Rockin' Robin Tweet Tweet Tweet

So today I wanted to explore the power of Twitter and the pull of social media. I can recall back in the early 90's when my mother and I started our company that we had to pay for advertising in the newspaper, we put ads in magazines, we pounded the pavement talking to designers, and a plethora of other methods to get our name out in the community for our services.

It took about 6 months to really get enough clientele to break even and another 6-9 months to be making a good profit. This was all accomplished with countless 12 hour days and sleepless nights of solving design issues.

Now starting a company can be so very much different. You can file for your own company status on Legal Zoom for about $100. You can create a Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, CafePress, Zazzle, Tumblr, Blogger, Wordpress, or Stumble Upon page (as well as others) totally free. You can then almost sit back and watch it happen.

However, the best way to really make those pages become visible is to use them to your benefit. While I have never been a fan of social media I am beginning to understand the lower common factor in the media can help me tremendously.

When I started my Etsy store August 31, 2011 I thought this will be a fun side thing to do. Then the halloween season came and I had orders, so many I turned some away. It was quickly obvious to me that there was more to this than just a little hobby. Slowly but surely I started to create pages, Facebook was first which allowed me to have the benefit of friends that could see things that were going on. Then later I created a blog of my own, which has turned out to be so much FUN!!! If anything my kids will have this as a chronicle of our lives and the weird stuff that happens. Then came Twitter. 140 characters of sound bite glory!

You can put links to new posts on the blog, can link Facebook to it, can link up to your other sites as well. I honestly think Twitter could be the best starter gun to the entire process. I started by following all our team members and some of my pageant girls. Then I found other blog writers I loved on Twitter and followed them. I would reply to various tweets and figured out quickly that Twitter really does push social media on a second by second basis.

I know some of our members have a twitter accounts. I would suggest to all of you to explore this option. Most phones have a twitter application that you can use to keep your name in the minds of your customers. It also allows people to start seeing you less as a store and more as a person that they can get to know, which makes them want to buy. I don't make this stuff up there are articles and research that state that customers will tend to buy more from stores that they feel they "know" the people that work there.

So Tweet away, heck we even have a bird in our AREtsy logo, so maybe it was karma.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is a day that seems to be either a love or hate it kind of day. There are those people that love to buy gifts and mementos for their loved ones just as an additional reminder that they are loved. Then there are those that are very ambivalent about the day and call it Hallmark's creation.

I am a bit of both! Every year I buy something small and special for each of my daughters. I sneak into their rooms at some ungodly hour in the middle of the night and put the little treasures on their respective tables. Then in the morning I make then a big breakfast with eggs and sausage (or bacon), biscuits, juice or coffee... THE WORKS!! Then I send them off to school to have a day that started with love.

Of course for the last 10 years my boyfriend (same guy 10 years) has been out of town. This year in Vegas. When he returns we will likely go on a bit of a date and enjoy some time just the two of us. *happy face*

What the day is really about, in my opinion, is that through the hustle and bustle of the day to day grind sometimes we forget to tell those people we love how much they really mean to us.

So today I wanted to tell all my team members that I am glad you are here. That you are creative. That you share your little wonders with the world through a small venue called Etsy. That you are an Arkansan. Most importantly that I have the overwhelming pride and blessing to be one of your team leaders.

Thanks to all of you, and without sounding too weird, I love you!

Making your Blog Better!

We have quite a few team members that blog, and in the process of starting my own blog I have read and learned a lot about blogging in general.

I am currently reading the eBook "Grow your Blog: Proven ways to add followers every single day". It is written by The Simple Dude and for the most part I can say it seems to be a decent educational tool for bloggers to read,  and gives some tools for ways to progress your blog. It is a short eBook too, so give it a shot if you have a couple of hours.

I have also been turned on the Bloggers Blog of Note (BON). I think this featured blog listing is kind of like Etsy's featured seller. You go along in your little world and hope that someone notices, then things go haywire!

I have previously posted about the Ping-O-Matic feature that helps your blog come up in search engines, and that it can be a helpful tool to find your little corner of the vast internet.

