Storque articles by thefunkyfelter

Confessions of "Jan": Finding Your Way in the Middle

2008-01-21T18:47:00-05:00

Do you ever feel that you're kind of in the middle — not an Etsy newbie, but not an Etsy top seller either? So maybe some days you're a little like Jan of the Brady Bunch crying "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" at those envious and admirable top sellers because we all know, at this point that, you're certainly not as cute as those newbie Cindy's out there who are just starting. Nonetheless, you may be feeling a bit like Etsy's middle child at a crossroads of decision making at the beginning of 2008. I find myself personally to be in this middle area (just call me Jan) where I'm trying to decide whether or not to take my business to the next level from part-time hobby business to full-time business, or whether to just enjoy it for what it is. Some of you may also feel the same.

Come on, confess if you're a closet Etsy Jan! There is no shame in finding your way as an Etsy middle child.

So here's the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls...

Uh, no! Actually, here's the story of a few lovely ladies and a man who are some of Etsy's "middle children" and what they have done and are doing in 2008.

[northstaralpacas cutie pie herd of alpacas (photo from her blog)]

Maple of NorthStarAlpacas joined Etsy around the same time that I did in the fall of 2006. Maple shares that her Etsy shop is "definitely a home based business" where she can "move from my spinning wheel to my knitting Lazy-Boy to my computer." To improve her business last year she started a blog, opened a flickr account, joined Ravelry, participated in a local fiber festival, and bought a light box for better photos. For the new year, Maple will be purchasing additional alpaca fleece because she needs more than what her own eleven alpacas produce. When I asked Maple about her middle child status here on Etsy, she replied "Actually, I have never considered where I am, nor really worried about it. I suppose, yes, I'm in the middle, but I worry more that I might not be able to meet a large demand for my product." This statement sums it up best: "I have been able to rely on my Etsy income to feed and give good care to my barn friends, the alpacas, sheep, and horses." She's able to do what she loves and take care of that which she loves. This I find very inspiring. Maple's attitude is amazing and far from that of the juvenile sitcom character Jan. Usually it is all about attitude anyway — whatever level of Etsy seller you consider yourself to be.

[castocreations at work making her lovely jewelry]

The next Etsy seller that I thought of as my fellow middle child sibling is Megan of castocreations. As per her experience first joining Etsy in 2005, she states, "I joined Etsy, added a few items right away — then promptly walked away, thinking the sales would come like magic." This is probably the hopeful thought that lingers in the back of most minds when they join Etsy as a seller. Megan soon found that it took more effort, as most of us eventually do. She also considers her Etsy shop a business, although she works a full time job as well. Midway through 2007, Megan decided to focus more on her Etsy shop and "buckle down," as she puts it. This included taking good photos, listing consistently, participating in the forums more, and promoting outside of Etsy on other forums and on her blog.

For 2008, she plans to streamline her shipping process, continue to blog about her own shop and those of fellow Etsy sellers, and list a new item at least once per day. When asked if she is happy with her sales on Etsy, her reply was, "I'm never happy — if I don't get 'enough' sales I wonder if something is wrong, and if I get too many sales at once I get stressed out. I am happy with a slow and steady stream of sales. A few each week would make me extremely happy." This statement is certainly something to which I can relate and probably rings true for many more of our fellow Jans out there.

I'm not sure if Peter ever cried "Greg, Greg, Greg!" at any point, but he was a middle child too — unfortunately not as perfect and dreamy as Greg, but certainly not as mischievous and naive as Bobby. There are several male sellers here on Etsy, whether a Greg, Peter, or Bobby. One of them I personally know from my local area Kansas City Street Team. Scott of ScottGarrette just celebrated his one year Etsyversary this month. His shop is part of a licensed business that he runs with his wife Victoria who has her own shop BellaVeda. They have been self-employed artists for two years and Etsy has helped them to remain self-employed.

Pertaining to their home based business, Scott says, "I work part of the day on many different things and then my wife works the other times while I take care of our two young children. We've got a great setup with our time split up, both of us getting to work and both of us having time with the kids." After much restructuring of their shops in 2007, this year Scott plans to develop new lines and further the popularity of existing items. Scott says that "through the success and failures of '07, I have been able to isolate certain items and styles of work that I am going to continue producing and promoting and leave behind other ideas that did not make it far enough. The years prior to Etsy I was just sitting on my work with no real outlet. I love being able to make and sell right from my home!" When asking Scott if he feels like he's an Etsy middle child, he replies "I don't feel like a newbie or a seasoned seller, yup, I'm in the middle. But the middle is good for now."

[dumbkiddesigns local craft show setup]

Susanne from dumbkiddesigns is really somewhat of a Cindy in the amount of time that she's been on Etsy (since March 2007), but she's definitely a Jan in her outstanding number of sales. She seems to be on the fast track from Cindy to Jan to Marcia status in her short time here. Her enthusiasm can be seen in her response to a question about being satisfied with her success on Etsy: "Hell yeah baby!!"

