Etsy vs Shopify vs Big Cartel vs Storenvy vs Tictail

In my last post, I discussed some changes that are happening at Etsy, arguably the world's biggest host for small handmade business owners. In this post, I take a look at some alternatives for those looking to start an online handmade business. All fees are in U.S. dollars. Please note that all fees listed do not include fees charged by money handling services such as PayPal.

ETSY
Fees:
$0.20 to list for 4 months
3.5% fee on sale
additional 3%-4% fee if buyer uses Etsy Payments

Vibe: Etsy hosts all sorts of shops from grannies making blankets in their spare time, to ultra-cool hipster zine distros. Many have commented that the vintage section of the site has expanded so much, the handmade items get lost in a sea of vintage. And don't forget the commercial supplies businesses posing as small sellers. Overall though, its image is broad enough to cater to just about anyone.
Pros: No limit on number of listings. Large, well-established platorm is unlikely to fold. Some of the work of marketing is already done for you. Community and forums to provide advice. Buyers can search the entire site for specific items and find your shop 'accidentally' (this can be a con too, see below!). It's a well-known name and buyers feel safer purchasing from shops hosted on a central site. Rating system ensures that sellers are legitimate (however it can be a con if you don't have any sales yet: buyers may be wary).
Cons: Shop appearance is not customisable at all (aside from banner). Types of items that can be sold are restricted to handmade, vintage and supplies. Because all sellers are on one site, buyers may be distracted away from your shop and purchase from another one. Doesn't allow links to blog, social media, or anything else at all, really. Fee structure is complicated. And now there's the extra fees which may or may not be charged with the Etsy Payments thing.

SHOPIFY
Fees: starting from $29.00 per month
no listing fee
between 1.75% and 2.9% + $0.30 fee on sale (percentage fee depends on which package the seller is using)

Vibe: Shopify caters to medium and larger online businesses. It has more of a commercial feel to it. Being fully customisable, the seller can create any kind of vibe they want.
Pros: Shop appearance can be completely customised. Allows links to social media, or whatever you like. No restriction on types of items that can be sold. Good for large numbers of listings with bulk handling. Allows a wide range of payment options.
Cons: Is too expensive for most small handmade sellers. Fee structure is even more complicated than Etsy. Onus for marketing is completely on seller. No rating system.

SHOPIFY LITE
Fees: $9 per month
no listing fee

Pros: It's cheap!
Cons: It's not a standalone shop -- you need to already have a page set up to host the platform on, such as a Facebook page, Squarespace, or a blog. There may be more fees for maintaining this host site. There wasn't much information about it on the Shopify website.
Other Cons are similar to the main Shopify package.

BIG CARTEL
Fees: free for up to 5 items; $9.99 for up to 25 items; $19.99 for up to 100 items, $29.90 for up to 300 items (per month)
no listing fees or fees on sales

Vibe: Definitely the cool kid on the scene, Big Cartel is the platform of choice for artists and zinesters.
Pros: Shop appearance can be completely customised. No restriction on types of items that can be sold. Allows links to social media, etc. Can connect to a Facebook page to allow sales directly from it. Fee structure is simple and there is no unpredictability around how much fees will be as it's a flat monthly fee (however this can be a con, too!).
Cons: Number of items that can be listed is very limited. If sales are slow or nonexistent, there is still a monthly cost to the seller to keep the shop open. Onus for marketing is completely on seller. No rating system.

STORENVY
Fees:
free to list. no fee on sale. completely free**
up to 500 listings
fees for optional extras and apps, e.g. $5 per month for custom domain name
** UPDATE:
Commenters have reported that Storenvy charges fees to both sellers and customers in various ways. Please see the comments for further information about Storenvy fees.

Vibe: Much like Shopify and Big Cartel, sellers can completely customise their shop and create their own vibe. From my own experience though, I've seen mainly craft and fashion shops on Storenvy.
Pros: Being completely free, Storenvy and its cousin Tictail allow a seller to set up a shop without any financial outlay whatsoever. No fees mean you can charge your customer a little less. Shop appearance can be completely customised. Allows links to social media, etc. No restriction on types of items that can be sold. Number of listings allowed is very generous compared to Big Cartel.
Cons: Being completely free, many have asked, but how do they make money? Storenvy offers various add-ons and apps to enhance your shop, for a monthly fee. When I tried to find out what some of these were, I could only find a very short sample list. It all seemed a bit mysterious. It also makes me concerned that if this model isn't financially viable in the long run, they may start charging up-front fees. That's what happened with ArtFire a few years ago (remember them?) and they closed down not long after.
Other cons are similar to above.

TICTAIL
Fees:
It's completely free, except it's not. Okay, it's kind of complicated. It's completely free, except if a buyer purchases your item through the Tictail Marketplace -- sometimes. All items that you offer for sale in your shop also automatically appear in the Tictail Marketplace. (It reminds me a bit of Etsy, but cooler.) If a buyer chooses to purchase from the Marketplace site, there is a 10% commission charged on the sale -- sometimes -- it depends on the circumstances. There's a lot more I could write about that, but this post is long enough already! The page explaining this is here.
fees for optional extras and apps, e.g. $5 per month for custom domain name

Vibe: Tictail runs on basically the same model as Storenvy (except for the Marketplace thing), however, it is run out of Sweden rather than the U.S. It's newer and not as well known, but seems to be expanding rapidly. It has a cool, Euro-Scandi vibe.
Pros: Basically the same as Storenvy. Additionally, buyers may accidentally come across your items in the Tictail Marketplace, meaning you are not 100% on your own marketing-wise.
Cons: Cons are similar to above. Additionally, the Marketplace commission thing is quite confusing. With each sale, you don't know if you're going to be charged a commission fee or not, and 10% is quite high.

ARTYAH and RUBY LANE
To be honest, I'd never even heard of either of these before I started doing this research -- and that's not a good thing. I didn't bother looking into them much further. Once glance showed me that the type of work I do wouldn't fit in at all on either of these platforms. (Plus, this post is long enough already!)

NOTE:
Of course, hosting your shop on any of these platforms has its dangers. The people running the site have the ultimate control over your shop, not you. Your shop can be taken down for any number of reasons with very little or no notice. The only way to ensure this doesn't happen is to purchase your own domain, which, while returning control to you, is much more costly and time-consuming to maintain.

