Category: inspiration: fibre artists, phot


A cool old style diner, Helen's Grill on Main & 25th in Vancouver

Lately, I seem to have diminished my commitment to blogging. Has anyone noticed? One does feel sometimes that blogging is pointless. The whole point of it is to have a following, a conversation, a dialogue with readers. But when that doesn't happen much at all, it does diminish one's enthusiasm for the activity.

The question does arise as what do I have to offer via this blog. To make it simply about products I'm ready to sell is a little shallow at best. I think people want more. Thing is, I'm not a pour-it-all-out kinda person. I've tried to post about things that are interesting to me, interests outside what I'm selling. My stats do tell me that people are visiting. Reading though? Some are, judging by the length of time they spend on pages. Oh, and who's got the time to be constantly publishing beautiful images?

Is the success of a blog measured by the number of comments left by readers? Or can it be successful if measured only on a personal level? The answer must be different for everyone, but the point of blogs is to enable one to interact with one's readers.

I'll share this link with you today; one of my recent discoveries is David Seah's blog, titled Design, Productivity, Inspiration, and Emporwement. I stumbled upon him through a couple of other links and was interested in his forms for goal setting, task tracking and time tracking tools. He makes these available free.

Productivity is a major issue with me right now. And using his "Emergent Task Timer" form has been revealing. This helps you figure out what you're doing with your time in 15 minutes increments.

On to the next task of the day and hoping for a productive day.

Category: etsy

This is my second time being on the front page of etsy. I was there this past Wednesday, July 17. It sure drove views up on my Small Creamy White Tote with Large Flower Print. (top right corner)



It's super nice to get some attention!!

Category: marketing + promotions + selling

Link exchange as a marketing tool doesn't seem to be as popular as it used to be a few years ago, nevertheless as my own stats will attest, it still helps to get some traffic to your site.

So I was pleased to read Cara's post (of Sew Bettie). She is welcoming people to leave their blogs/store addresses in her Craft Yourself Rich blog post and she will exchange links with you.

Category: shop updates

Three new bags I've added to the shop this week.


Super Cute Retro Messenger or Shoulder Bag -- adjustable strap


Creamy white cotton linen blend with a large flower patern, a small tote


Another small tote, burgundy with a fine cotton print

Category: collecting



The latest of my retro finds at one of the many thrift stores in Vancouver.

These two cups with a tweed pattern are labelled Ridgway Steelite. This is a nice chunky heavy cup with beautiful proportions.

Ridgways had three divisions in the 1970s, Ridgway Steelite Hotel Ware being one of them. This line was designed for the hotel and catering trades. These ceramics were produced in Staffordshire, UK.

A good resource book is Twentieth Century Ceramics: A Collector's Guide to British and North American Factory-Produced Ceramics

Category: activism + craftivism

I haven't done any posts on activism/craftivism topics for a while, just didn't come across anything that caught my eye until recently.

Organic t-shirts showcasing quotes and artwork drawn from interviews with people living on the street and Downtown East Side.



For those of you who don't know, the Downtown East Side is Vancouver's poorest neighbourhood, home to people with addictions, drug pushers, prostitution and poverty. It's a sad place.

Two Vancouver designers, Melissa Blyth and Kate McNair, are working together on this fund raising project called Give a Shi®t. The purpose of the project is to raise visibility and funds for Vancouver's Downtown East Side. A t-shirt sells for $34.95.

The other interesting part of this is the Transformational Venture Capital Fund:



What I like about this:
- the people in the DTES are contributing to the creative process
- raises visibility of the issue
- profits go completely towards helping people
- t-shirts are organic

What I'd like to see on their blog:

- how people on the DTES are benefiting from these funds, e.g. programs, food, accommodation, education, rehabilitation?
- a breakdown of the profits to date and exactly how the money is being used (often a high percentage of money raised goes towards paying salaries to implement the fund)
- the success of the project: expectations and deliverables

What do you think? Is it fair to want to know these things and what do you think of the initiative?

Category: marketing + promotions + selling

I've announced at my shop a Canada Day and Independence Day SALE:

15% off all items from July 1st to July 4th.

Also, some other Canadian Etsy sellers are having sales. Look through this Etsy forum post to see participating shops.

Category: marketing + promotions + selling

An announcement from the Trans Canada Etsy Team I belong to:



For complete information on how to participate:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5685889

I have donated a felted item for the goodie bag. Good Luck!

Category: shop updates

My very last bag with this dragonflies print on red. I have sold all the bags I made with it and I have no more of it. They don't stock it anymore at my local fabric store.



Lately, I have been noticing and looking at the work of the many independent textile designers. There's a lot of great stuff out there and I'd like to start using. If I do, it probably means raising prices of my bags as the independent, less mass produced work tends to be more expensive but very visually rewarding.

Category: shop updates

A few days ago I took a screen printing workshop at Blim. Here's the result -- before and after.


The original digital shot, was turned into ...


made using water based inks

I highly recommend taking a workshop there. There were only six of us and our instructor -- Caroline -- was great. She showed us how easy it can be to set up the whole process at home. You can also rent their facilities -- very affordable.

I have a large image bank from my days of being a photographer, so I'm really excited about re-using my photos in a new way. I'm thinking I might do some t-shirts as well as screen printed messenger bags.

And below is my latest update to the shop. I have used this beautiful Japanese print before but this time it is paired with a rick dark brown cotton twill fabric and is held up with a layer of batting which goes a long way in holding the bags shape.



And what about the previously mentioned totes? They're at a stand still.