holiday crafting adventures - part IV

wow. what a crazy couple of days. so i'm jetting around town today in my massive nissan xterra (in comparison to my cute little versa, anyhow) and it's shaping up to be a 100-mile-per-hour day. i'm just finishing up here at IndieGenius, and then i'm off to Art is Art for Gift Fest! mark a few more things off my list:

+ print business cards / hangtags
+ finish 10 more gloves
+ sew 6 bags (well, more like 3 supplemented with some other stock)
+ tag and price everything (doing it as we speak, so i feel justified in marking it off)

come by and see me at our encore trunk show! 2pm - 5pm at Art is Art on henderson. i have a link to their website on the upper right of this blog. i'll be there with gloves and bags, and there will be refreshments, snacks, and good company. so guys, don't be intimidated, we'll help you pick out a great gift for the special ladies in your life!

see you there!

holiday crafting adventures - part III

so following my wreck detailed in part II, i have some re-prioritizing to do for the holidays. first and foremost, i need to finish up for Gift Fest tomorrow. not surprisingly, i will be pumping myself full of caffeine and sewing late into the night if i hope to get any of this accomplished. on my abridged list for this evening:

+ print business cards / hangtags
+ finish 10 more gloves
+ sew 6 bags
+ tag and price everything

i'll tackle the other things on my list after the trunk show. it looks like shopping for the few gifts i'm not making this year will be hurried and last-minute, in keeping with tradition.

i prioritize my xmas gift list according to who i'll see first, and who i usually see after the holidays. luckily, my family is low-key, and we rarely can get everyone together on the actual holiday / birthday / anniversary in question. here's how i've broken things up:

1. co-workers at the office holiday party
2. boyfriend
3. immediate family that i will see on the holiday
4. friends and family that i will see after the holiday

 how many things have you crossed off of your list so far? feel free to leave any helpful tips or tricks in the comments section. seven days until xmas eve....happy crafting!

holiday crafting adventures - part II

so i can pretty much guarantee your holiday crafting adventure is going better than mine at this point. why? so, i'm driving home on this rainy eve, and i stop at a light. now, i always come to a complete stop before changing the song on my radio, checking my phone, or whatever. so i pick up my phone to see what pandora has in store for me, and then WHAM - a car crashes into my rear, thrusting me into the car in front of me. which is why you don't slam on your brakes on wet pavement. of course my car was the only non-drivable vehicle post-collision, as i became the delicious inerds of a malibu-expedition sandwich.
having possibly totaled my car, and engraved a Pavlovian association between pandora and loud scary noises on my psyche, i am measurably behind on my holiday endeavors.
so add to my list:
+ meet with insurance adjuster
+ rent car and try to get to work before noon
+ figure out if i get to pay a $500 deductible instead of buying xmas gifts
stay tuned for the next exciting installment!

holiday crafting adventures - part I

if you're like me (and untold numbers of other local handmade business owners), you've got quite a bit on your plate in the next 2 weeks. so how do you keep it all straight without ending up dry heaving into a paper bag in the fetal position? well, i swear by list-making. i have a limited number of hours per week to run my business, as i still work a 9-to-5 day job to pay for boring stuff like rent and food. planning out my time is critical so, for starters, let me impart to you my personal to-do list:

+ sew for Gift Fest encore trunk show at ArtisArt
+ buy craft supplies for xmas gifts
+ assemble & wrap gifts
+ determine fabric needs for best-sellers
+ sew restocks for my booth at IndieGenius
+ print business cards (yes, i print my own)
+ restocks for IndieGenius
+ new photos for etsy listings



it's only overwhelming if you let it be. since i started writing this post, i've already accomplished one thing on my list, which i've marked through. the biggest mistake that i've learned from has been overbuying of materials whose end product doesn't sell as well as i expect. it's not hard to figure it out, it just takes time (or at least it did for me). so now before i purchase any expensive organic fabrics, i very carefully consider supply cost versus sales history. i've been lucky enough to find a product that sells well for me, so i am pretty confident in restocking that particular fabric. judging by my sales at my booth and a recent trunk show, i know what to expect this holiday shopping season.

so first on my list is sewing product for an encore trunk show at ArtisArt. the first show was on the 4th, and we did so well that they invited me back for a second show! (lucky you, shoppers, because the weather was wet and dreary that weekend, and i'm sure a lot of you stayed home because of it.) i've got 3 days left to sew a dozen gloves and 6-8 purses, so i've planned out my time accordingly. tonight i'm sewing exclusively gloves, tomorrow i'm finishing them, and friday night i'll work into the wee hours finishing all the purses i've cut. did i mention saturday morning i have a shift at IndieGenius immediately before the show? so if you see me tagging purses behind the counter, you know what's up. ;)

updates to come as i work down my list... trust me, if i can do it, you can do it.

saturday, december 17  |  2-5pm  |  ArtisArt on henderson