BUT WHAT ABOUT ME AND MY LITTLE SHOP?
With all of that research done, how do I choose the best platform for me? I calculated what the fees would be for each of the different platforms. Say I want to offer 25 items, about half of them fairly cheap (zines @ $5) and half a bit more expensive (art/craft @ $40-$50). I worked out what the fees would be for 4 months, as it was the easiest way to calculate around Etsy's 4-month cycle. And I assumed that I would sell everything in that four-month period (as if! But it was easier to calculate that way). Here are my results:


ETSY: between $24.25 and $46.25 (less if not all items sell; though that would be balanced out with re-listing fees. Difference is no Etsy Payments sales vs. all Etsy Payments sales)
SHOPIFY: $139.45 (less if not all items sell)
SHOPIFY LITE: $36.00 (plus possible cost of hosting site)
BIG CARTEL: $39.96
STORENVY: nothing (unless you want a domain name, shipping add-on, etc)
TICTAIL: anywhere between nothing and $55.00 (all items sold through shop vs. all items sold through Tictail Marketplace. However, I think it would be closer to nothing as my work is unlikely to have a featuring spot in the Marketplace.)

If finance was the only consideration, then the choice would be clear -- Storenvy because it is free. There are other things to think about though. It doesn't provide the automatic exposure boost of Etsy, or the cool reputation of Big Cartel and Tictail. Neither does it have the solid e-commerce foundations of Shopify, or the peace of mind provided by Etsy's rating system.

Even after all of this research, I still have no idea which platform I would pick. Some, like Maryanne Gobble Photography maintain a shop on more than one platform, depending on their needs. Once I've decided (which might take a while as I'm working 5.5 days a week again this year), I'll let you know the reasoning.

If you've read all the way to the end of this post, thank you! I'd really like to hear others' thoughts on this topic -- if you have a shop, why you chose the platform you did, and your thoughts on recent changes.

If not Etsy, then what?

Recently there's been an upheaval in the world of online hand-made retailing. Etsy, by far the biggest host for sellers of handmade and vintage goods, is making some big changes. I used to have a shop on Etsy a long time ago (by that I mean 2008-2010) and I'd been planning to re-open it this year. I would have already if other life-related things hadn't gotten in the way. Perhaps that turned out to be a good thing, in the end.

Etsy has a new CEO, and a new business model, it seems. Last time I logged on, I noticed that they've opened a mirror site dedicated solely to craft supplies. I thought this was a great thing at first -- until I realised that most sellers would probably need to list their supplies on both sites in order to keep reaching the same number of buyers as they did before. Does that mean they are paying twice the fees now?

It's the latest change though, that has caused the most upheaval. In a few days' time, all sellers will be forced to offer the full range of payment methods, whereas before they could choose. Most notably they will be forced to offer Etsy Payments (which I believe is similar to Direct Checkout on ebay), or their shop will be suspended. There are some advantages to this, but many disadvantages as well, not the least of which is that Etsy will charge an extra 3-4% in fees. (For more information, the Etsy page explaining the changes is here.) Many sellers are objecting to, not only the extra fees, but they fact that they will have no choice. I know of several smaller sellers who are closing down their shops and looking for alternatives, and I wonder how many others are doing the same.

In preparation for opening up my shop, I did an analysis of the different options; now seems like a very good time to post it. In that analysis, Etsy came out on top (but only marginally), but if that's a less attractive option now, perhaps something else will be preferable? In my next post, I will show the results of my analysis and my thought process behind making the decision for my shop. I'd love to know what other people think of the changes.

Embarrassing Rambling/Ranting

Just a quick update to let you-all know that I've re-opened my Etsy shop. It's been closed since I went overseas. I've been back for almost two months now - that's just the kind of girl I am. I was hoping to have a spiffy re-opening with a new zine, but I haven't felt like working on writing lately. It might be done by the end of this year ... if I can find some motivation. When I first got back from Europe, I felt fantastic. I had a new perspective on things. I felt happier and more confident. Lately though, Negative Nancy has been sticking her big nose into things again. She stops me from writing, stops me from finishing anything. She tells me I'm too tired and it's not worth the bother, that no-one cares. Isn't that crazy? She's even the reason why I can be so slow to reply to the lovely comments that I've been receiving. I am truly sorry about that.

To be honest, the main reason why I re-opened my shop was not to reach out to people, to share my writing or to promote myself. It was to stop those annoying automated messages saying that it's closed. All the other stuff just doesn't bear thinking about. Also - I was under the impression that the fees I pay to list my items would be suspended during that time, but they weren't. I was rather disappointed. But it's OK. In the future I'm going to be more careful and business-like (gak!) about what I offer in the shop. I'm going to be more organised and finish the postage station I was setting up. I'm going to be brave and face any negative things that might come along. I'm going to be good to myself and accept any positive things that come along, too! I'm probably over-sharing, but I don't care.

I'm sick of being at 90% on everything, of being disappointed in myself and worried that other people are disappointed in me. I want to wear the top-knot and be fabulous!

Busy Little Beaver

So many things have happened! I think I'll start with the trivial and work my way up to the 'wow'.

I cancelled my subscription to Handmade Magazine. I really should have checked it out at Mag Nation before I subscribed. Lesson learned! They put out three Christmas editions in a row, and I don't do Christmas. Even if there had been one or two generic projects in it, I would have been happy. There's a big emphasis on patchwork, quilting and beaded jewellery-making as well - again, things I'm not interested in. I saw a special Spring issue in the shops a few months back, but I was never sent it as part of the subscription, so I don't know what was going on there. Although, after I called up to cancel it, I received the final issue and it had a couple of nice embroidery patterns in it. But only a couple out of about 40 projects. So schnyeh. I'd rather have the back issues of Craft: Magazine. I love that mag - I always want to do every project in it! How many magazines can you say that about? I really wish there was a local equivalent. Speaking of cool mags, I asked for a subscription to Frankie Mag for Christmas. If I don't get it then I will definitely subscribe this year. I went to buy the latest issue last week from Mag Nation, but the guy said it wasn't there yet and was maybe coming out late. His indifference was inversely proportionate to my distress.

I used the refund I got from Handmade to buy a membership to Brown Owls for 2009. I'm not too sure about this. Don't get me wrong - I went to one session this year and it seems to be a lovely group with fabulous people. However, I pulled out of three Etsy meetups in a row due to extreme shyness and a sense of inferiority. (No, I didn't really hurt my back.) So I don't know how many sessions I will actually make it to. I feel really silly now thinking back on those last-minute mind-changes, but meeting new people is for me like public speaking while someone is running their fingernails down a blackboard for other people. It's multiplied by 100 when my crafts are involved. I wish I could blog at people, or something like that. I'm so much better at writing than talking. When I have the time to think about what I'm going to say I do much better. If it weren't for the internet I might not have any friends! And I probably wouldn't have a job either.

