It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to close my jewellery business.
When Mr planet retired 18 months ago and we moved and travelled and lived in a caravan for a year, I thought that I would eventually start going to markets again.....but this is just not going to happen.
I still love designing and making jewellery (and other things) and I adore my beads, but the will to get out there and do the hard hard yards has just gone.
Before we moved I had some really successful outlets - The Nook Leura (a co-operative I was a member of), markets and festivals in the Blue Mountains, Sydney and other parts of New South Wales, plus a few other outlets.
I had an etsy shop which, to be honest was never really worth the time I put into it - selling on a big on-line platform is hard.
But, I have a huge amount of stock!
Silly me.
I am having a sale on over on etsy - 50% off.
I will also be destashing my supplies as I get time to list them.
I hope this will give me the time and inspiration to explore some other areas of my creativity as I have always been a bit of a dabbler, but trying to make and sell stuff kind of gets in the way!
If you would like to get some real bargains head on over to my etsy shop and use the code CLOSINGDOWN at checkout.
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2016
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Welcome back! I'm having a sale.
Going away and off-line for a whole month is hard when you are running a business, so as a little notice that I'm back and I'm in business, I'm offering 20% off across the board in my etsy shop.
You just need to enter the discount code WELCOMEBACK1 at checkout.
Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?
What are you waiting for!
 |
| amethyst and pearl necklace |
Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?
What are you waiting for!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Five Friday Faves - the last on! Blogtoberfest 2013, day 11.
I've decided this will be my last Fabulous Friday Finds...for a while anyway.
I'm going to try something different on Fridays....watch this space.....
So here are a few fabulous finds that I have recently favorited -
How could I go past this? Cloud Atlas is my favorite book!
And what gorgeous colours in this handfelted tunic.
Who doesn't love a handmade book?
Love the styling in Moon Rabbit's photos too.
If I could I would collect salt and pepper shakers....but not sure how they would fit in with my chicken collection....there are other cute ones too - cats, birds, pomegranates....oh, yum!
Loving the amazing colours on these etched copper bracelets.
And how could I not pick this sweet blue mountain brooch.
Look at it!
OK, lovely people that a wrap!
Hope you all have a great weekend.
I'm going to try something different on Fridays....watch this space.....
So here are a few fabulous finds that I have recently favorited -
How could I go past this? Cloud Atlas is my favorite book!
And what gorgeous colours in this handfelted tunic.
 | |
| cloud atlas tunic by LybaV |
Who doesn't love a handmade book?
Love the styling in Moon Rabbit's photos too.
 |
| handbound book by MoonRabbitHandmade |
 |
| porcelain salt and pepper shakers by BackBayPottery |
 |
| etched copper bracelet by annamcdade |
Look at it!
 |
| blue mountain brooch by NariDesignPot |
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Earrings - again, of course! My Creative Space
You know that I love creating earrings?
It's how I started along this crazy path in my life!
One of my first loves was these lovely Czech glass beads.
The come in various shapes and sizes and they are beautiful enough to stand by themselves without a great fuss.
Most of these earrings will be heading up the hill to the gift shop at Everglades Gardens in Leura.
They are also available in my etsy shop.
While I was replenishing my supplies of those I discovered some other czech glass beads - dual colour rondells.
They also need a simple treatment.
I'm joining in with My Creative Space on Village Voices over on kidspot.
Hop on over and join in!
It's how I started along this crazy path in my life!
One of my first loves was these lovely Czech glass beads.
The come in various shapes and sizes and they are beautiful enough to stand by themselves without a great fuss.
Most of these earrings will be heading up the hill to the gift shop at Everglades Gardens in Leura.
They are also available in my etsy shop.
While I was replenishing my supplies of those I discovered some other czech glass beads - dual colour rondells.
They also need a simple treatment.
Oh, and an amazing glass bead that looks like stone - it's called Persian Turquoise. I love it!
These earrings might be an exclusive range in my madeit shop.