I have also mentioned in facebook posts and other miscellaneous spaces about Arkansas Women Bloggers. There are a vast number of groups out there for bloggers that are geographically and demographically specific. These groups are great for helping to grow your own blog and get traffic to your various pages be it Facebook, Twitter, Etsy, or otherwise.

I think the additional information I want to add today, is the layout of blog pages, and what fancy features you have on your page.

There are widgets, and gadgets, and buttons and a massive array of things you can have on your site, and those things may or may not be helpful to you. Take a look at your blog page, do you have a bunch of stuff that really doesn't pertain to the way you want your blog to grow? If you are on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, or other sites do you have follow buttons? Do you have your various feeds on there too? Are those two things close together or far apart?

You can add almost anything you like to your blog, and those things are always personal choices, but the real questions you have to ask yourself (and I am asking them to myself as well) ...... What items do I want/need that will help promote myself and my internet adventure in the best possible ways?

Now let's go out there and do some blogging! I know I need to start with some rearranging and site review of my own personal blog.

New Members?!?!

As most of you know we started working on a membership directory, which was a daunting task to undertake at the beginning with about 250 members there were a lot of messages to send out in order to make the necessary contact.

Well now we have gotten through that and only have to keep up with the newer members, but this morning there was a run on membership requests! I had to add FIVE! new members this morning alone! I love that people want to join our team! I truly hope that we can continually progress to make our team one of the best on Etsy with activities and events that help promote all of us!

As of right now our membership is at 292! We have a total of 113 listed in the directory! We really want to try to get as many people in the directory as possible, so if you know of anyone that is a member make sure they have sent in their information! Due to the leaders busy schedules we haven't gotten the blog updates finished yet, but they are in the process, so hang in there.

If you know of any craft shows, events, anything that might be fun for team members to attend or participate in, please let us know!

February Featured Seller - Best Loved Child

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Cathy Lane and I, with my husband, started Best Loved Child.  I make artistically painted children’s décor and play sets.  My parents were ranchers in the wilds of the mountain west but I gave up that life when in college I fell in love and married a California beach boy.  I have a store of knowledge about cattle, farming and wildlife that is only useful now when buying meat at Sam’s or drawing and painting my creations.  I’m a wife to one, mom to six and unbelievably 8 amazing kids call me Grandma.  18 years ago my husband’s company relocated all their operations to Little Rock and we relocated from Southern California to beautiful Arkansas where people still ask me where my accent came from.  I’ve been lucky enough to be doing the Etsy shop for the last 2 years.  When I lost my job, (I used to fire people for a living, Then I got fired) I decided to go for it and have been fortunate to have a supportive husband. 

 Apart from creating things, what do you do?  

I’m an obsessive reader.  I’m very involved with my Church.  In my stay-at-home-mom years I had a custom sewing business and I still love to sew, especially for my girly granddaughters. Hubby and I moved (from 20 miles away) and completely renovated a rental house (I painted or restored, every single surface, inside and out except the roof, myself) and we are planning to do another one. 

What would be the title of your memoir? Why?

“I Could Make That”.  I come from a family of terminal DIY souls.  Mostly, making things yourself was a way to afford things we felt we would never have the money to buy.  It can get out of control.  After my daughter’s wedding my sis said we all should be forced to stand in a corner and repeat “catering, catering, catering” until we believe we are capable of hiring one.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I love seeing other artist’s work. I am very influenced by illustrated children’s books, especially those from 1900  through the 1940s. 

What does handmade mean to you?

Handmade is a unique connection. The best way I know to express my love is to make you something.  My Wrangler jeans were sewn by hand by an unknown someone, but they are not “handmade”.   Unlike those jeans, the quilt my great grandmother made and the mug I bought from a potter in Washington state, connect me to their makers each time I view or use them. Though neither maker knew me, these creations are expressions of love the maker had for someone and/or the love they had for their craft. The handmade movement also represents the ultimate “job creators”.   When we make and sell, we are crafting our own jobs as well as our art/craft and that needs to be acknowledged, supported and celebrated.

Who has been most influential in your craft?

My parents.  They never imagined me to be an artist, but taught me, by their example, that I could learn how to do anything.

When did you know you were an artist/maker?