Anyhoo, now I will talk about my new book, Beginners Guide to Braiding: The Craft of Kumihimo by Jacqui Carey:

Book cover
I bought it as a reward for myself for reaching my first weight loss goal. It explains how to make kumihimo braid using the marudai, which is the frame used traditionally. Here is a picture of one:

Marudai frame (not from book - stolen from interwubs)
One of the first things I realised is that my foam disc can only be used to make one type of braid. There are many other types (square, flat, etc.) and patterns that can be made on the frame. These involve sliding the cords back and forth around the frame as you work. This would be a massive pain if using the disc, as the cords are all stuck fast in the slits around the disc, plus you'd really need a frame so you can use both hands to move the cords around. Also, you can attach weights to the braid to control the tension and make it looser or more dense, which you can't do with the disc. Thankfully, the book explains how you can make your own marudai from cardboard. Cool! Literally hundreds of different colour and patterns combinations are shown. The instructions are very clear and are accompanied by useful diagrams. The pictures have that special grainy, off-colour look that you see in books from the 70s and 80s, but I think this just adds to the charm!
Now I just need a whole bunch of this:

Bunches of biron - Japanese silk threads - from the careycompany.com website
Interestingly enough, when I did some quick Googling I found the author's online shop: Carey Company. Unfortunately, the prices are a bit too much for me. Thank goodness for cotton and cardboard!

A few days ago, I started this embroidery:

I saw the pattern on a blog (sorry, I read so many, I don't know which) and just fell in love with it. I know I've said I don't do Christmas, but it combines 3 of the things I love best about it - Christmas trees/ornaments, reindeer and sausage dogs. I know sausage dogs aren't particularly associated with the season, but they are so adorable, I just want to associate them with everything! I'm hoping to incorporate him into a pouch somehow; I'd like to make up 2-3 embroideries and then break out the sewing machine and make a bunch of pouches and bags in a big batch (well, big for me, anyway!).

Last but not least, I sold my Kokeshi Doll 1 after it being on Etsy for 9 months. Here's a reminder photo of it:

Turns out, the buyer is the owner of a shop in Northcote. Turns out, he and his partner are really cool and they want to stock my work! :0

*pause to let that sink in*

So if I can make about 10 dolls, they would be interested in seeing them. Ten is a huge amount for someone with as little spare time as me! I have a second finished one which I'm not happy with and never posted about cause I think it looks like a stubbie with a face, and a third one I'm nearly half way through that I was never really satisfied with either. Perhaps I will get them out and try to see them with less critical eyes.

Speaking of, the other day I wrote a list of New Years' Resolutions / Goals For 2009. I've become strangely interested in self-improvement the last few years and it always gives me a feeling of optimism to write a list of goals. Some of them are crafty and some not, but they are all to do with improving my life. I will have a look and think about the current year's list next week perhaps.

Zine Time

It's all about the zine right now for me. I've been working away on writing my travel zine. One reason I'm writing it is that joined a(nother) swap on Swap-Bot for a longer zine, and this is the topic I most want to write about right now. The swap is due on 2nd January. I hope think I can finish it by then!

Sister Diane's Christmas Digest zine arrived in the mail tonight too:

It has a hand-cut cover with genuine Christmas wrapping paper decoration, and a personal message from Sister Diane. What a sweetie! I'm having a lot of fun reading it.

I'm also well into my Etsy Swap item. It's a mini monster. One of the ideas was to make a smaller version of something you normally make, so I ran with that. He's in a lovely, sparkly festive colour. Sorry it's a bit fuzzy - I was on the phone at the time I took the photo:

All my monsters seem to have something sticking out of the crotch during the creative process. What's the go with that?

In other zine-related news, I've set up a free (basic) account on ArtFire and listed my zines on it. I'm just waiting to see what happens (if anything). It's interesting to compare ArtFire with Etsy:

Fees
Etsy - US$0.20 per item for 4 month long listing, plus 3.5% commission on sales.
ArtFire - Free account: can list up to 10 items. Paid account: flat rate of US$7 per month. No listing fees or commission fees on individual items. (At that rate, I'd have to list over 50 items per month for ArtFire to beat Etsy on fees. That's not taking Etsy's commission into account though. I'm not very good at maths.)


Listing
Etsy - Have to fill out 5 separate pages, so it can take a while. Tagging system is quite good though - it gives you suggestions to refine your tags. Categories are very straightforward.
ArtFire - All fields are on a single page. So for example you can download photos while filling out other fields. Very fast. Also has extra features such as 'Inspiration' field and how many hours it took to make the item. Much better! Category system is a little confusing, but they are refining it with user feedback, so I'm sure it will improve with time. With the free account, you can only list one copy of each item, so I'll have to be quick off the mark to relist a zine once it sells. Don't know yet if it has the 'relist' feature that Etsy has or if I'd have to start from scratch each time. ArtFire is more obviously geared towards artists that make one-off items.

Establishment
Etsy - Has been around for about 5 years; has a lot of word-of-mouth marketing and a huge seller base. Does some advertising in magazines and websites based in the U.S., but many people complain that they don't do enough marketing.
ArtFire - Has only just begun (it's still in Beta, I believe) and is a bit buggy. Not very many sellers yet. This could be a good thing though - not too much competition! However, they've done a huge amount of marketing geared towards buyers already: they've purchased the back cover of Craft: Magazine for the next year, advertised on TV shows in the U.S., etc. People are very happy about this!
Also, thanks to Twitter (where the admin of ArtFire have an active account), I have noticed that they are listening to/acknowledging requests from users, and often tweaking the site to accommodate them, sometimes within just a few hours. There have been very few user-initiated changes to Etsy in the time I have been using it.

Exposure
Etsy - When a potential buyer does a search, the most newly listed items come up first. Because there are literally millions of items for sale, if your item was listed some time ago, there's practically no chance of a buyer sifting through enough items to find YOUR little gem. Many sellers are tempted to renew items regularly to push them to the top of the list, instead of waiting the 4-month period for them to expire. Of course, this costs US$0.20 per time, eating into one's profit margin. It's a dilemma.
ArtFire - Apparently every item that's listed appears on the front page for a certain amount of time, giving every seller some great exposure. The seller base is expanding rapidly though, so who knows how long this will last.