I also found some wonderful faceted czech glass beads to add to my collection of long drops with sterling silver ear wires.
Also so simple - so chic!
I'm joining in with My Creative Space on Village Voices over on kidspot.
Hop on over and join in!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Selling on-line
A friend asked me the other day about selling on etsy. She said she wanted to set up a shop but had heard that you had to renew your items all the time to get into treasuries and it worked out quite expensive.
So I thought I'd write a bit of a beginners guide to etsy.
This is hardly original - there are plenty of blog posts, forum threads, etc on this subject, but this is what I would say to my friend.
If you want a simple way to sell your handmade art or craft on-line, just dropping into an already established set-up that needs no great computer skills and doesn't cost the earth - then opening a shop on etsy may be for you.
There are some things you need to do to prepare for listing items in your shop.
1. Fabulous photos.
The thumbnail is the window to your shop, you need to grab a shoppers attention straightaway.
I can't go into too much detail here but -
Use your camera on a macro setting &
Shoot in natural light - are my 2 hot tips.
Use a photo editing program to improve your photos. Simply you can crop, resize, brighten, adjust contrast.
Use all your photo spots.
Check how your photos look. Do they stand out?
Do they attract your attention?
Are they sharp, not blurry.
Are they well positioned?
When you upload photos to your shop use all 5 photo spaces.
Here are a sample of some on-line tutes to better photos -
Handmadeology
outright
wahm
2. Shipping.
Get some small digital kitchen scales.
Work out the weights of your pieces including packaging and everything you are going to put in eg business cards.
Some people add part or all of the postage costs into the price of the article to make postage appear cheaper (or free).
Get a booklet form the post office or look-line.
Australia Post site is here.
Here's an etsy blog post about Australian shipping.
3. Titles, descriptions and tags.
These are how customers will find you items.
Now that etsy has changed it's search from recency to relevency you need to pay more attention to titles and tags.
The main thing to remember is to try and think how someone would search for your item.
There is more information about etsy search here and here.
When listing your item include as much accurate information as you can.
Use all your 13 spaces for tags. For Australian sellers I would suggest adding "Australia" as a tag on at least some of your items.
Also you could use your shop name as a tag sometimes.
4. List something often.
Although it is no longer essential to renew items regulary to be found on etsy, recency has some value, plus it helps your shop to look fresh and interesting. Plus gives you something to facebook, twitter or blog about.
Your items will expire on etsy after 4 months. If you still want to sell that item, then renew it.
Also when you sell something you can "renew sold" to relist the same item which is quick and easy.
You can also list more than one quantity of an item if you like and it still only costs you 20c to list.
4. Shop banner and avatar.
You can make your own banner and avatar. Or there are many shops on etsy where you can either buy a pre-made package or have one custom designed.
You don't actually have to have a banner but it helps with your "branding" if you are into that sort of thing.
Also you can choose if you want your avatar to be a photo of you, your product or a logo, there are different schools of thought on that.
5. There are other things you can do - shop policies, about page, shop announcement...which are not essential to having a shop - except maybe policies on refunds, shipping, delivery etc.
6. Now you need to promote your shop.
You can promote on facebook, twitter, pinterest, blog, newsletter etc.
Get some business cards printed with you etsy shop on and give them out to family, friends and customers.
I use vistaprint - they are cheap and look OK.
You could also get flyers or postcards printed - whatever suits you.
You could also advertise on other blogs - a lot of blogs have reasonable rates for advertising on the sidebar.
7. Network a bit more.
Join a team or two on etsy.
There are gazillions of teams to chose from.
There are regional teams for your country, state, region or city.
There are teams relating to your craft - artists, photographers, jewellers, potters etc.
There are other special interest teams.
8. Check out the etsy forums.
There may be answers to your questions there.
You can ask questions and offer suggstions.
9. Read the etsy blog.
There are always suggestions for using etsy.
