Up and (almost) running

The new name has been chosen, the shop has been opened, and now it's just waiting for me to post a listing! It's time to get things up and running!

Last time I asked for opinions about the new shop name and thanks to my mom and Aunt Kim the shop is called "Mouse Tail Embroidery". I opened up the new store and created a separate email account for the shop. I even found a free app that keeps track of sales patterns and sends a weekly update straight to my (new) email! Anything that keeps things organized easily is good in my book.

After the initial business tasks were completed I got to craft again! Since I already had an idea in mind for Mouse Tail's banner, I got right to it. I combined the concept of the name with the kind of products I make. And here's what happened: (By the way, these are just crappy preview pictures. My camera battery is dead and I'm in the process of moving, so the charger is... somewhere...)

I'm going to take an outdoor picture around sunset when the natural light is beautiful. Then I'll crop it to fit the banner and get it on the shop!

The last few days have been dedicated to creating the first item I'll list. I thought it might be nice (even if only for my own sake) to start with something related to the shop name. I recently decided that stores charge way too much for cat toys, so I made my own. It's infinitely cheaper and, best of all, it's handmade! So I made a set of colorful mouse cat toys to list as soon as I find my camera charger.

They even have little bells inside so they make a tiny noise to keep the cat interested. My little Daphne loves her new mouse toys!

When I finished these four mice I started thinking about the process and saving time. When I started on the mice I traced the same number of shapes in each of the four colors and cut them out. Then I went through and stitched the ears and eyes into each mouse. I only finished and stuffed the four I needed and then decided to wait on the rest. I can save time by having one set finished and ready to ship, but I won't waste time and materials (my most expensive are stuffing and bells) making mice that may not sell.

It's important to keep organized, so I set up all the materials I need for mice:

(The stuffing is in its own bag)

and put everything in a handy little bag for later:

Hopefully I'll find my battery charger soon so I can post these mice and see if my new methods are good ones.

I hope everyone is having a lovely new year. Thanks for reading!

Alie

The name game

Happy New Year everyone!

Actually, it wasn't until I typed that greeting that I realized how appropriate this post is for the time of year. I've been reading articles about sales, business, and Etsy shops and I've decided to start fresh. My current shop houses kind of a mess of products and isn't very unified. There's some photography, some embroidery, and a random piece of something now and then. So I'm going to start up a new shop with a clear business plan, a cohesive creative feel, and (today's task) a new name.

I'm bad at naming. I love it, but I'm very bad at it. I went through about 10 possible names for my new cat before landing on the one I've had in mind for years (Daphne). As of this post (or at least this paragraph) I haven't chosen a name for my new shop. I'll share my research and thought process with you and hopefully come to a decision. I know I had a post about names awhile ago, but I'm going in a new direction this time. Let's get going...

So, what do I need to consider:

1. What do I want in my shop name?

• I know I want my shop name to be personal. I'd love for it to reference something I loved in childhood.
• I want it to reflect the kinds of products I'll be making. Something about stitches or embroidery should be in there.
• I don't want it to be super girly/cutesy.

Keeping those things in mind, here is my list so far:

-Two Hippopotamus Embroidery (a Frasier reference)

-Mouse Tail Embroidery (I envision a mouse whose tail spells the shop name. And a mouse tail is kind of like string, right?)

-Papple Pooce Embroidery (This is a shout out to my favorite book as a kid. I read all the words with "p"s because I thought it was funny. This one is apple juice...)

-Felt Forest Embroidery (I use a lot of felt)

-Felt Maze Embroidery (Going with the felt thing. I envision a maze a la Highlights made of felt spelling the name.)

2. What do buyers want in a shop name?

According to an Etsy article from a few years back these are some things to consider:

• It should be easy to remember and spell. I think that rules out Two Hippopotamus...
• Less is more. Use fewer words that flow well together. Etsy gives this example: “JessicasDesigns” works a thousand times better than something like “beaddesignsbyjessica.”
• Avoid trademarks. I'm good on that one.
• Make sure your name reflects the kinds of items you sell. Since I make fun things out of felt a fancy name written in a fancy script wouldn't be ideal.
• It doesn't hurt to include what you make in the title. Yay! I thought of this one on my own!