Features
Etsy - Has the bog standard forums and favourite list. Many people complain that the search feature is a bit crap. Sure, you can search by colour or sellers that have recently sold something, but you can't search by base country of seller. What the? Features such as the Treasuries seem to be more for sellers to play around than for buyers to find what they are looking for.
ArtFire - Has all of the standard features of Etsy, plus a few others such as Badges and a Karma score that can be earned. (I haven't managed to find out too much about these yet.) A big one is that you can customise the currency you want the prices shown in. Some terms are different, e.g. 'shop' in Etsy is 'My Studio' in ArtFire, and sellers are referred to as 'artisans'. There's much more of an inclusive, community feel to it. The categories are slightly different and have more emphasis on different materials and artforms. ArtFire is definitely geared towards artists - of all kinds.

Whether one site is 'better' than the other remains to be seen. This post was a lot longer than I intended it to be, as per usual!

More updates as they happen.
Bye!

Pronto!

Hello! Just a quick update on what I've been making.
I apologise in advance - all my photos came out a bit fuzzy today. It was just one of those days, I guess!

There's these bookmarks that I made for a swap. The actual swap was for a Reading Log - these were extra treats:

Creative, no? No, not really.
[The text reads: "Let's get married, go home and read a book. "Sure thing, dollface!"] It was quite fun working with the airbrush pen and collage, though I think my mojo was a bit off that day. Then today I made this:

L for Lenny.
Well, technically I cut it out last week, embroidered it on the weekend and sewed it tonight. It's a pouch to keep my mouse and laptop cables in. Note the wonkiness of the sewing along the zip and ric rac. It's actually a lot more pronounced in real life. It's just for me though, so who cares! I bought a bulk lot of 50 zips on Ebay today, so I'll be able to practice quite a bit!

Then this happened! The plushes that I bought in the Softies for Mirabel auction arrived!

I have decided to call the one on the left Miranda. It just popped into my head and I tend to trust that. The car ones on the right are called Beep, Toot and Vroom. I am going to keep them in my car. (It's my first anniversary of getting her it, so they're a bit like an anniversary gift.) My own Monstrous Muriel has popped up in the middle there. She just loves to socialise! This morning I almost had the feeling that she was looking at me, but then again, it was 6.30am and I was distracted with getting ready for work. I do like the way her face has turned out though - much more expressive than I had hoped for.

Speaking of Monstrosity, Etsy has created a new item category for dolls, which has forced me to decide whether Muriel et al are toys or dolls. Or art toys or art dolls. Or soft sculpture. Geez, I don't know!!

End of September Wrap-Up

Boring for you, but instructional for me.
My goals for September and results:

1. Increase items in shop to 38.
The number actually went down this month! I let some expired items stay expired because I didn't like the way I'd photographed them. But with Boy's new camera, we can fix that!

2. Work 2 hours on Long Term projects.
I did this and then some! I'm really enjoying knitting or crocheting while I listen to the audiobooks I downloaded from The Classic Tales Podcast and I was itching to do a lot more! But I held back because I knew I had so much else to do! I worked on Branwell the Brachiosaurus while I finished The Hound of the Baskervilles. I had never read any Sherlock Holmes mysteries before and I have to admit I had a pre-conceived notion of what it would be like. I was all ready to be hatin' on Holmes when he swept in at the end and solved the case after Watson had done all the work. I was really angry at how Holmes treated Watson. What is their relationship, anyway? Friends? Master and servant? Whatever it is, Holmes has him wrapped around his little finger. Poor Watson has no confidence in himself and is petrified of putting a step wrong. But even I had to be impressed by the lengths Holmes eventually went to to solve the case and the intelligent twists and intriguing clues. In spite of myself, I enjoyed it. Anyway, this wasn't supposed to become a book review!

3. Do 2 pages in Art Journal.
I did one and have finished the other today. I also started two others which I should hopefully finish next month. I've been experimenting more with layering paint and collage elements. I also want to try some more new techniques, so I will continue this one.

4. Utilise drawing board.
I stuck a few postcards to it with blutac, does that count? At the moment it's broken and in the way, but Boy and I made a plan which hopefully we'll carry out this weekend. It's past the deadline, but it'll still happen.

5. Look through old paintings and list one in shop.
I never got around to this. I was too busy playing computer game.

6. Reduce number of projects by 2.
I reduced them by one. I did start 2 projects and then finish them this month, but I don't think that counts!

This is one of the projects I finished:

It's the headband that I crocheted. I'm very happy with how it turned out - only it's a bit too small! I'll have to add maybe 5 stitches when I make the next one. But I can't remember if I did 70 or 75 last time. Am I feelin' lucky, punk?

Here is the other one:

It's a laptop sleeve for my laptop, Lenny. It's just a very simple cover that will protect him from scratches, etc. (Soryr that the photo is so small and fuzzy.) I can feel this is only the beginning of the great pouch frenzy. Soon, all of my belongings will be in pouches! Even Boy! hehehehe

Here's my latest art journal entry. The theme is Spring. And mucking around with paints and collage. I like sticking stuff. It's calming. I really want to start another altered book but a) I already have one on the make; and b) shnyeh, who has time?

Some time ago I also blocked my skinny scarves. I think I've mentioned before that I was happy with them except for the fact that the ends twisted into ringlet curls that would look great on a 5-year-old girl, but not on my scarves! So I blocked them:

They turned out all right - the photos of them didn't! Boy, help!

OCTOBER GOALS:
1. Work 3 hours on Long Term projects.
2. Reduce number of projects by 2.
3. Finish 2 pages of altered book.
4. Re-arrange hobby room: drawing board area.
5. Start new zine. (I signed up for another zine swap. Oops!)


P.S.
Confused by the Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis? Read this simple yet biting comic.

What I did last Winter...

... well, a couple of weeks ago, anyway.

I had so many projects in progress that I was determined to finish something. Even if it meant breaking out the needle and weaving ends in! I finally finished these:

I started them in March 2006. This was the most annoying, frustrating and infuriating project I have ever worked on. The pattern didn't make sense, it requires at least 6 double-pointed needles (which means you have to buy 2 sets), for a utilitarian project the back is pretty fugly (picture on the right), it has 12 ends to weave in (24 in my case as I was knitting with two strands), ... well, you get the gist. I feel like I've been whingeing and ranting a bit too much lately, so I'm going to try and cut back a bit.