10. Read the terms of use and how to sell on etsy.
You can read the do's and dont's here.
You need to know what is allowed and what is not allowed.
11. More networking. You can create treasuries. These are collections of items that you might like or think look beautiful together. Etsy admin select the front page from these treasuries so it's quite a coup to have your selected and can be very advantageous to be featured in them.
When you make a treasury the idea is to showcase other people's work and not to blag about your own stuff!
Also you pick 16 items when you create yours but it gets cropped to 12 when posted on the etsy front page and etsy admin can rearrange it as well.
12. If you haven't already it's a good idea to buy something from etsy to get an idea of how the process works.
13. And as a side issue you need to set up a paypal account. It is by far the easiest, safest and cheapest way of trading especially with overseas customers.
You will find more hints and resources than you can poke a stick at!
Here are a few I have found.
Handmadeology
Dummies
everything etsy
What vitally important things have I left out?
Have you some favorite resources that you used when setting up your shop?
Anything you would like to ask?
So I thought I'd write a bit of a beginners guide to etsy.
This is hardly original - there are plenty of blog posts, forum threads, etc on this subject, but this is what I would say to my friend.
If you want a simple way to sell your handmade art or craft on-line, just dropping into an already established set-up that needs no great computer skills and doesn't cost the earth - then opening a shop on etsy may be for you.
There are some things you need to do to prepare for listing items in your shop.
 |
| a fabulous photo by Pratose Travessas |
1. Fabulous photos.
The thumbnail is the window to your shop, you need to grab a shoppers attention straightaway.
I can't go into too much detail here but -
Use your camera on a macro setting &
Shoot in natural light - are my 2 hot tips.
Use a photo editing program to improve your photos. Simply you can crop, resize, brighten, adjust contrast.
Use all your photo spots.
Check how your photos look. Do they stand out?
Do they attract your attention?
Are they sharp, not blurry.
Are they well positioned?
When you upload photos to your shop use all 5 photo spaces.
Here are a sample of some on-line tutes to better photos -
Handmadeology
outright
wahm
2. Shipping.
Get some small digital kitchen scales.
Work out the weights of your pieces including packaging and everything you are going to put in eg business cards.
Some people add part or all of the postage costs into the price of the article to make postage appear cheaper (or free).
Get a booklet form the post office or look-line.
Australia Post site is here.
Here's an etsy blog post about Australian shipping.
3. Titles, descriptions and tags.
These are how customers will find you items.
Now that etsy has changed it's search from recency to relevency you need to pay more attention to titles and tags.
The main thing to remember is to try and think how someone would search for your item.
There is more information about etsy search here and here.
When listing your item include as much accurate information as you can.
Use all your 13 spaces for tags. For Australian sellers I would suggest adding "Australia" as a tag on at least some of your items.
Also you could use your shop name as a tag sometimes.
4. List something often.
Although it is no longer essential to renew items regulary to be found on etsy, recency has some value, plus it helps your shop to look fresh and interesting. Plus gives you something to facebook, twitter or blog about.
Your items will expire on etsy after 4 months. If you still want to sell that item, then renew it.
Also when you sell something you can "renew sold" to relist the same item which is quick and easy.
You can also list more than one quantity of an item if you like and it still only costs you 20c to list.
4. Shop banner and avatar.
You can make your own banner and avatar. Or there are many shops on etsy where you can either buy a pre-made package or have one custom designed.
You don't actually have to have a banner but it helps with your "branding" if you are into that sort of thing.
Also you can choose if you want your avatar to be a photo of you, your product or a logo, there are different schools of thought on that.
 |
| I got my banner made by a designer |
5. There are other things you can do - shop policies, about page, shop announcement...which are not essential to having a shop - except maybe policies on refunds, shipping, delivery etc.
6. Now you need to promote your shop.
You can promote on facebook, twitter, pinterest, blog, newsletter etc.
Get some business cards printed with you etsy shop on and give them out to family, friends and customers.
