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Archive for the ‘Craft Business’ Category

I *Heart* Etsy

Posted in Craft Business, Etsy, tagged , , on January 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Last week I talked about my fantasy shop, or at least one of my fantasy shops. There are many floating around in my mind, each catering to a different market. It’s fun to imagine these shops, which would most like be located in touristy areas. Except when I fantasize about having a brick and mortar shop (or many) I forget sometimes that I have an actual shop to which I must attend. That would be my little space on Etsy.

If you’ve never been to visit I’d love to see your tally on my stats page. Oh, I know that sounds horribly impersonal, but believe me, when I see those little tallies I know they represent actual people. Sometimes it’s fun to imagine what those people are like, depending on what they’re looking at. Yes, I see you looking at specific items, and I love you for it!

I have lots of lovely candles for your visual and aromatic enjoyment. They come in a variety of colors and scents and are made of paraffin or palm wax. The ever-popular beeswax candles are on their way to my shop this year. As much as I like palm wax and paraffin, beeswax is my favorite. I think the reason they haven’t gotten into the shop yet is because I burn them all myself before they get there.

I have a variety of cute, nostalgic, funny and bizarre bottle cap magnets. There are lots in the shop right now, and so many more to come.

That’s just a little sample of what’s in my real shop. I hope you’ll stop by sometime and come back often to see what’s new. Your tallied presence is what drives me be more productive and to add things to the shop more frequently. You are my reason for existing as Auntie B.

If you have any ideas of things you’d like to see in my shop just let me know in the comments below.

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If I Had A Shop…

Posted in Artists and Shops, Craft Business, tagged , , on January 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Having a crafty biz makes me more in tune with shops and websites and businesses in general.  I think lots of people, at one time or another, fantasized about owning a brick and mortar shop.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my fantasy shop lately.  Of course I would carry my own hand-crafted items in the shop, but I’d also want to fill it with the handmade wonders of others.  Beautiful cards and papers for old-fashioned letter writing, and why not some sealing wax and presses too?

Writings By Bluebirds

I’d have a little section of quaint hats, the kind that never go out of fashion, certainly not the type found at the wedding of William and Kate.  Jewelry?  Not so much, but some pieces that are truly one of a kind to make a statement.  I think I’d like to have some antique pieces in my shop too, just to give the hint of a musty smell and to bring the past into everyday life.  Maybe some custom fragrances in pretty bottles, and I’d offer free sniffs for all.

Filigreen

Linens would be delicate and plentiful, perhaps with some hand-stitched embroidery to give them some whimsy.  There would be colorful garden tools for those who like to make things grow, and dried flower arrangements in rustic baskets.

The Flower Patch

Cozy and entertaining.  Traditional and trendy.  Coming into my shop and you’d be treated like an honored guest.  I’d have home-baked treats for anyone who stopped by, and maybe a spot of tea.  My shop would be the first place ladies would look for gifts for themselves as well as others.

That’s just a peek at one of my fantasy shops.  If I had two, the second would be…

 

Photos and dreamy gifts are compliments of:

Writings By Bluebirds

Filigreen

The Flower Patch

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Auntie B Meets The Devil

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , on January 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Everybody knows a good business will strive to keep its production costs down.  When the cost of a product is lower, the retail price will be lower ~ at least it should be.

I was commissioned to create a set of note cards and needed some A2 envelopes.  Invitation-size envelopes.  In the past I got envelopes at Office Max, so I headed to my local store only to find that Office Max is the Devil.

There they were, all of the envelopes, and among them were the A2, invitation-size envelopes.  Yay, I thought, until I saw the price.  A box of one hundred envelopes was, and I’m not kidding, $18.50.  Envelopes!  That’s $.18 a piece!  I never paid that much in the past!  To add insult to injury all of the envelopes had the Office Max label and there were no others to choose from.

There was no way in hell I was going to spend $18.50 for a box of stinkin’ envelopes.  I walked out of the store vowing never to return again.

