Hello Again!

Ok so it's been a hot minute... so I apologize for that... But I had lots of stuff going on! So lets update from where we left off... Sunflower Express the Show seems to be headed towards hiatus-ville for the indefinite future and I have decided that instead of letting all that hardwork go to waste, I would keep the shop open and EVENTUALLY (as in when it seems appropriate) merge Sunflower Express with ShesSoCrafty on Etsy. For now the shops are seperate and doing well.

I have just completed the first straight etsy wholesale order and it went very well!

I will say this much... Think about your pricing hard core before you dive into wholesaling make sure the money is worth the time and effort, and remember unless you are a seller who has gobs of stuff hanging out all the time to just choose from, you will be making stuff and that takes away from time you could be making other stuff like for your shop or for shows. Pricing is key and it keeps you motivated if you know that you are getting paid decently for your products.

I posted in the forums on Etsy as to how to handle an on Etsy Wholesale order as they were foreign to me. I got lots of helpful information but I think the decision on how you handle things is completely up to you. For this first order I chose to go thru E. If this ends up being a return order I will definitely then consider going off Etsy and conducting this my self thru invoicing. Some people are very leary of being scammed, I on the other hand like to be a little bit flexible in determining my terms depending on the order and the customer. All in all this was a delightfully pleasant experience. I hope it leads to loads more!

Back to the blog front.... I will be trying to get myself back into a normal grove with this.... I will also be trying to migrate my SE handmade content over here as well so I don't loose those posts either! So regardless if you are a reader thanks for stopping by and I look forward to lots of crafty bits in the future!

Cheers

L

NEWY McNEW NEW...

So what have I been up to for the last month???? Making stuff. Of course :). I have been experimenting with colors and different techniques. I'm approaching this like play time (which it is). Felt really truly is one of my favorite mediums to play with. I am preparing for the Philadelphia Buyers Market which will hopefully help me rake in some wholesale accounts and hopefully some CASH. Hopefully Etsy sales will start trickling in again...
Sunflower Express has also begun two other shops. We have one on ArtFire called The Felted Underground, and another on 1000markets called that as well. I am still adjusting to the managing the multiple venues deal. Tricky, Tricky.
I have been doing alot of reading lately about trends.
I mean seriously is anything really new? Is there really an original idea to be had? When it comes to colors, and shapes and styles isn't the designers job now just to regurgitate all of those things into something that doesn't resemble day old bread? I spend alot of time looking at pictures for inspiration of not just felt stuff but clothing and "real" jewelry (don't forget shoes, they are my favorite peice of architectural accessories). I fully realize my style vacillates between kitch and uptown girl but I'm doing that with felt so that (at least in my mind) still makes it cool. I think of it as a little hippie chick with a dash of gypsy and a pinch of bohemiana (I SWEAR TO GOD IF I START MY OWN LINE THAT IS What i'm calling it.)
Preparing the line for The wholesale show has gotten me really thinking about the details of it all the small things, the prepping, the making sure everything is just right and just so. It's nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time... I'm like this all the time but for this I want it to be spectacular... I want it to be special. So I work my ass off lol... Here you can see some of the current work.

Things I'm learning Thru Our Etsy Shop

Ok so when I opened my first shop concentrating on my fine art and illustration it was tough... I didn't know how to market it, I was just kinda thowing coins in the air and seeing where they lay. It took me a year to get 6 sales on etsy. When we started the Sunflower Express shop Knowing what I have learned in Marketing the show and running that business on a completely different level, I think I started to approach the new etsy shop in a completely different way.
Marketing is key. I use all of my social skills to market sometimes it is completely overwhelming how much time I actually spend marketing. Of course this takes some of the fun out of the whole creating for a living thing but IT WORKS.
I love seeing what other people are working on and how they interpret life thru what they create... You can tell A lot about someone based on what they create. I'm drawn to the quirky stuff on etsy... I can spot a fellow quirkster a mile away.
Our intention was to create lots of stuff for kids but the whole CPSIA nonsense kinda killed that. I create stuff for adults mostly now... kids really love our cuff bracelets and button rings. Hopefully if the stupid law can get changed or repealed I can go back to doing that in the future. But the line is taking off.
We got some of our notecards in a boutique in Berlin Maryland called A Perfect Touch on Main Street. Its the cutie little town where they shot the movie Runaway Bride. Which is very cool if only for the fact that I love that movie.

I'm learning to branch out. To not be scared and to just get out there and mix it up. I know alot about alot of things just thru my experiences in graphic design and illustration thru SSC A&D. I don't mind sharing and I utilize etsy's forum to share my knowledge and also to draw from the knowledge of everyone else in that very diverse and knowledgeable community.
Most importantly I have learned that I've got good taste and if you work your ass off and are slightly anal retentive you can put out a whole lotta work! AND you can start to sell.
Our shop got off the ground for real in the beggining of May I now have 3 sales. Not bad in a month and a half especially with a line that is very different from most jewelry out there. I hope to continue to find out niche market and capitalize on the cool, unique factor of our stuff.

Sunflower Express will continue to get out there and do the whole craft circuit and I'm seriously persuing wholesaling now. I also would love to approach other blogs about doing a feature. I'm no media whore by any means... I'm waiting for the show to take off so we can hire a Ms. Crafty... (I'm joking, Maybe not joking lol...) But exposure is a plus!

New Products and New Demensions or why I love Felt!