On a more cheery note, I finished Monstrous Muriel!:

I'm not too sure about the shape of her body and position of her legs, but I love everything else, especially her needle-felted perm. I can't decide whether to keep her, donate her to Softies for Mirabel, or put her on Etsy (my craft inferiority complex being the main reason why I'm wavering on the second or third option).

Meanwhile, I'm mainly bludging of an evening, and failing to get up the motivation to do anything. I did a little work on Scary Selby earlier tonight - it took some courage to try to solve the top-of-head-looking-hinky problem, but I think I'm doing all right. I ran out of steam just before the end and swapped to the beret for a few rows.
I made up a list of things to do on the weekend. I love making lists. It's kinda the only craft-related thing I can do at work without looking obviously like I'm not working. (I did have an actual idea at work that I wrote down yesterday, too.) I have soooo many things on that list that I'm gonna do this weekend! I can't wait!

P.S.
Oh, I keep forgetting - when I was in Daylesford I bought this book:

It's very cool and inspirational. I really have to get out my sewing machine!

Monthly Wrap-Up

colorful woody, originally uploaded by swelldesigner.

Two months ago I set some crafty goals for myself. I achieved most of them in one day, a few weeks ago. If only more days were like that! Here's a summary of how I went:

1. Increase number of items in shop from 35 to 45.
No chance, no how! It's still 35. This goal was waaaaay too ambitious.

2. Finish 3 older projects.
I finished 2 - the Amigurumi Chihuahua and the Flower Facewashers. I guess 1 per month is a more realistic goal.

3. Re-photograph and re-list 4 projects.
I actualy did 6! Thanks to Boy's new camera and his enthusiasm for trying it out. So that one worked out well!

4. Work on long-term project/s for at least 4 hours total.
I did this in 1-hour blocks and I managed 3. All this energy was spent on the Circular Rug, mainly because it's the easiest one. I worked on this Zombie Project while listening to The Hound of the Baskervilles. Enlightening! I want to find out how it ends, so I'll extend this goal into next month.

5. Improve storage situation in hobby room.
Well, if you count putting away all the stuff that I bought over the last few months, then yes, I did improve things! Mainly it was getting a new eco-bag and going, 'right, that's my new fabric storage area'. So not really.

6. Set next month's goals at the start of the month, not a week in!!
3 days in isn't too bad!

I learned a lot from this and I've adjusted my goals a little bit to reflect the things I'd like to achieve this time, and also the fact that I probably won't have much time in the near future (more on that later). So here are my September goals:

1. Increase number of items in shop from 35 to 38.
2. Work 2 hours on Long Term projects.
3. Do 2 pages in art journal.
4. Utilise drawing board in some way.
5. Look through old paintings and list at least one in shop.
6. Reduce number of projects by 2 (either by finishing or dismantling).

I've tried to keep these a bit light-on this month, as I will be pretty busy. I've renewed my motivation to exercise and lose a bit of weight before I go on my trip, and also..... da da daaaaa!
Spore came out yesterday! In case anyone doesn't know, it's the latest computer game from the makers of The Sims. You manipulate an evolving creature from a single-celled organism, right up to leaving the planet and conquering other galaxies. It's the ultimate god game. It's just my kind of game! =)

See you in a bit. Probably quite a bit....

My week

I saved up everything until today, basically. I had a pretty stressful week at work and I just came home and crashed out in front of the Olympics every night. Today though, I unpacked my goodies from my trip to Daylesford last weekend. I went on a disgustingly decadent shopping spree amongst all the op shops, antique shops and bookshops I could possibly find. There was yarn, there was fabric, there were dress patterns, there were books and even vintage embroidery transfers that I got in a grab bag. There was so much that I couldn't possibly take photos of it all, so here's a limited selection:

A hand-carved Indian fabric stamp with wool and braid

Yarn, Japanese fabric, dish and odd pencil-holder thingy

These photos were taken by Boy with his whizzy new amazing camera. I think he had fun. He also took lots of photos for me today of my knitted and crocheted accessories I already had on Etsy. I had taken photos of them with my much beloved but frankly fairly old and clunky camera when I first listed them, but I never liked the photos and thought they were preventing me from getting more sales. I gave some of them interesting effects in Piknik as well. Here is one:

Finally, I am introducing my head model, Hedda to my shop. I got her about 2 months ago and I only just got around to using her for anything! Actually, I've been displaying an almost finished scarf around her neck for a while, so she doesn't feel too useless.

I spent a lot of time today tidying the hobby room and putting away all of the stuff I bought on my trip, and also at Lincraft the week before. I wouldn't say I'm back to square one, but things are looking a bit more tidy.

During the week, I did manage to design faces for Monstrous Muriel (final title) and Scary Selby. I stuck them into my art journal, cause I haven't really been using it for anything else, and it's for journalling as well as art, right? So even if it seems too scary to put art in it, I can put journally stuff in it without fear!
Anyway, here is a pic of the pages and the current progess of my scary pair:

Left: Monstrous Muriel; right: Scary Selby.

The legs and body were made in one piece with both toys. With Scary Selby however, I experimented with making a gusset between the legs so I could place them some distance apart. I'm very happy with how it looks. I'm a bit concerned about their heads though. The closing-up part of crochet always looks really hinky, well for me, anyway. I don't know if I should put some hair on them to disguise this, or find some other solution.

I've had 1 1/2 glasses of champagne so far, so I don't really care right now!

Mosaic Monday - Retro Crafts

I've just finished reading Retro Crafts by Suzie Millions. I heard about it from one of the blogs I read. (There's about 145 on my list currently and I can't remember which one, sorry!) I am completely and utterly in love with this book!

If you're into retro, kitsch, craft, recycling, glitter, powertools, hardware store strength glue, and/or complete craziness, order this book now! I have an burning desire to make just about everything in it RIGHT NOW. I want to spend all my money on glitter and epoxy and vintage plastic flowers. NOW! *wheezes*

More sensibly, I would like to make a few things from it, over time. I'm also listening to old episodes of CraftyPod again, to try and get over my depression caused by there not being any new ones for the foreseeable future, and I'd like to actually get down and make some of the featured projects instead of just listening and imagining. I think at the moment I'm starting to focus more on things I want to make, no matter how awful and kitschy, not just what might sell in the shop. I'm a bit over my shop right now. Things are slowing down again, and my yarn things aren't selling at all, just my zines. Which is OK, I suppose!

