Glass and Grout

Bad Luck?

2007-07-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

Well, according to mLee's forum post (http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5155984) it's bad luck for three years if you don't update your blog on Friday the 13th, so here I am!

Sales have been completely nonexistant so far this month, but that's ok, because I have plenty of things to work on! I've started advertising on Project Wonderful, but I think I mentioned that last time. I have an animated gif I made for my ad in photoshop - it's not all that special, but I think it rocks, 'cause, well, it's the first one I've done, and I'm a dork! :) I've been trying to show it off here, but for some reason it doesn't work!

I'm also working on a mirror - it's going to rock when I get it done. I'm starting to really feel like I'm developing a style with my mosaic artwork. I've got a few "signature" patterns, and the mirror incorporates them. It's pretty big, so it'll be a while before it's completed.

Well, I really ought to get back to work... :P

New Glass Pendant

2007-07-11T11:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally added my newest glass pendant. I've been relisting a ton lately, and then I realized my RSS feed did not update when I relisted. On the off chance that anyone's RSS'd my shop, it'd be nice to add a new item for people to look at! Maybe that's a way to help my sales. :)

Status Check!

2007-07-10T07:22:00.000-05:00

So...how am I doing?

Goal 1 is to post once a week. I'm here!

Goal 2 is to make ten sales. It doesn't look like that's going to happen at this month...I haven't had a single one! There's still time, and I have heard that it gets slow in the summertime. I'm working on building up my inventory in the mean time, though, and other "business" pursuits.

Goal 3 is to have one store willing to take my goods on consignment. I've emailed three stores at this point. One of the stores, a local store, told me that they weren't accepting mosaic artists at this point, but that they would keep me in mind. Of the two other stores, one is solely online, and another is located in Boston. I haven't heard from either of those yet. I did develop a brochure that detials my lines a bit better:

Leaded Suncatchers

Earring Holders

Stained Glass Letters

Mosaic Letters

Glass Embedded Resin Pendants

Dye Embedded Resin Pendants

Stacked Gems Stained Glass Pendants

Stick Stained Glass Pendants

Stained Glass Tile Earrings

I'd like to add a candle holder line and a memo holder line as well, and then of course there's my OOAK (one of a kind) artwork that I need to get into galleries!

Also, I explored some advertising options over the weekend. I decided to go with Project Wonderful, and I've already placed one ad. This campaign is pretty cool - you bid on different advertising spots, and they place your ad whenever you are the highest bidder. You can set spending caps, too, so you don't exceed your budget. My ad now is pretty basic - I need to figure out how to make animated GIFs, because some folks have those done very well, basically as a slideshow that showcases each individual type of work.

There's one more thing I wanted to mention - I'm trying to think out whether it's best to describe my work in terms of medium - like glass, mosaic, and resin - or in terms of use - home decor and jewelry. I'm still going back and forth on this, but I probably ought to decide something soon!

Wow...

2007-07-03T13:58:00.000-05:00

Think I can do this more often than once a month? Let's try! My goals for the month are:

1. To post in this blog once a week. :P
2. To make ten sales.
3. To find one store willing to take my crafts on consignment or wholesale.

I emailed my first store today...haven't heard back yet, but we'll see! I haven't had any sales this month yet, but it's the summer slump, and it's early yet.

I have started a new store to hold my resin jewelry, since that's so different from the glass. Check it out at http://resinjewelry.etsy.com. No sales there yet either! But here's a taste of what's in that store:

Craft Fair Tomorrow!

2007-06-01T18:06:00.000-05:00

And I am praying it doesn't rain all weekend like it's supposed to!

I'm nervous and excited all rolled into one - I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight - although that's probably a good thing considering we'll have to get up at four am to leave in time!

I'll post how it goes over the weekend either tomorrow night (if I have internet access) or Sunday night when the show's over.

Wish me luck!

Perspective

2007-05-29T08:05:00.001-05:00

So that last post was a bit maudlin. It could be worse. I could be working 80 hours a week for pennies in some sweatshop somewhere.

How Do You Guys Do It?

2007-05-29T06:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm at the day job today, and I want to know the secret.

The large majority of folks that do their art full time, or full time with a part time job, had a full time job at one point, before their art started to become self-supporting. But wow, that's rough! How do you possibly work one job that's 40 hours a week (46 if you count the commute and the half hour unpaid lunch breaks) while creating, preparing for craft fairs, actually going to craft fairs, marketing artwork, shipping artwork, and maintaing a website? And it's not like I'm doing a whole lot of other stuff - I spend about an hour or an hour and a half with my husband before bed each night (usually while working on a project) and hardly ever clean house or go out with people. I feel burnout coming on...