Here are a few more tips from Entrepreneur.com. Some are more geared toward more traditional businesses. The Etsy clientele is a bit different.

• If your business name tells your customer what you do you'll have less explaining to do.
• The name should appeal to the kinds of people you are targeting. This seems really obvious, but it's almost so obvious you forget about it.
• The name should conjure happy thoughts or memories.
• I'm including this one just because it's kind of funny. Don't use "Inc." after your name unless you are actually incorporated. No kidding...

At this point I've only narrowed down my options a little. I do have a favorite, but I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks. We have Mouse Tail Embroidery, Papple Poose Embroidery, Felt Forest Embroidery, or Felt Maze Embroidery.

I'd love to hear your opinions or new ideas!

Thanks for reading,

Alie

Ps- Sorry there aren't any pictures this time! And to give credit where credit is due, here are the links to the articles: Etsy's article and Entrepreneur.com's article

And we're back

I made the mistake of starting a craft blog the week before finals leading into Christmas. In the next week or so I'll be doing a photo revamp. Every successful Etsy seller will tell you that good photos are about the most useful thing you can do for your shop. I'll get researching soon and keep you posted.

For now I'll share my Christmas crafts.

I embroidered tea towels for my mom. My cousins call her Aunt Yummy because she makes delicious desserts.

My brother Ryan got an Ina Garten inspired apron. (A shent is a shirt-tent. Ina wears one always. It's usually denim.)

And my crowning achievement was for my brother's partner Matt. His immense Golden Girls knowledge means he needs his own felt Golden Girls. He's been holding them in front of his face and saying quotes all day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Good News and Inspiration

Happy Sunday everyone!

Good news! I sold my first item on Etsy last night. Yay!

More food pillows to come!

We're continuing with a bit of inspiration from The Mouse Market on Etsy. I love food and I love tiny things, so this shop is amazing. Better yet, for my Columbia friends, it's local! I have a couple pairs of earrings from her and I love them. I'm just blown away by her ability to make realistic textures. What's not to love about tiny food?

Get ready to be inspired!

We'll start with this chocolate mousse cake. Can I just eat it right now? Wow.

She's creative with her food items too! Fluffernutter sandwich? Yes please!

If you've ever worked with polymer clay you'll be impressed by the texture of that bread. I'm just amazed.

I'm channeling my grandma here. She says she only likes chocolate in the form of german chocolate cake. Those crumbs are astounding!

It's pizza, right? No. It's clay.

Waffles! Yum!

That icing is perfect. That looks like a real cookie!

And this isn't food, but it's seasonal. Happy Hanukah friends!

I hope you're as inspired by this as I am. I'll be back with photoshopping a banner design this week.

Thanks for reading,

Alie

Adventures in Screen Printing

Screen printing day! I have two screens and one frame with extra screen and cord. One of my screens is in use and the other is covered in ink. The ink is oil-based and the mineral spirits that are required to clean it off are pretty toxic. Seeing as a I don't have a well ventilated space and I do have an ill suite mate I decided to take a stab at assembling my own screen. I was pretty skeptical...

The supplies are all laid out. The fabric came on a cool foam board square. Yay free materials!

I cut off a piece of the nylon fabric. There's a deep groove along the sides of the frame that you push the cord into to hold the fabric in place. I didn't think I could get it tight enough...

But I totally did!

Time to put the photo emulsion on.

You apply the emulsion in a nice even coat across the screen using a squeegee-type thing. The emulsion is light-sensitive, so any part of it that is exposed to light will be "burned" permanently onto the screen.

When the screen is dry you put your design (printed on a transparency) on the screen. It's best to weigh it down a little with a piece of glass. That will keep it flat. Everything covered by black will not be exposed to light, so it will wash out and let the ink through.