I use vistaprint - they are cheap and look OK.
You could also get flyers or postcards printed - whatever suits you.
You could also advertise on other blogs - a lot of blogs have reasonable rates for advertising on the sidebar.
7. Network a bit more.
Join a team or two on etsy.
There are gazillions of teams to chose from.
There are regional teams for your country, state, region or city.
There are teams relating to your craft - artists, photographers, jewellers, potters etc.
There are other special interest teams.
8. Check out the etsy forums.
There may be answers to your questions there.
You can ask questions and offer suggstions.
9. Read the etsy blog.
There are always suggestions for using etsy.
10. Read the terms of use and how to sell on etsy.
You can read the do's and dont's here.
You need to know what is allowed and what is not allowed.
11. More networking. You can create treasuries. These are collections of items that you might like or think look beautiful together. Etsy admin select the front page from these treasuries so it's quite a coup to have your selected and can be very advantageous to be featured in them.
When you make a treasury the idea is to showcase other people's work and not to blag about your own stuff!
Also you pick 16 items when you create yours but it gets cropped to 12 when posted on the etsy front page and etsy admin can rearrange it as well.
12. If you haven't already it's a good idea to buy something from etsy to get an idea of how the process works.
13. And as a side issue you need to set up a paypal account. It is by far the easiest, safest and cheapest way of trading especially with overseas customers.
You will find more hints and resources than you can poke a stick at!
Here are a few I have found.
Handmadeology
Dummies
everything etsy
What vitally important things have I left out?
Have you some favorite resources that you used when setting up your shop?
Anything you would like to ask?
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Mountains and mountains of earrings
What a start to the week!
An epic 9 hour bushwalk - with stops (I did have an hour rest in the middle).
It was to a remote part of the Blue Mountains into a wilderness area, so no tracks or sign posts although there is a faint foot track most of the way.
But you are rewarded with this view at the end!
And this view -
The next day, just to loosen my aching legs up a bit - haha! - I went for a bike ride along the lovely bike path at Wollongong.
It was very cool and windy - doesnt really look that bad here -
but I had to pedal like crazy all the way back even on the downhills!
Then I got on a creating roll and made a mountain of earrings using some of my favorite beads, these lampwork glass beads from the Czech Republic.
I actually made double this amount - some will be going to The Nook Leura and the rest I'll keep for my etsy shop and my market stalls.
How was your week?
Have you been creating?
Or been on any crazy, madcap adventures?
An epic 9 hour bushwalk - with stops (I did have an hour rest in the middle).
It was to a remote part of the Blue Mountains into a wilderness area, so no tracks or sign posts although there is a faint foot track most of the way.
But you are rewarded with this view at the end!
The next day, just to loosen my aching legs up a bit - haha! - I went for a bike ride along the lovely bike path at Wollongong.
It was very cool and windy - doesnt really look that bad here -
Then I got on a creating roll and made a mountain of earrings using some of my favorite beads, these lampwork glass beads from the Czech Republic.
How was your week?
Have you been creating?
Or been on any crazy, madcap adventures?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday Wishlist
So long since I've posted a Wednesday wishlist, and my wishes are piling up!
Even though we have now entered autumn I still covet everything in this shop -
ruffled flowers tshirt by nikacollectionI'm seriously on the lookout for a new handbag.
This one is on my short list.
I love the fabric so much and last weekend I saw a lady with a skirt made from this fabric. It was great!
This one is on my short list.
I love the fabric so much and last weekend I saw a lady with a skirt made from this fabric. It was great!
This artwork speaks to me.
I dont know if it's my fondness for antique maps, or the balloon, or the bird?
It's the combination of these elements that make the whole.
Life's Journey by CrimsonCircleStudiosWhat are you wishing for this week?