Charlotte reminded me of a place where I could most likely find what I was looking for at a price much more reasonable than the Devil was charging.  Anchor Paper Express.  When I walked into the store I immediately decided to start making more paper crafts.  This place is a scrapbookers heaven!  I even told the lady behind the counter I loved her more than Michaels and I wasn’t kidding.  The papers were divine, the punches and cutters were plentiful, there were inks and dyes and pigments, embossing plates, and a number of other gadgets and instruments I wasn’t even familiar with.

Here’s the best part: you pay for paper and envelopes by the pound.  Fancy paper and matching envelopes.  By the pound!  That’s genius!  Mix and match to your heart’s content.  However, I couldn’t find plain, white, A2 envelopes in the gigantic paper/envelope warehouse part of the store.  I asked the woman behind the counter (the one to whom I professed my love) if they had what I was looking for.  But of course!  Guess what?  Plain, white, A2 envelopes, the ones selling for $18.50 at Office Max, were sold at Anchor Paper Express in a box of two hundred and fifty for…$10.  That’s $.02 a piece as opposed to $.18 a piece at Office Max.

Can you say cha-ching?!

I wasn’t kidding about looking into doing more paper crafts. Anchor Paper Express totally inspired me, and now that I have two hundred and fifty plain white envelopes you’ll surely be seeing some new products coming out of the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters very soon. And lucky you, I’ll pass on the low cost of production to my customers.

Thanks, Charlotte, for the suggestion to check out Anchor Paper Express. And Anchor Paper? I really do love you.

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Appreciation

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , on December 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

You’ve all probably got various parties and celebrations you’re attending this Christmas season.  Things are no different for me.  The weeks leading up to Christmas are a flurry of activities with shopping, baking, decorating, and socializing.  In fact, the partying continues even after Christmas at my house.  Today my family will be joining me and Husby for some holiday cheer and cozy chatter in front of the fireplace.

And a new year is right around the corner.  The flip of a calendar page can inspire better intentions and habits as well as reflection on the past year, what it has meant and how it has affected us.  One thing I like to reflect on is all of the good things bestowed upon me throughout the previous year, giving silent thanks for events and people who have encouraged me, taught me, inspired me, and just plain loved me.

Did I say “silent thanks?”  Well, for the most part, yes.  But this year I decided, as owner and CEO of Auntie B’s Wax, to express my gratitude to my roadie, tax man, and support staff with a special dinner.

Lucky for my funds all of those positions are held by one person, Husby.  The company treated for a nice dinner for just the two of us.  We enjoyed delicious food and refreshing libations while we chatted about our day, our lives together, and the future of Auntie B’s Wax.  I also expressed great thanks to my one and only employee, who works for nothing, for helping me grow a business.

Employee appreciation dinner will become a new tradition at Auntie B’s Wax.  Whether I have one employee who works for nothing or ten employees with salaries the company will treat for a year-end dinner.  I think that’s a capital idea and well-deserved to those he who helps make it all possible.

I’d also like to express appreciation to all of you who have supported my business with your purchases and encouragement.  Please help yourself to 15% off your entire purchase (excluding shipping) in my Etsy shop through January 13, 2012.  Just enter the coupon code THANKS when making your purchase.  You deserve it, because you are all so dang awesome!

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Elves Rock

Posted in Craft Business, Holidays, Nostalgia, tagged , , on December 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Boy, what a season I’m having! Things are buzzing at the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters with Christmas preparations, events, entertaining, and general festivities.

I’ve been so happy with the support I’ve been getting with my little business too ~ gratitude doesn’t begin to express how I feel these days.  The fun part about selling my wares this time of year is knowing some of them will be given as Christmas gifts.  That makes me feel just like one of Santa’s elves.

What’s going on in your part of the world these days? Baking? Shopping? Wrapping? Bah-Humbugging? I hope you’re not doing that last thing ~ unless you decide to have a great epiphany as a result of being visited by three spirits. Then you can Bah-Humbug all you want until Christmas Day. Better yet, get into that baking, shopping, and wrapping and you won’t have time to Bah-Humbug. And you’ll probably have that little song in your head: “Ho ho ho, ho ho ho, we are Santa’s elves…”

 

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