Next you turn a really bright light on it for awhile. I usually go for about 40 minutes or so. It might not take that long, but I don't want to risk it and take it off too soon. The emulsion is too expensive for experimentation in my book.

Lucky for me I'm in film school and have access to good lights. Since most people don't have that access (neither will I after May), here are some light box building instructions.

After scrubbing the unburned emulsion in the sink the screen was ready!

Next I collected my gold water-based ink, my screen printing spoon, the squeegee, and a piece of black construction paper.

I put the paper under the screen,

put a line of ink on the top of the screen,

and pulled it across the design.

Unfortunately, the print didn't come out too well. I print my transparencies at Kinkos and they don't print very solidly. There are lighter lines in the transparency and that lets the light through. If you know of a different place to get transparencies printed let me know!

(This is a cell diagram, by the way)

But I want to show you a good-looking print too. I made a quick print from the screen I've been using for greeting cards.

Those lines were not intended, but it's the Kinkos printer. It kind of works on this print, but not so much on the cell.

I hope this was helpful and interesting to you! I'm a self-taught screen printer, so I'm still working on it. Don't be afraid to tackle it! It's not nearly as hard as it seems.

Thanks for reading,

Alie

Beaded Inspiration

I was listening to an episode of my favorite show (and hopefully future employer?) This American Life earlier today. It was an early episode from July of 1996. I was a little girl when that story was produced, but here I am fourteen years later, inspired to share one of their stories with you.

The episode was about obsessions. They were mostly about obsessive-compulsive-type behaviors, but the last story was about a woman named Liza Lou who spent five years of her life covering her entire kitchen with beads. They were tiny beads that had to be applied with tweezers. She spent almost all day, almost every day gluing beads. While this probably sounds horribly boring, I honestly think I would love it. The little repetitive things that result in something beautiful are what endear me to crafting. But five years? I'm not sure I could do the same repetitive task that long.

Liza says she liked doing it because of her curiosity. She wanted to know what a plate or a toaster or a refrigerator would look like covered in beads. She says working on the wall panels was a challenge because she finished one and knew what it looked like, but then had to do more of the same. But she did it. And now she's done a beaded backyard too! I'm extremely impressed. Check it out:

The whole kitchen. Wow.

Stove. Complete with towel!

They're GRRRRRR... BEADED!

What would water look like made of beads? There you go.

Every blade of grass is beaded.

The artist. You have inspired me Liza.

I'll be back later with screen printing! Yay!

Storefront Redesign: I need your input!

Thanks for coming back! I hope everyone is nice and organized (or thinking about it).

Moving on. I really need to make a nice cohesive look for my shop. As of now it looks like this:

It's okay, but not super exciting. Right now I'm calling my shop "Accordion Crafts". I'm not a fan of that title. Yes, I created it, but it needs to change. The only reason I called it that was because I liked the picture and I had to come up with something on the fly. This is where you guys come in.

I've been brainstorming new names based on pictures I have for the banner (the part that is currently occupied by a hand on an accordion). Once I decide on one of those I'll be able to take us through the process of making a logo, business cards, everything. But decisions are hard and I want your opinions. I think one of the most important things to do is get impartial opinions. Then you can get a better feel of how potential customers see the shop.

Etsy, as usual, has great tips on their official blog. Here are a few excellent banners they had on one post:

While non of these are quite my style they are indeed eye-catching! That's the goal here!

Now I'm going to share my ideas with you and ask you to give me your honest opinions.

Idea 1: Bouncy Ball Crafts

Idea 2: Row House Studio

Idea 3: Either Winking Eye Crafts, Wink Crafts or Winky Crafts

Idea 4: Chain Link Studio

Idea 5: Something with this cool piano

Idea 6: 45th Street Studio

Idea 7: Alley Cat Crafts (because my name is Alie and I love cats!)

There you go. Please let me know what you think. Which do you like best? Should I keep a picture but change the name? I want to hear anything you have to say. Thank you!

Tomorrow I'll have a little screen printing walkthrough for you! Fun!

Thanks for reading and happy Friday,

Alie