I am well aware that we are all in November now, but somehow I am still trying to wrap myself around that idea. This fall has been flying by, and with so much going on, I am trying to stay one step ahead of everything going on!
I have found that in the world of retail, one must be ahead of the season or holiday by about two months to have enough time to sufficiently plan and sell. This is harder than it looks. I have always been a little surprised when Christmas shows up in September or Easter in January, but as an official retail owner, I am beginning to understand.
That being said, I got a late start on this years Halloween and Fall collections. (and I am trying to stay ahead of Christmas very hard) I had a two week selling window for Halloween this year, but for the time I had, I can say that I am proud of what I was able to accomplish.
I have been really into working with felt recently. I just recently purchased a rainbow of sheet felt and for the first time in my life, tried my hand at needle felting. I like this medium very much. It is fairly easy to deal with, you can get many results when working with it, and it is a forgiving material.
Don't ask me how, but this Halloween's collections just popped in my head. I have been having this happen a lot lately. When ideas rain, it pours! (good for me) I am loving how creative I feel! It is a fulfilling experience.
The Monster Mash pin collection was a fun one to do! These guys were needle felted together of sheet felt. Each one came with a name and had their own mini bio written for them. They are slightly silly and that's why I think they are cute. Meet the boys:
Frank N. Stein, Vladamir the Vampire, Maurice the Mummy, William the Wolf man
I also explored the world of making fabric yo-yos. I have always loved the look of them, but never quite knew how to make them. (silly I know) Some of you may know I am not the most talented seamstress. While shopping at my beloved second home, Michael's Craft Store, I found these really nifty yo-yo maker templates. With their help, I added some hand-felted details and created the bat collection!
Fly Me to the Moon pins (above) Wednesday the Felted Bat Brooch (below)
I also made a couple vintage inspired items for the shop. I have made vintage inspired glitter houses in the past and new I wanted to make some haunted houses for the shop. Glitter houses have been part of holiday traditions for over 100 years. Mine are miniature paper sculptures that are hand cut and assembled from my own patterns and then glittered all over. I think they might be some of the most intricate and impressive things I have made so far. (by the way they are only 3" tall)
So other than a few other odds and ends. That is that I was able to get done for Halloween. Next year I will be beginning in August and will offer SOOO much more. I have big plans with lots of different looks and mediums to work with.
Finally, signing up for an Etsy store was a BIG deal for me! I have never really tried to put my art out into the world before. Mostly, I kept it to myself or just shared it with a select few. Summoning up the courage to show it off was a little daunting. But I really have been pleasantly surprised in the positive reaction to my work. I can't say that in the month I have been in business I have really gotten a lot of sales, because in truth, most of my sales have been through personal acquaintances, but the amount of views for my items have been really impressive! Better yet, many people on Etsy have "favorited" or "hearted" many of my items. (this is Etsy's way of bookmarking buyers top picks in items or sellers) I am truly pleased and humbled knowing that the world has seen what I had to offer and has accepted me with a warm welcome!!!
-Emily
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