Ugh.

I guess I didn’t do so well in July.  But then again, I didn’t really expect to.  I ended up spending a week getting a number of pieces ready to send on consignment up in Wiscasset (20 rings, 10 pendants, 10 necklaces), so that trumped anything else I wanted to do.

The urgency of getting beads and connectors listed on my web page was sort of quashed when it was discovered that someone at Creative Jewelry dropped the ball and my ad did NOT appear in the magazine.  Kind of blew my marketing plan for the summer and fall, but I sat down and thought, “boy that $310 will buy a LOT of Etsy listings.”   So there!

JULY GOALS

1.  Get the beads and connectors listed in the shopping cart. Nope.

2. Throw something on the pottery wheel besides a gushy lump of goo (it was quite funny–worthy of you-tube). Nope–Pete needed his garage to build a new concrete step mold, so I stayed clear of that mess!  Maybe this month!

3. Create some larger pieces for sale. I have a ginger jar mold that I’d like to experiment with, also some pitchers.  Decide if I want to offer slipcast pieces in my shop… Did not finish any large pieces.  I do think I’d like to offer larger pieces, but I’ll shelve that goal for awhile.

4.  Create some pieces for the ABS Challenges.  This month it’s the cave paintings in France…hmmm… Hey, I did get something done.

5. Figure out some way to make the rain stop already!!! Enough!!! I’ve grown gills and webbed feet!!! The rain stopped but it wasn’t my doing, so I can’t cross this one off!

August Goals

1. Prep pieces for the Mill Festival in two weeks (already started that, and ordered the banner for my tent).

2. Get stuff ready for destash at the Mill Festival.  I’m going to make little packets of beads to destash, offering them at $1-$3 a bag.

3. Write up a number of blog posts ahead of time so when I’m at home she’s still working!  Love that feature!

4. On that note contribute an article or two to the Etsy Twitter Team blog.

5.  List 5 new items a week in my shop.

6.  Get some more beads glazed that will match my pendants.

7.  The bug is back–get some pieces actually made up as jewelry and start submitting designs.

To revisit the June goals:

1. Offer shopping cart on my website. Done!!!  I used the paypal shopping cart, and once I was on a roll it wasn’t too much effort.  I know enough html to be able to add more options to the glaze colors (they only allowed for 10 options, and really, is that enough?).  I will be adding the beads and connectors soon, but the pendants are UP! Word of advice: if you’re taking product shots, wear something white.  I was halfway through editing the photos before I realized that the coral t-shirt I was wearing had reflected into all of my shots, affecting the colors. Duh!

2. Decide on which designs I’m going to keep in stock, and prepare the bisque pieces for them.  Partially done.  I have a number of terracotta pendants and buttons waiting for a bisque firing.

3. Get my slip reclaimer working.  Apparently it leaks a little; Pete will get it fixed, but in the meantime he’s tweaking the pottery wheel he made for me!

4.  Submit designs for publication.  Not done, shelving this goal for awhile–no motivation.

5. Do I want to have a table at the town festival in August?  Hmmm, need to mull that one over. My parents have a building across the street from where the festival will be held.  I’ll save the table fee, have a table over there along with others in the family.  We’re having a multi-family yard sale.  If it’s raining (a very distinct possibility) I don’t have to show up–no money lost.

6. If my fairy godmother is listening, would having a dependable computer be too much to ask?   Yeah right, she still limps along.

JULY GOALS

1.  Get the beads and connectors listed in the shopping cart.

2. Throw something on the pottery wheel besides a gushy lump of goo (it was quite funny–worthy of you-tube).

3. Create some larger pieces for sale. I have a ginger jar mold that I’d like to experiment with, also some pitchers.  Decide if I want to offer slipcast pieces in my shop…

4.  Create some pieces for the ABS Challenges.  This month it’s the cave paintings in France…hmmm…

5. Figure out some way to make the rain stop already!!! Enough!!! I’ve grown gills and webbed feet!!!

I think that will do it for now.  Hubby has a week of vacation this month, so I sincerely doubt anything will get done that week….

