daily dose of handmade.

with the imminent demise of heartsy (RIP), i think that many of us sellers are quite sad.  i have to admit, having run 3 sales through them, i have been able to generate tons of traffic and some repeat customers, which i would have NEVER been able to do on my own.  while i am puzzled as to why they are closing so quickly, it makes me wonder what else is out there in regards to marketing myself.

julie and i have been brainstorming (honestly, julie is the brain power behind this, i feel like i am just following along and helping between naps) and we have started up a very small but hopefully very exciting blog, where buyers can sign up and enjoy wicked deals.  called "the daily dose of handmade" or DDH for short, blog members can access the discount on specially selected items from etsy sellers.  hopefully, we will have enough sellers that we can change things up daily.  we are working out the bugs as we speak, but we are now live!  you can check us out HERE - and you can get a pair of my wishbone earrings for 40% off!

we don't know where this is going to take us - if anywhere at all - but you can't blame two gals for taking some initiative.  and sellers - if you want to be featured, let us know too!  (dailyhandmade@gmail.com)

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heartsy. last one of the year!

heartsy is hosting my last deal of the year - and the first one as TheLovelySmith!  so come on over and check it out HERE - there are only 22 vouchers left! 

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bye bye, little muffintop!

so i finally did it - in the wee hours of the morning, my sweet little muffintopdesigns shop was renamed.  i am now "the lovely smith".  while i've been trying on that name for a while and it definitely is the ONE, i am very sad to be saying goodbye to the muffintop.  new business cards have been ordered, a new etsy banner uploaded, a heartsy deal on deck and now i'm looking at revamping my packaging.  i have kept my 'colours' - it was my intention to maintain my current palette, knowing that i was eventually going to take the plunge, and hopefully it will help with the transition.  i am going to keep my blog and twitter accounts the way they are, just because i'm not ready to completely let go yet.  and really, the "muffintop" is still a part of me.

this has been a long time coming.  i think there will be a period of mourning, but i am still quite excited.  i think that moving in this direction will free me to think a little more outside the box - and better describe what i do now.  the lovely julie already refers to me as TLS - so funny but yet it was kind of the push that i needed to click the button to change my name on etsy.

thanks, little muffintop.  i will always love you!  (now i have to re-register my business name when ServiceOntario opens.  crap, i hope no one has taken it yet...)

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the heartsy deal continues!

my heartsy deal (http://heartsy.me/shops/6308-muffin-top-designs ) is only on for one more day!  seriously, it is a huge discount and i'm running ahead of schedule on some orders!  thank you again, heartsy!

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hoping to be overwhelmed.

so tomorrow, my second heartsy deal will open.  i am hopeful that i will sell out!  (if you don't see me for a while, it's because i'm buried in the basement with my torch and my iPod.)

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hammering away.

i have been off for the last little while from the day job, and have been mulling (more like hammering out) over ideas on how to expand the whole jewelry design business.  i've been cleaning out my workspace (yes, i still have much of my crafting stuff in boxes.  i'm slow, eh?)  and sorting and seeing what i have in stock, hoping it will inspire me to make some new things. 

i have had the opportunity to participate in three marketing ventures, and i am hoping it will help gain some needed publicity.  the first is a project by the fabulous sugarchills called 10xNine.  you have to check it out - i am featured in this wonderful collection.  we are tempting entrants with a $90 gift card to any of the shops included in this treasury!  there is also a discount code while the feature runs - if you use the coupon code 10xNine, you can get 10% off anything you purchase from the shops featured!

etsy has also rolled out an ad project - it's still in its infancy but of course i had to jump on the bandwagon.  you can check out the write up/explanation here.  similar to google ads or the ads on facebook, shops can choose to purchase "impressions" for a minimal cost.  i started with their $5 for 5000 impressions, and am hoping that it will bring some more traffic to my shop.  any attention is good attention, right?  mine starts today, so let's see what happens.  i haven't had much luck with the showcase ads, but perhaps this is a better way to invest my advertising dollars.

last but definitely not least, my second heartsy deal will be going live next thursday (next wednesday for VIPs!)  i am not going to disclose the discount this time, but let's just say it's bigger and better.  *wink*.  so go sign up!!!!

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good bookkeeping. (and no, that doesn't describe me)

i am sooo not a bookkeeper.  or accountant.  despite the fact that a lot of my real job has to do with money and spreadsheets, i'm really an artist deep down.  which means i am numerically challenged.  (but don't tell my boss that)  i finally had some time to sit down and sift through the heartsy voucher information from two weeks ago - initially i had been keeping great records (yay me!) at what vouchers had been redeemed and what balances were left over, if any - but as orders came in and then the strike happened, well, let's just say i got a little derailed.  so i used the heartsy csv feature and imported my voucher information into an excel spreadsheet and cross referenced with my etsy account.

(for all you sellers thinking about running a heartsy feature - take it from me and keep on top of your vouchers from the get go.  then you'll save yourself the trouble of sitting down for a couple of hours digging through everything.  heartsy has a fabulous csv export feature.  use it.)

so far, there have been 39 out of 75 vouchers redeemed (or partially redeemed).  not bad, seeing as how over the past 12 days i've been able to get almost all orders made, tumbled and packed.  the only delay has been the canada post strike (which is now OVER and the mail gets moving on tuesday!  thank you, L, for the txt message updates).  not too shabby!  (and also means i have to go on a supply run for sterling but oh well.  like shopping for precious metal is a bad thing.)  and i feel organized.  at least for today.

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thank you, heartsy!

the last two days have seriously been a frenzy, thanks to the fabulous feature and sale that heartsy hosted for me!  all 75 vouchers i offered up were sold!  ($16 x 75... well, you do the math!)  i am so thankful - and now a little overwhelmed at the amount of work.  but i'm up to the challenge! 

a million thanks to everyone who supported me by purchasing a voucher - and to team muffintop (especially the mini) who backed me up!

and now... goodbye, sleep!  at least till i dig out from under! 

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