Oh how I have missed this

I really, really have missed having my blog in my life, particularly the lovely comments that people leave. The general consensus on the consignment incident is that I should name and shame, and I think that I will, but that's another post later in the week. In the meantime, I have to admit that I am absolutely loving the fact that I can really see the direct link between my blog and my sales. Almost within an hour of posting my last post, I had a sale. Someone had spotted my blog post on twitter, clicked through, and made a purchase. I also had a ton more hearts in the store. All completely reinforcing the view that an online business requires a multi-faceted marketing approach. But we all knew that, didn't we? I do love my twitter though, and whilst I wasn't blogging this summer, I was regularly using twitter to keep up to speed with what others were doing, and posting about generally not doing very much. One major purchase I made this summer was an iPhone, and I do truly heart it. It saves me a lot of time - and I can do things like twitter, and keep up with everyone else's tweets, whilst on the move. Things have just become a bit simpler there.

It's a bit of a grey day here in Scotland. I'll be spending the afternoon making myself a birthday cake, or rather a Boston Creme Pie, for a party tonight. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures of that. I've not had a chance to take any pictures today, but yesterday I did list this cute pink whale that I've had for a while now. I think she's adorable, and perfect for kids of all ages. Secretly, I don't want to give her up! I am excited at the moment about having so many cute things to list in the shop that it's taking all my willpower not to just put them all up at once. This week is going to be a busy one for that.

And I'm Back!

This is my first blog post after an extremely long hiatus. I've taken the last two months off from working on Moose & Bear for a couple of reasons. The main one is that it's summer - the sun is shining, I'm spending more and more time outside with friends, and less time inside with wool and the internet. That has naturally led to a down-turn in productivity. I've also noticed that sales seem to go down in the summer (maybe just mine!) so that contributed to a sense of, well, not quite enniu, but certainly a feeling that there could be more fun things to do rather than promoting my shop and making cute stuff.

Summer is still going, but, like many crafty peeps, I'm already starting to get excited about Christmas. This will be my first real Christmas on Etsy (and also Dawanda - woo hoo for my new Euro site!), and I'm looking forward to it. I'm already planning lists of things I want to make, and even starting to make them. I am really going to be focused on amigurumis this year, because they are so cute and fuzzy. The only problem is that they take a while to make, hence the early preparation. My to-make list is 70 items long, and growing all the time - eeek! I also think that my felt badge with embroidered words will do well. I've also started to develop a line of embroidered scenes to hang in kids rooms - I really want them to do well, as I adore making them. However, I haven't noticed a huge number of them selling on Etsy, so it might be a bit hit or miss. I've posted a picture of my first one below. The last time I was posting, I was writing a lot about play food - well, I'm still pleasantly obssessed with that, so expect to see plenty of cakes and donuts in the store looking cute and edible.

I have had one major disappointment. Way back in February I was asked by a gallery to do some consignment work for them. They sent me some paperwork and I agreed. I finally received what was supposed to be my first payment in July, after chasing them for a couple of months. However, the cheque bounced. I complained, they sent me another cheque, but it has bounced again, and they are not responding to emails. Whenever I call, they tell me the manager will call me back. A sad story, and one that has put me off consignment forever. I just feel thoroughly ripped off. They contact a lot of British artists through Etsy, so I can't decide whether to name and shame so as to warn other people off....