Last weekend, I decorated the picture frames I bought on Thrifty Thursday. I got busy with the Crackly Medium - gosh, I love that stuff! I just need to varnish them and they'll be all done. Also, I'm making some pencil cups out of tin cans. I painted them, and then I'm going to varnish them and stick felt shapes to them. I was inspired by Craftypod #4: All About Felt. Pictures when I have something more interesting to show than paint spatters!

I also started a new Kokeshi doll. This little girl is blue, and I've finished her head already. Judging by the size of her head though, she won't be a little girl compared to my previous efforts! I want to try going for a sky/cloud theme with the embellishment this time. Headshots later.

I'm off to go swimming now. Love youse all!


[Later:] I sold 5 zines while I was writing this post! Shut my mouth!

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Photo Credits:
1. Vintage Ad, Retro craft ad, 2. Crafting 365, day 173 - pink teacups, 3. Better Homes and Gardens Easy Bazaar Crafts, 4. Paper Arts & Crafts: murals, 5. tv retro horror, 6. vintage, retro, items,, 7. institches, 8. Retro Food Clock, 9. Retro lion

Mosaic Monday 9-6-08

I decided to participate in Mosaic Monday so that I'd at least be posting something regularly, even if it isn't actual content. Cause is a blog a blog when there's nothin' but tumbleweeds on it? (You can make the mosaics using the tool at Big Huge Labs, by the way). And seeing as I was going to post today anyway, I thought I'd make my pics into a mosaic for a little something different.

Top Left is a skinny scarf/lariat scarf type thing I've been developing. I've had the idea floating around in my head since I started making another scarf (see Top-Right) and had just done the first couple of rows. I'm trying to make something that can be worn as a traditional scarf, or wrapped like a tie or lariat if the wearer prefers. This one is a bit shorter than normal because I ran out of the purple wool, plus it's more of a test piece. I asked Boy if he could show me how to tie it like a tie, the way they do on TV (a half-Windsor knot is what it's called, I think - opening up Wikipedia now *). He teased me for not knowing how! Can you believe that? I say, why should I have to know how to do that, I'm not a man! Right??

Top Right is the scarf I was making in secret. I can reveal it now that it's been given to its recipient! Despite the fact that I received funds for it, I still made it with much love and good vibes. And a little relief that I might be able to pay my rego after all. If I make about 20 more in the next month! Heh! Yes, it's true. I've reached that milestone in every young person's life - their first car registration payment. Mama is so proud!

Bottom Left is the scarf I was making not in secret. It's only about half-done here, but I really like the way it's turning out, so I wanted to show it off. (This was taken last week - it's about two-thirds done now.) And modelling the scarf, I would like to introduce the newest addition to the ApartmentCat School of Modelling and Mediochre Photography - Hedda! The name just popped into my brain the other day. I resisted it at first because it's a pretty terrible pun, really. (Seriously?!) Plus she doesn't look very stereotypically Swedish. But who cares! According to babynames.com.au, Hedda means "The contentious one; A fighter" and I can definitely see that on her face in this picture! In the Top-Left pic she looks more pensive and thoughtful. It's funny what light and angles can do, isn't it?

Bottom Right shows some products that I bought on a trip to a local Asian Grocery the other day. The mosaic process cut the edges off all of the photos, but you can still make out the steam buns on the left which are 'Smile Foods' brand. (Awwww!) Plus over there on the right is a packet of 'Want Want' brand rice crackers. Mmmmm, I sure do! I've also included a ceramic jar of preserved vegetable, which is great in stir fries. It was only $2! I'd have paid more than that just for the jar itself.

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* According to Wikipedia it is indeed called a Half-Windsor knot and it's one of the 82 (at least) ways to tie a tie. I reckon one way is enough for me to know. Although cravats are pretty cool...

Doing what I can

I haven't got much done lately, with being sick and sore and stressed and grumpy. I've started making the scarf that I've been asked to make by my friend (the word 'commission' is still pretty scary) and it's about 1/3 done. I have a slight lack-of-fluffiness issue, but that can easily be solved with a quick trip to Spotlight or Lincraft. I'm getting a bit bored with crochet though. My last 3 fibre projects have been crocheted, as well as my toys. I think that when I've finished the last scarf and the cat blanket, I'll try and do some knitting for a while. I have some large knitted swatches that I didn't know what to do with, and I think I can make them the bases for some log-cabin style cat blankets, or perhaps sew them together (though the sewing needle is the devil, remember). Meanwhile, I dig through my stash for purple and pink yarn. I actually enjoy that. The colours, the fondling.... mmmmmm!

Today I went to the Magnolia Square craft market at the Malvern Town Hall. Don't get too excited - it was the last day. I cleverly implemented an extreme money-saving strategy of forgetting to bring my eftpos and credit cards, or any cash. $&%@*(#&%(!!! But as it turned out, there was a lot to see and not much to do. (Or buy). There were a few pretty, shabby chic, cutesy things there, but it was pretty obviously geared towards the yummy mummy, Toorak tractor, power-pram-wielding set. I did see some naive paintings and stuffies that were cool, the sorts of things that I aspire to make. By far the best part was seeing the stall of The Lark and 3 Buttons and meeting Lark, who I recognise from blog-land. (Well, her crafty stuff, anyway!) I instantly went from feeling creatively and entrepeneurially inadequate, not to mention dumb for leaving all my money at home, to feeling connected and validated. We talked about blogging and stuff and she asked my handle and said she'd heard of my blog! I was pretty much dumbfounded. Wow! She gave me a tip off about a new market - Sisters Market in Brunswick. Thank you! And thanks for the chat, too.

The second best part was having chilli pork bento boxes at Kim Chi Bowl (the lovely, wonderful Boy paid) and then ice creams from Cold Rock. Then we went home for a nanna nap.
What a lovely afternoon!

Later, I took my newest Swirly Series ACEOs out of the flower press, and they're as flat as they're gonna get. So I chose 4 to put on my shop. I'm up to 35 items already! Huh, easy! I'm loving this making things in batches stuff.

I'll leave you with my very first Flickr Mosaic! I searched the 'softies' tag to find these pics. Unfortunately the mosaic came out unbelievably large, and some resolution was lost in the reducing. Still pretty cute though.

