Store Consolidation

I thought about titling this post "Running an Online Business at Night, When Your Day Job Goes Into the Night."  You can tell my day job has been consuming all my night hours this year.  I mean, this is the first post since February.

This year I experimented with running multiple stores.  I had my Etsy shop, my shop on ShopDelighted, and then I was beginning to set up shop on Craftinest.  I think I did this based on some idea that multiple venues = more exposure and maybe better SEO.  What I found out is that I don't have time to do more than check one shop in the morning and maybe do a little at night.  So I've decided to go back to one store.

But which store?  Etsy has made one bad decision after another this year, but it's where I make my sales and get traffic.  ShopDelighted has no traffic and since the amazing staff member left, that place is completely dead.  Craftinest, the juried site, looked great but they've closed up and gone out of business.  So, with a creeping sense that I have no principles left, I'm moving everything back to Etsy.  It's all I have time for.

Maybe someday another online venue with traffic will open up and I can move there.  But for now, it's the big orange E for me.

Endless Earwires

I'm delighted that the colorful aluminum earrings I've been making are generating lots of exposure (views, hearts and treasuries on Etsy, front page slots on ShopDelighted).  I even sold two pair this morning (thank you!!).  I want to make more, but I'm out of earwires. 

So this lovely Super Bowl Sunday I'm working my way through the next batch of 47 pairs of earwires.  It's easiest to calculate the cost of supplies if I take a coil of wire and make as many earwires as possible with it.  But, that's 94 earwires to make.  Look at my bench today:

All I'm doing is making 94 individual earwires.  I really want to go make some colorful aluminum earrings.

In other news, it looks like some ShopDelighted sellers are going to start having Sunday Afternoon Sales.  I hope to start participating next week.  Anything in particular you want to see on sale from the ShopDelighted store?

Update and A New Way to Drive Traffic to the Etsy Store

So it's been a while since I've posted.  Now that I'm working full-time again, there's less time at my jewelry bench.  And it seems like all of the time that I do have for Quiddity is devoted to inventory and taxes at the start of the year.

Lately there's been a huge drop off in views in both the Etsy and ShopDelighted stores.  That's not terribly unusual in January, but still disappointing.  I'm so close to having enough money to buy a few new tools I'm lusting after....but alas, until I've sold a bit more I have to wait to buy new tools.

Tonight I signed up for NerdWallet, which is a website that collects coupons for Etsy stores and other stores.  I put up a Free Shipping coupon over there.  I'm curious to see if it helps drive any traffic to the Etsy store. (Alas, ShopDelighted does not have the capability to do coupons yet.)

Here's hoping 2013 is a good year for independent craftspeople and artisans!

Works in Progress

With a little luck, I'll get to soldering this weekend.  I've been a bit stymied by my lack of wire for making handmade earwires, but that arrived today.  Here's a sneak peek at some of the half dozen earrings I've started:

Metal metal metal metal

I just got a new batch of anodized aluminum.  I can't wait to play with the purple, lime, turquoise, orange, brown and silver.  Why do I have to work at my day job tomorrow?  I wish I could stay home and lose myself in the metal.

Unidentified Work in Progress

I'm not sure where this is heading, but I found the drippy border paper punch on clearance and started playing with that, the rolling mill, and some patina inks.  I hope it doesn't lead to one of those "Somebody REALLY likes..." items (if you know what I mean, and I think you do).

Designing around the cabochons

While my work is taking up just about all of my time, I've been using the spare half hour here and there to work on making components for earrings and pendants.  My favorite part of the design process is this step (picture below) where I lay out all the components and try to decide which cabochon to set where.  It's like candy, except, of course, you should not eat your jewelry.