Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Etsy Kids Welcomes Rhoadworks

I'm now part of a new group of artisans, Etsy Kids.  This group specializes in all things hand made for children and babies.  A perfect fit for me. 
One of the stores welcomed me into the group today  The store is called Kookie Critters.  If you need a great gift for a soon to be snaggle tooth child, this is the place to go.
Sherman The Tooth Fairy PillowThese little "critters" are adorable.  And they can be customize, too.
There several adorable designs to choose from.  Sherman (pictured) is just one.  Check them out at http://www.kookycritters.com.
I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon working on a couple of donation projects.  One is for Breast Cancer awareness (Giveaway for the Cure on Etsy Kids) and the other is a Yorkie rescue (www.fuzzybutts.com).  Both, very good causes. 
Here are two designs that were asked for by customers.  The Cockapoo I originally did in Black.  She asked for a Brown Cockapoo, and I love it.                       The Poop Happens is sold on a white onesie and the "Poop" is Black.  But to make it show up on the requested Brown onesie, I did it in a 'poopy' green.  Now I like it better than the original!  Thank you to all my imaginative customers!                                    
 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

I Wish I were a Salesman

It's gotten to the point where my supply is much greater than the demand. In other words, I need more sales.




There are people out there that possess a quality that I wish I had. Namely, Guts. Why is it that I can draw, paint, turn a ramdom idea into a product, and produce a fairly nice online store. But when it comes to facing someone and asking them to buy my product. I'm guttless.



In the beginning, my sister and I used to sell our onesies at craft shows. We set up our onesie display and spent a couple of days watching the public parade by. Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Aunt and Uncles loved our designs. I'm proud to say that we always out sold everyone around us. And we always had a steady group of people stopping to look and laugh at some of our more humorous sayings. (Poop Happens and Night, Night, See you in Two Hours!).



At the time I thought selling our wares would always be easy. The computer is wonderful. I've truly loved selling my onesies through my online store. It's frankly amazing.



But nothing beats a brick and mortor store. Where people can come in, pick up, touch, and feel my garments. I do have my onesies and tees in several stores and gift shops. And to get them in more stores it means I need to physically walk in and talk to some buyers and owners. Why is that so hard for me?



I love my product. Is the fear of rejection so scary? Yes...for me it is.



I think that every artist whether they admit it or not has a part of them in their work. So a rejection of their work is, in a small way, a personal rejection.



So, wish me luck. I'm going to try and put myself out there this Spring. After all, they say when one window closes, another one opens.







Here are some of my latest designs.