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Archive for the ‘Craft Business’ Category

Happy Anniversary To Me

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , , , , , on March 29, 2013| 5 Comments »

Isn’t that a fun little jingle?  I love this commercial with its peppy ba-ba-da and the very suave voice-over.

I just renewed my business standing with the State of Minnesota.  Auntie B’s Wax has been in business for eight years!  Hooray for me!  It seems like just yesterday I was pouring my first candle in the kitchen of Husby’s and my newlywed house.  Who knew that would grow into a legitimate and successful business?  I would have never guessed it then, but now it doesn’t surprise me a bit.

The other day Husby and I went to the bank to do some adjusting on the business bank account, then went out to dinner at the expense of Auntie B’s Wax, LLC.  It was the annual Employee Appreciation dinner Auntie B’s Wax’s owner and CEO (me) gives to her employee (Husby) every year in appreciation of his help and support throughout the year.

When the waiter came and asked for our drink order I was delighted to hear Husby order a Stella Artois.  He’d never tasted it before and said it was really good.  I was kind of hoping he’d start talking like the commercial voice-over guy after he took a sip, but that didn’t happen.  Oh well.

Husby celebrated the chalice which celebrates the Stella Artois. I celebrated the pinot grigio. We both celebrated Auntie B’s Wax.

I’m looking forward to another summer season visiting and working the shows and festivals and am happy to have my roadie by my side through it all. Raise your glass of Stella (or whatever else you prefer) to another successful year for Auntie B’s Wax.

Today, not only am I filled with appreciation for my employee but also to my customers and readers of this blog.  To show this appreciation I’m going to give you the chance to own a piece from the Auntie B’s Wax Etsy shop.  Go check out the shop and in the comments below tell me what item you like the best and why.  Three lucky commenters will receive their favorite item compliments of Auntie B and her appreciation for you.  If there are three or less commenters, everyone’s a winner!

Offer ends at 11:59 p.m. April 1, winners will be notified via e-mail on April 3.  Thank you, and good luck!

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Building Stamina

Posted in Candles, Craft Business, tagged , , , on March 12, 2013| 4 Comments »

There is tension in the air that isn’t all the way stressful, but an urgency is definitely there.  Once again I don’t feel as organized as I would like, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t think I’ll ever feel as organized as I’d like.  That doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying to improve my organizational skills.  The new year’s resolution I made to discipline myself more has really paid off and I still practice it three months after I resolved to do it.  Instead of getting cozy in bed with my book at an early hour as I would have liked I finished up the straggly ends of things I had been working on earlier in the evening.  It doesn’t really matter that I didn’t get enough sleep, does it?

NW018

The most logical reason for feeling this tension and urgency is because I finally have three applications in for shows this summer.  Woo hoo!  I’m not sure how many shows I’ll be doing this year, but I do know it will be at least three. 

In other news, I just got an order for candles to be part of a wedding.  I love when that happens!  Beautiful red palm wax pillars will grace the tables at a very happy occasion.  When my candles are at a special event like this I feel like I’m right there too.  Cheers to the happy couple!

It’s only Tuesday and I’m already looking forward to the weekend.  Lots to do!

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Horrors!

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , , , on February 25, 2013| 4 Comments »

Husby and I were at a craft show where we met a bunch of people right away.  There were two couples working together, two guys working together, and one other guy who was hanging out with one of the couples.  I remember the women’s names, Gwen and Kate.  I can’t remember the guys’ names.

The show was set up on a marina and in the adjacent park.  I was amazed that my assigned space was actually on one of the boats in the marina.  So very cool, and nice that I didn’t have to set up a canopy as everything could be set up under the cover of the boat.  Husby and I set up right away and even though the show didn’t start until the next day lots of people were stopping by to see what I had to offer.

At one point I came to an uncomfortable realization.  I took Gwen aside and said, “I’m so embarrassed, but could you tell me what state we’re in?”  I would have asked Husby but he was off swimming.  Gwen looked at me like I was crazy and didn’t even answer me, as if I didn’t deserve to know.  Such a premiere show and she doesn’t even know what state she’s in?

