Newsletter Crew:
Andrea of Handmade by Andrea Baker
Brandy of Wyles Style
Sarah of Scrapadot
Shannon of All Grown Up
Tamara of TPdesign
SPRING ETSYMOM CHARITY AUCTION - UPDATE
The EtsyMom Spring charity auction is up and running! Seventeen members donated items with a total combined retail value of more than $150.00! It is listed on MommyAuctions.com at Happy House Quilt’s store. See the auction live (and even bid if you want to!) by visiting http://www.mommyauctions.com/EtsyMom-Charity-Gift-Basket,name,61801,auction_id,auction_details. The auction will end on March 19 and half of the proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald House. You can also view the basket, as well as each individual entry, here on the blog.
The more people know about the auction, the better its success will be! We would love for everyone to help spread the word about the auction, even if you didn’t donate an item. Please share by posting the info on your blog (click here for a pre-made blog entry for you to cut and paste), commenting on other people’s blogs, talking about it in the Etsy forums, the MommyAuctions.com forums and anywhere else you can think of. We hope to do many more events like this in the future!
SPOTLIGHT
To be featured in this section, please post your Spotlight Moments here.
On Valentine's Day, Jodi of Happy House Quilts was featured on Cool Mom Picks with her Rainy Day Barrettes. Happy House Quilts was also featured in A Boutique Life Blog, an online resource to boutique clothing, accessories and decor. The title of her post is: Get inspired! Happy House Quilts what have we been missing?
Tamara of TPdesign was featured on Funky Finds Blog as a follow up for the Etsy Dallas Truck Show. Tamara has also been asked to write an article for Sara’s Texture Crafts.
Craftabulous has been featured at JJM Finance Survey. This is a great read about Craftabulous.
Handmade by Andrea Baker was featured on Bellissimo Musings.
SHOP OF THE MONTH
This month’s featured shop is Terronda Clarke of UniqueCommodities.
Terronda has been on Etsy since April of 2007 and happened upon Etsy on a Google search for another item. When she took the time to look at all the handmade items, she was hooked and immediately opened shop!
Terronda had this to say when I asked her what inspired her to be an EtsyMom: "I have always been an entrepreneur at heart and have tried my hand at a little bit of everything. Being a single parent, I had to find a venue that allowed me to have extra income and be home with my kids. My online venue became that venue. Now that that my kids are grown and I am officially a grand mommy I am continuing my business partly because I want to able to set the pace for other single parents. I want to be an example of how to make income without being away from their families so much".
Terronda’s workshop is a little corner of her three bedroom apartment overlooking a beautiful lake. She was gracious enough to give us a view!
Terronda has two kids that are age 20 and 18 and one pretty little granddaughter who she works from home to take care of 3 days a week. She also works outside the home as a consultant.
I asked Terronda what inspired her to make her sorority bags: "I was looking for another online venue trying to find a niche and as I looked at sororities I noticed they were a popular commodity. I was already making other types of totes so I decided to make some that represented different sororities and it has been a great seller for me"!
She would like others to know that her shop is a melting pot of her creative ideas and talents. From tote bags to hand made jewelry, to photos of nature and a bit of other unique commodities in between. She loves happy customers! Here are few items she would like to show off:
We are Branches- Photography
Elite Jewelry Making Kit
Junie B. Jones Tote Bag
BIRTHDAYS
The following members celebrate their birthdays this month. Happy Birthday Moms!
| allsweet cloud9designstudio sjcreations pumpkinseedmama sugarbuzz | kardkreations llingdesigns presentbydesign janymarie bagsbychrissy |
BUSINESS TIPS AND TRICKS
Getting Ready for Craft Fairs
After countless hours researching craft fairs here are some great ideas to keep in mind as you get ready for your next craft fair.
Make sure you have a good little "survival kit". These are things that you should include: a small tool set, a first aid kit, a cell phone, extra batteries (for things like the kid's games and your cash register), snacks and drinks, a blanket and my all time favorite: the ever-so versatile duct tape! A few other things include glue or glue gun, hammer and nails, etc. to fix the crafts that didn’t survive the trip to the show and a roll of paper towels - you never know when you or your customers might have an accident.
Other things that you need to remember to bring are plenty of business cards, any promo items, good signage, table cloths, pen and paper (write down new ideas), receipt pad or cash register and last but not least, a good friend so you don't get bored!
When it comes to inventory control this was one idea I came across... When we were big into the retail scene, we simply kept a hand-written log of sales as they occurred. At the end of the show, the list would be organized by the type of product sold and then the information would go into a simple database. This made inventory easy to track and we would always know what the best sellers were and what product lines needed to be filled before the next show.
Next how much money should you bring for change? Always a great question. Around $50 - $100 per day should be enough for an average sized show, when you are in your home town/area. If you are out of town at a large show that will be lasting for several days, you will want to bring more. Remember that many people use $20 bills. And if someone wants you to provide change for a $100 bill, just ask them for something smaller, or to use a credit card if you accept them.
NEW MEMBERS
Welcome to the 108 new EtsyMoms who joined the team in February!