Ugh

Sometimes starting a business is really, really, really hard. There are days when I wake up I just don't want to move. There are days when I am so exhausted and so worn down that I don't want to go into the studio. There are weeks where there are no sales (sometimes even months) and I get so discouraged and feel like the whole world is against me. I know intellectually that the entire world itself is not looking to destroy me, but some days my brain is not working on the same level and my heart is all that's working.

It is so discouraging to have Black Friday and Cyber Monday go past and not make a single sale. Last year we did much better. Maybe its time to change something? Maybe I need better marketing? Better products? More products? Better photography?

What do I change?

Can I go back to bed now?

Working hard. But not on here. Fail.

I was supposed to be posting on here, I really was. I just suck at staying on top of things. I'm in the midst of finals right now, so my online presence is suffering, but I'm going to get this working.

Here's what I've been doing:
1. Writing a 45 page business plan to take to the bank and get my crafting business off the ground.
2. I hired a photographer to take my Etsy photos. He has taken 500 photos for me already. Best. Investment. Ever. (I really hate taking photos)
3. Putting all of those listings up on Etsy and getting as many views as possible.
4. I ran my first ad on Facebook. It was decently successful, but it was really scary, and I still don't know what I'm doing on it.
5. Attempting pinterest marketing. I'm not sure how that's going yet.
6. Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws. My mother-in-law helped me get all my packaging together. Love her!
7. Putting 100 items into 100 baggies, and getting ready for my first craft show.

So, like I said, I've been working my butt off, but I haven't been on here a whole lot. This is going to be changed because I just realized that I can use this as a to do list and to tell you guys about what I'm doing, rather than just advertise. I really, really, really don't want to become that person who just keeps on posting pics of her Etsy stuff. I want you to come visit me because you WANT to come visit me!

A year in the waiting.

Its been a very long, tiring, and strange year. I'm back. (I somehow managed an exact year after my last post!)

Here's the deal. I started another blog somewhere else to test what it was like having my own website. I hated it. The customization options were awful considering how much I paid, and I didn't understand what I had to do to get anything set up. So, I'm back here where things make sense again.

A quick run down of the last year.

Tom took me to see Seether in concert at DTE.

We went to the Michigan Renaissance Faire, and I bought a ridiculously expensive (but incredibly well-made) corset.

I worked my last shift and Casa Dominick's! The ladies say they will miss me.

This is Christmas at Aunt Dorothy's house. In the picture is Aunt Dorothy (at the piano) Jeff, Jack, Lee, Steve, Grandpa, and Brad. Here they are singing Christmas carols. It's sort of become a tradition that the men and the women sing their own separate song at least once so the other group can heckle.

Here is my old car, Lady Eleanor, heading off to star in a derby. She had been rough for quite some time, and I needed to get something more reliable, but it was still really sad to see her go! We had some interesting times together.

This is Valentines Day just before we headed out for our date!

Emilie Autumn Concert, FLAG tour 2012. This was the second time that I'd seen her live and it was extravagant!

Then my little nephew Mason came into the world. 27.5 hours my sister was in labor!

Lee got a new job at Citi and got to wear pretty clothing to work!

Indian Lake with Emily, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Dorothy and Grandpa!

Quilt show with Aunt Dorothy, Marty, and Lee. Aunt Dorothy was even featured!

 

 

Went to Mongo, IN to visit my Grandmother and brought Frances along. Went to Shipshewana.

My Mom got married on August 31, 2012.

Fran, Lee and I walked in the Labor Day parade again. Working hard to get Prop 2 passed!

At 3:00 AM Lee and I left for our big adventure to Washington D.C. We spent four days in the city before leaving to go on the second leg of our trip.

This is the second leg of the trip. We spent the night in the MOST BEAUTIFUL bed and breakfast ever, went out for a great dinner, got all gussied up, and spent the night soaking in a warm (claw foot) bathtub until the week of walking around D.C. had all but disappeared.

Blogs are so much win.

I've decided to start blogging more frequently. Here. This is what I will do, seeing as I don't get to do something super awesome EVERY DAY I will instead start adding a blog entry for some of the crafts that I really want to either replicate or give props to.

This is one of the first ones that I want to do. http://www.haglerhappenings.com/2010/08/diy-containing-all-those-school-papers/  I was looking all over for a way to start organizing some of my papers and stuff from when I was little so that my children can see them one day if they're ever interested and it won't all be lost. I love this project.  Now, since my boyfriend works at OfficeMax, I will be able to get this done fairly quickly, which is wonderful. I will post an image of the completed projects tonight!

Obama Speech at the Detroit River: September 5, 2011

So, I know its been a while since I've updated, but here is my entry that I forgot to post about Obama.


September 5, 2011:
After we finished with Arts, Beats, and Eats we went home and watched Shrek 1 & 2, then we did some homework and went to bed to be prepared for the long day ahead. Mom gave us a wake up call at 7:30 A.M. (which to a college student is unheard of) before we got up and started the morning right with scrambled eggs, toast, and granola bars. Then, sadly, when we got ready to go, Mom still ended up making us late. We parked the car and got ready for the big Labor Day Parade in downtown Detroit.

Frances at the Union Hall in Detroit

This is what our signs looked like. Notice the army of union behind us.

This is one of the many Teamster shirts that we had around us

This is what our shirts looked like

After we finished up at the parade we ran (literally) down to the river so that we could get as close as we possibly could to the area where Obama would be speaking. We got to our spots and started waiting around until Obama would speak. We had to wait for almost 2 hours before things got really going, and even then, it took almost another 2 hours before Obama spoke. There were so many speakers! James Hoffa and heads of other labor unions also spoke, then we had senators, house representatives, mayors, and all kinds of other political people who spoke. Then....Finally! The main event! Aretha Franklin took to the stage!

