Have You Heard The Facebook News????

In dropping my EC's this morning, I visited a blog I haven't visited in a while...Timothy Adams' blog. Nothing against him, I just was one of the many followers and advice takers he had that refused to pay him several hundred dollars a year to improve my sales. I still get his emails and will shoot by his blog every now and then as he continues to have some great things to share. I was just put off a little by his "unveiling" several months ago and have to admit that I felt a little betrayed.

Back to the topic at hand...Facebook now has an app to put a kiosk on your facebook and fan page for your Artfire shop. Apparently, with this app people can shop directly from your facebook and fan pages without even leaving Facebook. This might be something to look into for all of us. I originally opened my facebook for my business. But then, a whole slew of old schoolmates began contacting me about an upcoming High School Reunion (we haven't had once since our 10 year reunion and we are coming up on our 25th next year), so I use it to contact them, too. However, every once in a while, one of my schoolmates will ask where they can buy my stuff - as if I don't have links all over the place! This may solve that problem and help to generate more sales.

Swing by Timothy's blog and check it out. And if I'm a little late in discovering this news after being in la-la land with my Momma, I apologize!

Have a great weekend!

Been Missin' You All....

Portrait of the Artist with Her Daughter
Marie Elizabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
1789

So, please, let me explain...

I have never really been close with many of my family members, with the exception of my mother and one of my two big brothers. Now that my brother is gone (melanoma cancer), my final familial target is my mother. As if we were not close enough before my brothers death, we became even closer after wards. Well, Mom had to move 4 states away several years ago as my father couldn't take New York winters anymore and preferred to be with my other living sibling. So, they packed up and left. The problem? I only see Mom once a year now. They come and stay for a week or two at the end of every summer. So, that is where I have been. Hanging with my Mom. I tend to give her my undivided attention and always plan my vacation around her arrival. Granted, I usually need a few days after she leaves because I am so sad that she is gone. It is a very wierd feeling - almost like losing her once a year over and over againg. Crazy, huh? This year, we texted eachother every hour on her drive back home. Imagine that...my Mom that I thought was so uncool in the 80's when I thought I was too cool has the ability to text! Too funny.

So, please forgive the lack of posts for the past several weeks.

And what the heck is going on with EC again? The only opinion about it I am going to state is that if it weren't for the friends I met through EC, I may not be here anymore :(

Okay, enough ranting.

Feature: Gems by Jerri Artfire Studio

Well, my features are winding down for the year as I will be showcasing just a couple more people before summer is over. Today, we are taking a look at Gems by Jerri's Artfire studio. Who hasn't heard of Jerri? She is all over the Internet! Makes me very happy to add to that with this feature!

Sunflower
$11

Jerri lives in Texas and grew up watching her mother beading. This eventually led to her beading with her mother. She began with seed beads and has branched out to other kinds of beads. Ironically, Jerri works for a jewelry company which deals mostly in silver jewelry as her day job, then she comes home to her own jewelry business. Eventually, she would love to add precious metal clay products to her business. She has seen her art evolve over time in that when she began, her designs were created using patterns in books...it was how she learned to do things. Over time, and after working for the jewelry company, she learned many new techniques and branched out to design her own pieces, including wire wrapping. Currently, she sells exclusively online as working a day job saps much time out of the tasks to preparing for craft shows.

Silver Wire Wrapped Pendant
Pink Fancy Jasper
$9

Jerri doesn't wish to take the time to design her pieces on paper. She tends to more let the pieces create themselves. She begins with an idea in mind, but since she prefers to create pieces with clean, simple designs, she doesn't feel that paper-planning is necessary. When she hits a creative road block, she will walk away and patiently wait for that inspiration to put her back to work. When she is working, she prefers to have the T.V. airing the news for background noise. She feels it fills the void of silence, but at the same time she can follow it even though she can't look at the T.V. itself.

Tea Time Bracelet
$9.50

For Jerri, her biggest accomplishment in her business was making her first sale on Etsy. She was thrilled with the fact that she isn't the only one who likes her designs. Right now, she feels her biggest obstacle is making sales. With the economy down, she tries not to make a lot of supply purchases, only what she needs to create what is in demand. And you are right, Jerri, we are all feeling this, too! As for marketing, she relies on Project Wonderful as well as her blog. She features other sellers to help promote them and feels the connections she makes with her blog really helps her. Jerri even confessed that she promotes her blog as much, if not more, than her shops!

Tiny Butterfly
Czech Glass and a Butterfly
$6

Finally, I asked Jerri if she had any advice for fellow business owners. This is what she had to say:

"Make sure that you have a good quality product and that it is priced right for you. The hardest thing for me is pricing and it is probably the most important thing to any business. If you expect to succeed in your business you must make sure that you are not only getting back what you put in but that you are also paying yourself for your time/labor. No one wants to work for free."

You can find Jerri in her Artfire Shop, her Etsy Shop, her blog, Twitter and Facebook.

Curating a Treasury!

It's about dang time! I try so hard to score treasuries and I usually always lose! So, here it is...an Alice in Wonderland theme. Great items! Please click to check it out! Would love if one of my treasuries makes the front page!

