The Handmade Marketplace

I have been sewing like mad for the last few weeks, trying out new patterns, deciding what I want to make and sell. The plan is to start listing next week.

Along side this work, I have started reaching out to the online community. I am tweeting (@b_lota), plan to launch my Facebook Fan Page soon(b*lota), and I am reading TONS of websites and blogs directed at small businesses, crafts in particular. The amount of information out there is immense and sometimes it's hard not to get lost.

Enter "the Handmade Marketplace: how to sell your crafts locally, globally and online". This book condenses the information you need if you are starting out or even if you are already established. It's full of tips and tools that you can easily apply to your business and it does it in a fun, fresh way! The author, Kari Chapin, has invited about 30 successful bloggers, entrepreneurs and designers to contribute and the result is an indie craft bible which will help and inspire you get your small business to a new level. For a full review click here.

I heart Facebook

A few days ago, on Facebook, I came across a group of Alumni from my old school and decided to join.

It is a catholic school, at the time, an all-girls school un by nuns, and I joined when I was 2 and left just before turning 14. The environment was very special, not just beautiful and spacious but with small classes, where mind, body and soul were equally developed and nurtured. I made some wonderful friends there but after we left we lost touch, over the years, as we each followed our own trail, moving to different cities, different schools and paths.

 I am sitting in the bottom row, fourth from the left.

Once I started tagging myself in photos, all these girls I had been such good friends with started sending messages, friend requests, was it really me? I hadn't realized that, by using my married name and without any info on there I am pretty hard to find!

It has been wonderful to re-connect with old friends, look through all the photos and remember such a wonderful period in my life. Hopefully, with Facebook, it will be easier to stay in touch, this time around.

My blog is carbon neutral!

As I was scrolling down my reading list on Blogger, a post jumped up from a blog: "My blog is carbon neutral, is yours?". Well, no, I thought. Can it be? I clicked through to read the entire post and found out that, with just a few clicks, yes, yes it can.

How it works:

Just write a short blog post about our programme “My blog is carbon neutral” and include one of the buttons below on your site (ideally in the sidebar). Send the link to your blog to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de and we plant a tree for you, neutralising the carbon dioxide emissions of your blog. The trees will be planted in the spring of 2010 by the Arbor Day Foundation.

So, this spring, somewhere in Germany, a tree will be planted for B*lota, making the world a little greener!

To find out more about this initiative and how to participate, click here.

First listing all set to go up!

 

I am getting ready to launch my Etsy store! I finished making the first two items yesterday, and will be sewing like mad in the coming days so I am ready to start listing before the end of the month!

It has been a busy week for us. I have registered my company, opened a bank account, upgraded my PayPal account andam almost done with the shop policies. Once I have my bio ready to go, I am all set. At least for the first stage. 

On a later stage, I want to go live with my website, Facebook fan page and post more consistently on the blog. So, I have a lot of work ahead of my! If my daughter cooperates and sleeps solid 3h naps each day and my husband picks up the slack in the weekends, I might be able to get it all set by May. Wouldn't that be something! 

Of course, with all the excitement of opening up the shop comes a lot of insecurity. There are so many talented people out there, selling wonderfully crafted things that it is hard to not get discouraged and give up! What if no one buys anything? What if they come back and demand their money back? What if, what if? So, I make everything as perfect as possible and hope for the best. Worst case scenario, I won't have to get stressed about Christmas shopping. And if it works out, well, that will just make each successful sale that much sweeter!

Celebrate Earth Day!

Earth Day is coming up! And what better time to make your personal commitment to sustainability and climate action? From small steps to a greener lifestyle to a call for action from your local community and government, this is the time for change! 

For tips and guides on how to go green, head on over to Planet Green and check out their list of resources.

Guerilla bagging!

The 4th International Morsbagging day is this Sunday and I am very keen in participating! The idea is that you "sew like mad to make as many lovely morsbags to hand out as possible - perhaps organise a local group for courage, support and joy, and handout free morsbags to locals wherever you are in the world......"

I have set aside some funky and sturdy fabrics and I am hoping I will have time this weekend to make some pretty cool Morsbags which I will give away to assorted friends and family members. 

If you are interested in joining, head on over to www.morsbags.com and read more about this initiative. You can also just download the pattern and start sewing!!

(image via: www.morsbags.com)