Your Handmade Business and Etsy

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The world has changed so much with technology and the internet compared to when I was a kid (my children cannot believe there was no such thing as internet then!) I remember travelling to craft shows with my mom and that was how you sold your handmade creations back then. Nowadays there are many selling platforms available online for those who want to sell their craft and Etsy is definatley at the forefront. For those of you who haven't explored this amazing marketplace,  Etsy was launched in 2005 as an ecommerce site for handmade and vintage items as well as supplies. While it has changed and grown over the years I personally still find it extremely user friendly and economical to list on. There are tons of great resources out there for those looking to start or grow their own Etsy shop.

 In my recent post Looking Ahead in 2019 I mentioned that I wanted to refocus on my products in my Etsy shop. While great products, appealing pictures and good use of tags (words that people use to find your items) are essential I have found that adding more products translates to more sales. Makes sense right? In previous years I have had as many as almost 200 items listed and if I'm really serious about focusing on continued growth for Kawartha Beads (which I am!) then I would like to get back to that number. While this tactic may not prove true for everyone or even attainable, it is something that I KNOW works for me. Additionally, in the early days of Kawartha Beads I wrote a series of posts Etsy Shop Blog Series and I went back and reread those articles and most of that information still holds true today plus it made me take a look at my shop through beginner eyes again vs. those of someone who has been selling there for almost a decade.

I mean seriously when was the last time I went through and reviewed what tags were on my products? Do my products have more than one picture? I changed how I present my products several years ago and as I went through my listings I noticed that many of them do not have a picture of the new cards I put my products on. Something to add to the to-do list. Watch for my Etsy shop check-in in the weeks to come!

Looking Ahead in 2019

It's hard to believe that we are already almost half way through the first month of 2019! The Christmas decorations are finally away and as the kids are back in school so it's time to think about what the year ahead holds for Kawartha Beads!

I am happy with the regrowth of my business in 2018. After taking time off to get life in order it was great to get back to creating and reinforced that for this year I want Kawartha Beads to grow to the next level so here are my goals....hopefully my loyal fans will help keep me accountable!

1) My Etsy Shop

I have been a part of Etsy since 2010 and while it has grown and changed a lot it continues to be a great selling platform. Over the past decade I typically hover around the 100 listings mark. That's a pretty good variety of items but to take it to the next level I would like to challenge myself to get to AT LEAST 200 items although closer to 500 would be ideal. 

2) Retail Opportunities
I have had the pleasure of working with many great businesses over the years selling wholesale, through commissioned opportunities and through renting booth space. I'm exploring all 3 options for the current calendar year.

3) Craft Shows/Markets
The craft show scene is one area I have never quite mastered. The shows I choose just never seem to be well attended and while I usually cover my table fee and expenses for the day they do not tend to be a great money maker. I do however, try to use each show as a learning opportunity. It is a great chance to actually get my products out on display, interact with people and see what they are looking at and interested in in person and to make other contacts in the craft business. I am going to try and do several shows in 2019 and hopefully I land on afew that are a good fit for Kawartha Beads.

4) Amazon Handmade
Amazon launched its handmade category in 2015 on its .com and has expanded in recent years to include other marketplaces...such as .ca. Amazon handmade is juried, meaning not everyone can join, you have to apply with your products and be accepted. Kawartha Beads was lucky enough to be involved very early in the process and while I didn't have a huge response with the .com since the Canadian version has launched it is an area that deserves more focus. I am currently working on sending all of my items to FBA meaning that Amazon will fulfill my orders for me and they can be part of Prime, etc. I will delve more into this in a future post. 

5) Home Parties
In the very early days of Kawartha Beads I did a ton of home parties and it is an aspect of my business that I greatly miss. Home parties are intimate and a great opportunity to truly interact with your customers. I have done lunch hour parties where I set up in the break room, porch parties where I set up on a beautiful after on the porch and evening parties. For the year ahead I definitely want to relaunch home parties. If you would like to be a hostess feel free to message me on Facebook to discuss!

6) Blogging
Last but not least this blog! I want to commit to write at least one post a week for the remainder of the year sharing with you not only my journey but a breakdown of all of the above topics in greater detail, new products, crafty business tips, ways to organize your workspace, some of my favourite crafty things and more! What would you like me to write more about? Stop by the Kawartha Beads Facebook page and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

Winter Blues Sale Now On!

