I've been featured in another blog!

In my April 11th post, I wrote about sponsoring a give-away for Capitolagirl's "Friday Findings" column. Well, last week when I was checking my Etsy account I had this message waiting for me from one of the winners of that give-away:

by slymagpie profile shop contact

Hi Martha! I won your contest with Capitola Girl, and I just wanted to let you know that I loved the earrings! They're really beautiful and your materials are lovely. I'm off to tell everyone what a talented artist you are on my blog. :) Margaret How cool is that???!!! Plenty, if you're asking me. I'm not sure what part of this posting that I like the most - the part about her liking my earrings or the part about her telling me that she was going to write a post for her blog telling others that she liked my earrings. Really, it's still a toss up for me. So, I sat around all day waiting for the blog to be published. And true to her word, she wrote a nice post about me. If you're anything like me, curiosity will get the best of you and you'll want to read the post. So, here is the link to the her blog that she the little piece she wrote about little ol' me: slymagpie: I won a contest! Thank you Margaret for letting me know that you liked my earrings an for letting others know too! And too my readers, for some reason I couldn't get any pictures to post - but don't fear - I've provided links - just click on them and you'll be taken posts with lots of great pictures.

So much to write about and so little time to write it...

The last week was an eventful week. Of course, I "wasted" a good part of the time and was a panicked mess Friday afternoon. But I'm getting off topic here - so back on track here. While I "wasting" time last week instead of working, I was also reflecting on all the good things that have happened to me since I've started this business. I've made new connections with local artists, a friend of mine and I are planning our art show and will be featuring some incredibly talented artists at this show, I've been featured in a couple of blogs, and what astounds me the most, I've won several contests, drawings and door prizes from fellow artist on Etsy (who I will be featuring on my blog) . Which is what I'll be writing about this week. That's about as much as I'm going to tell you - I don't want to give you an outline and then not stick with it I'm sure you've all pretty much figured that I'm not one to be constrained by "organization" - I like the flexibility and freedom of winging it. :)

So, until then I hope you enjoy the pictures of my jewelry that I just posted in my Etsy shop today. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, I think my photography has come a long way from the early days. I'm still not quite satisfied with it - but I see improvement. Feel free to agree with me or offer some constructive criticism.

Alright, I'm really leaving. Morning is going to come too early - the vacation is over and the real world is waiting for me.

Best regards,

martha

My progress - such as it is...

I'm so far behind. So far, I've created several sterling silver stack rings, head pins and ear wires and earring findings (my fused ovals, squares and such). Spent some time on the computer - networking and meeting with the artists who will be participating in the art show that I'm helping to organize - something I'm very excited about and will fill you in on later.

So, my plan for the day is to head upstairs and complete at least 20 pairs of earrings and at least 5 more necklaces. Then later on this evening I'll get ready for my show tomorrow.

So much to do and so little time! Aarrgghh!!! I do this to myself each and every time - will I ever learn? Probably not - not at this stage of my life. "Hi, my name is Martha, and I'm a Procrastinator."

But wait - there's more - so much more to tell you about. A few really nice things have happened to me and I want to share with you. However, I'll have to save that for later.

Martha

The first day of my "Dream Life" is today...

Next week I'll be taking a break from my day job (the one that is currently paying the bills) to get ready for my next show on May 10th (see the right side bar for more info). I'll also be working on the show that I am coordinating with friends that will happen this summer the last weekend in July (more information regarding this show is forth-coming). While I'll have lots of work to do next week, I intend to have FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I mean, I'll be living my dream life, which is that of a successful, busy, in demand jewelry artisan. :) I'm one of those people who likes and thrives in "solitude" and know that I would do well if I worked at home. As I write this I'm thinking about the routine I would establish, it would be the perfect combination of work and personal time. I'm one of those people who likes to work in spurts and then take time to recharge my batteries. So, I would set a routine that would be like this:

My schedule for next week (Monday - Friday):

• Rise at 6:00am - 6:30am. Make coffee and drink 2 cups while standing in the kitchen watching the early morning news (Yeah, I got a TV in my kitchen - I like to watch the "Food Network" while cooking or cleaning
• 6:30am -7:00am. Take Bruce for a walk. He's not a very demanding pooch but when he wants to go for a walk he's quietly persuasive and it's best to get such demands out of the way as soon as I can.
• 7:00am (or 7:30am) - 2:00pm. Sit down at jewelry bench. I'll either be working on designs or creating my findings.
  
• 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Take a break or run personal/work related errands
  
• 4:00pm - 5:00pm. Clean up jewelry bench and wrap it up for the day.
• 5:00pm - 9:00pm - Domestic chores and spend time with family.
  

