I was blessed to be able to visit my sister in St. Augustine, Florida.  One morning we made green tea, jumped in the jeep and went down to the pier to watch the sunrise.  That morning was the best, nice and quiet, spending time with my sister, pure serenity.  Absolutely beautiful. 

Breathtaking......................................

Check out Studio M

These are so adorable, I instantly fell in love with these, perfect for a little boys room.  Studio M  is so talented, it seems her mind is going 60 miles an hour.  Her blog is fun, her pictures are great.  You must visit soon.

Artfire vs Etsy (some specifics)

I happened upon Artfire shortly after I decided to sell on Etsy.  Google is the best, I Google everything. So I did a search on Etsy vs Artfire (which I highly recommend for anyone thinking of selling in either).  Both had their pros and cons, which made it hard to decide which one to use.  Since I had not yet started the listing process, my daughter, in her infinite wisdon, suggested I list on both.  It has now been about a month, I have over 100 items on both, and feel I can speak intelligently on some of the differences. If your just starting, sell on both, it is so fast & easy to deactivate your listing on either one if you sell an item.

Expense/Cost ~

Artfire ~  Join for free with a limit of 12 active listings, no listing/final/hidden fees at all.  OR pay $12.00 a month and become a Verified Member with unlimted listings and absolutely NO listing/final/hidden fees.  

Etsy ~  Join for free.  Per listing is .20, and a 3.5% of sale price.

Both use PayPal and you can accept checks, money orders or whatever.  A customer can pay with PayPal now and not have to set up a PayPal account, this is great.

Community ~  Artfire outshines Etsy on this one.  I have received invitations to join groups.  Just the conversations are welcoming and inviting.  It's hard to describe, but for a newbie, just more down to earth. 

Sales & Views ~ 

Artfire ~ Not quite as many views and about 1/10th the sales.

Etsy ~  Many, many views and sales right from the get go!

Search Engine ~  One of the things I learned when I did a Google search was that Etsy's search engine does not work as well as Artfires (however, I understand they are working on it).  If you do a search in Etsy on say "fabric", you will get additional items not relating to the seach as well as fabric.  Artfires search is very specific and works much better.

Appearance (easy on the eyes) ~ Personnally, I like Etsy's for this.  Very clean, easy to find different sections, checks sales, conversations, etc. 

Shop Set-up ~ Etsy's was easier, just because it was easier to find all the tools.  There are just so many options in Artfire it was hard to find all of them.  Actually, there are more options on Artfire, once I found them (go into Edit My Studio and experiment).  I just jumped right in without exploring very much, which ultimately made it harder on me.

Listing a Product ~  By far Artfire listing process is the best because it's so fast.  Both allow you to pre-set Studio Categories and Shipping Profiles.  Be sure to set up your shipping profiles, it makes it so much easier during the listing process.
                               
Artfire ~

• One page listing (faster and easier to edit). 
• List up to 10 photos, pictures upload quickly. 
• Description section is small, you have to use a scroll bar. 
• Option to open  listing to offers (yes or no button). 
• You enter your "tags" (searchable keywords for people to find your product with), double click the box and it brings up what you've entered before.  This is great when you're listing the same item repeatedly.  have entered about 25 different words/phrases and never ran out of space.  Not sure if there is a limit.

Etsy ~

• Five separate pages. 
• Five photo max. and they take a long time to upload. 
• You can see the entire description page without using a scroll bar (allows me to follow a train of thought better!). 
• No section for offers. 
• You enter your "tags" (searchable keywords for people to find your product with), the first one is picking from one of the categories, then Etsy will give you sub-categories to pick from or you can type your own.  You have a total of 14 slots to fill.  Can become very repetitous when listing same item repeatedly.
• If you forget to set up a Studio Category you can do it while doing the listing.

Google Analytics ~  Both give you instructions on how to set this up and provide you with statistics.

I think I covered everything.  I hope this will help someone along the way. If I can ever help anyone please do not hesitate to email me, or convo through Etsy or Artfire (click on either one, it will take you right to me).  It's great to help & support each other. 

Etsy vs Artfire

My next post, I will discuss this.  It was very difficult for me to determine which one I was going to try.  I spent alot of time researching each.  Maybe it will be helpful to future sellers. 

