Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Year, New Focus


The New Year is off and running (with a bang I might add), and I have been extremely busy.  While managing many tasks in my personal life, I have spent many hours studying, thinking, praying, and finding a new focus for my business.  Since I was young I had a desire to work from home while raising my children.  I never knew what working from home would look like until I started my sewing business nearly three years ago.  While my business has had its highs and lows, it remains a constant in my life and my passion for it is ever increasing.
With a baby on the way (we are adopting a little one sometime this year), I am inspired now more than ever to take my business to the next level.  My hope is to be able to produce substantial side income from home so that I can take care of our baby and our home.
I am reviewing my Etsy shop, the items I am selling, my target audience, how I market myself, etc...  As I pursue this re-focus, I thought it would be great to get the opinions and advice from my customers and blog readers.
Your thoughts regarding the following questions would be so much appreciated!!  (As well as your prayers if you are a praying person) You can answer these questions by clicking the comment button at the bottom of the blog.  You can comment anonymously or not.  Keep in mind that I am trying to narrow my focus regarding what I am making and selling.
1. Of the items in my shop, which ones do you think I should focus on making more?
2. What do you like about my Etsy shop?
3. What should be changed about my Etsy shop?
4. Do you have any other suggestions for me, my Etsy shop, marketing, my products etc...
 Thank you for taking the time to help me improve and hopefully grow my business!  I am so grateful for your support of my business and for you reading my blog!

So here is to the New Year, new changes, new focus, and new beginnings!!
 With much love and gratitude,
Jen







Monday, December 20, 2010

Featured Clutch


My Classy Clutch with a Bit of Bling was featured on another blog today. This blog belongs to a team I belong to on Etsy called Carried Away Bags.  It is a really neat blog!

http://carriedawayteam.blogspot.com/



Saturday, December 11, 2010

Hard at work quilting...

I have had the honor of making a few quilts recently for a good friend of mine.  One of the quilts she asked me to make was actually a quilt top that I finished for her. She sent it with a couple from our church who were going to India to visit the orphanage they used to work with.  It was a very special quilt, and when I get the pictures, I will be sure to post them.  ( I completely forgot to take a picture of the quilt before I sent it away... bad me!)
The other quilt I just finished for my friend was made by her request to match the other quilt she purchased from me last month.  This quilt was made by using a technique I learned at the International quilt show I attended back in September.  I was so intrigued by how cool the technique was, I managed to reproduce it from memory.  Can you say "strip piecing"??  I loved this strip piecing technique!  And for all you non-quilters, do not worry... strip piecing is totally G-Rated.





Sunday, December 5, 2010

Clutches and more clutches!

I just figured out how to make these wonderful clutches with metal framed clasps, and I am loving them!  I sold my first batch of them so quickly that I wasn't able to post them.  I spent time this weekend making more...
It took some researching to learn how to use clasp frames, and quite a bit of searching for the proper glue to use.  The Gutterman glue I finally found is only made in Germany, and I there is only one dealer in the US that I have found so far that sells it!  All that searching is paying off, and I am loving these little clutches!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

This Winner is.....

Congratulations Chris!  You won the D'lil D'va Drawing!!  Thank you everyone for participating in the drawing.  Please visit my friends site any time!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Dlil-Dva/114682238587766