I always considered myself a maker.  Everyone I knew was a maker. They made quilts, built houses, planted gardens, sewed clothing, created jam and welded parts for the clothes dryer.  When I was seven, I sewed a yellow cotton dress with set in sheer sleeves, a fitted bodice and full skirt for my Barbie.  It was hand sewn, by me, from a pattern of my own invention.  I was proud, but in my family this was not considered remarkable. Becoming an artist took much longer, mostly I think, because I was never exposed to any art education or any artists. (Don’t get me started on the lack of art education in schools.) I kept trying to learn to paint and draw (mostly self-taught) and was well into my 40’s before I started to dare think “I’m an artist”. The Etsy shop has helped me validate that label.  I loved hearing my son tell someone recently “my Mom’s an artist”.

How would you describe your creative process?

It’s fueled by doing.  I have too many ideas running through my head. I keep journal/notebook/sketchbooks full of drawings and images I love.  When I settle on an idea I research photos and images and sometimes take my own photos. My ideas are somewhat vague until I’m doing the actual work of sketching, cutting and painting.  As I make an item, ideas come to me of how it can be improved that I can’t believe I didn’t think of in the planning stage.

If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be?

Maud and Miska Petersham.  They were an award winning husband wife team illustrating children’s books from 1917 through the 1960’s.  I’m so in love with all their drawings and amazed at how they lived and worked together for so long.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

I have so many! Top of the list may be my dining table and buffet with hand carving that was made by a great uncle of mine for another great uncle and aunt. I can’t believe I scored it over my siblings.  I also got teary eyed hanging some of my kid’s grade school handmade Christmas tree ornaments this last Christmas. 

How do you get out of your creative ruts?

I force myself to finish whatever I have on the work table.  That usually clears the problem.  I get “stuck” trying to solve design problems and the best way, for me, is to just slog through it.  Perspiration really helps inspiration.

Where would you like to be in ten years?

I’ll be approaching a birthday that many readers would consider Really Old. I very much hope to be:  healthy, in a smaller house, still creating and selling, better known for my work, traveling more, and living closer to the short people in my life.  

Catch up on all of the Best Loved Child items.  Etsy Store and Cathy's Profile and Her Blog.

Just a Brief Warning

Last night my twitter was hacked! Here is the scenario so that others can avoid it as well.

I got a private message from a team member, who I am sure was a victim as well, that said something to the affect of, "some really nasty things are being said about you here (insert link) I can't believe what they said"

I am a pretty self deprecating person and love to laugh at my own insanity, so I go to the link. It asks me to log into twitter, now I am doing this on my phone so I don't think anything of it. I log in and it says sorry you can't do that.

Okay well I am on my phone must be the problem, oh well.

Five minutes later ALL my followers have been sent private messages with the same silly statement. DANG IT ALL! So be warned, and don't get click happy unless you know for sure what is up!

Sharing the Joy!

We have some really amazing people in our team, and we have been doing featured sellers once a month in order to promote all of our team members to be more successful. We also are having a treasury contest, which we may do maybe every other month or so in order to be the featured seller. We have to have some type of prize, and I think that is a pretty good one!

We have Facebook and Twitter on top of this blog that we hope is keeping team members informed and up to date on a lot of things we and our team members are doing. I personally have followed all team members with Twitter, Liked all the Facebook pages, and followed all the blogs on blogger and Tumbrl. Each morning I try (TRY) to spend at least one hour reading any new blog entries, scanning the twitter feed, and looking at Facebook. I feel like a real geek during this time period, but it helps me stay informed about our team and the amazing things we are all doing.

Our leader Lybly has made her first quilt! It is lovely, see it here. Missy of the Graceful Little Honey Bee is doing a really neat thing with shampoo or I should say the avoidance of shampoo, plus she is expecting! The Twisted Purl is lamenting her lack of blogging, but she is twitterific for sure! We have so many amazing shops in our team, and I love keeping up with all of them, it really give me inspiration for the things we can feature and do as a team!

I have the February Featured Seller selected and her information has been forwarded, so we are excited about that, but she had a great idea! We need a team photographer that makes us all look younger and thinner! Cathryn, I have put the word out now we shall see what happens!

If you want to me March's Featured Seller post your treasury on the team discussion page (there is a thread for the contest) and we will be selecting the winner on the 30th.