The Sunhat

http://ww.artfire.com/users/yummiestuff
Check our my other hats, patterns and colors.

Aren't these adorable sunhats? I found this pattern and fell in love with the little girl on the front wearing the sunhat. After making several, my girlie girl realized they needed a little something extra. First I thought a silk flower, no, that could be over powering. Then the lightbulb went on, a fabric flower would be perfect. I knew I had seen them before on something, somewhere....but where? So, to Google I go, (I just love Google). After many woman hours of searching through various options I found this wonderful blog with detailed instructions on how to make fabric flower pins. They are the easiest flower to make and brighten everything they are attached to. The beauty of the detachable flower pin is it allows you to redesign the brim any way you want to wear it; up, down, sideways. Whatever your mood strikes you for your child!

I did make a couple boy hats for my grandson, Evan (of course, no flower). However, the girl fabrics, the addition of the flower overpowered my creative side.

Talented People

I just got through browsing Etsy and Artfire and find myself in awe over the many different things that are out there.....that are homemade (crafts). As a crafter myself, and I'm sure many feel the way I do, I greatly appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating anything. Most of the time there is a sentimental attachment to what you create, sometimes letting go is very hard to do. Then there is the aspect of pricing! Aye, don't even get me started on that! I don't believe we ever get the return for our time invested. Some very talented people in this world...that's for sure.

To continue forward

While, yes, it was great the products were in several boutiques, it was very difficult to make a profit for me. I guess, I should say, I was basically working for free. I had to cut my prices so the boutiques could enjoy the mark-up and make a profit. For those of you who don't know there is a huge mark-up for items in boutiques (at least there use to be). The line did well, several owners wanted more. All that work! It just didn't make sense to me. I decided to quit selling wholesale.

I continue to sell to family, friends and friends of friends. This is great and I stay pretty busy. People are always having babies, there are always baby showers. Mother's will definitely spend money on their children. With the economy, business has considerably slowed.

A cute little store opened in Jefferson, Georgia that carried new and homemade items. Kinda like a constant craft show. She, the owner, was great at marketing. By the time she was ready for business, her shop looked like a Hallmark Store. Every time I went in there I saw something new, it was amazing and so much fun. I did very well selling in her store, business increased every month. It seems dealing with different personalities can be somewhat challenging for some. The owner just couldn't handle the stress and ended up closing her store. I really miss her and wish her much success in her endeavor going forward.

So, that brings me to this day, new challenges, new adventures. Opening up a store in Etsy and Artfire. It has (and is) challenging getting all the aspects in place. My sister and I use to be power sellers on Ebay, so I do know the basics, which does help.

Next, let's explore Etsy and Artfire.

It's been an adventure (for sure)!

Well, here I go sailing into blogland, so to speak. I'm a crafter by nature, trying to find my way selling my wares. Hopefully on Etsy's and Artfire.

In 2006 Prickly Pear, my business, was created. Prickly Pear began as an image in Nicole, my daughter's mind. She wanted a unique baby gift for her dear friend, Chrissy, who was expecting her first child. She settled on burpcloths, but could not find any she liked, so her imagination created a design, it was to be made of super soft flannel. With the concept in mind, she decided her Mother (me) would help her implement the perfect burpcloth. We purchased the cutest flannels and created all weekend. The burpcloths were the talk of the shower, everyone loved the softness of the flannel, the wild and fun fabric designs, but most of all the uniqueness of the item itself!

Thus, began Prickly Pear. From there I designed matching bibs, coordinating blankets, girls sunhats, ruffly aprons, cuddle me tabs (cuddling comfort cloths), and wiz protectors. I love beads and occasionally make jewelry. Especially when I need a break from the sewing machine! Fabrics inspire me, all through high school I made my own clothes, it's a gift now to be able to do what I love.

I sewed and I sewed until I had quite a collection of different prints. Along with selling to individuals, the thought was to peddle my wares to childrens boutiques. And...that I did....with the help of my sister, Tina. Honestly, Tina could sell ice to eskimos. Ya, ya, I heard that before, but I swear to you she can. So very shortly thereafter, Prickly Pear was in 5 boutiques around the Atlanta area and 2 in St. Augustine, Florida (where my other sister, Janine, lives).