I'll do it because I have to do it...because this job is driving me insane and I'd rather jump off a building than continue to go to it for the next 44 years. I'd almost rather jump off a building than stay here another year. I've just got to make the art work. Before they fire me or I lose it.

Custom Stained Glass Letters and Numbers!

2007-05-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

They're my newest offering! I made some up for my craft fair sign, check them out! They're available on both Etsy and lov.li!

Getting Things Ready...

2007-05-27T18:04:00.000-05:00

Next weekend is my first craft fair! I've spent most of the weekend getting ready. I'm excited! My display is working out very nicely, and I've created a unique sign out of stained glass and mosaic letters. I'm hanging each letter from my tent! I'll have pictures next week after the show.

I thought a 10x10 space would be more than enough room, but after setting up the tent, wow, that doesn't seem like much room at all! I've heard several people say that you shouldn't put everything out to start with, but when all of my items are OOAK, it worries me a bit - if I don't put them on the table, they can't sell, right? What if the right person doesn't see the item because of that? I guess we'll just have to see...

I have finally finished the website though. I'm excited about it too! Check it out when you get a chance - http://www.glassandgrout.com - and let me know what you think!

Wow I Need To Make A Lot...

2007-05-24T09:23:00.001-05:00

About all this...In order to net $2000 a month, I figure I'll need $3250 gross a month - $750 for taxes (whoo hoo) and $500 for supplies. Where is this money going to come from?!?

A Fresh Start

2007-05-24T07:02:00.000-05:00

OK, I haven't posted in months because I'm very bad at keeping up with these things!

But that is going to change...starting...now!

I had a long talk with my husband last night. I am going to be a real artist if my life depends on it! And by real artist, I mean full time, sionara crappy day job, I'm going to market my ass off and make $2000 net profit a month so I can do what I enjoy all day long and stop stressing out about getting fired from doing a something I don't really like doing anyways. And I am going to do this within the next five years.

The next question is how? A few ideas I need to flesh out more:

craft shows - first one is in Crossville, TN June 2nd and 3rd! Come see me!
galleries
consignment/wholesale deals for smaller items and jewelry
branding - all the really successful Etsy sellers have cohesive shops - and I'm kind of all over the place sometimes.
taking commissions - I have only done a few of these, and really need to start advertising myself as being able to take them

I am also working on my own website, http://www.glassandgrout.com. I need to add individual pictures for each item I sell (with 95 listings on Etsy and a few other things, that will take a while!). Soon I hope I'll be able to add retail stuff too - almost all of the professional artists I know help support their art with retail supply sales.

On the branding thing, I've already got one idea. I've been playing with lead filigree, and I've been trying to market a series of filigree that's cheap and easy (and fun!) to make, and has a feng shui/color therapy thing going on. Check them out:

Well, that's a good start I guess. And now I better get back to the real job or I really will get fired!

First Stained Glass Piece

2007-02-23T09:04:00.000-06:00

Just dropping by to say that I posted my first stained glass piece on Etsy - a little rosebud suncatcher. Check it out:

You can purchase it here!

Needing a Little Love

2007-02-22T07:30:00.000-06:00

So, it's been over a week since my first sale. I really need to sell something else.

I know if I make more of my Black Mage, he'll sell - but he's also a blatant copyright violation and I don't really want to get sued.

So I worry if people actually like my work or not. Maybe my stuff just sucks. Maybe I just need more variety. On the plus side, Denise added me to her blog roll - but I already know most of the people that read her blog.

I'm being depressive. I'm going to stop before I get maudlin.

Yeah, So I'm a Slacker

2007-02-21T07:46:00.000-06:00

So it's been nine days since I posted last. I haven't listed much recently either. I've been kind of busy.

I went to Chattanooga with my husband this past weekend. I honestly thought there would be more to do there, and we probably would have shopped more, but it was bitterly cold. We did go to a really awesome art gallery in the art district though. I would have liked to have seen the museum as well, but the entrance fee was a bit pricey.

I'd post a link to the gallery's website, but I can't find it. I think, though, that I'd like to start trying to get some of my stuff accepted to galleries. I just have absolutley no idea as to how to go about doing that. I do think I need a larger body of work though.

Honestly, the whole prospect of attempting to get my stuff exhibited scares me a bit. I know I have a few options, such as next year's SAMA conference, where my mosaic artwork will be taken seriously. But I'm afraid to apply to that because I'm afraid my work isn't really "polished" enough. And as far as regular galleries go, I know a lot of them won't want mosaics - it's too much of a "craft" and not an "art". Unfortunately, if I charge "craft" prices for my work, I probably wouldn't even break even on materials and shipping!

