The Itsybitsy Store

Featured in Niche

2010-09-28T16:28:00.001-07:00

I was contacted a while back by an editor that works for an online magazine called Niche that advertises for retailers. She asked if I would be interested in being featured, and I said sure! Today the article came out and I was excited to see my little whale party kit on the screen! You never know where it will go, but it's exciting none the less!
You can check it out here:
http://www.nichemagazine.com/2010/09/paper-arts/

Featured again...

2010-07-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well it's been months I know...I have been so busy. We welcomed the birth of our first son and ever since then life has become crazy! But crazy good. I cannot complain, I'm so in love with our new little boy and I'm loving every moment with him. Sooo my shop had to be put on the back burner again. I have still received orders here and there which has been great since I'm not working to promote right now. But it's still in my list of things to do once our life becomes a little more routine.
I received an email from a new site that had let me know they were featuring my whale theme party pack on their web page:
http://www.theindietot.com/best-of/birthday-party-theme-whale-of-a-time/
how delightful and such a nice surprise! Perhaps it will bring in more viewers which equals more sales.
Here I am along with some other sellers and their adorable whale items. I may have to have a whale themed party for our little boy...although it will be a while.

Featured

2010-05-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

I had a nice surprise yesterday when I logged onto my Etsy account. I had been (or still am) featured on the Storque on Etsy! What an unexpected blessing that was. I suddenly received a hundred hearts and was wondering why...how cool is that?

I have been busy with life and haven't had as much time as I would like to devote to my store- but soon friends! Hopefully this summer I will be updating with some new items, so be on the lookout. I have had a couple requests for things that I plan to bring to the shop. I welcome and value feedback, so that I can better provide what you want!

Just so I can capture and remember this moment:

One thing at a time, at a turtles pace it seems

2010-04-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well where has the time gone, and what have I been up to? Life in all it's intensity! I've been so busy with work (my full time job aside from my business) and the many things in our lives that the business has kind of been on the back burner. Not to say that I won't be turning it into a business but it's slower going than I thought. I did spend some time organizing my files on the computer so that everything is in one space and easy to find. I'm weeding through past designs and current ones I have posted at my shop, and seeing what I can add or delete. I know some things have gained a lot of views, but have not had any sales. So I'm wondering if I should take the design and make it a different item, or find a way to change my price for it. I'm interested to see why something is popular, but will not sell. Always a mystery I suppose. I think building my business will allow me to have faithful customers that I can reach out to for their opinions about why things are popular.
I did update my banner in my shop as well, keeping the colors fresh and modern. My palette lately is blues and greens, but then again I guess it always gravitates towards that palette, especially considering my favorite color is green.
So check it out if you haven't yet, but you probably saw it when you looked in my shop! I'd also love feedback on my products if you happen to visit my blog here. I appreciate my customers so much and love the fact that I get to create something that will bring smiles to others. I enjoy what I do with a passion and I hope that comes through in my final products.
Until next time, I'll try to post an update soon. My next project is selling some of my things in a shop, with some business cards. Finalizing the business cards now.... :)

Building a business

2010-01-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

Well where has this month gone? I set out to accomplish a list with goals and new products, and the busyness of life seems to have snuck up on me.
But on an optimistic note it is only January. I have a vision for this new year! I'd love to turn my business into an official business, as the Lord guides. I still feel passionate about things I design for my shop, and that is enough for me to know I enjoy it. When there comes a time I no longer enjoy but despise it I think it will be time to move one. But I'm not there, I'm here and I'm excited about pursuing this passion.
Perhaps this is what I'm supposed to be doing? I guess we never really know until we step out in faith. Many changes are upcoming for me for the year and so why not add this to the list :)
I went ahead and ordered the book Craft Inc. that I have talked about on here. I'm so excited to receive my very own copy. I was so impressed with how it was written, I think it will be the perfect help for me while I step out into the scary world of being a business.
I have a lot of questions about doing this, but excitement as well. I have visions of marketing my company to local shops, and what I need to do to create a marketing package for them. First things first, solidifying my logo, and all the collateral that goes with it. Next is making sure all my files are organized and easily accessible for any design changes. Organization is not my strong point unfortunately, but I've slowly developed a file system that has graduated into a more simplistic and understandable system. Now to go back to my old old files and re-organize them into the new. Sigh. This is the part that is not fun, but needed.
Prayer is my final and most prevalent tool. I seek a job that is honorable to the Lord and if this isn't the right road for me, I trust that God will provide the right one.
Now to just step out on faith, that will be the challenge!

Goals

2009-12-23T08:37:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time since I have posted on this blog. I am sorry to those that have visited only to find no new posts, week after week.

Life has been busy and full for me lately and I have had to put my shop on hold. The good thing about Etsy is that there is no pressure to update. Since I work full time during the day, I can only devote free time to my shop.

But I am back and thinking ahead to the new year and making goals for my shop! I think the only way to get things done is to make a target list as well as dates to reach those goals. I am planning to start small. My first item on the list is to develop a new item- and to provide it in several options. I am going to wait to post the item until I have all variations ready. I may provide it in boy and girl. I'm not sure.

My plan right now is to research a little more, and see what is popular in the market. My target market is still geared towards moms, and new babies and nurseries. I try to think of things that I would like to put in my own nursery, as I think that is the most honest approach to selling things. Why would I sell something I wouldn't want to buy?

So updates to come! Keep a lookout in my shop, or on my blog here. I will post soon with a target date for new projects!

for the first time

2009-11-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

I have been featured!
I received an inquiry about an order from a customer that had seen one of my products via another blog. I was interested to find out who, so I emailed back asking which blog.
It's here:

http://mymomshops.blogspot.com/index.html

Wow, that's kind of cool that someone out there found my shop and that it brought in a customer!

