Merchants Landing Arts & Craft Show

I'm so excited that I have another show on the calendar!


These ladies participated with me at the Make It Indie fair back in November and reached out to me to join them in their first annual show this April.  I have to say I was definitely honored that they reached out to me and were patient as I searched my mind for an answer.  Of course I wanted to scream yes right away, but knowing that the show weekend (April 12 & 13) is the weekend after my due date, I had to consider newborn care first.  After talking with my midwife, husband (who was supportively pushing me in this direction), and a few other friends with kids, I decided to go with the "ambitious" decision to commit.  And now I'm so excited & ecstatic that I did!

So if everyone will just send positive, slightly early-labor thoughts my way, I'd really appreciate it! hehe.  :)

2014 Goals

I know it may seem a little late to be posting goals for the new year, but these have been swirling in my head since the end of January and I think they are finally ready to be listed and documented.  Not to mention by publishing them I can hold myself accountable and keep myself on track for the year.

  1. Finally get my Tax/ Incorporation in order.  Aka, am I a sole proprietor or LLC?  I meet with my uncle who does taxes for a living to figure this out next week.  :)
  2. Commit to at least one show/fair/market per month.  Obviously I missed the first three months this year but so far I'm on track to start in April with the Merchant's Landing Show April 12 & 13.
  3. Post to this blog once a week.  If more is happening that's worth posting about, I'll be sure to post it as well, though it may be less wordy.  Who is ok with just a picture post once in a while?
  4. Get my wares into a physical brick & mortar store.  More to come on this once things are settled.  I'm currently talking with two different shops and it just makes me super excited for new possibilities!
I've also started reading this great book that has some nice exercises (I'm not usually a fan of "exercises" in a book) that really spoke to me after I met my goal of doing 1-3 physical shows in 2013.  I felt so empowered and excited I couldn't wait to make more goals for this year & feel an even bigger empowerment at the end of this year.  Thus my mind has really started opening to the possibilities because of this book & it has really inspired some energy in me for this year's success.


So far my favorite passage is on goals & goal setting (thus inspiring this organized post instead of just a note to self on a scrap piece of paper):

Goals are really amazing things.  They give you focus and set your course.  [...]  Goals support Intentions.  By actively working on these goals, the end result will be accomplished.  You can use your intentions to make sure you keep your business on track. [...]  Your goals should be your friends; they should excite you, and you should look forward to working toward them.  Goals are not chores.
Exercise: Make a list of all the goals you've had since you decided to be a creative business owner.  Now circle all the goals that you've already accomplished.
Quote from Jolie Guillebeau: "Take small steps consistently.  Do something every single day to make a little progress toward your goal." 
Grow Your Handmade Business - Kari Chapin

Anyone read anything inspiring lately?

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I'm Back!

See?  What did I tell you.  Without a deadline I don't get anything done :(  I don't really know what kicked my butt into gear, but last week I opened an email for Etsy on Success (selling on Etsy) and normally I don't have time to even read them but this time I did and boy did it get my attention!  I couldn't believe how much energy welled up inside of me to get moving on this shop.

On top of that email, I had a few other motivators:
*I sold a dishcloth - right off my needles! - back in July while I was babysitting.  I hung that $5 on my bulletin board to remind me that I can do this.  I just need to start and stop being so afraid of failing.  Even the lady that bought it from me told me I need to sell them and that she loves them.  Which always helps to know that I'm not just making some boring thing :)
*This week: an old high school friend of mine stopped by to buy a quart of (homemade) applesauce from me and ended up buying 2 scarves, a hat and a matching pair of mittens from me!  And promised to tell me to her friends (to buy hats, scarves, etc).  All of a sudden I didn't feel silly wanting to sell my articles like I have all the years past.  All of a sudden I felt like I had something to offer that was worth someone paying me to make.  :)   So...
*Last night I ordered business cards listing my Etsy shop from vistaprint.  Now I'm hooked.

I really want this to work and I feel like I finally have a confidence behind my desire to finally put it into gear and drive this passion.  Heck, I even asked a few of my co-workers today about their experiences selling on Etsy and ended up getting numbers to get together over coffee & swap notes on the process.  So we'll see where it goes from here.  :)