Well this is a first for me and I am excited and nervous. I have just been in Etsy chat listening to people telling me the benefits of blogging. I have never really blogged and I don't want to bore people but I am giving it a go and will start with something I am passionate about,
CLEAR CUT CRAFTS!!!
Over 18 months ago I was sitting at my computer doing some computer art when I started designing some butterflies. I wanted to make some butterflies to stick on my windows and it got me thinking. So I spent hours designing then got some plastic and printed them off on my inkjet printer they looked great and worked great for what I needed.
After seeing how great they looked I thought maybe I could sell these so I started designing more and creating more uses. testing them on different surfaces and using different adhesive products.I sold them at a few markets to see how consumers would take to them and to my surprise they were a hit. I gave my mother some and she had a spill on them then ran off to wash it and OH Heavens!!! sorry to all those that bought them prior but the ink ran.
That really put a dampener on my business dreams, but I persisted and contact printing companies and then decided to invest in my future and purchase a very expensive printer that would heatseal the ink which would protect butterflies. By now the excitement was back and I had a photographer off taking photos at butterfly houses. I was able to purchase overseas butterfly pictures and I went back to designing. By December I had built up to 40 butterflies, 2 dragonflies and 1 or 2 ladybugs.
it is so hard to put faith into making craft a business and I am sure other crafters have wanted to but been to afraid to take the risk. I say"DO IT" I love seeing my stuff be posted out and getting the feedback from my clients. I now sell on a few sites and sales are growing and people are loving them.
At first I thought florists would be interested and some would buy to just stick them around the home or office. Well now their uses have grown so much. My most successful sales now come from Brides to Be and Scrapbookers, but their are many more. They can go on soaps or in them, Jewellery makers have set them in resins and glass, Card Makers and Cake decorators use them to enhance their artwork and the list goes on.
I hope i am not boring you all with this little rambling but I suppose that what blogging is about.
One of the reasons for writing this was to stay positive and share what I think has made a difference to sales for me. I have been using the pay it forward theory. I give away free butterflies as silent rewards to some. i give back all I can and i stay positive about what doing this craft means to me. It has built my confidence, it has given me a goal and to hear how happy I make some people when they receive them is worth all the hours spent designing and not having the money coming in.
It is now August 2008 and I have 4 or 5 stores online, my designs have increased to over 100 styles which come in many different colours and sizes. I look forward to working now as I am creating and in charge of my own future. what i put in will decide what I get out of it..
I would love anyone who is interested to stop by my stores and let me know what they think. I love constructive feedback and will welcome any comments.
Hopefully I will get the hang of this blogging and have some laughs in the future ones.
Here are a few of my stores.
http://www.clearcutcrafts2007.etsy.com and
http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/vshops.aspx?shopid=6228
Thanks for listening:)
