Shop Update

My Etsy shop is up and running again after some price revamping for that market, but don't balk at those prices just yet! Yes, they are higher, but remember that those prices are going to be different than my local/craft fair prices (which have also had a slight price adjustment to reflect time and materials). Anyone who placed a custom order with me prior to this price change will still be charged the old price. Also, contacting and buying from me directly, (not through Etsy) will result in a discounted price (from the Etsy prices), as explained in my earlier pricing post. No more losing money for me!

Here's a look at things to come in the next month or two.

Rings: I am awaiting a shipment of ring bases to begin working on those. (Survey results coming soon). You can expect to see some of those in my shop by the end of the month. Update: Ring bases arrived yesterday!

Bracelets: I am getting ready to place my order for bracelet bases and as soon as I receive all of the supplies for these, I should be able to start on those right away and have those in my shop by the end of January or beginning of February.Update: Supplies for bracelets were purchased today!

Headband holders: I will probably start making these in February (unless you contact me earlier for a custom order), as I have already had some interest in them. Canisters are being collected and the kinks are being worked out now. I don't know that I will be listing these in my Etsy shop, or just offering them through Facebook and personal sales.

Headbands: I have had several questions about headbands for infants, so I am now going to start offering crochet head wraps along with the elastic and fabric-wrapped headbands. These will be available for fabric flowers, 3" poms, and the "coming-soon" felt flowers. The fabric-wrapped plastic headbands that I usually use are starting to get a little difficult to find in different colors. This may mean that they are on their way out and will need to be replaced by something else, (another reason why I now sell my fabric flowers by themselves).

Felt Flowers: I really love the one I made, so I will be making these within the next month or so too. They will be available as pins, clips, and headbands. Flower designs will include dahlias and sunflowers, with the possibility of others.

I think that may be it for updates right now. Starting next week, I will be working two days a week (baby-sitting on Tuesdays and subbing on Fridays), so that will help move things along, I hope.

Bracelet Survey Results

Thank you again to everyone who participated in my marketing surveys. I really appreciate it! Overall, the feedback has been great, with maybe one or two questionable comments thrown in here and there.

I really wish I knew who responded with which answers, because a few of you went above what I expected to receive as far as feedback goes. Unfortunately, the survey results only tell me the city the responders are located near, so unless you are from somewhere other than NY (Ohio, Virginia, Maine, Maryland, Connecticut, etc...), then I have no way of knowing who you were. So please don't be offended if I don't offer up a personal thank you for replying!

But on to the results!

For the bracelet survey, 31 people responded:

Photo/Project Credit: The Mother Huddle

1. If you were to wear one of these bracelets, would you wear it in antique copper (shown), silver, or gold/brass? (Select all that apply).

• Antique copper - 67.7% (21)
• Silver - 67.7% (21)
• Gold/Brass - 38.7% (12)

2. Which colors, (in print fabrics) would you prefer? (Select all the apply)

• Blues -67.7% (21)
• Purples- 58.1% (18)
• Greens - 67.7% (21)
• Reds- 45.2 % (14)
• Oranges- 51.6% (16)
• Yellows - 48.4 % (15)
• Browns - 58.1% (18)
• Pinks- 41.9% (13)
• Other: "all colors"; "black and white (together)"; "mixed up palette"; "All"; "prints are cute"; "any fun color combos you come up with!"

(Note about this question: I have no idea why I didn't include blacks and grays, or neutral colors in with the responses. I meant to....)

3. What min/max price range would you pay for one of these?

• The average range of responses ended up being $14-$17.42, with $15-$20 actually being the price range given the most . The lowest suggestion was $9 (which no offense to the person who made that one, but it made me laugh because that wouldn't even earn me back my total cost to make the bracelets!), and the highest price given was $25.

Someone brought up the issue of our county (St. Lawrence) being the poorest in New York, indicating that prices should be on the lower end of the price range to be able to sell in this area. As I stated in my previous post, I do agree with this, as far as selling at craft fairs goes. You really should consider your average customer when selling locally. However, when it comes to selling on Etsy, I do believe that I could sell these for prices at the higher end of the range without any problems.