Photo Credits:
1. plushies-make me a cat swap, 2. Day 3 - Mario Felt Plushies, 3. plushies, 4. plushies, 5. plushies all in a pile, 6. Pac Man Ghost plushies, 7. plushies added to our shop!, 8. kitten plushies, 9. More plushies!!, 10. Lined up plushies, 11. lamb plushies, 12. Day Out plushies, 13. Tofu Plushies, 14. . plushies, 15. Pikmin plushies, 16. Robot Parade 14: GAIENT BOT

Now off to work crochet. :)

Soldier on with Codral

I'm a bit concerned that my rate of production has been a bit slow. I'm not putting new items up onto my shop as often as I'd like. So I've decided I'd like to make things in batches for a while. It's all about the batch. So on Monday night, in between the snorking and the whorfing of the phlegm, I made these:

ACEO swirliesI went back to a style of drawing that I find easy and relaxing for these. I just wasn't up for a challenge. It was quite fun. They just need to be covered in sealant (probably followed by a stint in the flower press as I imagine they'll curl) and they'll be done. I've had a lot of issues with paper warping or curling when I try to fix pencil drawings or do painting with watercolour. I'm not deeply enough into doing art at a professional standard to be bothered doing any research on it at the moment.

I've also been looking at all the unfinished knitting and crochet projects I have on my list. 13 at the moment. Oops. But whenever I try to work on one, I just can't be bothered. I thought it was a bit of a shame that I got so excited about some projects, like the kokeshi dolls and then they never got finished because I got bogged down in the details. I had a think about it, and I realised that the reason I got stuck on the second one was that I needed to cut out some felt flowers, and I was too scared to. I didn't want to ruin some perfectly good felt by cutting out dodgy, wonky flowers. So I went on Ebay and bought some felt flowers. As you do. They arrived today! Yippee!

Stash EnhancementThey also came with some wierd felt rope stuff that I'm not sure what to do with, and 5 balls of Moda Vera yarn that accidentally fell into the shopping trolley. Oops. But the more you order, the more cost-effective the postage is, right??

Also, as a result of being an impulsive shopper, I now have to make cat blankets. Long story. I'm subscribed to the blog Etsy Secrets. Etsy shop owners can advertise when they have special deals by posting to the blog. I just read it to keep up with what's happening in the online craft marketing world. (*shifty, sideways look*) Ahem. Anyway, a few days ago, a seller that I know and love - PopArtCafe - was having a deal on her prints. In addition to a buy one, get one free deal, she was also offering all her cat paintings for half price if you promise to donate to your local cat shelter. If you message her the name of the shelter, she will also add it to the list on her website. I thought this was massively cool, and I couldn't resist. I bought *mphphmphph* prints. More than one, let's just say. And I promised to donate to the Lost Dog's Home in Carlton. I checked out their website and they'd like blankets (home-made is most appreciated) and food as well. I thought making a couple of blankets and donating them would be a lot more personal and heart-felt than just sending money. Also the fact that these places often tend to spend more money on trying to get more money from you than they got from you in the first place (did that make sense?) tends to put me off simply just giving money as well. So, in that spirit, I started making a cat blanket the other night:

It's a giant granny square!I did all of that in one night, plus about 15 minutes at work yesterday. So I reckon it won't take me too long. Plus, it'll help me whittle down my giant, bulging, self-reproducing (I'm sure!) pile of acrylic yarn. That isn't the main reason though. Really.

A couple of extra things:

- Ravelry, despite having 127,000 users, is still in Beta mode so non-members can't link to their brand new shop with logo merchandise and wittily-quipped t-shirts. Where's my credit card???

- There's a new blog called Sweet Figments, run by one of my favourite Etsy sellers, The Tiny Fig. It's logo is over on my sidebar there. I bought two pairs of earrings from her a few weeks ago, and I just adore them immensely. (They came in adorable gift boxes with free stickers.) Sweet Figments is all about highlighting smaller Etsy sellers, with interviews, news and tips. I wanted to spread the word because her personal/shop blog is so helpful and fun to read, and she was a real pleasure to deal with as a buyer.

Yes, I have been buying a lot lately, it's true. I've still spent far more on Etsy than I've made! But I have a few semi-goals (yeah, the G-word again!) for the next month. Say, till the end of June:
* get my Works In Progress list down from 15 (yeah it went up since I started this post!) to 12
* get the number of items for sale in my shop up from 32 to 40.
* Tidy up the hobby room. I can't really put a number on that.

I ATE MY OWN WORDS...

...AND THEY WERE QUITE YUMMY.

NOM, NOM, NOM.

I was hoping to do a lot of crafty stuff last weekend, not least start digging in the hobby room. But I came down sick and spent most of the weekend pouting on the couch. I did manage to read nearly half of my new biography of Marie Antoinette, though. (It's the one by Antonia Fraser - over 600 pages.) I called in sick on Monday, but I'd had a sale from my shop on Friday and I felt like I had to send it out as soon as I could. So I printed out the zines, packed them up nicely and snorked my way down to the Post Office. (That's what you call it when you're stuffed to the gills with phlegm and you're only barely holding it in). The woman weighed it and said the cost was $6. Now, I had checked on the website and according to that, the cost for a letter up to 125g would be $2. That's what I've been charging for postage on zines. This person had ordered my two longest (and therefore heaviest) zines. I really hadn't thought about that before. But I noticed on the scales the weight was 126g. That's right people, it was 1 gram over!! I was mightily pissed off, but I didn't take it out on her. It wasn't her fault. I paid politely and I wore it.

Later on though, I couldn't help thinking - if hadn't included a Moo card, if I had printed them on 80 gsm paper instead of 100 gsm, if I hadn't tied them together with a ribbon. If I hadn't included the free postcard that my special offer specified that I'd include. If I'd written my return address on the back instead of using a sticker. Perhaps if I was a really hot guy with soulful, puppy-dog eyes, she might have bent the rules for me.... But then the next person along the line probably would have marked it Return to Sender. So what can you do? It could happen to anyone.

As Frida Kahlo used to say, there's no recourse.

More later when I have pictures.

In a Nutshell

I'd much rather read blogs than write them at the moment, so I'm keeping it short.
(I currently have 116 blogs on my feed. *gulps*)

Amazing Birthday Haul
I got a Lincraft voucher, an Art 'n' Craft Riot voucher, and a subscription to CRAFT magazine from my amazingly wonderful, generous friends for my birthday. Thanks guys!!! I still haven't decided what to buy. Some canvas boards to try out my painting on, perhaps. (NOT more wool! :P)

From my Mum I got these:

Some socks. Some Yuzu hand cream. It smells divine! Like floral and citrus. And a kokeshi doll! I'm especially happy with her. And I realised that her head is poseable!:

ZINE STUFF
I got it finished! Yes I did! Way late, but I'm very proud of it. I'm even sending it to people I don't have to. What's it about? The title pretty much sums it up. And if you want more, it's listed in my shop.

