Spring Update with Many Excuses.... to many social media places to be...

Happy to Have Spring here! Sorry for my tardiness; I've been absorbed with another social media...sorry my dear blog, but Etsy has tied my hands for 3 months straight.... and having fun for it. It is getting to my saturation point of how many places one can put time in on the internet. I tried HOUZZ and Pinterest....not exactly sure what they are yet, but signed up and slowly poking at them.  I have been observing Etsy for the past year; I jumped on when my book came out but didn't really have time to do it justice. I've looked at the lampshades, checked out the quality, styles, pricing to see if it was the right place for my product. There was a huge variety of stuff; some good and some not great. If anyone knows much about Etsy it is a commitment. It will do for you WHAT you put into it. I sort of get most of it now but know there is STILL more stuff that I might be clueless about, but eventually expertise will win out. right??? ha... I do feel that it is a fab place to sell, but some of my demographics are not aware of it's existence. I'm trying to spread the word to the older customers...some not always so computer savvy.

Here's a funny example of how great Etsy is for someone like me and my quirky little business. My shop, as some of you know is in the middle of NO WHERE...and I like that, but if one is in retail it is generally better to be SOMEWHERE in the middle of somewhere....but it's beautiful here, I love my shop, I save big time on gas, I own the building, the kitty can roam around and on and on.  Jan. and Feb. are desolate months out here; a few hardy souls venture out. I see maybe 3 dozen clients over the past 3 months, but with Etsy I have had maybe 30 sales! Retailing is changing fast and furious; I enjoy buying on-line as well as supporting my favorite local stores and friends with shops.

Etsy is pretty addictive. My goal was to get 100 lampshades posted on my Lampshade Lady Etsy Shop. I'm close... drats, but Brimfield is right around the corner. I think there is a way to close the store for a short time. Anyone done that?

We are also adding a new pup to our family. It was a difficult decision as are down to one dog and she is pretty happy being queen, but it's a perfect time for her to have fun with a new bud. Tomorrow we are off to NH to pick up Mazie, our new puppy. It's funny how you forget all the stuff one needs to do with the arrival of a new dog.... we've had our share of dogs over our 27 years of marriage... sure it will come right back. Ziggy came right in the middle of my book photography.... what timing. Today I decided to make a doggie shade for our dog breeder. She's super sweet and hopefully it might help ease her pain of giving up her babies.
top on is Mazie, isn't she cute? such a little button.
oh, look at the puppy pile. snuggy and sweet.

deep breath, I'll head home soon and pick up the winter boots, find some of our puppy toys, hope my new LL Bean puppy bed arrived and get a good sleep.Shop will be closed tomorrow....

Shop is closed Sat. 31st due to above committment, open again on Monday.

judy

Comments

[Diana Peduzzi]

Judy, I admire how business-like you've been with the etsy postings, must be tedious but you are getting it done! We are also getting a new golden, in July (he's not born yet!) Have fun with the new puppy!

[judy lake]

Thanks Diana,
Actually I'd say it's sort of addictive. Helps to keep me designing and finding new ideas.
ooh, puppy love. Good luck, it's so much fun. Mazie is dear, sweet little bear.

[Linda Flake]

Judy,
I, too am new to Etsy but i think this is one way at least that you can deactivate your listings while at Brimfield. On your shop page, place cursor over your shop name and click on "listings" from menu. At the top left is a teeny box next to "Renew". If you checkmark this box it will check all your lisitngs, then click "Deactivate". The lisitngs will now not appear on your page, thus it will be blank, but when you return you can find all of them waiting for you on the same page by clicking "Inactive" tab. Here you can pick and choose which ones to "activate". This way you do not pay the fee over again to delete the listing and then post it again. i would also add some wording to your to your shop announcement stating that your shop is "closed" for a bit while you are gone. Do this by going again to your shop name at top of your page and clicking on "Info and Appearance" from drop down menu, then scroll down to shop announcement to change or add text.
Linda Flake
KimonoArtStudio
kansas city

[judy lake]

Thanks Linda. I think I have figured it out. I can put that I am on vacation and it deactivates it all till I am back. phew. I am loving Etsy.