I want to be a real artist, but I also want to eat too. I should just be patient...I'm getting ahead of myself, I need a larger body of work before I can get all anxious about exhibiting it anyways. And I know Etsy is a great start - several artists have gotten real careers started through people just browsing the site.

I don't need to be the next Picasso. I just want to make a few bucks doing what I love - maybe even enough to do what I love full time. I'm still paranoid my work isn't good enough, but I need to stop worrying and start producing. I also know I'm really not all that different. I need a "hook" - something that makes my work specifically mine. Like they were saying on American Idol last night, I need something that makes me stand out from the crowd as incredible. I just have to figure out what that is, exactly...

First Sale!

2007-02-12T18:11:00.000-06:00

Oh my God, I got my first sale! A wonderful buyer just bought Black Mage. I am so excited that someone on Etsy likes my work! With such a high quality group of sellers, I am so glad that people think enough of me to buy one of my items.

Today's Agenda

2007-02-12T13:03:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm at my "real" job today. So far, I've done eight pages of a fourteen page report, and it's taken me since 6:30 this morning, because almost every item on the report requires investigation. All but one of these, so far, has turned out to be a false alarm. Sigh.

Rather than being bored, though, I've been trying to think up fun things to create with the new grinder I bought. :) So far, I've come up with a couple of great designs - a fun little palm tree window decoration and a very girly flower. I think I can even turn the flower into an earring holder that might be fun for teenaged girls. Now I've just got to be able to afford more glass...which is why I'm at the boring job, right?

I printed out business cards yesterday, too. I'm going to take them to Kinko's on the way home to have them cut. Then tomorrow I'll send out cards for the business card swap. I've also got to pick out Palchemy supplies for my palchemy pal - she does jewelry, so I'm sure whatever she creates with my mosaic and glass stuff will be interesting!

I started working on that castle yesterday - I'm totally being free form with this, since I couldn't make my sketches look right, so I really hope it turns out ok. I might take some "progress" sketches and post them as I go. :) But since I started working on this, I don't have a new item to post today on my site - I will definitely start one, but the last candle holder I was working on had an unfortunate accident with my sander - the attachment I was using to clean off the grout ended up scratching the glass, so it's kind of a bust. I did post my Black Mage yesterday, so I guess it's not a total loss. And I should have something new, maybe a vase, done by Wednesday at the latest.

This weekend my husband and I are going out of town, so I won't be able to post or create. Maybe I'll find something interesting while I'm gone though! Well, I'd better get back to work on this report...

Yay!

2007-02-10T08:49:00.000-06:00

I didn't get much work done at the studio yesterday, but that's OK, because I got a grinder! Thanks to SarahSky, who answered cry for help in the forums and pointed me to a grinder on sale. I'm really excited, and I can't wait 'til it comes in - I'll be able to make all sorts of great glass stuff! I've already got a few ideas for pendants.

Right now I just wish I could get someone to buy something from me. I've posted pictures on Flickr, but I definitely need to add some more and organize a bit. I'm also thinking about placing an ad on Craigslist. Mosaics are just such a niche area, I have to make sure that I'm targeting the proper audience. I do intend to submit stuff to SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists)'s big conference this year, but that won't be until the end of the year. Hopefully that will help get my name out! In the mean time, I'm going to create - time to get back to work!

Busy Busy Busy...

2007-02-09T13:05:00.000-06:00

Today's Friday, which is my day off - supposedly. I'm off of my day job, but I've been working my butt off trying to get some of my artwork done! I just posed a new candle holder on Etsy:

I'm working on another one, too, but the grout's still drying, so it will probably be tonight or tomorrow before I get it cleaned up.

I've also started a new "big" project, like River Moon, this one featuring a castle. I'm going to go to the stained glass store and pick out some glass today. I kind of want it to have a Starry Night feel, but I don't really want to rip off Van Gogh either, so we'll see what happens.

Well, I've got to run off to the stained glass studio. I've got some grinding to do on a lamp for my class. My Etsy sales are all going to the purchase of a grinder, so I can do this at home!

Everyone Else is Doing It

2007-02-07T11:26:00.000-06:00

...so I figure that I should probably jump on the bandwagon too. :) I am usually bad about keeping these, because my interests bounce around pretty drastically - one week I'm obsessed with my art, the next week about a videogame, the next week about a great new diet...but I'll try to stay on track here, and I may let a little World of Warcraft seep into my creative commentary.

I'll start by setting some goals:

I'll do my best to post once a week
I'll create a new mosaic piece once a week for my Etsy site
I'll attempt to feature a new Etsy shop each month

So follow along, and I'll be back soon!