"My Life as a Slacker;
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Wage"
There's a workshop on street media (zines, blogs, etc) on at the City Library on Wednesday nights starting this week. I can't decide whether to go or not. It would be good for me to meet people, get some new skillz, and borrow hundreds of books (well, some may argue against the last one!), but on the other hand, I'm pretty sick of zines, I'm supposed to be doing BodyPump on Weds nights, and I'm very shy and never take proper advantage of these opportunities. So I just don't know! I have 2 days to decide.

SHOP STUFF
I came into a little bit of money that I wasn't expecting to get from a dispute from a former employer. So I decided to fork out money for some things to do with the shop that I wouldn't normally, or not at this stage yet, anyway. I got:

A Head. I was very excited when I ordered this! Hopefully it will make my hat and scarf pictures look a whole lot better. I just need to find a time when the light is right. Perhaps on the weekend. I hate this time of year - I leave for work in the dark and get home at dusk. And I work in the basement. Still, I've never wanted to be tanned anyway!
(I'm just concerned that her skin is a little shiny. I'm gonna give her a wash. I don't have any inspiration for a name yet. *percolating*)

Moo Cards. These came today. I got a 33% off offer for Etsy sellers. Can't go past that! I could only select photos from my shop, but most of my best photos are on there anyway, so that doesn't matter.

New Banner. See shop. I paid a web designer to make it for me. I didn't like my old banner, but I just couldn't be arsed making a new one. So I decided to help out a fellow blogger who couldn't pay their phone bill.

Bored, hungry and cold now. More next time.
See ya.

[Later]
I tried to change the style of my blog and it deleted the sidebar completely. #*%#**&^*(&!! I've been meaning to re-do it anyway. I don't have time to finish it off at the moment though, so it might look a bit hinky for the next few days. Whatever.

New but not new

SHOP STUFF

I've put a couple of knitted projects on my shop that I've just had lying around for ages (it's self-sabotage central in the hobby room!). They are:

Skinny Tubular Scarf ; Moss Stitch Baby Tunic

I'm quite proud of both of these, the baby tunic especially. I designed it myself. I'm thinking of making a few more - I could do an Elizabeth Zimmermann and make them bigger by using thicker wool. When it cools down a bit...

Things are happening!

Today was the day. The wait is finally over.

I finally took some photos of the art doll I finished over two weeks ago! Even after I had taken it to the sellers' meetup and Boy had overheard some compliments on it, and kept saying that if/when I put it on my shop, it'll sell quickly, I still didn't get around to photographing it. Anyway, without further ado, here it is:

first art doll

the back ; detail of front

I have to admit, it's quite heavily based on the Dotee Doll style invented by the lady in Perth who I was talking about a few posts ago. Now, I dunno what the 'rules' are about these things - shape of top, eyes open or closed, type of embellishment, or what. I just went to town with whatever kind of decoration I felt like doing. So I made it with open eyes, and used some needle felting for a heart on the front and some abstract decoration on the back. I embroidered a bit with buttons, beads, sequins and ribbon, til I got bored with it. Then I sewed the front and back together by hand, and sewed the purple ribbon in for hair as I was sewing it up.
I'm quite happy with it. I'd like to make another one, but I want to try and make it more original and specific to my style.

I've also been working pretty steadily on my knitted Blue Creature:

one ear finished ; slut creature!

I used a technique from Mochimochiland to make the legs and join them together. This leaves a hole between the legs that you sew up later. Hence why my creature has a giant hole in her nether-regions! I utilised the access this holes gives to weave in the ends at the bottom of the legs and embroider some 'claws' on. Oh, this is really sounding so wrong.... *secret smirk*
I have now finished the body; the picture shows it with one ear completed, but I have now finished both ears and started one arm. I'm going to finish the arm, then embroider on the face, etc. through the arm-hole on the other side, then knit on the second arm last.

Perhaps this isn't the most efficient way of making this toy, but *shrugs* schnyeh. I think that knitting toys is a bit too fiddly for me. All those double-pointed needles sticking out all over the place - it's annoying. I think I'll stick to crochet from now on. I also wanted to make a toy that was symmetrical and straight out Cute instead of a bit fugly, but I'm starting to think that's really not 'me', either.

Perhaps I am working out my style, after all.

The other major thing was, after finding this blog Joyful Abode, about creating harmonious spaces to live happily in. She is currently hosting a series on creative spaces. I was heavily inspired to finally get the Hobby Room into gear - organise everything and tidy the place up. Not only that, but fill it with inspirational objects that will make the room a pleasure to be in. Or whatever.

So yesterday, I spent the whole day tidying and sorting. Except for an exhaustingly expensive trip to Bunnings. Boy took 'Before' photos, which I'm too embarrassed to show - yet! To be fair, I should mention that Boy worked very hard yesterday too. The room is supposed to be going to be for his photography and other hobby stuff just as much as for mine. Most of my beads are sorted now, which makes me want to make another art doll. Whenever I uncover another supply or piece of equipment, I want to make something out of it. This is good! My creative juices are flowing again.

Although, they make me want to make wool scarves on 35oC days. Not so good. Oh well!

SHOP STUFF

Art doll going up on the shop tonight.

I'm such a good person *smirks*

I discovered the Kiva website a few months ago and I thought it was great. They're an organisation that broker microloans between cash-poor entrepeneurs in developing countries* and cash-rich Ordinary (albeit bloatedly rich and decadent) Joes in developed countries. Each lender contributes US$25 to a loan, of which 100% goes directly to the businessperson, and which is paid back within 1 year. You can also give a straight-out donation, or buy gift vouchers.

I decided that as soon as I had made my first $25 from my shop, I would lend it to a person/group on Kiva. I want my 'business' (as I'm still hesitant to call it) to be socially and environmentally responsible right from the start. Plus we all need as much good karma as we can get!

Check out my group of entrepeneurs! I can't wait for my first email update.

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* I actually hate the term "developing country". To me, it implies that every country should aspire to be just like the U.S. And that has a bad stink.

Shop Stuff

P.S. - Shop Stuff

I sold my Chinese style painting!! I hadn't even taken it off the scanner yet! Yeeeeeee! And the lovely, amazing lady also bought the Deformedest Little Monster as well. So he has a new home! Boy, packing something that needs to stay flat and somethng that's bulky and has lots of lumps presented an interesting challenge. I posted it today. *crosses fingeres*