Kawartha Beads Giveaway on Simply Frugal

I'm thrilled to have once again been included in Simply Frugal's Holiday Gift Guide for Etsy. Be sure to stop by and check out all of the great Etsy businesses AND be sure to enter the giveaway for a $40 Gift Pack from Kawartha Beads!

A Thanksgiving Celebration

The Canadian Thanksgiving weekend will be upon us shortly. While it reminds me that summer is behind us and snow is on the horizon I just love all of the beautiful decor, luxurious colours and of course delicious food associated with this time of year. Below find a collection of some of my fav's and be sure to stop by these amazing businesses and pages to find out more!

 

Top Left: Pammett's Flower Shop

Top Right: Locket and Load It

Bottom Left: Sarita Baby

Bottom Right: Delmar Creations

Kawartha Beads Holiday Deadlines

Hard to believe it but Christmas is right around the corner! If you are looking for a Kawartha Beads treasure to give this holiday season please keep in mind the following shipping deadlines to ensure your goodies arrive in time for Christmas:

International shipping cutoff date: November 22nd
Canada and US order deadline: December 9th
My Etsy shop will be in vacation mode beginning December 9th until December 26th
Local deliveries: December 20th

Please note that if you order through a Kawartha Beads consultant their order deadlines may vary from those above so be sure to contact them directly.

Have a wonderful holiday season and thank you for shopping small business handmade!

Introducing Kawartha Beads newest product line!

After searching for the perfect charm for creating Father's Day keyrings (and coming up empty) I decided to try my hand at metal stamping. My new product line, created from metal washers, will give a sentimental gift that is still manly and rugged!

Each keyring is handstamped with the word Dad, Papa or Grandpa and accented with a silver toned charm. Currently available are the golf themed keyrings but watch for more charm varieties to be added in the next couple of weeks. Stop by my Facebook page to grab yours or watch for them to come in my Etsy shop.

Long Weekend Special at Delmar Creations

May long weekend sale at www.delmarcreations.etsy.com

Receive 25% OFF your purchase (excluding shipping) when you enter the coupon code 25MAYLONGWEEKEND at checkout. This is the perfect time to get yourself a "Delmar Creation". Coupon is valid until midnight on Monday, May 20th.

Have you thought beyond your Etsy shop?

I have actually been thinking alot lately about my shop beyond Etsy. I guess I'm not the only one! This article popped up in my inbox today and I thought it was an interesting read. Enjoy!

10 Reasons Why Etsy is a Starting Point (but only a starting point)

Check out Kawartha Beads in the Simply Frugal Holiday Gift Guide

I'm thrilled to announce that Kawartha Beads has been included in the Simply Frugal 2012 Holiday Gift Guide for Etsy. Be sure to stop by and check out all of the talented artisans, enter for your chance at a $40 Kawartha Beads online gift certificate AND grab a special coupon code just for Simply Frugal readers! This is one of my favourite blogs and I'm so honoured to be included. Happy holidays!!!

5 Links Worth Reading for Your Crafty Business

Curl up with a hot cup of coffee on this rainy day and enjoy this week's 5 Links Worth Reading for Your Crafty Business. 

• 1,000 Sales in My First Year of Business- Low Cost Marketing Strategies
• 3 Tips to Get More Product Reviews and Giveaways 
• How To Start A Start Up 
• 5 Tools for Reducing Crochet Related Hand Pain 
• A Quick Tip for Managing Your Orders This Holiday Season

Holiday Shipping Deadlines

Order early to ensure you get all of your Kawartha Beads treasures in time for the holidays! The International shipping deadline (for everywhere other than Canada and the US) is November 30th.

My Etsy Shop will close for the holiday season at noon Eastern on December 8th to allow me time to finish up orders and enjoy some time with my family for the Christmas season. I will continue to take local orders until December 14th. My shop will reopen on Boxing Day with an end of season clearout special so you can treat yourself to a Kawartha Beads treasure if you didn't get one for the holidays!

