Starting Over

Ok, so it's been a long time since I added anything to this blog and there is of course a huge reason for that. I'm actually going to re-opening my store and so here is my huge update. Previously my store was centered around crochet toys, which I really do miss, but all that crocheting created a huge problem for me. Over a year ago, all the crocheting I was doing took a toll on my hands and I actually had developed carpal tunnel. Not good for a crochet artist, I know! While spending 3 days a week in occupational therapy I realized that in order to be a succesful shop (atleast as succesful as I ultimately would like to be in my craft) I wouldn't be able to crochet everything in my shop in a volume that was going to be beneficial for my business. Especially with the pain I was experiencing, I knew that there was no way for me to be able to crochet enough. With that in mind I had decided to take some time to help my hands recover and stopped selling. I really needed to not only allow me hands to get to place where I could craft again, but I also wanted to think of new and exciting products that I create and still stay true to the style I wanted my shop to have. Now, almost a year after this experience, I'm in a commpletely different place in my life. It's hard to believe how much can change in just one year. First, I'm expecting my second child, and my husband and I couldn't be more excited. This has opened my eyes to what I really want in life, and that is my dream of owning my own successful business. Ever since I was younger, owning my own business and working for myself has something I have always wanted. I believe that I've come too far to just give up now. Bringing a life into the world makes you think not only of what you want for your children, but what you want for yourself. I realize now that I was most happy when I was creating and selling my work. Never do I want to give up on that, and that's not what I want to portray to my children. So with that being said, and the decision made, I've decided to re-open my shop. I've thought long and hard about what else I wanted to put in my shop. Starting from scratch isn't always easy and it took me a long time to think of what I wanted to do. Crochet has always been a love of mine and I definitely don't want to give up on that, especially considering how much I've worked to perfect my skill. I feel that I can still crochet in moderation and create things that hopefully won't have such a huge impact on my joints like many of my toys did. So then came the idea of what else I might create to supplement the crochet but stay true to what I love to create. I sometimes like to think of myself as a jack-of-all-trades and can do a lot of things, but I wanted to stay within my style. Ever since I had my daughter in 2007 I realized that I loved to create not only childrens items, but things of whimsy and youthful creativity that put a smile on your face. Before I had decided to sell my crochet, I thought of selling painted items. I've always enjoyed buying little wooden trinkets from the thrift store and craft store and painting them up as gifts for others. Though my painting isn't at a level I would like it to be I think that I can get it there with some practice and persistence. I've always painted these things occasionally, so if I keep at it I know that I will get better. I also have a love for miniature things and doll houses, so I want to create some sort of play toys with wooden object that will be portable. I definitely don't want to go too far into detail with this but it will definitely fit the 7polkadots style. Also, I'm going to be expanding into another obsession of mine, and that's Twilight! I know I'm an adult but I love the Twilight novels and the movies and I know how much of a fanatic I can be so I want to be able to share that with my fellow Twi-hards, LOL! Trust me, it's going to be amazing! In preparation for my re-opening, I wanted to be sure that I'm doing everything all out. I went to my local library and found an amazing book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Selling Your Crafts. Now I don't generally read those Idiot's Guide's or those Books for Dummies, but this book is amazing. Most books I had found previously about selling your crafts were 20 years old or more and weren't really relevant to todays advances. Many of them only talked about writing a business plan, getting licenses, and selling at craft shows. As we all know today, the internet is ahuge commerce of venues and commerce. This book is actually brand new (published 2010) and talks about Etsy (even give syou step by step instructions on how it works), other online venues, and what to do if you want to be a casual seller or an active seller. There is an amazing amount of info in this book that is so easy to understand and has helped me so much. I'm beginning to sound like a commercial so all I'm gonna say is if you want to know more about this book visit http://www.craftchannels.com/ for more info and even resources. So since I'm starting over I have so much to do now. At the time of writing this entry you might be able to see that my blog is completely bare, and that's because I'm in the process of creating a whole new look for the shop so that means a new blog look as well. I've partly started it already so it's definitely a work in progress. I'll be getting everything set up soon and hopefully I'll be able to create enough items to put in my shop soon and have a GRAND Re-Opening Sale! I'm very excited and I only hope I can get things going before the Christmas season completely takes off, but we'll see! I hope to keep the blog updated better than I have in the past and can keep you interested enough to come back often and have fun! Thanks for stopping by and reading this rediculously long entry, but I was just so excited I couldn't contain myself! Come back soon for more info! :) -Chassity O.