Creative Writing

I've been trying to work with my boys a bit this summer and have them spend some time writing in preparation for the upcoming school year. I usually give them free reign as far as topic goes. They've described their favorite part of a family trip, written descriptive essays on squirrel chasing, and instructions for extreme dodge ball. Today I read a great esty article that emphasised the importance of interesting writing - something more than just dry stats to capture the customers attention and help them remember you. As a mom the bulk of my writing consists of To Do lists or Grocery lists with the occasional email to grandma about baby's teething and constipation. It's been too long since English class. I feel ill equipped and out of practice. But I gave it a shot and rewrote my shop announcement . . . and I'm sure I'll rewrite it again and again!

I've always enjoyed great writing and even if the subject doesn't appeal to me something well written will gain my attention. Good writing will make you come back again and again to hear what else that author has to say. Rick Rielly (who wrote for Sports Illustrated for years) was always the first thing I'd turn to. I'd have to read quickly before Danny snagged the mag from me - as a sports ignorant wife I didn't get first dibs! (now even my youngest boy fights us for it) but since Rielly moved to ESPN I just hand it over. Dave Barry's column in the Sunday paper was a favorite too. When he stopped doing a column we stopped getting the paper. The blog Confessions of a Pioneer Woman began as a simple blog about cattle ranching and is now read by thousands. That said I don't need publishers knocking at my door, I just need a few folks to stop for a moment and get drawn in long enough to make a sale. So I'm not going to settle for "this barrette is 1.25 in long" but try for a bit more. Are there any ad slogans or companies that caught your attention with their writing?

Buckle and Bend

My product card needs work - not so much design (I've already tweaked it to accomodate a rack hole punch) but in stiffness. It's tending to bend and buckle when the items are attached. I'm finished the wholesale variety pack (also my bobbies are in so I can include some!) and want to get that in the mail but I need to fix my cards so they look nice on the rack - not just as mailorder. The card stores don't seem to sell anything in between cardstock and foam core. What I have is great for some of my designs, baby clips, bobbies, etc but not for the larger barrettes. I'd like something that works with everything. So that's what I'll be doing today - contacting local printers etc.

UPDATE: problem solved :)

Eyeballing the Competition

I have been living on etsy for a while now - whenever I'd sit to feed baby I'd be browsing. So it's safe to say I had a fair idea what was out there as far as hair stuff . . . lots of bows, lots of big flowers, lots of old clipon earrings converted to bobbies. I had some bobby designs in mind that I didn't see anywhere. I've had the button pieces for a while but was waiting on my order of antique bronzed type bobbies, nickel ones, etc. I also have a sketch book of ideas and different products I'd like to introduce to my shop down the road. Today I discovered a shop that has almost everything I was thinking!! We must be on the same wave length. :( She opened shop in 2006 and has had 2000+ sales - not all inexpensive hair things but sewing items as well etc. So the stuff does sell . . . just not yet on my page! (whispering to myself "patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue")

Big news though . . . my brother-in-law put in a good word for me with his mother-in-law and Sis. Sharla placed a wholesale order for her shop http://www.loveandlearntoys.com/ in Ohio!!! I'm getting that order together and because some of my bobby supplies arrived today I can include some in her grouping. So I'm excited about that. Zion has been Mr Answer Man - telling me everything I need to do - create wholesale order forms, price lists, catalogs, etc. Of course I can't do a huge supply inventory investment without a few sales first so we're getting there little by little. Also business licenses, taxes, etc . . . is it worth all that hassle for the 4.00 butterfly??? I need to keep focused long term. Lots of etsy sellers "quit their day job" and have made it work. So I need to work on promotion, marketing, product designs, skills to create these products etc. And forget the competition - I need a good football coach pep talk right now - "they're running the same plays we are, but we just have to run them better!!!" I think this new line of bobbies will do well. Need to do some "product testing" ei. wear them on my head a few days and make sure they don't fall apart . . . then they should be up this weekend. Next week I've got some custom stuff I'd like to do (started working on a bit of it today and really like the look) so stay tuned! and thank you again to Sis Sharla at Love and Learn Toys.