She continues: "I had no idea it would take off like it did. I really wasn't prepared for it like this." At first she didn't consider where her Etsy shop stood, but now she considers it both a business and a hobby since she works a full time day job. She recently started the details of registering her hobby as an official business with the state and local governments. Regarding this process, she says, "I am actually trying to turn my hobby, my passion, my release into a business. I don't think that I will ever get burned out, because I've done this forever already, (I'm) just adding more to it I guess."

Last year Susanne was just getting started by putting a name to her shop and a logo. For 2008, she plans to set up an office/workshop at home, create at least three new product lines, begin selling more often at public venues, and start a business website. When asked if she feels like she's an Etsy middle child, she stated, "I feel like Jan wearing the wig — doing a bunch of stuff, trying to call attention to myself, but feeling really stupid about it." I can certainly reassure Susanne that there is nothing stupid about her efforts. Her shop and sales are proof of that, and I have a feeling that soon I'll be crying "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" to this former fellow Jan.

Now for my personal confessions as an Etsy Jan. Although I am very satisfied with my Etsy shop thefunkyfelter, success thus far, and have no problem being called "Jan," I would like to go to the next level of turning my part time business into a little more. In the past year I have tried to focus on building up my online presence by designing my own business website, starting a blog, and investing in some outside advertising for promotion. For the upcoming year, I just completed the process of renovating part of my formerly unfinished basement into a studio/office area. Along with the help of my very skilled and knowledgeable parents, my husband and I were able to do the renovations ourselves. It was also paid for largely through money earned from my Etsy shop sales. Therefore, my new studio space is handmade and paid for by my handmade creations, which I am very proud of. Now that I have the space to create and store new item stock, I am seriously looking into the prospects of wholesaling as well as obtaining consignment in some local boutiques. I also have plans to promote more outside of Etsy and utilize my business website and blog in accomplishing this. My final hope for 2008 is to focus my fiber art skills on creating some sculptures and wall hangings. Thus far, I have created mainly wearable items, but my hope is for my felt art to be in a gallery some day.

So whether you're a cute and adorable Cindy, an admirable and sophisticated Marcia, or just another Jan like me, there is always more to learn and farther to grow. It is less about how long you have been here and how much you have managed to sell, and more about your own personal goals and objectives. There really is no reason to ever cry "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" Although, I know that we all may feel like it at times.

Feeling like a Jan — crying "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" a little too much lately or jealous of how darn cute that Cindy is? Stuck in the middle? Not sure what the next step is for you? Let us know in the comments below!

Further Resources:

U.S. Small Business Information
U.S. Small Business Administration
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Copyright Office
U.S. Federal Trade Commission

International Small Business Information
Copyright Board of Canada
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Australian Copyright Council
Australasian Legal Information Institute
Australian Business Information and Services

Wholesale / Consignment Information
Fashion-Incubator's Wholesale Line Sheet Information
A truly wonderful series of articles on wholesaling from Etsy seller LIttleputBooks.

Press Release / Marketing Information
Tips on putting together a Press Kit from The Switchboards Forum.
Listing of links where to submit press release information from The Switchboards Forum.
Etsy Team Guide: Write a Killer Press Release for Your Team Event (But also great advice for your personal shop, too.)

Organizing and Developing a Home-based Business
Entrepreneur Magazine's comprehensive online guide to running a home based business.
e Moms at Home's Top Ten Key Success Ingredients for Home Based Businesses.
e Moms at Home's Ten Ways to Diversify Your Income as a Crafter or Artist.
A Flickr Photo Pool of Craft Room Examples.
A Flickr Photo Pool of Art Studio Space Examples.

Trends: A Little Fuzzy Bling of Felted Goodness

2007-11-06T03:38:00-05:00

Have you ever thrown a nice wool sweater into your washer only to have it come out the perfect size for a baby doll or your pet chihuahua? To most people, those mishaps are worth cries of frustration, but there are some fiber artists like myself that jump for joy at the thought of shrinking their woolly creations. We are known as felt makers or felters, and the process of felting wool or other animal fibers is our creative art form. This little known fiber art is now on the rise in popularity, both the learned skill of felt making and the wonderful woolly items that it produces.

Besides the accidental sweater in the washer incidents, there are many well established felting techniques that are done on purpose. These include traditional wet felting which involves using the raw wool fibers to form matted layers of wool, needle felting which involves long barbed needles to poke the wool into formation, and fulling (or shrinking) already woven material which often involves knitting or crocheting an item first. All of these techniques have become increasingly popular over the last few years. There are now numerous instructional books on felting as well an array of unique felted accessories, jewelry, and art on the market. Below, you see lanadeflor's blue necklace and fibrspace's bracelet, just two examples of the raw creativity shaping felting on Etsy.