I decided it didn’t matter, but as Husby and I were sitting around with these seven other people we had met I asked again.  “What state are we in?”  One of the men responded “New Orleans.”  I looked at him and clicked my tongue.  “New Orleans isn’t a state, and besides, if I was in New Orleans I’d know, and this isn’t it”  It was at that point I knew these people weren’t going to be my friends if they couldn’t even help me out in my addle-minded condition.

Husby and I went back to the boat slip where my display was set up.  To my horror the entire boat was gone.  Gone!  Gone with all of my products!

At that point I woke up.  I likened this dream to those where you go to school and realize you have no clothes on, or forgot your locker combination.  I never did find out what state we were in, and when I relayed the dream to Husby he said “I think you were in the state of confusion.”  Ha ha.

Am I having craft show anxiety?  Am I having social interaction anxiety?  Am I having house boat anxiety?  I’m not really sure, but I am sure the dream is anxiety-based.

Funny, I don’t feel anxious in my waking state, but maybe I should pay attention to my subconscious.  First order of business is to be sure to know what state I’m in when at a craft show.  Secondly, don’t trust being set up on someone else’s boat.

Here’s to a week devoted to researching shows to do in the 2013 season.

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Decision Time At The Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , , , , , , on January 31, 2013| 8 Comments »

It’s a chilly 2 degrees F today, with a windchill of -17.  Do people in Hawaii even know what a windchill factor is?  Suffice it to say we’re having weather fit for perfect preservation.

The missing link, preserved in a block of ice. Apparently.

With such bone-chilling weather it’s hard to imagine that in a few short months I will be outside doing summer shows and festivals, selling my wares. As a matter of fact I’ve already received two applications. One of the shows I’ve decided to bypass, but the other leaves me on the fence and riddled with anxiety over the decision to apply or not. My gut says pass it up, but my head says take a chance.

I was up late last night, scrolling through a list of craft fairs and festivals to take place in Wisconsin this summer. Why do I favor Wisconsin shows more than my own home state of Minnesota? Well, for one thing when I do a show in a different state it’s like I’m having a working vacation. For another thing Wisconsin has a smaller sales tax than Minnesota, which is nice when it comes to filing a sales tax return.

Now is the time of year I have to make some decisions. Business decisions. It makes me feel like such a grown-up, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I’m waiting patiently for a copy of Midwest Art Fairs to arrive at my house so I can really dig into the festival scene and schedule my summer travels from one craft show to another, to another…

Don’t forget, a schedule of my travels will appear in the 2013 Events page.  It’s empty now, but not for long.  I hope.

Stay warm!

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New Year, New Ideas

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , , , , , on January 8, 2013| 5 Comments »

During the last week or so I’ve been working on the business taxes, my eyes getting tired from looking at the grids of my spreadsheets and wishing every state had the same method of submitting taxes online.  Some sites are much easier to navigate that others.

With such a deep inspection of the business numbers and the sales activities of 2012 I naturally get eager to start the new year of production.  I also wonder what new things I can offer to my adoring public not only to satisfy them, but also to make the new year even more lucrative than the last.

I was commissioned to make a special set of drink charms and with my customer’s permission I’ve decided to take her idea to the public.  Tell me what you think…

Of course this is a display of the images only and not the charms themselves.  I hope they appeal to fashionistas everywhere.  I’ve got a few charms up for sale in my shop and these will be a nice addition, don’t you think?

I also have some ideas for votive cups and candle hurricanes that will take a little developing.  It won’t be long before I get back into Craftland and start creating.

Another thing I’ve been up to is designing new business cards.  The design is a little more in tune with my “brand” and has the same look as my blog and my Etsy banner.  Check it out…

It’s not horribly imaginative and I forgot to include my little tagline, but it has every contact source I have, so there’s no excuse for anyone not being able to get in touch with me or keeping up with the latest happenings at the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters.

Not only that, I put in an order for my copy of Midwest Art Fairs which should arrive early next month.  I’ll spend a lot of time going through that to get an idea of what shows I’d like to apply to in addition to my usual favorites.  I’m hoping to do one or two more shows this year compared to last and may also cut some shows out of my repertoire.  Stay tuned by checking in on the 2013 Events tab above.

So, yes, I’m off and running, which always happens during sales tax submission time.  Planning, working, and anticipating make the winter months so much fun!

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