Ok so felt used to be relegated to kindergarten arts and crafts projects but I have always had a lust for its vibrant colors and shades, it's durability and the sheer fun factor. So when sunflower express wanted to branch out into handmade products to support our mission I imeadiately turned to felt because it's wonderful qualities.

I started with pendants. I love the fact that people don't know that they are felt when they look at them... They are substantial statement pieces that are totally affordable and with everyone selling off their gold and silver why not have a blinged out textile piece that says fun or elegant, that also can't be pawned in a moment of deperation!

Since the pendants I have started to move on with the addition of bracelets or felt cuffs with fun and sophisticated patterns for adults and kids. Currently I am designing earings and even rings embellished with buttons and beads. I primarily use wool and eco fi. I realy enjoy the wool felt as it is way more durable and the colors a bit more subdued than the lollipop kaleidescope of Polyester felt!

Felt is such a luscious material it deserves better treatment and to be moved from the bottom of the craft food chain.

visit my etsy shop to see what I mean!

www.sunflowerexpress.etsy.com

Modern Networking or this Crap really does work...

So I've always wondered about ways to draw more attention to our little show and shop... but how do you do that without being chained to a computer 24/7 and still have a family a life outside yourself and still get your craft on?

Ok so I've read alot about setting up a facebook fan page. That was step one. It's pretty simple just make sure you follow facebooks instructions and click on the linky poo for the create a page for a business. It's pretty easy after that... you upload a few pictures and put some content up there and there you go!

The second step which is equally helpful especially if you are craft fairing this season, Mix and Mingle and slap that business card and/or flyer in that bag! We have gotten some really great business leads just from talking to customers and fellow crafters about what we are doing. Being social is key! Make sure you have a mailing list for people to sign up on and hand your flyers out to everyone who stops by... yes this is marketing in real time vs. webtime... BUT... people who see your work and like it, but don't have a need for something you are selling, might come back around later on if they stumble upon your card or you signed them up for a mailing list and are regularly sending them information. Even in this modern era this still works!

Ok so I read some really great information about twitter on Timothy Adams blog, It was basically about how to get followers.... Seems simple right???? But this can be daunting... It's pretty simple just find people who's things you love or who have businesses you like to get started add some of their followers. I basically searched for etsy and went thru some of those... Get your friends, look for people who do what you do or who do something similar. Initially might take you a few minutes of searching and following people but most of the time those people follow you right back! Most people do have twitter and post your twitter feed info on your facebook... Post your twitter follow me button or feed on your blog, on your website and tell everyone you can follow me on twitter. In a few hours I'm up to 88 followers... in a few hours! I'm hoping this will lead to more traffic here and to the sunflowerexpress website and eventually to sales popping off in my etsy shop.

Break the marketing down in to phases and set yourself some acheivable goals and if you are anything like me you will only have to spend a couple of hours online a week devoted to managing your "networking empire".

I'll post updates on our progress!

Notes from the Montpelier Festival of Herbs, Tea and the Arts

Greetings!
I figured our first post should be from a Craft Fair! We survived the threat of rain and the turn out has been better than expected. It stayed cloudy and cool and It was so fun to meet other crafters and just being outdoors in the beautiful Montpelier Setting was amazing!

Well as you know we are relatively new to the craft fair circuit and thru trial and error have realized that picking great fairs has alot to do with your target audience. We have been to a few bummers that had us doubting our confidence... But the trick is to remember that your products are not always going to be a right fit for the fairs you are attending and even careful research can yeild a hit or miss.
Our Strategy is that generally we sell products that appeal to adults and we sell lots of kid stuff but our market is a more indie, city dwellers than country market. Our goal for our Craft fair scheduling this season is to stick to what we know and stay in the DC Metro Area. For the remainder of our craft fair season we will be mostly in PG County and then a couple of stops near the chesapeake.
Another tip we learned in tweaking our display this week was to dial back on the table cloth motif... we went with a crazy display last time that had way to many colors and distracted from the colorful nature of our product line. I love light blue and thought that light blue would be a subtle color that would help our stuff stand out but not be too busy. After a quick trip to Joanns where we settled on an okay color... we got to the cutting table and realized that the fabric would cost us 50!!! dollars... I was like okkkkkkk lets go to target and get a sheet. Cynt and I picked out the most perfect minty blue and I really think that that change made people linger longer over our table.

We had some really great conversations and the one product we didn't think we'd sell that much of, our logo T shirts for kids we actually sold 3!!! Since our TV show is new and noone has heard of it we didn't know how it would go over. It just goes to show how far a good design will go! We've had several adults ask for big people sizes and we are mulling it over...

I will be a busy girl this week replacing stock and I am very much looking forward to the Main Street festival in Laurel next weekend. This week you may see several posts on products for the upcoming fairs!!!

Lots of art on the horizon

Ok so Sunflower Express (the kids TV show I have been working on for almost a year now) has debuted episode 2. We are currently on Tour so to speak, hitting the local craft fair circuit. It is ridiculously exhausting yet fun at the same time... to take a look at the new Sunflower Express product line please visit www.sunflowerexpress.etsy.com... to view episode 2 visit www.sunflowerexpress.com . I'm currently getting ready for the Montpelier Herb and Tea fest on Saturday and its a slow crawl until June where we end in Ocean City. Sunflower Express also has a facebook fan page (search for sunflower express). Coming soon is the Sunflower Express Handmade blog where I will be blogging about crafting, building a brand and our craft fair experiences and tips!