Aretha and her band leaving the stage

So, Aretha came on the stage. Her performance was fantastic. It always amazes me how a person can perform the same songs for 40 years and still have the kind of tenacity while singing the song that they had when the song first debuted. In the middle of one of the songs she has some technical difficulties, which Aretha shrugged off like a true pro. The microphone and the bass cut out, but the techie nerds got it back up and running. (Where would we be without techie nerds?) As soon as Aretha left we had to sit through a couple more speeches, which were well written and delivered at the right time for Detroit to start to get some help. Then Obama took to the stage.

He spoke wonderfully. He was encouraging and interesting. He didn't speak long, but he did preview a bit about his Jobs plan (which was to debut the following Thursday). He told us about how he wants to give the U.S. more jobs, wants to improve the infrastructure at the same time, but hiring people who are from the U.S. to start to fix up the country. By the end of it we were all going mad!

After this we rushed out of the arena before the crowds really go going. We heard the last 5 minutes of the speech while running from the area. And man, did we run! I didn't realize how much my feet were hurting until I started running on them. We made it out of the arena and called mom who was going to come find us and drive us back over to the union hall. We sat outside and waited for QUITE a while, before she found us. I can't say I didn't enjoy sitting though. My feet were done.

We had no maracas, so we made do with our bellies.

When we were found we went back to the hall in search of food. Remember that breakfast at 7:30 AM? Yeah, that was the last time we'd eaten. It was now around 6 PM. So, after mom got her life together, we went back to her condo and rustled up some grub. Steve ordered pizza, and Fran and I raided the fridge until the pizza arrived.

I'd have to say that this was one of my most memorable days of my life.

Arts, Beats and Eats: Sunday September 4, 2011

This weekend was truly just too much fun!

Frances and I stayed up most of the night before and had to be up at 8:30 am the next morning. We had tons of homework to do that we wanted to get taken care of before we went on to have all of our fun.

We got up at 8:30, took our showers and packed up everything that we would need for the weekend and then waited around for mom to show up. She was late. As usual. She and her boyfriend drove us out there so we wouldn't use up a ton of gas. It was wonderful knowing that I wouldn't have to drive all weekend long! Mom and Steve finally arrived at the apartment around 10:15, they used the bathroom, and then we were off!

We got to the festival around 11:45 and split up to start looking at the street vendors and the AMAZING sidewalk sales! We got to check out Noir Leather, which was right at the entrance to the fair. I'd never been there before, and I LOVED the kitty cat that was chilling in the back. He was so sweet and let me pet him for as long as I wanted. It was a little weird going into the sex toy room with my mom and seeing her browse, so I tried to not pay attention. Mom was looking at sequined shirts and pants that were leopard print. I told her she was not allowed to buy it. They were totally ridiculous. We didn't end up buying anything, but we liked looking around at the weird stuff. Mom warned us ahead of time that the place would smell bizarre, but it really just smelled like leather and patchouli.

We walked about for a while and my feet started hurting. So, we went into a thrift store called That Girl and I got some new shoes. Fran got a shirt and some really neat pink socks. Mom said that the socks looked like pink doilies, but I thought that was part of the allure.

Not long after we went met up with my parents for lunch at Mr. B's Pub. I had a California Burger, which had guacamole, tomatoes, and onion on it. Mom got the Buffalo burger, complete with real buffalo meat. Steve got the Mexican Pizza (which was also awesome, I stole a bite!), and Fran got the Black Bean Burger (which was a vegetarian option.) The food was great, the service was good and the location was amazing. It was located right on main street outside of the fair. They had outside seating, which was really good for people watching! We saw a Barbie doll pushing a stroller which was HILARIOUS! Our server was also fun to watch. She had Barbie bright blonde hair, fake boobs, bright red lipstick, Monroe piercings, and short shorts! Her shorts were so short that all of us watched as she walked away. There was no option. We had to watch.

We went back to the fair for a while. Mom got it into her head that we all needed one of these alcoholic smoothies that were being sold at the fair. They were Baja Smoothies, which had the equivalent of one shot in them, but they sold for 12 tickets a piece. Since we had just eaten, Fran was feeling too full to have one, but because mom is mom she required that we all have one together. In the end we each got one, felt way too full and had sticky hands until we could find some hand sanitizer. But, they came garnished with pineapples, so that made it ok.

I picked up some great arm socks from a store called The Wooden Hangar. They were made by Zowee which makes upcycled clothing from castaway items. They are super steampunk and I LOVE them! They were a little on the pricey side ($45) but they are totally worth it, because they are recycled and they support local merchants and artists. I love it.

Fran and I separated from the parents and went to the carney rides. We went on the ferris wheel, which was awesome! Fran was a little nervous about it, but she warmed up quickly when we started being able to see how many people were there and see the city from above.

Fran is a little nervous

 

Me smiling as we go up!

We returned home soon after this and watched Shrek 1 and 2 while doing homework and unwinding. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but it was totally worth it!

Oh My Word

I have been so unbelievably crazy busy lately! School has started for the semester, which always puts a damper on how much I can get accomplished, but I'm going to do my very best to get some new items up and ready to go within the next few days. I have a couple nice things in the works right now that might be good for it. I also think that I might have a couple of weeks off coming up in about 2 months, so I will be able to spit out a bunch of things that I've been wanting to do for quite some time now.

Alright. I have to do dishes and feed Gracie.

-Britt