Great Big Mushy Thanks

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Elaine

The Alberta Street Team is a pretty awesome street team and one of the very awesome things it does, week in, week out, is to do a thorough critique of member shops. Yesterday was my turn. Most of the critiques are of newer members but we managed to find a nice little stack of polishing tasks for my bead shop on Etsy.

So my great big mushy thanks of the week has to go out to Joan of ASecondTime who is the host and ringmaster of the weekly circus.

What sort of items did I get suggested? Add a little bit of personality to my shop announcement, a bit about my years of experience to my profile, more navigation links in my descriptions and to include additional photos, perhaps using completed pieces to show scale and examples. We discussed advertising, promotions and how to market better. It really is easier with a little help from your friends.

Canada Post and the Slot of Doom

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Elaine

One of the challenges of selling online for Canadian vendors is the Slot of Doom, the term of endearment given to Canada Post’s requirement that packages be 2cm or thinner in order to get the best rates to destinations. If you can fit it through the slot of doom, you can get your small, light item to the US for $2.11, to Canadian destinations for $1.18.

If it doesn’t fit, you are looking at $6.50 or more to the US for the next best air mail option and a similar price for Canadian mail! Bit of a jump there.

Most of my items happily go through the slot of doom. My beads generally get tucked in a poly bag, several layers of tissue paper and an envelope. The canes were more of an issue.

Canes SQUISH. So I needed boxes that fit. At the time that I originally bought boxes no one I found had small, jewelry sized boxes under 2cm(13/16″ or so) at a price even in the ballpark of standard boxes. And so I bought a couple cartons of jewelry boxes and my boyfriend trimmed them down to 5/8″ (15-16mm) for me.

Voila! It works. And I use it for sending jewelry or more delicate beads as well. It only chafes a bit that I have to gear what I offer online to Canada Post’s restrictions in order to remain competitive with an international market.

Pomomama: a Feature

Posted on November 25, 2008 by Elaine

I’ve seen Ebb & Flo pretty much since I joined Etsy – I made a particular effort to look up and keep an eye on Canadian sellers – and she’s a pretty familiar face for forum lurkers like me! So when I found out that I had the perfect chance to dig a little bit more as a result of the Blog-a-Day Giveaway, I was happy. Here’s a little more about the artist who sells as both Ebb and Flo (unique, handcrafted jewelry) and Pomomama (handmade supplies, papercrafts and patterns).

Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m a SAHM who crafts in, around and in spite of her family in an effort to stay sane.

What inspires or influences your work? What themes or motifs do you notice most often?
Quirky shapes and unusual presentations influence my work. I’m also noticing colour a lot more than I used to. Blue/green is my comfort zone but I’m trying to break free. Glass is a favourite medium.

Do you have a favourite piece or series? If so, do you have links to them?
I really like my flotsam pieces as I think these are very unusual, combining wire, metal and fibre with felting. Here are some examples.

Have you done any work specifically for the winter holiday season?
I produced a Fall range in copper wire crochet and metal and have been working on winter ‘bling’ for the party season. These will be available at the craft fairs I attend soon.

What lead you to sell online? What’s the best part? The most challenging?
I had a hobby which made me happy but due to household budgeting I needed to make it self sufficient. ….. and it is now but not solely from selling online.

What are your favourite materials to work with?
Wire, metal, fibre and I love setting pieces of art glass from the amazing Etsy glass makers eg. Willowglass, Lis Kidder and Shoozles

Where can we find you online?
At Pomomama Design – www.pomomamadesign.com

Do you have any specials, promos, or upcoming events you’d like to tell us about?

Ebb & Flo goodies will be at Devil May Wear in Vancouver, BC

If YOU are interested in entering the Blog-a-Day Giveaway, all you need to do is check out the goodies on the site, pick one (or several, you can enter multiple times), and write a post about the person’s shop, pieces, blog or some other related item. Once you have done that, return to the Giveaway page and leave a comment with a link to the post. Voila! You have an entry. You have one entry per comment and the giveaways continue till December 4th.

Year of Clay – O Canada

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Elaine

This is a week early I suppose – Canada Day isn’t until July 1st – but I was pretty happy with the cane! You can see that cane here on my Flickr. I used it to make some very simple slice beads and pendants, strung on satin-type cord with sliding knots. This was probably my first ‘cookie cutter’ cane though I didn’t make it with a cookie cutter. I cut around a drawn design. The process is the same though. Now I have a head full of ideas for other similar canes!

Year of Clay – Infinite Ideas

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Elaine

One of the upsides of even the slowest of shows is you meet the very best people. Mid-April I had the luck of a show that got snowed out. Very few of the vendors appeared to set up and even fewer customers! So as happens at slow shows, the vendors sort of chatted and hung out. As I tend to do, I went and got the jewelrymakers to come take a peek at my beads.

One of those vendors was Nadine of Miyaw Designs. She was interested in some of the simple logo beads I had and asked if I’d be able to do something with a symbol they use (mother-daughter team) often in their work. So I agreed to give it a whirl, and here’s the prototype:

infinity cane

The infinity symbol is used as one of the symbols or logos of the Metis nation, most often on a background of navy or red. Armed with that I tried it in navy, making the rectangle first then making a segment of that into a round cane. Next, I’m working with some embellishment ideas to make more ‘interesting’ slice beads. Here’s one:

infinity cane idea