One of the most important is using the right tools for the job. As a golfer I would never pick up a driver to putt a few feet, and as a knitter I wouldn't use aluminum straights to knit socks.

So how do you learn what is the right tool for the job? Well in both cases, it is a combination of advice and experience.

When I first began knitting, I was told that the easiest thing to learn on was bamboo. You are less likely to drop stitches because of its "sticky" nature. I loved knitting on them and began investing in bamboo needles in every size. Now I have a collection of needles I barely use. Why? Because once I got past the learning stage, I found out that aluminum needles are a lot "faster" and lighter.

So now its your turn, what have you learned in your craft from experience? 

Top Shop: 13 billion dollars

Handpainted Wooden Pin by StudioFludd

You are not alone in the crafting universe, but if you are making a living at it as your full time job, you are definitely in the minority. According to CODA (craft organization development association), 127,000 people in the US list craft artist as their primary occupation. This, of course, does not include 26,000 painters and sculpters, 137,000 photographers, and all those people who do it on the side.

So why try? The craft business in this country generates $13,800,000,000 in revenue annually. That includes supplies sold and finished products. The average gross income of a crafter is $76,000. That is a pretty nice number for getting to do what you love. 79% work from a home based studio, so you would get to work in your pajamas. 52% of their sales are direct to their customers. That is the one that I found most amazing.

More then half of professional crafter's sales come from selling directly to their customers.

That means you control your own fate. The harder you work towards your goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. Work harder, work smarter, keep your eyes on the prize.

Geekly Weekly: 4 Questions

Passover begins tonight. My favorite part of the tradition has to be the youngest child asking the four questions. In reality, there are 5 questions, something I have never quite understood. Maybe I should add that question to the list this year, making the total 6. Those questions can really add up!

ANYWAY... this week's collection was inspired by the great questions of geek culture. Do you know the answer to life, the universe and everything?