Remember to leave a comment to go into the draw to win the earrings I'm giving away this week!
thanks
Remember to leave a comment to go into the draw to win the earrings I'm giving away this week!
thanks
Friday, August 20, 2010
This week's adventures and achievements
I went for a beautiful, if somewhat scarey bushwalk up the escarpment near Wollongong.
Actually going up was OK, it was coming back down that was bad for me - I was petrified I was going to slip again.
path along the escarpment
view to the north from Sublime Point
view to the south from Sublime PointAnyway all was well and I was able to do another couple of small walks on Tuesday to some small waterfalls in the mid Blue Mountains towns of Hazelbrook and Woodford.
transit of venus track at Woodford
horseshoe falls at North HazelbrookAnd I made ten bright bracelets -
What did you do this week?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday wishlist
Don't the weeks roll round quickly?
And there's a definite chill in the air, although the days are clear and sunny.
So while I'm wrapping up in jumpers and socks, I still need some pretties, right?
Or a stunning decorative plate.
I can see how this could be a change of season dress with tights and a cardi.
And there's a definite chill in the air, although the days are clear and sunny.
So while I'm wrapping up in jumpers and socks, I still need some pretties, right?
Or a stunning decorative plate.
I can see how this could be a change of season dress with tights and a cardi.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
going round in circles, mainly
The first bit involves something I've never done before!
Knitting on a circular needle.
Some experienced knitters like to knit everything this way.
The advantages are - if it's a stocking stitch pattern you knit every row. No more twisting your wrist to do the pearl stitch!
And no pesky looking for a darning needle and messy sewing up of seams! (mine are pretty messy!)
Anyway the rest of this project has to be knitted on a set of double ended needles beacuse it gets too small for the circular needle.
More about this later.
Then back to beading and something else that goes round and round.
Spiral stitch.
It seems to go round and round for ever!
I'm not sure about the use of the cube beads in this, I dont think it's the best use for them.
They dont seem to sit quite right, although I like the chunky look.
Cube beads really sit well in a flat design, but considering the lenght of time it took to finish this, I'm not about to take it apart!
Well, I love random and colourful projects.
This brick stitch bracelet is a great way to use up small amount of beads.
Knitting on a circular needle.
Some experienced knitters like to knit everything this way.
The advantages are - if it's a stocking stitch pattern you knit every row. No more twisting your wrist to do the pearl stitch!
And no pesky looking for a darning needle and messy sewing up of seams! (mine are pretty messy!)
Anyway the rest of this project has to be knitted on a set of double ended needles beacuse it gets too small for the circular needle.
More about this later.
Then back to beading and something else that goes round and round.
Spiral stitch.
It seems to go round and round for ever!
I'm not sure about the use of the cube beads in this, I dont think it's the best use for them.
They dont seem to sit quite right, although I like the chunky look.
Cube beads really sit well in a flat design, but considering the lenght of time it took to finish this, I'm not about to take it apart!
Well, I love random and colourful projects.
This brick stitch bracelet is a great way to use up small amount of beads.
Monday, April 12, 2010
monday treasuries
It's a beautiful autumn morning, a little crispy in the air butthere are blue skies and there is freshness all around.
What a lovely start to the week!
Of course in other parts of the world it is spring and this treasury is a clelbration of that tome of year.
Many thinks to sublimedragonfly for including BoosTees lilac and lemon mitts.
Sublimedragonfly makes delicious soaps and other body products.
How could I go past a margarita lime soap? Yum!
What a lovely start to the week!
Of course in other parts of the world it is spring and this treasury is a clelbration of that tome of year.
Many thinks to sublimedragonfly for including BoosTees lilac and lemon mitts.
Sublimedragonfly makes delicious soaps and other body products.
How could I go past a margarita lime soap? Yum!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
monday's treasuries
The treasury drought well and truly broke this week, with me being featured in three of the lovelies, and being able to nab two mysel!!
Thanks to the very special Mich of michvanetta, who featured my spring sunset necklace in her collection gleaned from the shops of Australian crafters.
