Righto - well i have had a million things going on in my head for the last few months, so i thought it was about time leak some informations out!!
First of all - gots to say not much has been going on in my Etsy shop of late due to my trying to work on designing new some new goodies + working on the Sparky business plan , so sorry about that...but i thought that january/february would be a great time for doing that stuff, as its usually pretty quiet
Second on the list of news, is i decided to open up a 'Pop Up' shop with BigCartel for a whole month...just as i like to live on the edge:::giggle....have a bit of fun, have a crazy assignment for a month (giving yourself assignments is a great way of getting out of the february blues - which i always seem to suffer from...ahhhh gloomy winter!) I'd also wanted to take BigCartel for a test drive too...its pretty cool actually, shows a lot of information about #visits to your shop and products - and its supa easy to use...so if ya not a techno geek like me, thumbs up!!
Anyways to concentrate on what i need to for the year ahead - i'll be closing my ETSY SHOP this SUNDAY 19th FEB....so in like 6 days - for a whole month!! The 'POP UP' shop will still be open, as ....well i need to make some room in the Sparky HQ's for some new goodies, and what better way to do that than have a sale!!
And lastly i want to tell you about the Sparky forecast...i'm giving myself a goal of one year and at the end of the year i will either keep the Spark alive, or have complete satisfaction that i gave my dream a shot + tick it off my bucket list (life is really too short ain't it!). Being in business i'm going to be honest, is bloody hard!! To be creative when you are stressed out is not so easy, to beat yourself up comes quite naturally(mentally that is!), to do things the hardway many times before you learn the better way is frequent and to compare yourself/products to others is a daily thought!! (i love etsy, but etsy is really bad for that!) So why am i telling you all of this...well i think its really important to show people that you are actually human !!
So as i am giving myself one year to have 'here's a great product' and turn it into a better fantabulous flourishing business (think i want to be better than great, like kinda famous, but not pompus and arrogant like)...
but i might need to some help - so tell me what ::
-you think could be done to achieve that
-what works for your business
-what you see could be fine tuned a bit
-is there anything missing
-what products you love most
and most of all....be honest!!...if you don't want t0 leave a comment on my blog..you can always send me some mail me over at :: jemima@sparkyjones.ca
righto sorry about the long long post...i told ya i had a lot on my mind!!!
bye bye for now:: lil jj
ps:: its really late now...might have to post a goody in the 'POP UP' shop tomorrow - opps!!!
Phew, heavy stuff! You give the impression that what you do is effortless, but it must be very difficult (and stressful) to make a living doing creative work - I admire that, and want to do it myself some day!
ReplyDeleteI'm not the best person to give advice about fine-tuning a business, since I'm still learning myself ... but I can let you know the products I love the most: Busy Jones and Bujetta are my faves ... though the Jemima Jones I bought for my partner's mum attracts a lot of attention too. Your work is so unique that it needs to be SEEN MORE! That is sometimes difficult on the interwebz, I know ;)
Maybe a bag in between Busy and Mama would be a winner? I'm not sure how hard messenger bags are to sew, but that would be very cool too for the office ;)
Good luck Jemima - I REALLY hope that the year proves very fruitful for you! <3
JJ - I love this post because it is real and it speaks to me as well. I also make upcycled bags, I started just making them for myself and friends and then decided to open an etsy shop. I have been pretty unsuccessful but I also work full time and now have a baby. And the competition on etsy kind of crushes your spirits. But you were my inspiration to open my shop. And when you talk about how you compare yourself to others on etsy, just think about how many people compare themselves to you! You were the first shop that I added to my favorites when I joined etsy and I told myself on a daily basis, I will never be as good as Sparky Jones! So although you might not be famous to the whole world (YET) you are famous to many, me especially! I have been watching your progress all along and it was so exciting to see you as the featured artist and to see your items in the newsletters from etsy (I sent you a facebook message letting you know you were in there). I love your style and I love all of your bags! I would buy every single one if I could afford it! I think it's amazing that you are living your dream and it's very inspiring! I know it can be hard but think about how far you have come!
ReplyDeleteIf you can get featured in some magazines you will become famous in no time! Try writing in to Parents Magazine and see if they will suggest your Mama Jones bag. They choose items from etsy shops all the time to feature! Good luck and keep on truckin!