My "Magic Pricing Worksheet" (see previous post) is actually pretty spot on with what the feedback has been, (although I just realized that the price I entered did not include how much it would cost to ship the supplies to me). The suggested wholesale price is $20, "safe" price is $25, and the retail price is $40. (If you read my previous post about pricing, then you will understand what those mean. If you have not read my previous post, which based on the stats, most of you haven't, then shame on you. Go read it now).

Overall, the response to these bracelets was all positive. There were a few very enthusiastic responses to this item, ("LOVE THIS BRACELET!!!! SO FUN!"), which was very encouraging. I am definitely going to be making this in the very near future, so watch out for them! The only thing that I am waiting on is my seller.

I have not been able to find any of the bases that I will need for this bracelet locally, so I am ordering them online through Etsy. This specific design of bracelet base has been difficult to track down, and of the three (?) places that I have found it, the ones on Etsy have been the cheapest, and it's only available in the antique copper. Thankfully, I found them early, before anyone else did, because they are the only listing for these bases on Etsy. Unfortunately, the listing was only for two bracelets, and I definitely want more than that. Fortunately, this Etsy seller was kind enough to place the bracelets on reserve for me while he/she collected a few more on his/her restock days. I am assuming that he/she buys these locally at a supply store and then resells them, which is fine by me, because the price is still cheaper than anything I have been able to find elsewhere for them. These bracelets may be in limited supply because of this though, so when I do start making them, if you see one that you love, then you had better act fast! :-)

How's that for a promotion strategy?

Future items to make?

I have been tossing around the idea of including rings, earrings, and bracelets to my inventory. One of the reasons is because they will use up my pieces of scrap fabrics that are too small for the regular poms and flowers, but also because I want to add a bigger variety of items to the ones that I already make. These three items also seem to be ones that most women wear more of.

The rings that I would like to make would be smaller versions of the poms, (think 1" or less), attached to a metal adjustable ring base. I don't have a photo of what they would look like, so you will have to use your imagination to picture it. I have received some positive feedback from some women I spoke with this weekend. One specifially told me that she would DEFINITELY buy a ring if I made those (I am holding her to it!). These would probably be the easiest of the three to make.

The earrings that I would like to make would look similar to these post earrings made by Jessica over at Happy Together:

These look easy enough to make, but the fabric circles used for this are only the size of a dime, so they may prove tricky for my clumsy fingers. But I think they are really cute, great for women or girls, and would be an excellent way to use up the tiny fabric scraps I have collected.

The last project idea is to make fabric button bracelets. I fell in love with the one that is featured in the tutorial over at The Mother Huddle:

Unfortunately, this would be the most expensive of the pieces to make. The bracelet bases average about $3.00 apiece, and the button kits are also about $3.00, which only includes 10 buttons and the bracelet requires 9. So unless I could ensure that these bracelets would be a popular item and a great seller, then it probably would not even be doable (read: affordable) for me right now. Perhaps if I was working several days a week.... But I do really like them, so they are staying on the top of the possibilities list.

Opinions? Would you buy any of these items? Do you think one would be a better seller than the others? Which should I attempt first? (Leave a comment or participate in my new polls on the right margin).

Full Inventory!

I now have ALL of my inventory on hand! I picked up the rest of my inventory while I was out at my mom's after Christmas. The main reasons for doing this was because the packaging information and prices were out-of-date, and also because I wanted to list some of the items in my Etsy shop.

I am also excited to start making some new items, including adjustable pom rings, fabric flower earrings, and fabric button bracelets. But first I need to track down the supplies, which are pretty limited in this area. Looks like I'll be headed online for them.I also plan to make a photo box, now that I have an adjustable desk lamp, so I can improve the photos of my items; the light and color on them are not right at all.

I will be posting some new listings on Esty soon, so keep an eye on it!

Happy New Year, everyone!