Now more than ever before, felting is a sought after skill and felted items are on a quick rise in popularity. Why? There's nothing quite like the look and feel of handmade felted wool. Non woven wool felt is the earliest known form of textile, with its specific origins still an ancient mystery. Traditional felted items have been highly prized in many cultures for countless centuries. The ancient art form of felting produces unique visual and functional art in modern times as well. Just as in centuries past, felt is a very durable, warm, and water-resistant material. Felt is also luxurious, soft, and comfortable to wear. Wool often gets a bad rep about being itchy next to the skin, but this is really all dependent on the quality and type of wool used. Most finer grade wools such as merino are quite comfortable and soft next to the skin. Felt can be formed to make conventional wearable art as well as an array of sculptural art and home decor items. I personally chose to be a felt artist largely due to its versatility and endless possibilities. There's a little something to appeal to everyone.

Popular fashion trends in felting right now include hats, scarves, jewelry, flower pins, and even iPod cozies! If you want to stay woolly warm this winter while being ahead of the fashion curve, then look for one-of-a-kind felted scarves from azul, lololyta, or feltedgarden.

Don't forget to top it off with a hat from woolitbe or hatsy.

Then be sure to grab one of the extremely popular felted wool flower pins from lanadeflor, vaivanat, or whirlwend to add to your scarf or hat!

Of course, you need a little flash of fuzzy bling to accentuate your neck, ears, and hands so be sure to get some felted jewelry from pirilamporiscado, fiveforty, or bearlet.

A fun felted pouch is the essential accessory for your iPod or your business cards. Try one by Feltathome or projectfelt. There are many more trend setting felted fashions and accessories by the fabulous felt makers of Etsy. All you have to do is search for them ...

Okay, so maybe you want to get your hands of a little bit of woolly goodness to make your own styling jewelry or add some uniqueness to your next craft project. Why not try some handmade felted wool beads? These small, round felted wool balls are very light weight and comfortable to wear. For many jewelry makers, they are a unique, new addition to other kinds of beads and blend well with many styles of jewelry making. They also make great buttons and sew-on accents!

Over the past few months I've seen a huge increase in the popularity of felted wool beads. On Etsy and elsewhere, it seems that these little woolly creations have become quite the jewelry making and crafting necessity. My sales of woolly beads has increased dramatically (pictured above with some of cherylavenue's swirly ones), and I see that other Etsy sellers seem to be having a similar affect. To find your own burst of soft fuzzy color for that next crafty endeavor, just search Etsy for quality handmade wool beads supplies. There are many to choose from.

In case you don't want to wear some fashionable wool creations or make your own, there's some other popular options such as needle felted sculptures, wall hangings, and even home decor. You can find some interesting needle felted critters by RoseThistleArtworks, irischacha, madebymoxie, and motleymutton.

Or, you can adorn your walls with felted art by Deebs or TheFeltedFairyTale.

Felted homegoods are also in vogue, especially felted vases and containers, such as this one by elasticco. If you need a soft accent for your sofa, try a tree pillow by papaververt, or one by plytextiles.

You can even get some felted soap for a fragrant display in your bathroom or as a nice all-in-one scrubby to use. Here are some by AmeliaMakesArt or these holiday themed felted soaps by lanadeflor.

It doesn't seem to matter whether you are choosing items to adorn yourself or your living space, felted wool is a desirable accessory this season.

If you'd like to find more felt makers and trendy felted items, please visit the Needle Felting Street Team's profile. There is a great list of shops to explore for a variety of felted items and supplies. For more information about fiber art and fiber art trends, please visit the Fiber Arts Street Team's profile.

Further Resources:
A History of Traditional Felting:
Felt-Art.com provides an interesting history of traditional felt making along with some wonderful images of felted art.
Richard E. Wright details the history of felt in this volume of his Textiles Research Reports.

Felting Blogs:
felting.craftgossip.com - Linda Lanese, Craft Gossip's Felting Editor, reviews the latest in felted goodies and features an array of felting blogs and resources.
rishcraftworker.typepad.com - Rebecca Hillman's blog with many articles about traditional felting.
feltinginfibrespace.blogspot.com - Etsy seller fibrespace's blog with photo examples and articles.
kneek.wordpress.com - Etsy seller kneek's blog with excellent tutorials on felting and photo examples.
thefunkyfelter.blogspot.com - my (thefunkyfelter's) blog with photo examples and articles.
feltworks.wordpress.com - Etsy seller harlequinfeltworks' blog with photo examples and articles.

Felting Informational Sites and Forums:
www.peak.org/~spark/feltlistFAQ.html - The Feltmaker's List of FAQs is a very thorough list of links pertaining to felting and felt artists.
www.feltingforum.com/phpbb/index.php - The Felting Forum focusses on wet felting and needle felting. It is a great community to chat, ask questions, and find information about all things felt.
www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=199.0 - Craftster's forum section on felting with questions and answers to a wide range of topics about traditional and modern feltmaking.
www.textilearts.net - A wonderful site for any fiber artist looking for inspiration and information. It has a directory including links to fiber art supplies and resources as well as felt artist websites.

Felt Artist Organizations:
The International Feltmakers Association (IFA) website contains information about this coalition of felt artists as well as a gallery of felted items, upcoming events, and felting resources.
The North American Felters' Network (NAFN) produces a newsletter, but it also hosts an online calendar of felting events.

Feltmaking Kits:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=11790&section_id=5009369
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6012945