Inspirational read

2009-09-14T14:16:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. But I haven't been bored by any means- quite the opposite. I've had a couple orders since I've posted which is very exciting (thumbs up! I know it's nerdy but I'm excited!) and a couple requests for some different items. Sometimes I have customers inquire about things only to amount to no avail. It's all right though, I take each order as it comes as a blessing truly, since it's creating something I thoroughly enjoy.

I can kind of see a focus in the future now- at least where I would like to go with this shop. I have my dreams, and sometimes it can be scary because of the huge obstacles I can see to achieve that dream. But I am keeping it in prayer, and I'm thankful for what I am learning about running a business- small as it may be.

I am reading through a book right now that is fabulous and even though I'm halfway through I want to recommend it. It's called Craft Inc.

and I actually picked it up at the library. I'm thinking I may go ahead and purchase it after I finish it, since it has a lot of valuable and useable info in it.

But it has really been interesting to read and I love it when I find a book that I can really get into. It's also one that may ignite a passion inside you for achieving those seemingly impossible dreams.

I think the more I work for a company the more I see myself running my own company. That statement in itself is scary- and I almost shrink back and say, " what are you talking about?" as if I could never do that. I can see the long stack of doubts creeping up in my mind and I have to step back and realize I don't have to but I may actually want to.

As a Christian I take my decisions before God in prayer before I decide what to do. He has always proven faithful in providing direction and peace (oh how wonderful it is to feel this!) in my life. Right now I can honestly say I am where I am supposed to be- working full time as a graphic designer under a company. I have so many things positive and good about my current job, I just don't think it's where I will be forever.

I am loving the small time I do have to dedicate to learning more about my company, my business, my little dream.

I'm pretty happy just to have this creative outlet that allows me to indulge in something I love to do. And I'm really grateful for my hubby, that so lovingly and strongly supports me!

Maybe a new item

2009-08-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

A possibility to sell in my shop- a print I designed for my sister in law. (I took the photo too, which was fun!)

2009-08-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well, my list continues to linger, waiting for me to finish it. So goes life! I did take some time today to add a new item. It was actually a request from a fellow Etsy member. I created a girl styled print in the three series alphabet style I already made. This item seems to be popular and sell well, so I'm interested to see how the girl themed one will do.

My last order I also took extra time creating and tried to be very thoughtful about the whole finished package. I haven't been able to get feedback from my past sales, so I tried something new and actually asked for it in this past order. I created little thank you notes and hand wrote a note thanking my customer and kindly asking for feedback. She did give me feedback and it was positive! Yeah! I am not sure how often people check that, but I know I always look at others feedback to see if there were any issues in the past. Kind of like Amazon- I always pick the seller with the highest ratings.

I am going to try and really be conscientious about every little detail for each order. I think this extra step is important while trying to establish a name for your company. I want my customers to be completely satisfied and love their finished items. I love creating them and I really want this to come across in the end. If it just doesn't make you smile, it wasn't worth it for me.

I also included a little extra freebie in my past order, I made a bookmark and included it in the order. I am not sure if this helped or just seemed like too much, but either way my customer was overall happy so I like to think even that little bit helped too.

Check out my new item if you happened to find your way here to my blog. I also added a watermark this time, thanks to the suggestion of my sister who also has a beautiful shop on Etsy called Storkmail.

Here is my new print:

Branching out, finding time

2009-07-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

Never enough time! I feel that the days are going by too quickly here of late and I am not getting enough done! I took a small break from my Itsybitsy store to focus on the mundane things of life. Sometimes you need that, mentally and creatively. Now that I am refocused I feel afresh with new ideas. Unfortunately I don't have the time to devote to these ideas right now. I have a busy weekend ahead of me and it's only Thursday, but the next few days will be busy. My idea for now is to do what I cringe at: make a list. I'm hoping that by doing this I won't lose sight of the goals I would like to accomplish. So here goes, until I have the time to sit and do these things:

Create calling cards.
Create folded gift tags.
Create a girl three piece alphabet nursery print.
Create my own business cards.
Create flyers for Itsybitsy.
Create marketing packages for companies- this will be a long time in coming.

I have gone back and forth with several marketing ideas to help bring in more visitors to my shop. The only thing keeping me is the fact that I have a day job- my 'real' job. If I do market and pick up more customers do I have the time to complete orders right now? I guess the answer to that is do I want to devote time to filling orders right now? I have read stories of so many other entrepreneurs starting out in the beginning and over and over it is repeated that they had to work like a dog in the beginning of their business before it was productive. I realize it takes a long time before you can sit back (so to speak) and relax in the realization that your company is productive. So my biggest obstacle is myself.
I also don't want to get burnt out- jumping into this means being involved with my designs on a daily basis, and I really enjoy designing everything right now. It would make me sad to think I no longer enjoy it. My faith comes into this side of it, I truly am trusting in the Lord to provide guidance in all my ways. "In all thy ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct thy paths".
So I will keep working on my shop as I find blocks of time, and I will slowly work on a marketing plan. In the meantime I am reading more books about small business and I'll share what I learn if I feel it's worth sharing! Oh the joys of self doubting!

A great resource

2009-07-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

I found this book in the library and found it to be a real encouragement and resource for starting a business. It's filled with stories of different women that ventured out to start their own companies doing what they were passionate about. Beautiful pictures of their products are on every other page and make it really fun to go through the book. Especially for short attention span people like me....pictures are awesome.