I’ve been having a tough time with motivation lately.  Part of it is because I’m in what I call one of my headache cycles.  Starts with a migraine, then I just seem to have a nagging headache leftover for awhile.  It could be a day, it could be a month.  It makes me sort of stupid, which is very frustrating for me.  I just haven’t been able to stir my stumps and get in the studio.  I pushed myself to get in there the other day and start cutting out pendants.  I ended up using my terracotta clay, which is a different beast than the white earthenware.  Seeing my glaze samples on the terracotta inspired me to work with it this time.

One thing I’ve found interesting is that motivation doesn’t seem to go hand in hand with inspiration.  I would think that once inspiration strikes, I’d get right in there.  I’ve had to settle for just jotting down some notes to use later.  I think it’s time to implement some new techniques that I’ve picked up in my various pottery books and my favorite magazine, Pottery Making Illustrated. I want to do some slip casting as well, but that project requires uninterrupted time and sunshine.

I did manage to start working on my shopping cart on my website, so if my laptop cooperates with me perhaps I can have it done by the end of the week. I have all the glaze samples photographed (now if I can find my memory card and reader). I decided to incorporate a Paypal cart into my site; it has all the functionality required, and I have to do minimal html editing to get it up to speed. I hope it will be worth the effort I have to put into it!

What do you do to work yourself out of a rut? Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s see, what, if anything, did I get accomplished last month?

MAY GOALS:

1. Create wholesale pricelist.  Not only will this go towards the Maine products program, but I’ll also be able to send out some mailings to bead shops.  Not yet, but I’m getting there.  See goal 2.

2.  Create new glaze sample tiles to photograph for the website in preparation for adding a shopping cart to the site.   I was a few days late, but I did unload the kiln yesterday and have about 30 glazed samples to photograph.

3.  Get studio functional!  I need to get my workspace functional so that I can work when Isaac naps and not have to pick up everything each time.  This was a big one.  And it’s done!  It is sooo nice to be able to drop what I’m doing and walk away.  I can walk in and glaze 3 pendants before bed if I want to, and not have to worry about picking up!

4.  Develop a streamlined production.  Naptime is getting shorter and I need to make the most of what little time I have. The plan is ready, now to implement it.

5. Convert all my etsy listings to finished necklaces.  (with the option to order the pendant separately).This is done, although I admit I cheated a little.  I made a number of pieces inactive and will add them back to the shop as I retake photos. 

6. Take at least 10 minutes before bed each night to sketch out new designs. Wishful thinking.  My carpal tunnel flared up this month, so I tried not to do anything extra to aggrevate it.

7.  Submit 4  earring designs to publications. Again, the hands issue.  I did manage to submit one necklace design to a magazine and made one pair of earrings, but for the most part I did not do anything extra. 

Oh, not on the list, but did get accomplished: I sent out a number of necklaces and pendants to a consignment shop on Route 1 in Wiscasset (Dalton Heritage Arts).  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Getting the studio set up was the big one for me, so even if I didn’t accomplish anything else last month, that was a biggie.

OK.  June goals:

1. Offer shopping cart on my website.  I wanted to wait until I knew what I was doing before undergoing yet another overhaul of my site.  I have an ad coming out in Creative Jewelry and would like to offer my work on my website along with Etsy, so I better get to it!

2. Decide on which designs I’m going to keep in stock, and prepare the bisque pieces for them.  That way I can just glaze and fire and cut the wait time for orders in half.

3. Get my slip reclaimer working.  I discovered recently that along with about a million ceramic molds I also received a slip table thrown in.  I found some fantastic molds as well that I’d like to play with.  Perhaps offer some new pieces in my store??? (not a goal, just wishful thinking).

4.  Submit designs for publication.  I’m not attaching a number this time.  I’ve decided not to sweat this one, although it is fantastic guerilla marketing.

5. Do I want to have a table at the town festival in August?  Hmmm, need to mull that one over.

6. If my fairy godmother is listening, would having a dependable computer be too much to ask?   (I guess that’s not really a goal, but it’s darn hard trying to have a computer based business when my laptop is ready for the nursing home).

And, um, how the heck did it get to be June?  I made up some pendants with ‘09 on them for graduates, and I’m afraid I’ve missed the boat!  Geesh, get with it, girl!