Chubby Naked Babies

I've made a few butterfly hair bobbies. The orange one is photographed and up in the shop. I had a plan to shoot the burgundy one. The black backdrop was up, I scattered burgundy rose petals and set up Eliya with the butterfly in her hair. There she was in all her fat, soft, plump nakedness. That's when Isaiah got vocal in his objections. "You're going to post those on the Internet! No way! No way! No No No!" Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your view, the photo shoot was a failure. She wouldn't lay discreetly on her tummy - she wanted to sit up. And she's teething so of course the rose petals kept going in her mouth. I was hoping to get her ham hock thighs . . . ah well, maybe another time. For today I'll just post Isaiah's naked baby pic . . . that's why we take these photos isn't it? to embarrass them when they're older. :)

Choosing a Name

Danny and I are not really good at choosing names. We agreed on Isaiah for our 1st born when I was 3 mo pregnant. . . and we haven't agreed on another name since. My dad's name is Matthew - Danny chose Mathias (a form of Matthew) I thought it was too unusual sounding . . . and I was right - it gets mispronounced all the time. But now that a perfect little boy is attached to that name I love it. Daniel Joseph Ramirez was a cop out. Boy #3 we named after his dad who was named after his dad. Easier then choosing something original. For Eliya I presented him with a narrowed selection of 5 names - he spotted Eliya (pronounced ee-li-a) and from that point on I couldn't get him to review any other names . . . so Eliya it is, and it suits her just fine.

In choosing a shop name I had no inspiration. After I sketched the lady/baby logo, we were messing with Illustrator and he just threw some text in there "J Joy Original" - it looked really pretty but hey JJoy is a DJ in the UK - not the image I wanted! Joy is only my unofficial middle name. My parents added it shortly after submitting my papers. and I don't want the pressure of having to be Original LOL after much discussion (lots of ruling OUT names but not coming up with anything really good) we stuck with JJoyDesigns (plus it wasn't already being used someplace by somebody - turns out that's key) No sales yet so I doubt I'd do my "brand" much damage with a name change at some point. :) Any ideas? Also I don't plan on doing hair thingys forever - will create other items so it's got to be a bit vague.

Working together

Danny and I worked together for a shipping company for 4+ yrs BC (before children). We worked in different departments - he was floor supervisor and I was IT then Traffic. Because we didn't directly report to each other it worked out well. I enjoyed spending time with him and being with him (did I mention we were newlyweds?) so it was all good. We weren't bossing each other around - and I was a helpmate right away . . . I learnt to forge his signature on useless documents LOL Danny's not a big paperwork guy . . . and I'm not real technical so he'd help me out too ("um, honey, just push the power button.") why was I in IT?? a fluke really, the company was really small and simple when we started so I could run the computers and set up basic workstations but when things got hairy they hired folks with actual IT degrees and I moved to traffic.

and we're working together again! The big joke "this is a lot of work to sell a 4.00$ butterfly!" For 4 yrs now I've been working for alpineaccess.com. It's part time work-from-home call center type work. I do credit card customer service. There is a ZERO noise tolerance. Who wants to give cc info with screaming kids in the background?? So now that I've been have an adorable girl with healthy lungs and no discernable nap schedule I'm not working as many hours. Thus the start of the etsy shop. Craft, design, and sew - which I love to do - and maybe sell a few items to help out. Danny works at a men's homeless shelter - which suits him very well and has been a blessing to the family but there are no bonuses or fat raises to support my fabric addition. :) So I'd like to pitch in a bit if I can. We are blessed in so many ways and truly the Lord provides.

Danny has been helping me set up my shop. We've used Adobe Photoshop in the past for all the wedding/portrait photography but for this we've had to use Adobe Indesign and Illustrator. Lots of fun! Makes me want to sketch and draw and design more graphics. I did the sketch of the lady and baby that makes up my logo. I'm learning to tweek things a bit in Adobe but still can't create things exactly as I picture them in my head. I'll spend hours during the day messing with something in Illustrator then Danny gets home and does it in minutes! I think he's about done helping me with my shop - there's only so much pink swirly polka dots he can stand. Of course now he's got to show me how to add images to this blog and jazz it up a bit. :)

To Blog or Not to Blog

Generally I'm a private person. Historically I'm known as a bad pen pal and an infrequent emailer. I don't gab on the phone every day . . . we didn't renew my cell phone because I was using less then 50 minutes a month! So why am I blogging now? I've started an etsy shop and thought this would be a good way for customers to get to know me. I'd love to receive feedback from friends . . . and as I've never worked in retail I need all the advice and tips I can get!

Also I realize my children are growing fast. . . and my family is mostly long distance so this blog will help keep in touch . . . Danny can't wait to post football video clips! Did I mention the season is about to begin? So what to expect from this blog? Football, football, and more football for the next few months. Mixed with fabric and flower talk, and shop talk, and the woes and worries of school beginning. Enjoy.