Will I be able to maintain this non-harried schedule? Probably not - only because I'm sure there will be nights when I've got a creative streak where I'll tell my husband that he's on his own for dinner and will work at my bench until all hours of the night. Which will throw off my schedule for the next day. And I'm sure I'll get sucked into watching some daytime TV - so I'm going to avoid the siren song of the BIG TV and the comfortable couch in the living room. My TV daytime TV will be confined to either my kitchen or at my jewelry bench.

So that's my plan.

What else have I been up to? Well, I've been terribly remiss in tending to my shop on Etsy. It hasn't been very busy and truth be told I was avoiding it. Yeah, not the best plan. So, add it to my list for next week: Pay attention to your shop on Etsy!!! This morning, I added more earrings to my shop. Next Sunday, I'll be adding more stock to my shop.

Now I've got to go and get ready. My husband is getting his documentation together to renew his passport. We need to go to the notary today. We're planning a trip to visit his family in England this summer.

I'll be back later.

Until then, Best Regards.

martha

Yeah! I did it and survived to tell the tale!!!!

What did I do? I paid my 1st quarter taxes last night (nothing like waiting for the last moment). Thank god, for electronic filing and e-checks. I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have over paid my taxes - only because my records weren't as "organized" as they should be - but I'd rather over pay then under pay - it's just more pleasant to find out that you erred in your favor. My biggest worry is that I didn't complete the forms correctly - but the silver lining to this dark cloud is that I'm sure I'll find out sooner rather than later if I made any mistakes (That is if the Department of Revenue notices).

Because I haven't had any sales in the first month of the second quarter, I'm going to use this time to organize my financial paper work - just in case I get audited. According to the fine folks from the Department of Revenue - it's not if you get audited, it's when - so I want to be prepared. Sounds pretty ominous - doesn't it?

And finally, next week I'll get a taste of what it's like to be a full time artisan/business owner. I'll be at home all next week getting ready for my next jewelry show sponsored by my Etsy Street Team: EtsyRain in Edmonds. I'm excited about this show for two reasons: 1. It's an opportunity to make more money (my checking account is looking a little anemic) and 2. I'll get to meet more members of the team - some of them I know through the groups I belong to on Flickr and Etsy, and some that I've actually met at other shows like "I Heart Rummage" and classes. I'm hoping it's fun, I'm hoping it's profitable, I'm hoping to meet lots of cool people - I'm hoping that next week is productive and I walk away with a feeling of being satisfied with what I was able to accomplish.

So, my goals for next week are:

1. Take more photos of my jewelry.

2. Post more inventory on Etsy.

3. Have more productive sessions at my jewelry bench.

4. Organize my financial paperwork.

5. Get ready for my next show.

6. Meet with my co-organizers of my Bella Faire art show in Tacoma.

7. Design and get the web-site for the Bella Faire up and running.

8. Take Bruce for a walk every day next week.

9. Set up a routine for me to follow through out the week.

10. Start a feature on my blog dedicated to the artist's who's own web-sites drive lots of traffic to my web-site (Whew! That was a mouth full!). I'm also thinking of hosting a give-away once a month - maybe.

It's good to have goals. Better if you meet them.

A new direction...

Have you ever, consciously and with great thought, done something that you knew would change your life forever? I ask this because that's exactly what I did today. I made a decision and took that leap of faith that it will all work out as it should in the end. The immediate consequence of my action: I'm nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. Ah, change...it's scary and exhilirating at the same time.

So, here I sit, waiting for the other shoe to drop and hoping for the best. Mostly, I'm hoping I didn't cut my nose to spite my face despite the fact that I feel good about my decision. Curiosity is geting the best of me - I'm wondering what the consequences of my actions will be and if I made the right decision. It's always a crap shoot.

"Sally Swanson had a good life. Then the cops caught up with her."

The title of this post is from an article I came across in the Tacoma News Tribune newspaper "Bratwear just the ticket for cops". It's about a local company that makes uniforms for local, national and international police departments.

The company had an interesting beginning - the owner started making exercise gear for herself and then other's started asking for her to make exerise gear for them and one day she got that fateful call from a local police department asking for advice on how to improve their bicycle cops uniforms and one thing lead to another and her company "Bratwear" was born.

I knew all this before I read the article because I know the owner - she's a personal friend of mine. I know she started one of her business, "Flashwear", in her living room - which evolved into "Bratwear". I also know all the hard work she still has to put into her business on a daily basis now that "she's made it".

Of course this got me thinking about what I want for my own business and how am I going to define success. So far, success to me would be making one sale a week from my Etsy shop and making enough money to cover my table fees and expenses when I sell at a craft show. Because my business isn't the main source of income for me I have to admit it's hard to find the motivation to put in all the hard work that I need to ensure that my business is a success. So, that's something I need to work on - keeping my eyes on the prize!