Dew-ey Wednesday

Okay...I admit. I'm having floral envy from all my favorite blogs showing their beautiful florals (thanks, WillOaks and the others!). So, this morning, I took my camera out to my many gardens to capture what is left of summer before it disappears. However, we got a very heavy dew this morning, so I thought I would share that with you. Just think, in another month, that dew will be frost! Above are my blueberries. Wow, what a crop this year! Guess all that northern rain worked out for something in my gardens because my veggies are not very happy!

Dew encrusted clematis. They look like they have coralline on them! I actually have two of these...one on the back patio and one winding up the bird feeder pole in the bird garden.

And, of course, no die-hard Victorian lover would be caught dead without these in thier gardens! My pansy varieties are yellow, purple and blue. This is one of the yellow ones.

Now, who says you can't grow oranges in New York? Okay, so I cheated. Back in 2005, my big brother/best friend who lived in Tampa died of melanoma cancer. He was only 39. He was as passionate about gardening as I am, so on the drive back to New York to make the arrangements for his memorial, I stopped at a gift shop and purchased this Panama Orange tree (it was a small bare root stick with a few leaves on it when I purchased it), and threw it in a pot when I got home. Of course, it winters indoors, but I have it to remember his gorgeous orange trees back behind his house. The first year it didn't do anything, however, this is the third crop of oranges I have gotten from this tree. Simply one of my favorites!

My black hollyhocks. I love hollyhocks, and the black ones ar the only ones I will grow. I got smacked with rust disease this year. I'm supposing from all the rain we have gotten. I lost alot of hollyhock plants despite my fungicide applications, but I had to let a few grow so I could get some more seeds. I have alot of people who get seeds from me. Will have to treat early next year. Maybe one more spraying before things go dormant in the fall.

Top Droppers for July

Sorry for the delay...

My Gypsy Goods
Split Rock Ranch
Hello Kitty Gifts
A Rose By Name
Silver Sachet
WillOaks Studio
Theresa's Treasures
Sharing Information
Random Ramblings
Computer Aid

Thanks, everyone!

Feature: Isla Luna on Etsy

Love fashion? Then you will love today's featured artisan, Isla Luna. Isla Luna is a recent graduated from fashion college, but has experience working in her mother's fashion company in the past and has interned in fashion companies in New York, NY. Now that she has graduated, her commitment is to bring her brilliant fashion to you! Isla Luna uses three specific fabrics in her designs: Soy, Modal (beech trees) and Cotton. Eco friendly and fabulous!

Isla Manila
Romina Top
$65

Isla Luna attests that designing and creating fashion is in her blood. Her Grandfather opened up the first textile company in the Philippines many years ago. Her mother continues to run her own business and sportswear line which was sold major department stores and her parents had a children's wear line that sold in California. Aside from fashion, Isla Luna would love to get into painting. She fondly remembers an easel she had as a child which brings back fond memories of auctioning off her pieces to her parents. Isla Luna states that she has seen a definite evolution in her pieces. She finds that she has fine tuned her sewing and the results make her very proud.

Isla Montreux
Angela Dress
$100

Isla Luna tries to stay as organized as she can. Her worktable faces a wall with hundreds of ideas and pictures to include a list of things she wants to work on next. When it comes to the creative road block, Isla Luna looks at magazines and surfs the Internet. She looks for forms that appeal to her and asks herself what she can do to improve upon it. While she is working, she listens to music in the background, however she doesn't feel the music impacts her work. She feels it plays a part in how she approaches her work. Upbeat music causes her to really have fun with what she's working on at the time whereas slower music makes her focus more.

Isla Lounge
Rishi Wrap
$60

On the business end of things, Isla Luna currently sells exclusively on Etsy, however, she has plans of selling in craft shows with a partner in the future. she feels that her biggest obstacle in her business is her family. Her parents give her so much support with what she is doing, but at the same time, they want her to return home to help them with their businesses. This poses a problem for Isla Luna as if she succumbs to her parent's wishes, her business will founder while her parents' will grow. Quite a dilemma for a dutiful daughter! On the lighter side, her most memorable accomplishment was her first sale...to someone who was not her family member. This really made her proud! As for advertising, she states she really does not have the time or money to commit at this point. After she pays off some of her fixed costs, she would like to get into advertising, but for right now she posts in the Etsy forums and engages in Twitter as IslaLuna.

Isla Bahay
Modern Cityscape Pillow with Insert
$45

I asked Isla Luna for advice for new business owners and this is what she had to say:

"The most important piece of advice I could give a new business owner is think everything through BEFORE you start selling. It's so important to fill out all the paperwork that's associated with starting your own business, even if you're just small beans like me. Think: Authorization to Collect Sales Tax, Business Permit, etc. That way when you're up and running already you don't have to stop your momentum."

The Things People Do With Buttons

I love treasuries! I never seem to score them, but I should just be happy to be featured in them! This treasury is extra special because two of my pieces appear in the treasury!

Visit The Treasury and leave your comments on this wonderful button yumminess!

This treasury is curated by hundredsofbuttons. Thanks!