back in the etsy game

Hey all.  I'm just popping in real, REAL quick to let you know that I've dived headfirst back into the etsy pool.

Here's a little backstory for you (ok, not so quick)  When I was home on mat leave with my daughter, Tim was toying with the idea of getting back into sign work.  He had been a partner at a very successful sign company for a number of years and his non-competition clause was now up and the ideas were a brewing.

I really had no ideas and not a whole lot of interest in it- I had a baby and a two year old, all I wanted was to pee without an audience.  I still want for this.  I rarely get it.

But then I was looking around the house and thinking of things I wanted to do.  I really wanted to do some words at my back door.  I think I wanted "There's No Place Like Home".  So I asked Tim if that was something I could get done, or that he could do with the cutting machine.  I'm pretty sure he looked at me like I was crazy (this still happens) and scoffed.  So, I'm pretty sure I did an eye roll (just reminiscing about it, I totally eye rolled) and said whatever.

Now when you're a new mom and you're home and you're kids are napping- Etsy is your thang. Holy moly is it ever.  If you haven't browsed Etsy before, set aside about 20 hours, you're gonna need it.  What it is (or what it was at the beginning) is a kind of crafter's marketplace.  Artists, crafters, - makers- can set up their own little shop under this umbrella and sell their work.  Hats, clothing, stuffed animals, signs, decals.... wait, what?  Vinyl decals..... well, I guess that wasn't such a crazy idea now was it?

So the Etsy shopping browsing turned out to be researching as well.  I found a few sellers of vinyl words and stuff and showed it to Tim.  Ok- now HOW do I make it?  Now Tim had me roped into this sign venture.  We had to learn.  And learn we did.  Neither of us are graphic designers, nor had we worked with a design program- but in order to do the work, to make the signs- we had to learn. Tim found someone else in the industry who agreed to give him some hours of training on our design program.  I was supposed to sit in, but I didn't really.  I'm better at teaching it to myself.  And that's what I did.

After we learned and got proficient with our machine and our program - we started to work.  Well he did.  I still had a baby and a two year old hanging around me.  And, I'm sorry, but his stuff was boring to me.  I wanted to do my own thing.  My brain is always has a million and two ideas pinging around in there- this was a good way for me to channel some creative energy.  I decided to start up an Etsy shop- I gave myself a goal of a certain number of designs to come up with that were good enough to list and a date which I wanted to start.

I opened my shop on May 23, 2011.  I'm no great gunning success on there.  I've had sales- even one to Australia.  But as I was going back to work and the kids were needing attention, I kind of let it all fall by the wayside.  I also moved away from vinyl decals and started making wood signs.  I've mainly sold the last 3 years through my page on Facebook and at open houses (at my house) and last year I did the Christmas craft show.

Now both the kids are in school and I have more time (although it doesn't feel like it) to devote to growing my business.  Starting this blog kind of made me think about getting it going again too.  It kind of works together I guess, since a whole lot of the artwork you see on the walls in my house, I've made myself.

So that's my Etsy/sign story.  If you want to hop over there and check out my shop- click on the box on the right hand side

and it will take you right over

Here's a little peek of what's over there.

I've been painting our old bedroom this week and I'm trying to get organized by the time school starts, so I'll have some stuff to share with you soon.  Hope you all enjoy this last weekend of August (sad face)

~laura