Mich makes delicious jewellery and these stunning earrings are in my favorite colour.
editionbw has the splendid idea of picking items from treasury curators shops.
I'm so grateful editonbw chose maisie mouse tshirt from my BoosTees shop.
I chose this super sweet little brooch from among the many delights of editionbw's shop.
Silvia66 made a beautiful muted collection, which is indeed elegant.
I was delighted when she told me she'd included my dust fingerless mitts.
How could I go past this stunning sweater in my favorite colour?
Check out silvia66' shop for amazing handknits
And lastly my two!
Thanks to the very special Mich of michvanetta, who featured my spring sunset necklace in her collection gleaned from the shops of Australian crafters.
Mich makes delicious jewellery and these stunning earrings are in my favorite colour.
editionbw has the splendid idea of picking items from treasury curators shops.
I'm so grateful editonbw chose maisie mouse tshirt from my BoosTees shop.
I chose this super sweet little brooch from among the many delights of editionbw's shop.Silvia66 made a beautiful muted collection, which is indeed elegant.
I was delighted when she told me she'd included my dust fingerless mitts.
How could I go past this stunning sweater in my favorite colour?
Check out silvia66' shop for amazing handknits
And lastly my two!
Monday, March 8, 2010
monday's treasuries
Yay! One lovely treasury this week!
Thanks to the ever lovely and busy Del of DELiciousDesignz -
I'm so happy to that she include my silver cheshire cat earrings as I am just mad about all thing Alice!
Also these earrings are reduced in price just for this month as part of the DUST team March sale.
You can see other March sale items here http://www.dustteam.com/guides/sale/.
Del herself is something of an Alice-phile and you will find amazing Alice spoon pendants in her shop, but for myself I spied these lovely bangles.
Thanks to the ever lovely and busy Del of DELiciousDesignz -
I'm so happy to that she include my silver cheshire cat earrings as I am just mad about all thing Alice!Also these earrings are reduced in price just for this month as part of the DUST team March sale.
You can see other March sale items here http://www.dustteam.com/guides/sale/.
Del herself is something of an Alice-phile and you will find amazing Alice spoon pendants in her shop, but for myself I spied these lovely bangles.
blueberries and raspberries bangles by DELiciousDesignz
Go and have a look at her shop - DELiciousDesignz
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday wishlist
What is it with me and bright colours at the moment?
Is it beacuse it has been raining for 2 weeks?
Or does my mood need uplifting?
Am I trying to relive a past life?
Who knows!
Anyway I just fell in love with this vibrant cushion.
It has gorgeous Indian fabric and hopefully I'm heading to India this year, so maybe this is a taste of thing to come?
I was looking for something completely different - isnt that always the way? - when I found this stunning orange bag by tippythai.
There are so many lovely styles of bags in tippythais shop - I'd like one in every design and every colour.
But this one is the perfect summer colour and weight.
OK - something elso orange?
Well this is probabyl on the red side of orange - but how delightful is this brooch?
There are lots of really cute things in this shop and it has the best name - "inmybackyard"!
I'm so happy with my wishlist this week!
See it has lifted my spirits already - think I'll go for a skip. tralala!
Is it beacuse it has been raining for 2 weeks?
Or does my mood need uplifting?
Am I trying to relive a past life?
Who knows!
Anyway I just fell in love with this vibrant cushion.
It has gorgeous Indian fabric and hopefully I'm heading to India this year, so maybe this is a taste of thing to come?
I was looking for something completely different - isnt that always the way? - when I found this stunning orange bag by tippythai.
There are so many lovely styles of bags in tippythais shop - I'd like one in every design and every colour.
But this one is the perfect summer colour and weight.
OK - something elso orange?
Well this is probabyl on the red side of orange - but how delightful is this brooch?
There are lots of really cute things in this shop and it has the best name - "inmybackyard"!
I'm so happy with my wishlist this week!
See it has lifted my spirits already - think I'll go for a skip. tralala!
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