Saturday, July 30, 2011

Expanding and Contracting

My sales have increased beyond my imaginings on my Etsy shop. Next month will be my shop's one year anniversary, so I'm trying to think of a way to celebrate.
My stock has changed considerably since I started out. I've been taking cues from my wonderful customers, what they seem to be buying, what items they buy together. Some have even sent me suggestions for what varieties they would like to see me introduce. I take inspiration from the brands of soap I see in the health food stores, new perfumes my friends are wearing, and from the scents that fill the world around me.
The moment I decided to combine two of my loves: literature and soap was a very good moment for me. Some of my most popular scents have been inspired by my favorite literary characters. That is an area I would like to expand in. Taking a cue from my lovely customers, I'm expanding my Sherlock Holmes inspired products. I've just added an Irene Adler soap and am working on a Moriarty at the moment. This winter I intend to offer a Holmes and Watson set of both colognes and soaps, as well as The Complete Sherlock Holmes which will include the fragrances and soaps for Holmes, Watson, Adler, and Moriarty.
I also need to invest in some new equipment. Earlier in the week I split of my glass bowls I use for perfumery. I submerged it in cool water too quickly and two clean halves emerged after I heard a pop. While getting rid of it, I slashed open my finger on the edge.
Eventually, I'd love to have my own distillation equipment, I could make my own essential oils and extracts. I'll have a coupon next month in honor of my anniversary and as a thank you for my loyal friends and customers!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Blog Feature

I'm in a blog feature today! It's by StitchSilly and it's on her site here.
She very kindly conducted an interview with me yesterday and posted about it today. Hopefully it will up the traffic on my blog, it's been a little slow this month, comparatively. Even my market night last Friday wasn't as nice as my June market night. Oh well.
Check out her blog, she's a fellow Etsian and is just starting her series of features.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Painting for the Market

I'll be at the farmer's market again this weekend. Last time I was there I noticed that I was one of the only venders with no sign with my business name on it. I found some old signs and took to sanding and repainting one. I'm no artist, but I think that for now it will do. A somewhat homespun look is good in my line of work anyway.
Before:

After:

Hopefully it will help draw people into my tent and help me move some merchandise. I'll report back next week with how it went.