5 Links Worth Reading for Your Crafty Business

We've got an extremely busy weekend planned with some fun family outings as well as some orders to finish off. What do you have planned for your weekend? If you get a chance here are some interesting reads for your crafty business:

• Etsy Business Advice from Top Selling Knitter Pixiebell
• 25 Things to do on Your Lunch Break to Further your Etsy Business
• Preparation H- H is for "Holidays"
• Etsy Sellers Can't Afford to Ignore Pinterest
• "Playing to Fail"- The Harsh Reality of Why 99% of Entrepreneurs Don't Make It

Introducing: Karina Made This

Talented local artisan Karina has been a loyal Kawartha Beads blog follower for some time. I'm thrilled to introduce her shop Karina Made This, home to fun and whimsical costume jewellery for all occasions. With earrings that are sure to be the talk of any party to charm bracelets for the die hard Hunger Games Fan there is sure to be something for even the hardest person to buy for on your holiday list. Be sure to stop by and check out her Etsy Shop.

My Preparations for the Holidays Continued

So my original get prepped for the holidays plan didn't quite work out. Not surprising with two little ones but now that my oldest is in kindergarten and my youngest sometimes still naps I'm making a bit of progress.

I'm back up to 170 listings in my Etsy shop AND almost all of those are already made and packaged. I'm now working on multiples of my most popular items. While I love the look of my new packaging it is much more time consuming so I'm trying  to get extras made in advance. I also have pre-return addressed a bunch of envelopes and customs forms. Last but not least I've been trying to stock my freezer so that I don't need to worry about cooking dinner (for the most part). I've detailed a bit of those endeavours on my other blog Kawartha Bargains.   No sense in wasting those hard earned dollars on tons of takeout because I'm too busy to feed everyone!

I've been asked by a couple of readers what they should expect for the next couple of months. The answer to that is that I have no real answer. If you are already selling steadily on Etsy then be prepared to continue with that trend and I suggest having a couple of your most popular items ready to ship quickly. If you are not experiencing frequent sales then take this time to review your tags and photos. Also don't forget to tap into your local market via Facebook, craft fairs, etc. AND as always seek fun ways to promote your shop at the prime shopping time of the year. REMINDER: I am happy to feature fellow handmade artisans on my blog so feel free to let me know if you are interested!

New for the Holidays!

I'm super excited to get some new treasures created for the holiday season. These beautiful snowflake charms make great necklaces and earrings and give you a great accessory to take you from November all the way through February! They would be a wonderful addition for anyone who is having a winter/snowflake themed wedding.

Click here to check out the details of my Snowflake Charm Necklace.

Free Ebook: Craft Business Heroes

I can't wait for the kiddos to go to sleep tonight so I can delve into this FREE EBOOK! I always love to read inspiring stories from others in the crafty biz. Grab your FREE copy of Craft Business Heroes for Kindle and get inspired!  
Be sure to check it is still free before you order.

Don't have a Kindle? Download Kindle for your PC here (I have it and love it!)

Organizing my Office Space with Yard Sale Finds

My hubby and I are thrilled to finally live in town and love getting up on a Saturday morning to wander the Farmer's Market and yard sales in the area. Here are a couple of finds that we have used for my office space and I'm SO in love with them! The first is an old mail holder. I love how it has oodles of slots and I've decided to use it to store all my jewellery cards, customs forms, business cards and anything else of that sort. Now I just have to finish getting it loaded up! Cost: $5

Almost everyone I know (or their mother) has had one of these at some point. The wooden shelf with a heart in it (this one happens to be a plate rail) but I love that it is both long and thin and perfect for displaying my product. At some point I'm going to put a dowel underneath to hold all of my ribbon (add it to the project list!) Cost: $1

Now all of my product and my packaging materials are within reach above my packing table and are no longer taking up valuable space ON TOP of the table!


What are some of your favourite tips for organizing your office space/studio/craft room?

Custom Order for the Golf League

These fabulous zipper pulls are heading out to be gifts for a golf league. They easily clip onto a golf bag (or purse or backpack in off season) and are topped off with beautiful striped oval beads. Such a fun order to create!

My preparations for the holiday shopping season: Week 1

I can hardly believe it but I have already begun holiday preparations for the upcoming season! Over the next four weeks I'm hoping to have my wheels in motion and be prepared for a stress free and hopefully busy season. Week One: Order supplies...alot of supplies! I just finished a big charm order, am getting stocked up on chain and findings and other creating goodies as well as bags for packaging. This week I also hope to order another case of envelopes and get some new colours of cardstock for making product cards. With everything on its way I guess I'd better make Week Two organize my studio/office space! Stay tuned to see how that works out!

How are you getting your handmade business ready for the holiday season? What do you expect this year to bring?